“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5 NIV)
Perhaps the most dramatic story in Scripture concerning the victory of the Christian church over Satan and his schemes, is found in Matthew 16:13-18. Peter had just declared his belief that Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus responded that God Himself had revealed this truth to Peter and then prophesied that Peter would be a “rock,” a key player in the establishment and initial growth of the church worldwide. Jesus affirmed that the gates of hell would never succeed in destroying that body of believers.
Satan is certainly trying. He often manipulates and deceives the church into being its own worst enemy. We fall for his lies, give way to vain, selfish ambition, apathy, moral compromise, and self-righteousness (Rom. 16:17-18, 1 Cor. 5:1-3). These things hinder and suppress the testimony of the church and the advancement of the faith. Persecution and martyrdom steal, kill, and destroy every day. False doctrine borne of an anti-Christ spirit has plagued the church since the Judaizers in the apostle Paul’s day insisted circumcision was vital for salvation. Quarreling and division, legalism and religious spirits, are other favorites of the enemy (1 Cor. 1:10, Matt. 23:1-36).
Yet God has promised that “no weapon formed against us shall prosper” (Isa. 54:17). The church grows and endures by the power of the Holy Spirit as evidenced on the Day of Pentecost: “Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all” (Acts 2:4-8, 14, 41, Acts 9:31).
God uses even the efforts of His opponents to grow the church. Acts 11:19 says that a great wave of persecution arose after the martyrdom of Stephen, causing the Christians in Jerusalem to flee in all directions taking the good news of faith in Christ with them. In one of the Bible’s most dramatic conversion stories of all time, a radical, persecuting Pharisee named Saul, encountered the living Christ. The experience transformed him into one of the Savior’s greatest champions. In fact, in Galatians 1:12-16, Paul states the amazing fact that God, knowing full well Paul’s pre-conversion opposition to the early church, still chose him even before Paul was born, to one day proclaim the gospel!
Paul’s Spirit-anointed teaching was indeed instrumental in the growth of the early church that is also known as the body of Christ with Christ as its head. In Ephesians 4:3-4, Paul urges us to nurture and protect our unity with each other and the Holy Spirit through peace. Later in the chapter (verses 11-16), he details the gifts God’s Spirit has given believers, gifts designed to build up the body of Christ until we reach full unity and maturity. With Jesus as our leader, no power can tear us apart and decimate the church forever. Never! Jesus calls us to endure, obey, and trust so the Kingdom of God can advance and so that great reward will be ours as we share in His glory and victory.
So despite persecution and our many failings, the church has remained alive and triumphant. The Roman empire, who regarded their emperors as gods and brutally slaughtered many believers, is long gone. Atheistic, oppressive regimes who once ruled nations such as Albania, Romania, and Russia have fallen.
Godless leaders lie rotting in their graves while Jesus Christ continues to save, heal, redeem, and transform. In Iran today, the church is growing more rapidly, comparatively speaking, than anywhere else in the world. Dreams and visions of Christ are coming to Muslims frequently, even to those who have never heard of Him. We are seeing a move towards Christ among Muslims like never before in all the history of Islam. The church in China has flourished rather than diminished under particularly brutal expressions of communism for many decades and is doing increasingly so despite renewed and harsher persecution.
And the present COVID-19 pandemic is destroying the idols of materialism and self-reliance making many more open to the gospel. This year, a ministry called Pulse created an on-line Good Friday service that featured such well-known Christian leaders as Frances Chan and the late Ravi Zacharias. According to Christian Broadcasting Network, the event was broadcast into 100 different nations and translated into 40 languages. As a result, 117,000 viewers indicated a decision to follow Christ. *For the full report, go to: https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/video/all?video=582388&fbclid=IwAR3CA3JDSRvRukc8pNsreWnlHjJ7mwpRckr7xNypiJi_Z_8kA3Fu5jCEIuc)
2 Corinthians 4:14-16 says, “We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.”
No matter how hard the powers of darkness try to destroy the body of Christ, their defeat is certain. Revelation 19:1-9 portrays the demise of evil through God’s judgement. The account then transitions into a vision of a vast crowd shouting praise to God and rejoicing in His victories. A celebratory wedding feast follows with the church as the bride of the Lamb who is the risen Christ. “‘For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.’ For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’ And he added, ‘These are true words that come from God.’”
Praise be to our Great God who has given us the victory!
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