Who Are We: Part 3 — Victims of Victors?
If you have been keeping up with these posts, you are wondering: “what does all this have to do with the wrath of God?” For me, to understand at a deeper level the wrath that I deserve – His judgment, condemnation, and punishment – I need to understand why I do what I do and the consequences of living in the kingdom of the world. Then I can begin to see more clearly how holy God really is and how much He must love me to die on the cross in my place. So, onward.
I have broken this post into 5 short chapters. Think of it as a short book.
Chapter 1: “You Were Not Willing”
Living in a fallen world, surrounded by evil, takes a terrible toll on human beings. One of the most tragic consequences of life in the kingdom of the world is how human beings devalue and abuse each other, especially children. This abuse occurs within a spiritual context of a spirit of rejection and shame — I call it a victim spirit — that human beings, apart from life in the Kingdom of God, carry as a result of the fall. All of us have experienced abuse. For some this has been sexual, physical, or emotional abuse. For others, it has come in the form of abandonment by a parent, rejection by a spouse, loss of a job, or other forms of devaluing.
The abuse or devaluing that has the largest, life-long impact is what we experience as small children. This is often devastating to young lives, breaking their hearts, driving them deep into isolation and distrust, and crippling their souls so that they cannot receive love as they grow. At a very early age, satan exploits this woundedness and implants lies into these hearts that can remain with them for their entire lives, even generations: “you are not good enough, you are helpless, and your situation is hopeless”. Sadly, almost all of us carry one or more of these lies in our hearts, even as adults.
It is within the context of this devaluing, rejection, and these lies that most people, especially children and young adults, begin to look for value and acceptance in the tantalizing options provided by satan in the kingdom of the world. These choices separate us from God, place us under the control of satan, and can ultimately draw us into a kind of life I can only describe as ‘hell on earth’ — a life of desolation. This is a life lived under the ‘wrath of God’. Not that God is punishing us — He weeps for those living in this life. But in this life we have rejected Him, His power, and protection. As Jesus approached Jerusalem near the end of His ministry He wept:
“As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city He wept. “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes”” (Luke 19: 41 NIV); and in Matthew “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23: 37, 38 NIV).
“You were not willing“! We live in desolation, which is life in the kingdom of the world (see part 2 of this series ‘Who Are We’), when we choose to find our value in the world rather than in Jesus. We choose separation from God — at the time most don’t realize what they are doing, especially children — and as a result God becomes distant from us, although always desiring that we return to Him. We have been deceived. We are drawn deeper into life in the kingdom of the world, a life separated from God. This life is the physical, tangible manifestation of the wrath of God. I have written extensively on the Kingdom of God, but little on the kingdom of the world. I now see that to understand the wrath of God, I need to know more about the kingdom of the world.
Chapter 2: The kingdom of the world
In Luke 4: 6, 7 satan, tempting Jesus in the desert, leads Him up to a high place. Here are Luke’s words:
“The devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to Him “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if You worship me, it will all be yours“” (NIV).
Was satan lying? Authority over the kingdom of the world was given to satan? Jesus did not correct him. There are other verses in Scripture that also support his claim:
“Now is the time for the judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out” (John 12: 31 NIV).
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2: 1, 2 NIV).
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot perceive the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4: 3, 4 NIV).
“We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5: 19 NIV).
This passage is translated as “the whole world is under the sway of the evil one” (NKJV); “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (NASB); “the whole world around us is under the power of the evil one” (AMP); and “It is only the people of the world who continue in the grip of the evil one” (MSG). It seems clear to me: the world or the kingdom of the world and the lives in this kingdom, outside of or apart from the Kingdom of God, lives under the tyranny of satan and his powers and principalities.
The notes in my NIV Study Bible explain 1 John 5: 19 this way: The god of this age is”the devil, who is the archenemy of God and the unseen power behind all unbelief and ungodliness“. We follow him when we worship idols, seek our value in them, and depend upon them for protection and power.
Jesus spoke to the Pharisees exposing their lives in the kingdom of the world under the control of satan:
“Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father , the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies . . . The reason you do not hear me is that you do not belong to God” (John 8: 43, 44, 47 NIV).
In His seven woes, Jesus, speaking to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees as representative of men living in the kingdom of the world, says:
” You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness” (Matthew 23: 27, 28 NIV).
They are living in the kingdom of the world and they are preventing those who want the Kingdom from entering: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the Kingdom of Heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to” (Matthew 23: 13 NIV).
Finally, those who live in the kingdom of the world can be missionaries of evil. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are” (Matthew 23: 15 NIV).
