Paul’s Prison “P”s
One of Paul’s impactful ministries occurred in the city of Philippi – the first city that he visited in Europe. His initial visit may have been as short as just a couple weeks in that the account in Acts chapter sixteen says that he was there over one sabbath (verse 13) and then continued for many days before being arrested and thrown into jail (verse 18). Later, Paul returned to the same region for three months, but it is unclear as to how much of this time was spent in the city of Philippi. (Acts 20:1-6) Therefore, it is possible that the ministry he established in Philippi could have been the result of just a few days of ministry or the result of three months of investment. Even if he did spend the whole of this second period ministering in Philippi, it is still an incredible accomplishment to birth a viable congregation in such a short time. Certainly, the quality of the testimony that he planted in the city during his arrest and imprisonment in the city left a lasting impression that produced maximum impact. The story of Paul’s prison stay in the Philippian penitentiary is recorded in Acts chapter sixteen. Notice how each step is characterized with a word starting with “P.”
Prison
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. (Verses 23-24)
Praise
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. (Verse 25)
Provision
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. (Verse 26)
Protection
Not only did God protect Paul and Silas, they protected the jailer.
And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. (Verses 27-28)
Penance
Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (Verses 29-30)
Promise
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Verse 31)
Preaching
And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. (Verse 32)
Purging
The jailer purged the wounds on Paul’s and Silas’ backs with water, and Paul purged the jailer’s sins with baptism.
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. (Verse 33)
Party
And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. (Verse 34)
Proposition
The Roman officials made a proposition that would have avoided their having to face their error of unjustly arresting and beating Paul and Silas.
And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. (Verses 35-36)
Privileges
Paul called upon his privilege as a Roman citizen and made the officials face their error.
But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. (Verses 37-39)
Parting
And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed. (Verse 40)
This story records how Paul’s and Silas’ praise and rejoicing precipitated in their deliverance and the salvation of the jailer and his whole family – not to mention the multiplication and growth that eventually produced a great parish in Philippi. As we read it, we should always remember that we all often find ourselves in one kind of a prison or another – physical, relational, emotional, physiological, demonic. The same principles that worked for Paul and Silas will also not just open the prison’s doors but literally destroy the prison from its very foundations.
The notable key that brought Paul and Silas out of that Philippian jail was their praise. Of course, we have no record of what their praises were, but knowing that the Jewish custom was to sing from the book of Psalms, I can’t help but imagine that they must have voiced the words from some of the celebration songs of David’s victories:
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. (Psalm 18:2)
He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. (Psalm 18:17)
He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:19)
Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. (Psalm 18:43)
He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. (Psalm 18:48)
Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. (Psalm 22:4)
They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. (Psalm 22:5)
He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. (Psalm 22:8)
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. (Psalm 32:7)
The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. (Psalm 34:7)
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17)
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. (Psalm 34:19)
All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him? (Psalm 35:10)
And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him. (Psalm 37:40)
But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God. (Psalm 40:17)
Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. (Psalm 41:1)
The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. (Psalm 41:2)
Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. (Psalm 44:4)
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies. (Psalm 54:7)
He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me. (Psalm 55:18)
Nor thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? (Psalm 56:13)
But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, make no tarrying. (Psalm 70:5)
Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah. (Psalm 81:7)
For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. (Psalm 86:13)
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. (Psalm 91:3)
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. (Psalm 91:14)
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. (Psalm 91:15)
Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 97:10)
Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. (Psalm 107:6)
He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. (Psalm 107:20)
For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. (Psalm 116:8)
My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me. (Psalm 144:2)
It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword. (Psalm 144:10)
