THIS LIFE, A CONTINUAL, SUPERNATURAL CONTENTION

The Apostle Paul tells us plainly

That this Life is a Continual, Supernatural Contention. Listen:

For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood--

Contending only with physical opponents--

But against the Despotisms, against the Powers,

Against the [master spirits who are]

THE WORLD RULERS OF THIS PRESENT DARKNESS,

Against the spirit Forces of Wickedness

In the heavenly (supernatural) Sphere.

(Ephesians 6:12, AMP)

What is our purpose in this World?

It is the same as Christ Jesus gave to the Apostle Paul:

To open the eyes of those who do not believe,

That they may turn from Darkness to the Light of Christ Jesus

And from the Power of Satan to God,

So that they may thus receive Forgiveness

And Release from their Sins

And a Place and Portion among those

Who are Consecrated and Purified by Faith in Christ Jesus. [Isa. 42:7, 16.]

(Acts 26:18, AMP)

How do we Contend:

Be Strong in the Lord and in His Mighty Power.

Put on the Full armor of God,

So that when the Day of evil comes,

You may be able to stand your ground,

And after you have done everything, to stand.

Stand Firm then,

With the Belt of Truth buckled around your waist,

With the Breastplate of Righteousness in place,

And with your feet fitted with the readiness

That comes from the Gospel of Peace.

In addition to all this,

take up the Shield of Faith,

With which you can extinguish all the Flaming Arrows of the Evil One.

Take the Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit,

Which is the Word of God.

And Pray in the Spirit on all occasions

With all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind,

Be alert and always keep on praying for all the Saints.

(Ephesians 6:10-18)

Now every athlete who goes into training

Conducts himself temperately

And restricts himself in all things,

They do it to win a wreath that will soon wither,

But we [do it to receive a crown of Eternal Blessedness]

That cannot wither.

Therefore I do not run uncertainly—without definite aim.

I do not box as one beating the air and striking without an adversary.

But [like a boxer] I buffet my body--

Handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships--and subdue it,

For Fear that after Proclaiming to others the Gospel

And things pertaining to it,

I myself should become unfit--

Not stand the Test and be Unapproved—

And rejected [as a Counterfeit].

(1 Corinthians 9:25-27, AMP)

What is God's Purpose for His Church?

[The Purpose is] That through the Church

The Complicated, many-sided Wisdom of God

In all its Infinite Variety and Innumerable aspects

Might now be made know

To the Angelic Rulers and Authorities

(Principalities and powers) in the heavenly Sphere.

(Ephesians 3:10, AMP)

We who have been brought from Death to Life in Christ.

And you [He made alive],

When you were Dead [slain] by [your] Trespasses and Sins

In which at one time your walked habitually.

YOU WERE FOLLOWING THE COURSE AND FASHION OF THIS WORLD--

Were under the Sway of the Tendency of this Present Age--

FOLLOWING THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR.

(You were Obedient to him and were Under his Control,

THE DEMON SPIRIT THAT STILL CONSTANTLY WORKS

IN THE SONS OF DISOBEDIENCE--

The Careless, the Rebellious and the Unbelieving,

WHO GO AGAINST THE PURPOSES OF GOD.

(Ephesians 2:1, 2, AMP)

What makes our Contention against Evil more Difficult?

It is because Satan, and the Whole World

That is Obedient to him, Masquerades as angels of light.

(2 Corinthians 11:13, 14)