A Recap of Part 1
The eruption of jihadi-Islamism challenges our understanding of spiritual warfare. We would do well to analyze societies in terms of Paul’s powers and principalities. We “interpret the powers in a two-fold way, i.e. the principalities are regarded as both the socio-political structures of human society and the unseen spiritual forces lying behind these structures.”
The foundation of culture is a mixture of common grace and common curse. Every society shares a world-view which is endorsed by a functional deity [a “god’], an enforced ethic [a “good”], and a common expectation [a “goal”] which combine to give societal identity and cohesion. In God’s common grace, because men are yet God’s image, every society will have values which are actually good and beneficial. But, because men are fallen and commonly cursed, every society will also simultaneously tolerate and even advocate perversions of common goodness and justify what Scripture condemns.
The Courts of Culture
It is in this matter of justifying and condemning that we especially encounter the powers and principalities which operate in societal structures to formulate societal norms. At this point we are particularly concerned with matters related to the fifth commandment and the exercise of authority. Society’s ‘god,’ ‘good,’ and ‘goals’ are enforced by the various social structures which act like “courts,” claiming the right to judge us with authority. Our private court of conscience [Romans 2:15] is pressed upon by the judgments formed by the family, the church, government policies, the judiciary, the educational system, the media, as well as the court of common opinion. All these influences, and more, make up the climate of our culture, the zeitgeist or “spirit of the age” which we inevitably breath into our moral lungs and which is exhaled as we form moral judgments. Our judgments are then judged by others, often according to accepted social norms. Those norms are part of the world-view extant in society. In that all “this-age” societies are to some extent, idolatrous and infected with the doctrines of demons [1 Timothy 4:1ff], it is in this matter of authority and judgment that we especially encounter the pressure of the powers and principalities.
The Christian will always be counter-cultural regardless of the society in which s/he lives. The seductive cultures of the Babylonian Harlot are just as spiritually lethal to believers as the “theocratic” cultures in which the Beasts of Statism and False Religion unite to persecute Christians. In every society, Christians are, to varying degrees, aliens and strangers [1 Peter 2:11], in the wilderness of this age, en route to the Promised Land of our eternal Sabbath Rest [see Hebrews 3-4].
The Clash of Culture and the Kingdom
Sooner or later, our alien strangeness will clash with the norms and expectations of society’s authorities. Why? Because the accuser of the brethren [Revelation 12:10] and his demons infiltrate and influence men’s societal structures. The fallen powers employ the societal mechanisms to judge and condemn us, in an attempt to either get us to compromise or apostatize. Why? Because we serve the One whose has been given supreme authority in heaven and earth [Matthew 28:18]. Christ’s cross and resurrection is that bruised heel which crushes the serpent’s head [Genesis 3:15]. Christ’s exaltation to the throne of God marks the defeat of Satan and his kingdom of darkness. The Church is a testimony against the god of this age, evidencing that Satan is a conquered foe. We are a prophetic sign-post, pointing to the present vanity and future failure of every “this-age” society. Our prioritizing of His Kingdom and our worship of Christ is therefore interpreted as defamation against the societal deity. Our obedience to Christ is interpreted as a violation against cultural norms. Our hope of Christ’s return is seen as subversive of the goals which give cohesion to culture. In the clash of culture and Christ’s Kingdom, our conscience gives allegiance to Christ Jesus our King, and in so doing, we condemn the lesser authorities operative in fallen societies. Whose judgment prevails? Whose vindication is right? Whose condemnation is just?
We live in our culture as subjects of King Jesus, as citizens of His transcendent and supreme monarchy. At those points in which our culture conforms to common grace “goodness,” we can participate in culture with a good conscience. At those points at which our culture perverts common grace or even promotes blasphemous idolatry, then we are conscience-bound to serve King Jesus [Acts 4:17-20]. It is here that the principalities will oppose us, often using societal structures, and attempt to intimidate us into compliance. We are called to withstand the pressure to conform, and with renewed minds, to pursue a life of obedient faith in Christ [Romans 12:1-2].