It was the congregation of believers that grew out of the seeds he planted in the city of Philippi that Paul admonished to continually rejoice to ensure their victory, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord…Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 3:1, 4:4) In fact, he used the word “rejoice” ten times (verses 1:18, 2:16, 2:17, 2:18, 2:28, 3:1, 3:3, 4:4) and the word “joy” six times (verses 1:4, 1:25, 2:2, 2:17, 2:18, 4:1) in the short four-chapter book. To the Ephesians and the believers at Colossi, he defined his directive that such rejoicing should include the recitation of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16) Paul knew that thanksgiving and praise get our focus off ourselves and our problems; therefore, he commanded the Philippian believers that their lives be characterized by thankfulness, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings…Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, ” (Philippians 2:14, 4:6) Paul could write to the church about practicing praise and rejoicing in the midst of persecution because that is exactly the way he lived. Praise and worship were foundational to his ministry in the city of Philippi. Not only was he beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, at the time of the writing of the letter, he was in prison and didn’t know if he was going to be released or executed. When Paul wrote to the churches, he always stated that he was praying for them, but it was only to the Philippians that he said that his prayers were expressed with joy. (Philippians 1:6)
Praise and thanksgiving are dynamic keys to victory. We see an outstanding example of the power of thanksgiving in the story of the Jesus and the ten lepers. Although all ten were healed, the Bible says that only one was made whole because he came back to give thanks. (Luke 17:11-19) The Bible says that the other nine were healed, but it gives us no indication that the parts of their bodies that had been eaten away by the leprosy were ever restored. If they had already lost earlobes to the leprosy, when they were healed, there was no more leprosy but the earlobes would still be missing. However, the one who came back and gave thanks was made whole. This means that he received a creative miracle in his body and his missing earlobes grew back. A dear friend of mine served as director of Nepal Leprosy Fellowship for more than fifty years. Among all the other things that I learned from this saint of God was one lesson that really made this story of the ten lepers come alive. She explained that the leprosy mission had two objectives – to heal the patients and to reconstruct their disfigured bodies. I obviously understood the significance of the first objective, but had never really considered the importance of the second thrust. Of course, I had been around enough lepers in my mission travels to know how unsettling it is to see these disfigured victims on the train or on the street. Even when the victim has been cured and is no longer contagious and is in no way a threat to society, the nubs he has for fingers, the missing earlobes, and the hole in the front of his face where a nose should be are enough to make everyone give him a wide perimeter. For these patients to be able to be accepted back into their homes and re-integrated into society, it is just as important that their deformities be dealt with as it is for their contagious conditions to be treated. Without reconstructive plastic surgery, these victims are doomed to the same miserable lives as outcasts that they had previously known. So it was with nine of the men who came to Jesus that day; they may have received certification from the priests that they were cured, but they would not be welcomed back by their wives, families, or employers. Only one – the thankful one who was made whole – was able to find welcoming arms waiting for him when he made his way back to his village. God will do so much for every Christian, but it seems that He does more for those who are thankful. When we get to the point of thanking God for what we do have rather than grumbling over what we do not have, we will find out how much more He is willing to bless us.
An equally powerful story of the authority of praise and worship is found in the familiar story of Jehoshaphat. (II Chronicles chapter twenty) The armies of the enemies were approaching, and Jehoshaphat’s forces were far outnumbered; so the king declared a fast and sought the Lord for His intervention. The Lord answered, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.” (verse 17) Then all the people of Israel worshipped the Lord. (verse 18)
God called them to the same revelation that He gave us in Ephesians chapter six concerning spiritual warfare. The verbs Paul uses are not verbs of struggle, but of standing in position with our authority, realizing that Christ has “spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly” (Colossians 2:15) and now He is seated far above them (Ephesians 1:20-21) – and, best of all, we are accompanying Him in that position of dominion (verse 2:6). God told Jehoshaphat to stand still because the battle was the Lord’s; that is exactly what Paul was telling us in the book of Ephesians (verses 6:11, 6:14) – stand still and accept the victory that has already been won for us.
Worship is an important element in bringing us into victorious spiritual warfare. Jehoshaphat “appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.” (verse 21) Even though Jehoshaphat knew that praise and worship would be the important elements to win the victory, he did have his army dressed in battle array, ready for combat. Likewise, Paul tells us to “take on the whole armor of God.” (verses 6:11, 6:13) We are not to act like there isn’t a battle – we get dressed for the battle even though we know that God will do the fighting.
