LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Battle of Faith
"Beloved, because of the great solicitude I had to write to you concerning our common salvation, it has been necessary for me to write to you, exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3).
In this common salvation which we believers enjoy, we are exhorted to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to us. The object of our faith is Christ. In him, in the power of his might, we are to contend earnestly. There is a permanent warfare for those of us who are Christ's, for our faith is resisted, and we cannot remain passive.
Having been saved by faith in the Lord Jesus, our spiritual eyes have been opened. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, prays that the Father would give them "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, enlightening the eyes of your understanding..." (Eph. 1:17-18). We cannot see Christ if God does not open our eyes.
The Father grants the grace to see his Son in fullness: to see him on the cross triumphing over death, over the world and over the devil; to see him ascended to heaven victorious, crowned with honor and glory. We need to be enlightened, we need the touch of God in our eyes. When we see Christ in his finished work and in his glory, we can live a victorious life. In the difficulties, in the trials we face daily, we will go from victory to victory, because God has given us everything in Christ Jesus our Lord.
"...the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine on them" (2 Cor. 4:4). The enemy of our faith not only blinds unbelievers, but also tries to obscure the faith of those who believe. The god of this age governs the society and the system of this world, and wants to trap us in its current, wants to entertain us so that we are passive or busy in many pursuits that divert us from the purpose for which we have been called.
As our eyes are enlightened, we are affirmed in the victory of the Lord, and the enemy loses ground. That is why he opposes us. Hence that permanent battle, that contest for the faith. The adversary does not attack openly, but through very subtle maneuvers. He does not tell us to follow him. No, that would be too obvious. He suggests that we act independently, that we make our own decisions, that we follow our own ways and not God's way. In essence, that we do not obey God first.
God's word enlightens us, it is a lamp to our feet. "It is written", it is the effective weapon to silence every whisper of the evil one. To him who would entrap us in his snares, we can declare this truth: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). "Christ in us" is undoubtedly the guarantee of victory and "the hope of glory".