Encounter the Truth

Jonathan Griffiths: Now we often speak of being engaged in a spiritual battle as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ, whether we are full-time vocational leaders within the church, pastors or elders, teachers, or whether we are laity and members of the congregation at large. If we are Christians, we are engaged in the battle. I think we're all aware of that, and we speak of it sometimes, but what does this look like and what is involved?

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths. I'm Steve Hiller, glad that you're listening today. And Jonathan, you ask some really big questions right there. I don't think we can just leave those hanging out there like that. This spiritual battle that we're involved in, what is involved?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, the truth of the matter is that as the Gospel of Jesus Christ goes out and as men and women who are spiritually lost hear the good news of Jesus Christ and respond in repentance and faith and find life in him, this is something that the Lord's enemy, the evil one, really dislikes, really hates, and is going to oppose with everything he has and every power available to him.

And so where the gospel is moving forward, there's always going to be opposition. There's always going to be difficulty. There are always going to be factors that seek to undermine it. And you know, we just need to be aware of that.

What we see in 2nd Corinthians is that Paul experienced that very acutely in his own ministry, and he sets us up to expect that that will be our experience as we serve the Lord and as we walk with the Lord. And it can come from all kinds of different angles. It can come from enemies of the faith, it can sometimes even come from disruption within the fellowship and the family of God.

But being forewarned is being forearmed and it is being prepared. And we need to go in with that expectation and walk prayerfully before the Lord and wait on him for his help and his protection as we seek to serve him.

Steve Hiller: Well, we're going to look at this together from 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 and begin a message entitled The Dynamics of Spiritual Warfare. Here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: Well friends, what is the secret of spiritual power? What are the tools of spiritual warfare? How does the work of the gospel move forward in the face of difficulty and indeed of opposition?

These questions stand at the heart of 2nd Corinthians chapter 10. As we've seen again and again throughout our study of 1st and 2nd Corinthians, the apostle Paul has been facing some criticism of his ministry and some opposition against his ministry, even from some within the church at Corinth.

Traveling teachers who have come in and have made a powerful impression upon some of the people have stirred up some difficulty. These super-apostles, as Paul will refer to them, have convinced some of the Corinthians that Paul's own ministry really isn't up to scratch.

Paul seems weak and ineffective compared to some of these other teachers who have breezed on through, and so Paul once again feels that he must offer something of a defense of his ministry and an explanation as to why it is that he operates as he does.

Clearly his gentleness and his meekness, at least in person, have come under some scrutiny and some criticism. He's written quite strongly to the Corinthians in a previous letter, one which we no longer have, but this has actually only added to the criticism.

They're saying, "Well look, he's inconsistent. When he's present, he's sort of meek and mild and not all that impressive, and only while he is away and by the distance of a letter does he have the courage to be bold with us."

Evidently, in the minds of some of the Corinthians, being meek and gentle in speech is not an attractive thing. It's not a commendable thing. It shows that he lacks spiritual oomph, spiritual power, true authority. To their minds, it speaks of a fleshly weakness and a lack of supernatural power.

That's what they think and that's what they're saying about him. Notice again how the chapter opens: "I myself, Paul, entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away."

And you'll see there that the accusation against Paul is that he walks according to the flesh. That's what's being said. It doesn't appear to be the case that people are accusing him of being ungodly as such, so much as being weak.

His ministry seems fleshly in the sense that it is devoid of true spiritual power. His oratory is not impressive enough, his presence is not commanding enough, his leadership is not bold enough. That seems to be the nature of the accusation against him.

Against such opponents, Paul wants to remind the Corinthians that the foundation of any meekness or gentleness they may see within him is indeed the meekness and gentleness of Jesus Christ himself. If Paul is meek and gentle in any respect, it is because his Lord and Savior is meek and gentle. Paul approaches the Corinthians as a representative of Jesus Christ and in the spirit of Jesus Christ.

But being marked by the meekness and gentleness of Jesus doesn't mean that Paul's ministry is weak or unspiritual, far from it. Paul is engaged in spiritual warfare as he moves forward the cause of Christ and the work of the kingdom.

And Paul here brings the language of warfare right into the foreground. You'll notice that there. He's not shying away from it because he knows what is going on, he knows what's taking place. He is "waging war," verse 3. He is conscious of the "weapons of his warfare," verse 4, and he is involved in "destroying enemy fortifications" and "taking enemy captives," verse 5.

The language and the imagery here are that of warfare. While Paul may look weak and ineffective to some at Corinth, he is in fact on the very front lines of the spiritual battle. And so now Paul takes us, as it were, on a tour of the battleground of the Christian ministry and of the work of the gospel.

In verses 3 to 6, which are actually the heartbeat of the chapter, he shows us the inner realities and the spiritual dynamics of that warfare. And I want to focus our attention particularly on those verses in our time together today because the insights here on spiritual warfare are so profound and are so enduringly significant for us.