And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD. (verses 22-28)
James told us to “count it all joy,” not because we are to have the struggle but because we will come out from the struggle stronger than when we went in. (verses 1:2-4) When Jehoshaphat’s army went out to fight the battle, they did not have the three days’ worth of loot and booty in their hands that they eventually ended up with. They came into the battle with a genuine concern on their hearts. But they sought God until they finally came to the place that they could worship God, have faith in God, and draw nigh to God; then they used their praise to propel their spiritual weapons forward as they went into the battle. Instead of losing their houses, land, and families, they returned home with so much treasure that it took them three days to gather it all up. They came back better than when they went out to fight. James tells us that when we come to the temptation or trial, we must come to it with rejoicing because we know that on the other side we will be better off for having faced the conflict; Paul assures us that we will “not be ashamed.” (Romans 5:1-5) Jehoshaphat’s army came back full of rejoicing not only because their enemy had been defeated but also because they came back to Jerusalem with great wealth.
There is a victory that we will establish when we do warfare through praise. For Jehoshaphat there was a battle, there was a struggle, and there was warfare; however, he only had to stand and watch it happen! He simply observed the battle from his position of authority. Jehoshaphat came home that day as more than a conqueror. He did not have to fight the battle; he just reached out and took the reward from the battle.\
Let me stress one important fact concerning Jehoshaphat’s victory – it was manifested through praise, but the praise was established on the covenant relationship that Israel had with God. Notice that before Jehoshaphat commissioned the praisers, he reviewed and re-affirmed that covenant. It was only after he knew for certain God’s promise and commitment to be Israel’s defender that he was ready to rejoice. After purifying himself and his nation, Jehoshaphat was assured that they were in the right spiritual relationship to expect those covenant benefits. At that point, he was so full of faith that he called the army’s accompanying band to begin to play the victor’s march that they normally reserved for the march home after a victorious campaign. To Jehoshaphat, the victory had already been won so he didn’t have to wait to see the final score; he could sing the triumphant song in advance! The power of his praise was based on the power of his faith in his covenant. So it is with us – we must be grounded in the foundational truths Paul is explaining if we are to see victory.
The power of a song or a jingle is tremendous. It has the ability to get into our subconscious mind and demand to be heard over and over and over. We use the term “earworm” to refer to these little songs that we just can’t get out of our heads. I understand that Walt Disney’s “It’s a Small World” is considered to be the most difficult earworm to overcome. It is because of this kind of overwhelming force that jingles and songs can have that companies are willing to spend millions of dollars to get the right jingle to advertise their products. God wants to use exactly the same principle to get His victorious Word inside us through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The scripture tells us to meditate on the Word – a term that means mutter it over and over and repeat it inside ourselves. (Psalm 1:2) The Holy Spirit tells us to sing and make melody in our hearts. Through that melody, the Word of God will get inside us to the point that we begin to bubble and churn with its truth. The words that go with that melody are being reinforced over and over, making us stronger warriors. This use of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is actually one way of redeeming the time. Even though we may not always be sitting down reading the Bible, the Word of God is bubbling on the inside of us because that melody keeps coming up.
One point to note about the prison incident with Paul and Silas is that the Bible specifically says that the other prisoners heard them as they praised. The lesson we can learn here is that we must not be bashful or afraid that we might not get our answer. Paul and Silas didn’t cower in the corner and whisper their prayers and praises in fear of being embarrassed in case God didn’t “show up.” They boldly vocalized their worship, confident that God would not let them them down. You see, they understood the difference between their situation and their circumstances. We often use the words “circumstance” and “situation” interchangeably. We feel equally comfortable of speaking of our condition as being “under these circumstances” or as being “in this situation.” However, these two words are not the same. In fact, they are radically different in their spiritual significance. “Circumstance” comes from two Latin words meaning the things that stand around us. “Situation,” on the other hand, refers to where we are placed or where we sit. As Christians, we are seated with Christ in heavenly places far above all the principalities, powers, and wicked spiritual forces. We must never forget that we are situated in a superior position with every advantage over any difficulty that tries to defy us. If we fail to focus on this victorious truth, we may find ourselves believing that we are “under the circumstances.” The first error with such a thought is that we have already abdicated our position of authority above the enemy by confessing that we are under the circumstances. The second error is that we have allowed our adversary to gain equal ground with us by allowing him to stand around us rather than be subjected under our feet. The last problem is that we have allowed him to get around or surround us. Since all our spiritual armor is described as frontal gear, we are equipped only for head-on confrontation with the enemy. The moment we give up that posture of direct confrontation and allow him to begin to surround us, we have exposed unprotected areas in our lives to him and have made ourselves vulnerable to his attacks. We must learn to aggressively maintain our situation and never fall under the circumstances.
