By Gary Ray Branscome
While Christ’s words, “Unless a man is born of water and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God,” tell us that God’s
heavenly kingdom only includes those who are born again; the words, “Not
born of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God,”
tell us that the new birth is solely the work of God (John 3:5 and 1:13). And,
because we are born again by the work of God, and not “the will of man,”
the Christian church exists solely because God has brought it into existence
and sustains it. However, the words, “It pleased God to save those who
believe through the foolishness of preaching,” and “Faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God” tell us that God works through
“preaching” to build and sustain His church (1Corinthians 1:21, Romans 10:17).
As it is written, “The gospel of Christ… is the power of God to salvation to
every one who believes” (Romans
Because we receive the new birth through the work of believers
[i.e. the citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom], the Bible tells us that God’s
heavenly kingdom [the
The words, “What is the exceeding greatness of His power
toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,” tell
us that we have been brought to faith [believe] through God’s “mighty power,”
the same “power of God unto salvation” that is expressed through the
gospel (Ephesians 1:19, Romans 1:16). The words, “No one can say that Jesus
is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost,” but “You are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people valued by God,”
tell us that if it seemed to us like we were choosing God, in reality He was
choosing us (1Corinthians 12:3, 1Peter 2:9). And, the words, “Kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation,” tell us that we are not only
brought to faith by the power of God, but are kept in faith by His power
(1Peter 1:5).
The Spiritual Warfare of
God’s Saints
The words, “Even though we live in the flesh, we do not
carry on our war according to the flesh: For the weapons we fight with
are not the weapons of the world, but through God they have the power to break
down strongholds,” tell us that we are involved in a war, not a war fought
with guns and bombs, but a war of light against darkness in which our weapon is
the Word of God (2Corinthians 10:3-4). Why does this war exist? The
words, “Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin,” and “Sin entered
the world by one man, and death by sin,” tell us that sin brought Adam
[along with everything under Adam’s authority] under Satan’s dominion (John
8:34, Romans 5:12). And, the words, “Because you have done this, you are
cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field,” tell us that
Adam’s sin brought a curse upon all creation (Genesis
The power of the gospel
is removing that curse from the world one believer at a time, and Satan is
fighting against it tooth and nail. However, God wants us to win this war by
doing “good to those who hate you” and praying “for those
who spitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matthew