ENGR EMMANUEL ALOZIE NWAEZE
we wrestle
THE SUPREME GOD... SECTION 2
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rules of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places ( Eph 6:12).
The word ‘wrestle’ is derived from the word ‘pale’ which in a wide sense refers to
>Struggling
>Hand to hand fighting
>Extreme violence in a fight
>Hazardous and deadly
>Brutal and barbaric fighting
>A fight with no guiding rule (unlike boxing)
>A fight with rounds
>It is ‘fight’ or ‘perish’
>It is a thoroughly violent sport
>You can smash your forehead against the opponent’s nose
>You can throw him up in the air and break the backbone
>It is quite normal to strangle your opponent
>It is part of the game to choke your opponent
>If you can break his bone, go ahead
>You can as well, kick the opponent
>It is this expression that Apostle Paul used to describe our conflict with unseen demonic forces marshaled against us for our destruction.
>No wonder the ancient hymn writer says, ‘Christian seek not yet repose’. It is a bitter struggle and >an intense conflict. The fight goes on until one of the two surrenders or dies in the fight.
>What are the implications?
>The devil has no mercy.
>When fighting demonic powers, there are no guiding rules.
>There is no decent or civilized manner of fighting demonic powers.
>If demonic powers are fighting, anything goes.
>If demonic powers are fighting, all methods of attack which may be lethal are legal.
>When fighting demonic powers, there is no umpire to cry ‘foul.’
>The winner has to be the meanest and the toughest.
THE LORD IS A MAN OF WAR
Exodus 15:3; “THE LORD IS A MAN OF WAR: the Lord is his name.”
1 Samuel 17:45; “Then said David to the philistine, Thou comets to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”
Isaiah 47:4; “As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.”
Our Lord is a righteous warrior. He is skillful and expert. He understands all strategies and policies of the enemy. He is a mighty and terrible warrior. He can employ inanimate creatures to terrify and destroy the enemy. He is a victorious and prevailing warrior.