Chapter 3: The Victim Spirit
The kingdom of the world is the world outside of the Kingdom of God. In fact, Jesus came to earth to drive satan out of the world by releasing the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of the world. Note that only God is King; satan is prince of the world — the consequence of the ‘fallen angel’ Lucifer. There is another tension in this reality: God is sovereign but satan has power over those who choose to live in the world, especially the sphere of evil operating in our world under the dominion of satan.
Human beings living in the kingdom of the world under the control or sway of satan follow the ways of satan, become increasingly unable to hear the Word of Truth or see the light of the Kingdom of God, carry out satan’s desire: to steal peace and joy, kill life and liveliness, and destroy relationships. As inhabitants of the kingdom of the world come increasingly under the control of satan, they lie, speaking his native language. Life in the kingdom of the world is a life of despair, disappointment, bitterness, anger, and most of all — trauma. This trauma manifests itself in many ways, some of the most egregious are the choices we make and the demonization we come under as a result of those choices. These influences include demonic spirits like the spirit of religion, a lying spirit, and a victim spirit. Here is a brief description of the victim spirit:
Inhabitants of the kingdom of the world are ‘infected’ with a victim spirit. That means that all of us, at one time or another, struggled with a victim spirit. Even those now living in the Kingdom of God sometimes struggle with the residual effects of this spirit. It is a devastating spirit, robbing us of the freedom and joy that God had intended for all of his children to have.
(copy and paste this link to a web site for an overview by Arthur Burk of the victim spirit: http://www.placesinthefathersheart.org/eBooks/Overcoming%20The%20Victim%20Spirit.pdf)
The person with a victim spirit feels entitled. They believe they have not received what is rightfully theirs, based on their perception of being unfairly treated by life. And they have been unfairly treated — that is the way everyone is treated under the control of satan. “You owe me” is the most common refrain of the victim spirit. They blame others for their situation in life. In other words, they project onto others the cause of their shame; they assign blame — “you are the cause of my unhappiness“. They are negative, stubborn, and perceive and magnify nonexistent slights. They cannot accept or see prosperity when it comes, especially grace, forgiveness, and life in the Kingdom. They believe they ‘don’t deserve these gifts’. They feel helpless, out of control (which they are — they are under the control of satan), pessimistic about life, and have a problem with authority, especially if that person in authority is walking in the Kingdom of God. Because they believe “you owe them”, they will often take what is not rightfully theirs — stealing your joy, peace, and even possessions.
It is vitally important for the release of God’s Kingdom that those of us living in the Kingdom with our identity in Christ recognize that our fellow humans ‘infected’ with the victim spirit have been traumatized, the image of God in them is bent out of shape by constantly living in slavery to satan. They are not free — they are living in a prison, a concentration camp, a gulag partly by choice and partly by demonization. That is the life for every man and woman living in the kingdom of the world — under the control of satan, following the ways of the father of lies (and believing those lies), the ruler of the world and the air. It is this life that Jesus has come to redeem and restore, beginning with repentance. That is what Jesus meant when He said “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to released the oppressed” (Luke 4: 18 NIV).
It is widely believed that Christians, living in the Kingdom of God, cannot be demonized. That is not true. Generational sins, demons that the Christians brought with them into the Kingdom, and sins committed while in the Kingdom can all open a door in their heart for demons to enter in.
How do we get to this place in our lives where we find ourselves so enslaved to spirits of religion, a lying spirit, and especially the victim spirit, among others? And what is the way out of this prison, this hell on earth?
Chapter 4: What If They Don’t Know?
As we mature, we become excellent at medicating the pain I mentioned above with work, family, drugs, alcohol, accomplishments, performance, sex, gambling, possessions and stuff – and on and on. Are we responsible for our choices? Yes we are, up to a point. But, in general, the one thing we cannot choose on our own and in our power is God and His Kingdom. This is what I mean: when (and if) we are presented with the options of living in the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of the world, God will ask us to choose – “choose the narrow gate, not the broad gate”. What if you are living in the kingdom of the world and don’t know that there is another Kingdom? What if you haven’t heard or been told? Then effectively you have no choice.
The reality is that most men and women living in the kingdom of the world – striving and struggling to find their value and acceptance there, but all the time under the control of satan, even if they know about God — can only see the kingdom they are living in. They have no idea or conception of life in the Kingdom of God. As C.S. Lewis said (and I am paraphrasing): if your entire life is playing in mud puddles in a slum, you have no idea what a holiday at the beach is like. If you have no idea that there is another Kingdom, let alone life in that Kingdom, then you have no freedom to choose, because there is no choice.