Now we often speak of being engaged in a spiritual battle as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ and do the work of Christian ministry, whether we are full-time vocational leaders within the church, pastors or elders, teachers, or whether we are laity and members of the congregation at large. If we are Christians, we are engaged in the battle.

I think we're all aware of that and we speak of it sometimes, but what does this look like and what is involved? In opening up to us the dynamics of spiritual warfare in the advancement of the kingdom, Paul shows us, first of all, the paradox of the battle, next the power that we have for the battle, and third, the process of the battle.

So that's where we're going: paradox, power, and process. That's a little roadmap. But first then, the paradox of spiritual warfare, verse 3 again: "For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds."

Now Paul picks up here on this idea of being fleshly, an idea that has come from the opponents' charge against him, and on one level he accepts it. "Yes, I am. I'm made up of flesh and bone. I am a human being, weak and ineffective. I'm vulnerable."

"I walk in this world as a creature who has all the same vulnerabilities as anyone else and left to myself I'm unable to do anything." In some ways, there's nothing very remarkable about me.

Remember, Paul was a tentmaker, a bivocational Christian worker. He was subject to economic pressures, environmental pressures, political pressures, social pressures, physical pressures, and he felt all those pressures very keenly.

He speaks of them repeatedly in his letters and we're going to see more about them in 2nd Corinthians. "Yes, I'm weak," says Paul. "My flesh, my physicality is weak." And that is the reality of the Christian person serving the Lord Jesus Christ in the world.

We are weak creatures. We get tired, we get sick, we have physical needs, we have emotional needs. We can get upset and discouraged and sad. We have economic needs and we can face pressure when it comes to resources. We have social needs and we can become isolated, ostracized, or abandoned.

Oh yes, we are weak creatures, there is no doubt about it and Paul does not deny it. But at the same time, we are called to participate in a spiritual battle against powerful forces, and the expectation of the Bible is that we will indeed in the end be victorious.

And verse 4 points us there. It highlights this stunning contrast between our weak physicality and the supernatural spiritual strength that is available to us: "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds."

Now we're going to talk about that divine power in a minute and we're going to think about the weapons that are available to us, but what I want to highlight right here is this paradox between the weakness of our physicality and our creatureliness and the power that the Lord gives us for the battle.

You see, the church of Jesus Christ and the people of Jesus Christ so often look weak in the eyes of the world. And often the servants whom God uses powerfully to advance his cause in the world are unimpressive-looking people, people who are beset by terrible weaknesses.

I simply say that and highlight it for your encouragement and for mine because if you and I are sensible people, we will recognize our weakness and we will feel it keenly. It may be that you are feeling today that you are just too weak to be useful to the Lord.

Your health, it's not robust enough. You're not emotionally strong enough. You're not in a stable enough position financially. You don't have the social gifts that you need to be able to win influence with people. Whatever it is, you feel weak and you may think that that is a barrier to being useful to the Lord Jesus Christ.

But the thing we need to recognize and remember is that the weapons for our warfare and the power for our warfare are not fleshly. That is, they are not the normal powers and the normal weapons that our world looks to to fight battles and to win wars.

Our world looks to popularity and physical strength. It looks to financial resources, a full bank account. Our world today looks to a slick social media presence, to a tally of so-called friends and followers online. Our world loves influencers who place their confidence in the things of the flesh.

But most people who make a difference for the cause of Christ and for the kingdom of God would not tick the boxes of impressiveness or influence or power in our world. But the Lord, he operates according to different means and different methods.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths, and a message called The Dynamics of Spiritual Warfare. It's part of our series Strength and Weakness, and we'll get back to this look at 2nd Corinthians 4 in just a moment.

But we'd like to extend a special invitation to all our listeners in the Greater Toronto Area. On Monday evening, October 19th, Jonathan will be hosting a special event for listeners at Tyndale University in Toronto. You can get more information at our website, encounterthetruth.org.

Enjoy a warm evening of fellowship with other Encounter the Truth listeners, get encouragement in your walk with Christ, and learn more about the reach and impact of the ministry. That's Monday evening, October 19th at Tyndale University in Toronto. Again, get all the details and register at encounterthetruth.org. Back to the message, here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: But most people who make a difference for the cause of Christ and for the kingdom of God would not tick the boxes of impressiveness or influence or power in our world. But the Lord, he operates according to different means and different methods.

I think of some of the great Christian leaders of history, of recent memory but still of a former generation. I think of the evangelist Billy Graham. I find it very interesting to consider Billy and his influence, which was absolutely immense of course.

I guess no preacher in world history had had such a wide influence as Billy before his time. He spoke to millions and millions of people in countries all around the globe. Billy Graham grew up on a farm in the south, his rhetoric was not polished in the sense that some might speak of polish.

Those who knew Billy would say that his most notable characteristic was his humility. He was markedly humble and unassuming in his demeanor. I love the title of his autobiography, which I have on my shelf. It's called Just As I Am. Some of you will have read that.

