#8 What's a Christian
 

Greater Is He That Is In You
 

Christ. . .is the head over every power and authority.
(Colossians 2:10)
 

    There were teachers coming into Colosse who suggested that if God is Spirit (which is good) and man is matter (which is evil), the only way God and man could relate would be by all kinds of intermediaries between God and man so that, slowly and insidiously, it would be possible to construct a bridge.
    Paul says, in effort, "OK, lets assume that there are all kinds of powers and authorities, all kinds of things out there we don't understand. There is one thing you need to know: Whatever and whoever they are, Christ is in control. He is head over every power and authority.@
  Paul didn't go in for all the magical stuff that many of his contemporaries were into, but he did realize there were supernatural things going on all around him which he couldn't see. He didn't buy into all the elaborate spiritual hierarchies that many pagans talked about, but he did preach about Christians being in a real battle with real evil spirits. He wasn't afraid of them, but neither did he play with them.
    Some people ignore any thought of spiritual dynamics in our world. They rush headlong into all kinds of things that may have demonic connections. They scamper impulsively into things which not infrequently are rooted in the occult. Even Christians are so careless today that they play around in these things and don't seem to understand that they are very, very vulnerable when they do.
    We must understand that we are rooted in Christ, the one in whom all fullness is found. He is in control of those things. If we keep our eyes on him, we'll know victory over whatever powers come against us.
    But we'll only share in that victory if we're full. Half-starved Christians who refuse to feast on Christ's bounty make poor soldiers against the demons of hell.
    What can you do to be a better soldier in the spiritual battles that go on around you?
 

~Stuart Briscoe~