Too many of us grow up with brokenness, and the desperate search for value and acceptance that defines who we are. We accept the despair, the futility and frustration, the meaninglessness and purposelessness, the loneliness, and the failure of this life by saying “that’s life” — I would say, “yes, life in the kingdom of the world”. But there is life in the other Kingdom – the Kingdom of God.
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news” (Romans 10: 15 NIV).
What can Kingdom people do? We can live our lives in the Kingdom in such a way that we are witnesses to the power and glory of God. We can be good stewards of the gifts God has given us. We can share our testimonies. We can share the gospel by telling people about the two kingdoms and helping them understand the dynamics of Kingdom life. We can intercede for specific people, towns, and nations asking God to open their eyes to the reality of the other Kingdom. We can prayer-walk neighborhoods and cities. We can pray for spiritual, emotional, and physical healing for people as the Lord leads us, even strangers. We can be the conduits for the power of God to pour into people, especially praying for them to “receive the Father’s love”. We can get trained in a deliverance ministry so that we, in the name of Jesus, can help people get free. We can go out into the world, sharing and demonstrating the gospel with power. There are many more ways that we can ‘release the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of the world’, but these are some that come to mind.
Chapter Five: Victory In Christ
In Christ there is hope for all human beings – although not all human beings will choose and receive Jesus and His Kingdom — they are “not willing”. In Christ, there is healing and wholeness – really powerful, amazing healing that can remove the effects of demonic spirits such as the victim spirit; and effects of abuse as if the abuse had never happened, although most of us will still carry the memories. But the memories will have lost their power to plunge us into shame, despair, and fear. That healing is one of the gifts of the Kingdom of God. In the kingdom of the world, we are victims, infected with a victim spirit. But in the Kingdom of God we are victors, because we share in Jesus’ victory on the cross over satan.
We are healed and set free from the consequences of our bad choices and demonic spirits when we choose, enter into, and live with Christ in the Kingdom of God. As Paul tells us, in the Kingdom of God we “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13: 14 NIV). We leave the person we were, represented by our old clothes, at the door of the Kingdom, and put on His clothes (really, we put on Him) symbolizing that we have left one life behind — that is, repented — and taken on a new identity. In Christ, we are victors with power and authority over demonic spirits that have tried to destroy our lives. We are free, we are victorious, and we are empowered, in partnership with Jesus, to enforce that victory not just in our hearts and minds, but in the world around us, and even beyond us.
Of course, many of us need deliverance fully to walk in Kingdom power. There are many wonderful ministries that help people remove the demons from their hearts and minds. In general, deliverance is much more effective in Kingdom men and women. Several good books about deliverance and demonization in Kingdom men and women are: ‘Healing the Shattered Soul: Becoming the Person God Intended‘ by Hanley and Kayser; ‘Victory Over the Darkness‘ by Anderson; ‘The Handbook for Spiritual Warfare‘ by Murphy; and ‘They Shall Expel Demons‘ by Prince.
2 Corinthians 3: 16 – 18 in the Message translation is a beautiful description of life in the Kingdom of God vs life in the kingdom of the world.
“Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are — face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of His face. And so we are transformed much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him”.
That is the Kingdom life — both being and becoming — freedom, joy, healing, light, and beauty. Victory!
Can we choose Jesus and His Kingdom? Or is our fate predetermined – “so stop worrying about it and just do the best you can?” Generally, most people equate this question with salvation. Can I choose salvation?
When we make the question about salvation — and most people think of salvation as going to heaven when they die — we miss the message of Jesus. Salvation or being saved is, according to Jesus, living in the Kingdom of God, now and for eternity. The Kingdom of God is now and not yet. It is a present reality, but will not be in the world in its fullness until Jesus returns (and given the politics in America that might be any day now). The only ground for the Kingdom life is the work of Jesus on the cross. But as I wrote in the previous post, I believe Scripture says we must choose the Kingdom — God shows us the Kingdom and makes it possible for us to enter by the blood of Jesus and His Holy Spirit — but we must walk through the door. He will not force us. And that choice is called repentance because when we choose the Kingdom of God we repudiate the kingdom of the world.
I was confronted with that choice. I was living in the kingdom of the world (self) and while I was living in that spiritual and emotional place I had no idea how dark my life really was. I had no idea that there was a victim spirit, and that it had gotten a major foothold in my heart. But God had other plans. One morning Jesus showed up in a dream. In the next post I share my story of how I became a follower of Jesus and how I traded the victim spirit for a Spirit of Victory, in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah!
Blessings,
John