A title of course taken from the hymn he loved to use in his crusades, Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me. Humble, unassuming, not a polished intellectual, but used mightily of the Lord.

I came across a picture just this week of the opening of the Billy Graham library which was established in his honor in 2007, and the photo caught my attention because it showed Billy Graham at the podium at the front and then a number of people seated behind him on the platform.

And I thought I saw in the picture, and I looked it up afterward, I thought I saw in the picture George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. And they were there. That's a lot of presidents coming to honor a boy from the farm, an evangelist, a preacher of the gospel.

But you see, that's what the Lord was pleased to do. Well, that was Billy Graham. Or going back a few generations further, we might think of C.H. Spurgeon, probably before Billy the most influential preacher in the history of the English language.

Spurgeon was pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, which regularly had 5,000 attendees throughout his ministry during the 19th century. When Spurgeon died in France and his body was brought back to London, I gather that 100,000 people lined the streets of London to pay their respects.

Spurgeon was by all accounts something of a depressive. He wrote of his fainting fits in ministry when bouts of melancholy and discouragement would more or less overwhelm him quite regularly. This is Spurgeon in his own words and I quote:

"I am the subject of depression so fearful that I hope none of you ever get to such extremes of wretchedness as I go to. But I always get back again by this: I know that I trust Christ. I have no reliance but in him, and if he falls, I shall fall with him. But if he does not, I shall not. Because he lives, I shall live also. And I spring to my legs again and fight with my depressions of spirit and I get the victory through it."

In addition to his depression, Spurgeon suffered from increasingly poor health and he died young. He was subject to opposition in his day, even from those who should have been supporting him, and yet his influence was profound and incalculable.

But the secret of his strength was not fleshly, it was spiritual. Now that's Spurgeon in his day: weak in the flesh, mighty by divine strength. And we could survey church history and find story after story after story of the work of individuals, of missionaries, of ministries, of churches where the Lord has taken very ordinary people with very real weaknesses and frailties and he has done extraordinary things for the kingdom.

And what we learn and what we discover is that the Lord delights in using the weak and the unimpressive things of this world to release his power and to show his greatness and to win his battles. And that, friends, is the paradox of spiritual warfare, of the work of the gospel, of the progress of the kingdom.

Now if that's the paradox of spiritual warfare, we now turn to the power for spiritual warfare and it's verse 4 again: "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ."

I read in the news this week that the city of Toronto is facing a challenge in that its power transmission lines which bring in electricity from outside the city to its heaving downtown core, they are soon to be overwhelmed by the demand for power.

Power comes in from a large nuclear plant in the east and from the Niagara Falls in the west, but within a few short years, the transmission lines will be incapable of meeting the demand of the city. And a new plan is needed quite urgently to address the need.

Now you think of a great city like Toronto, one of North America's largest, and you think of the great towers in the city center and the buzz of activity taking place within them, all the people who live there, all the people who conduct their business there. Toronto is the financial engine of Canada, a great hub of global commerce and innovation.

But hearing about the power transmission lines and that vulnerability and so on, it reminded me that this great city is in and of itself powerless. That is, it generates none of its own power from within. Without these few flimsy wires, as it were, bringing in electricity from outside, the city would fall silent and its towers would go dark.

That actually happened once, by the way. You may remember the summer of 2003 when the power grid across much of the northeast of North America failed completely, and the great cities of the northeast, including Toronto, fell into darkness.

I remember it because I was working a summer job at a law firm downtown as a university student, and I remember that afternoon the city going completely dark, drained of all power, traffic lights failing, gridlock everywhere, elevators and subway cars stuck mid-journey, the whole bit.

See, from gleaming towers to ramshackle warehouses, from luxurious mansions to humble dwellings, all alike had no power of their own and they fell into darkness. But the point for the moment is this: the power comes from outside and not from within.

And the same is true for the Christian believer. Whether we look impressive or unimpressive to others, whether we appear strong or suffer from marked limitations of physicality or mental strength, whether we have much or little by way of the world's goods, the fundamental reality for every believer is this: our power comes from outside, from elsewhere.

Our power, to put it in another way, is not fleshly but is rather divine in its origin. Now the image here, as mentioned already, is clearly that of warfare. Verse 4: "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but we have divine power to destroy strongholds."

One of our children once had the opportunity to go to the police headquarters downtown and to be taken into the basement to see some of the armory and the weapons that are available for police operations, some of the very powerful guns that can be used for serious situations or high-security events.

In various museums we've visited over the years in different cities, we've had the opportunity to look at ancient weaponry and the armaments that have been used to wage war. I think of the display in the Smithsonian in Washington or the Imperial War Museum in London or our own Canadian War Museum here.

Displays where you can, as it were, step into the armory and look at the weapons of war through the ages: shields, swords, spears, firearms, tanks, rockets, all the rest. Now Paul here in this passage, he doesn't take us into the armory...