Condemned by Culture but Justified by Christ
It is here that the blessing of our justification is so precious. Having explained the cross as where Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities, Paul enjoins us, therefore, let no one act as your judge… [Colossians 2:15-16]. Likewise, in Romans 8:33-34, Paul asks, Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? We are liable to be condemned in any number of culture’s courts. But if we are judged in the lesser courts of public opinion or even man’s legal courts, we must never forget that we stand united to Christ and are justified in the ultimate court of God. Who can condemn us?
Declaring and Demonstrating that Jesus is Lord
It is also here that we must appreciate the importance of New Covenant worship. By our worship we declare and demonstrate that Jesus is Lord. We worship Him who is exalted above all rulers and authorities, visible and invisible; whose name is above every name [Colossians 1:15-18; Ephesians 1:20-23]. We worship the resurrected and enthroned Jesus who is worthy of all blessing, and honor, and glory and dominion forever and ever [Revelation 5:13]. We testify to all lesser courts and their rulers and powers, that Jesus is supreme over all of them and that they will soon bow their knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord as well [Philippians 2:9-11]. It is as we uphold New Covenant worship that the manifold wisdom of God [is] now [being] made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places [Ephesians 3:10].2 With boldness and confident access through faith in Him [Ephesians 3:12], we display the supremacy of Jesus’ name over all rival deities, rulers, and authorities – come what may.
Discerning the Powers
The horror of the Holocaust occasioned a fresh appreciation for Paul’s treatment of the powers and principalities in the mid-twentieth century. Similarly, the shocking impact of ISIS, with its explicit theological rationalizations, is giving us the opportunity to interpret them in terms of the powers and principalities, and to consider how we are all vulnerable to idolatry and demonic deception, even in the West. We need to discern how the spiritual forces of darkness infiltrate and manipulate societal structures to deceive men with false gods, immoral ethics, and deceptive promises of what will never be. As we live in obedience to King Jesus, we will inevitably go against the grain of cultural norms, even in those cultures where common grace thrives to some degree. When we encounter society’s reprimands, we can rejoice knowing that we are justified in the highest court there is: God’s court! In the joy of our salvation, we must continue to manifest our discipleship to Jesus as worshiping communities which declare and demonstrate that Jesus has supreme authority over all lesser authorities. In the midst of the powers and the principalities, we make manifest the wisdom of God and herald the good news that Jesus is Lord! Now, more than ever, let us live as subjects of King Jesus, showing forth the eternal supremacy of His Kingdom and grace.
Notes:
1 Peter O’Brien, “Principalities and Powers,” in Biblical Interpretation and the Church (ed. D.A. Carson, Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2002), 122. John’s Revelation gives credence to this interpretation. Revelation 12 interprets the entirety of human history in terms of Genesis 3:15. The Dragon, Satan, persecutes the seed of the woman and is then seen orchestrating the movements of the two Beasts [the State and false Religion], coordinating the persecution of the seed of the woman with the Babylonian Harlot: the cultural city of secular sensuality. These are apocalyptical depictions of societal structures which are energized and employed by Satan. We recall Gabriel’s explanation to Daniel of how his prayers were interconnected with the movements of angels and demons in Daniel 10. Many perceive Satan to be the one addressed in Ezekiel 28 as the prophet speaks to the King of Tyre. In Psalm 82, Asaph indicts human judges and rulers while calling them elohim [“gods”].
2 “Ephesians 3:10 assigns a lofty and cosmic role to the church. It is the channel by which God’s wisdom is demonstrated “to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” As before, “heavenly realms” points not so much to a place as to a spiritual reality, the reality beyond what we can see. This description of the church’s role has no equivalent elsewhere in Paul or in the New Testament.” Kyle Snodgrass, Ephesians: The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 163.