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The Enemy

Isaiah 66:5

Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word: “Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for my name’s sake have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy’; but it is they who shall be put to shame.

Who is it that says “Let the Lord be glorified”? It is not the ones who hear the Word and tremble, it is the ones that hate them and cast them out for HIS NAME’S sake. Just because a thing sounds right does not mean it has come to us by faith. We might see a tiny hint of pride in that comment when they concern themselves with what they see. (that we may see)

1 Peter 5:6

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

We must be under the mighty hand of God in order to be lifted up by it. 

Romans 11:20

That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.

So where does the issue of the enemy come into play here?

Isaiah 66:6

“The sound of an uproar from the city! A sound from the temple! The sound of the Lord, rendering recompense to his enemies!

Yes, but when?

1 Thessalonians 4:16

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

  • Revelation 11:12
    Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.
    Revelation 12:10
    And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

Chosen

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Who is Peter calling a chosen race?

His opening address tells us “To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia”. This gives us a sense of Peter talking to some other race of people and not to us today. If we read all the translations we might get a better sense of what an “elect exile” really means.

These people were scattered in much the same way that the sower scatters the seeds of the gospel. Elect because they carry with them the seeds of hope given to them to share wherever they go on their sojourn. 

In that sense, it is all of us who have been called out of darkness and into the light.

So many times in these epistles to past generations it feels like the words are not meant for us, but they are meant for us. We are no different than they were because we all belong to Christ.

Galatians 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

There is no male nor female is a drastic vision of oneness because it takes away a very personal part of our identity as partners in life. It is difficult to conceive a life without gender identity. No, not to worry, I am not going there.

But race is another issue that has come down from generation to generation as a reason to separate ourselves from others. Whole communities have been set up in large cities with ethnic pride. Chinatown, Little Italy are the most recognizable but there are others.

If we are all truly one with Christ, the same, then recognize that the enemy will use every issue as a source of division to keep us from being united. Hate and mistrust is easier to spread than love. If I were to add one more separatist term to Galatians 3:28 I would like to make it “neither rich nor poor”.

The enemy of Christ will use anything to pull us apart.