Fighting the Powers: Mentoring as Spiritual Warfare, Part I - "Who are the Powers?"

Intro:

In my next few posts, I will attempt a formidable feat. My plan is to broach several complex and often confusing subjects for the purpose of making one succinct point. (Notice I said "attempt.") I am not entirely sure I will succeed. Should I fall short of my goal however, I am confident that a sufficient number of writers and thinkers read this blog to provide a constructive critique salvaging the heart of the point I wish to make. (Notice I said "constructive.") :-)

As is evident from the title, I intend to discuss the "powers," mentoring, and spiritual warfare. What do these three subjects have in common? Seemingly little, I admit. Nevertheless, I believe there is an important intersection that I hope to shed some light on in this series.

I am not sure just yet how many parts I will need to connect my thoughts into one point. I am only sure that to start, I'd like to briefly survey the New Testament data on the "powers" and discuss them in order to lay a foundation upon which I will build my argument. And the argument I want to make is that Christian mentoring of at-risk/high-risk youth is spiritual warfare.

The Biblical Data and Deductions:

The New Testament refers to the "powers" [edit] six times: Rom. 8.38; Eph. 3.10; Eph. 6.12; Col. 1.16; Col. 2.15; and I Pet. 3.22. Five of the six passages were written by Paul. The sixth passage was written by Peter. Although these passages discuss the powers only briefly, a great deal about who or what are the powers can still be deduced.

The powers are often discussed in very important contexts. For example, they are discussed in the same context as Jesus' work on the cross and also the love of God. If the apostles Peter and Paul believed the powers noteworthy enough to mention them alongside these subjects, I think it is safe to say they should be important to us as well.

Examining each passage, I will now make several deductions about who or what are the powers.

(1) "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,* neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Rom. 8.38-39 NIV (*or heavenly rulers)

In this first passage, the powers are listed among other parts of creation that Paul forcefully teaches cannot separate believers from the love of God in Christ. Regarding the powers, we can deduce at least a couple things from this passage. First, the powers are part of creation, i.e. created by God. After listing the powers, Paul says, "...nor anything else in all creation." So the powers are a part of creation. Second, the powers do control some thing(s). Paul's point here is that whatever the powers are, they cannot separate believers from God's love in Christ. However, it is equally clear that this means whatever the powers are, they do have some power--even if it is not sufficient to separate believers from God's love in Christ.

(2) "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Eph. 3.10-11 NIV

In this passage, Paul teaches us something else about the powers, this time in relation to the church. Here we see that at least part of the purpose for the church is to reveal God's manifold wisdom to not only all humanity, but even to fallen spirit-beings in the seldom-seen spiritual realm.

(3) "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore 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." - Eph. 6.11-13 NIV

Now from this passage we gain a great deal more insight into the identity and purpose of the powers. Paul explicitly states that believers are to fight the powers. The powers are a believer's true enemy--not any other human beings. This is a very important truth. Furthermore, Paul here places the powers alongside several others against which believers are to war including: rulers, authorities, and spiritual forces of evil. Categorized with company like these, it is clear why the powers are one of our true enemies.

(4) "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." - Col. 1.15-17 NIV

In this passage about the preeminence of Christ, the powers are again listed among other parts of creation. In this passage, Paul teaches that not only are the powers a part of creation, Christ created them for himself. The powers were created to serve Christ.

(5) "having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." - Col. 2.14-16 NIV

Now were getting somewhere! In this passage, we find the powers referenced again. However, this time, they are not just mentioned as a part of creation, even as created to serve Christ. Nor are we merely taught they are our enemies. Here, Paul teaches us that the work of Christ on the cross had an impact on the powers--a profound impact! This passage shows us clearly that at least one reason why Jesus gave his life was to defeat the powers. Jesus' self-sacrifice is here describes as warfare. In his act of dying, his seeming defeat, Jesus actually "triumphed" over these powers. In fact, he robbed them of their power and humiliated them. These are profound and fundamental truths.

It is also important to note that while some passages mention the powers neutrally as part of creation, even created to serve Christ, other passages (like this one) depict the powers as opposing God in rebellion. Regardless of the fact the powers are part of God's creation (which he deemed "very good" - Gen. 1.31), they have gone very wrong. They have rebelled against their purpose--to serve Christ--and instead oppose Christ. Therefore, it can be clearly deduced from their categorization with rulers and authorities (implying deliberative thought), and also from their description as opposing God (implying free will), that the powers are personal beings possessing mind and will. The powers are not impersonal forces, laws, or principles.

(6) "and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him." - I Pet. 3.21-22 NIV

We read the last reference to the powers on the tail-end of this dense passage in which Peter brings up several subjects that I won't be discussing. This time, the reference to the powers is eschatological. In the 'already' Kingdom of God, the powers are here depicted as in submission to Jesus Christ though in the 'not yet' kingdom of the world the powers continue to exert tremendous influence. Nevertheless, this is yet another profound teaching that perfectly compliments the Paul's teaching of Christ's victory on the cross in Colossians 2.

Some Conclusions from the Data:

So, by now, we can see that these five passages teach us a great deal about the powers. Here's a summary of some conclusions we can draw:

The powers...

• are a part of creation (Rom. 8.38-39)

• cannot separate believers from the love of God in Christ (Rom. 8.38-39)

• have power/control over some thing(s) (Rom. 8.38-39)

• have God's manifold wisdom revealed to them by the church (Eph. 3.10-11)

• are believers' true enemies (Eph. 6.11-13)

• are categorized with rulers, authorities, and forces of darkness (Eph. 6.11-13)

• were created to serve Christ (Col. 1.15-17)

• are in rebellion against God, oppose God (Col. 2.14-16)

• were defeated by the self-sacrifice of Jesus (Col. 2.14-16)

• were stripped of their power by the self-sacrifice of Jesus (Col. 2.14-16)

• were humiliated by the self-sacrifice of Jesus (Col. 2.14-16)

• are eschatologically in submission to Jesus (I Pet. 3.21-22)

From these conclusions, we can begin to see a plot or story line develop. We know the powers are a part of God's creation which he called "very good." Since the powers are depicted as disarmed and triumphed over by the self-sacrifice of Christ on the cross, it is clear that at some point the powers turned from their original state choosing instead to rebel against God. The powers are also categorized with rulers, authorities, and forces of darkness. Paul exhorts us to war against them as our true enemies. And we also see that in the eschaton the powers will ultimately come into submission to Christ. Because we live in that precarious "already but not yet" reality, the powers are both defeated yet still warring against God. The self-sacrifice of Christ signaled the beginning of the end for the powers' reign of terror, but until all is put to rights in the eschaton, we, God's Kingdom people, are called to wage war on the powers until Christ returns.

Now that a basic understanding of the New Testament's data on the powers has been surveyed even if only briefly, we can now start to entertain strategies for precisely how believers are to engage in warfare against these powers. It is from here that I wish to submit my thesis that one of, if not the most, effective of strategies for waging war on the powers is by serving at-risk/high-risk youth as a mentor. However, before I can make this assertion, I feel I must also establish a connection between the powers and at-risk/high-risk youth. Therefore, in my next post, I will detail much of the biblical data explaining what it is the powers do, and are doing. I will attempt to show that at-risk/high-risk youth in cities of our nation (and the world's) are some of the powers' most impacted victims. From there, I will then have warrant for proposing that mentoring these youth is God-glorifying, Christ-following, Kingdom warfare against the powers.