Tuesday, December 9, 2008

The weapons of our warfare

AELW 8:238

Genesis 49:10
10. The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until Shiloh comes;
and to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples
.

AELW 8:244

"it is our duty to inculcate these matters diligently and to heed this striking difference between the kingdom of Christ and that of others, even David’s. For this is what Jacob means: “The kingdom of my son David, which cannot be administered without the sword and arms, will not endure; but the kingdom of שִׁילֹה will follow, and it will be governed by the Word alone.” Thus Christ says: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). For that Word is most powerful. It is able to save from the hands of death and the devil as well as from the power of hell, and to translate into the kingdom of God. To this king, then, the nations shall listen; that is, they will be ruled by the Word. The work will be done through preaching. This will be the mark distinguishing the kingdom of Christ from the empires of the world, which are ruled by the sword and physical might. “The weapons of our warfare,” says Paul, “are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4). “I absolve you; I baptize you; I declare you to be a child of the kingdom; I announce to you the remission of sins; I promise and offer you victory over the devil. Believe, and you will be saved.”

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