In Acts 26, the Apostle Paul recounted his initial encounter with the living Lord Jesus. Through this encounter, Paul’s worldview was shaped. Instead of persecuting the Lord Himself by persecuting His holy ones, Paul was called to bring the nations to the Lord and add to the number of believers. He shared how Jesus told him that He would rescue Paul from his own people and the Gentiles. Paul was being sent to “…turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18 NIV)
The theme of turning people from the power of Satan to God was evident in Paul’s messages recorded in Acts and in his letters. For example, in Acts 17:29-30, he told the people of Athens that God had overlooked the nations’ participation in idol worship. They were to repent and turn to the true God. Also, in Colossians 1:13-14, he laid it out clearly: “…[The Lord] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness…”
Having no fear is not because the enemy doesn’t exist or doesn't function, but because we also hold a position of victory over him.
In our day in the West, such a statement doesn’t have much weight. The focus of our rescuing is about not going to hell after death. The worldview of the Colossians, as well as most of the non-Western world today, was that the spirit was highly active in everyday life. They lived in fear of the alignment of the stars and the work of the magician (witch doctor, sorcerer, wizard, shaman, fetish priest, etc., are all of the same source of power). To combat these things, they turned to these priests or magicians to try and appease the spirits. In essence, they used magic to fight magic.
Through the first two chapters, Paul explains to the Colossians that they did not need to fear the forces of darkness. He showed how Jesus was supreme and even created these beings they feared. He triumphed over them on the cross. By faith in the Lord Jesus, they were no longer in the kingdom of darkness and instead were in the kingdom of light. Therefore, they could live in peace and not live in fear. Notice, though, that Paul did not say that the kingdom of darkness didn’t really exist or was completely vanquished. The realm of darkness was still present, but the Colossians no longer needed to live by its rules. In Jesus, they were now in a place of victory.
For the believer today, the spirits do not need to be feared. Having no fear is not because the enemy doesn’t exist or doesn’t function, but because we also hold a position of victory over him. In Ephesians 2:6, Paul notes that we are seated in Christ, above the heavenly rulers. The believers are not to be fearful, nor are we to be passive. Instead, we must be alert and resist the enemy in the power of Christ and stand firm in faith (1 Peter 5:8-9). We must continue to bring people into His kingdom, which may mean a direct confrontation with the forces of darkness. We need not fear because they are a defeated foe.
Finally, although the kingdom of darkness still causes suffering, the faithful don’t need to fear being separated from God (Rom. 8:35-39). The attitude of a pastor from a persecuted country says it best: “God will provide. And even if He doesn’t, I get to be with Him” (Rich Griffith, “Global Action: Raising up Pastors to Shepherd Their Flocks,” Voice of the Martyr’s Radio). In the face of death, he was going to be loyal to the Almighty God. The pastor knew that he was rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light. I encourage each believer to have the same confidence and join in the effort of bringing the nations to the kingdom of light and delivering them from the power of Satan.
Photo credit: Qui MinFeng on Unsplash