It is interesting that in Paul’s case, God sent an earthquake to get him out of the prison – unlike the angel that he sent to release Peter from his imprisonment in Acts chapter twelve. Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not belittling the miracle in Peter’s life. I’d certainly not disqualify an angelic visitation and the supernatural loosing of the bonds and the miraculous opening of the iron gate – but I do see a significant difference between the two deliverances. Paul and Silas didn’t just get out of jail – the structure was shaken to its foundations so that others were also released and no one could ever be held there again. Yes, Peter got out of jail, but the prison still existed – holding all the other prisoners and any future ones that would be assigned there. Paul’s deliverance from the Philippian prison reminds me of the directive that God gave Jeremiah concerning his ministry – a commission to totally disrupt society as it currently existed.
Jeremiah lived in tumultuous times – times of the making and breaking of kings and kingdoms. He began his ministry during Josiah’s sweeping reformation that turned the nation toward repentance from widespread idolatry; yet, Jeremiah continued to prophesy under the reigns of Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah who led the nation back into spiritual rebellion and pagan practices. Jeremiah was called to be God’s spokesman during a period of storm and stress when the dooms of entire nations were being sealed. Not only did the smaller states of western Asia suffer as pawns in the power plays of such imperial giants as Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon but also these powerful empires were experiencing reorientation and restructuring so far-reaching that it was almost is if the nations had been tossed into a container, thoroughly shaken, and then spilled out again in a totally new array and order. Nothing was to look the same at the end of Jeremiah’s ministry as it did before he began to prophesy. History had brought the nations to the point that they were no longer able to get by with a “spank on the hand” – they were to be totally reshuffled and reinvented. During his watch, Jeremiah was to experience the kings of Israel being positioned and then removed from their position by the pharaohs of Egypt. He watched as the nation’s rulers were taken captive and tortured by the Babylonian invaders. He witnessed the rape of Jerusalem and the razing of the temple. Additionally, he experienced the crumbling of the Assyrian Empire, the stripping of Egypt’s power and glory, and the rise to power of the Babylonians. Amidst this chaos, turmoil, and upheaval among the nations, God demanded that the prophet speak destiny to the nations and their kings.
See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. (Jeremiah 1:10)
In our own personal lives, there come times when we need to go through this same kind of radical renovation where our old ideas and actions are not just altered – they need to be obliterated and replaced with new, living thoughts and deeds. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (II Corinthians 5:17) Let’s look at each of the verbs in Jeremiah’s mandate so that we can see how they can – and must – be applied to our own lives.
First, he was directed to “root out” – a term that signifies dealing with things at their very source. Unlike most of us, God is not satisfied with dealing with symptoms; He wants to get to the root cause of the problem. We humans can spend years of effort and millions of dollars trying to eradicate problems like human trafficking, drug smuggling, and arms dealing – but God knows that the problem doesn’t lie in the illegal and inhumane activities. He knows that the root is the greedy nature of man. “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (I Timothy 6:10) As long as men remain in love with money, every form of evil will continue to flourish in the world. It is only when Jesus is allowed into the hearts of the individuals who deal in human trade, drug marketing, and arms movements that the root cause will be eradicated and change will occur.
In II Samuel 12:1-6, we read how Nathan, the counselor to King David, craftily got to the root issue of evil in the leadership of the nation. He presented a hypothetical scenario for the king to judge. When David pronounced that the man who had stolen the supposed lamb should die for his crime, Nathan pointed to the king and announced that he was the sinner whose wrongdoing had inspired the story. David wanted to deal with symptoms, but the prophet bypassed the distractions to attack the evil root. When David composed Psalm chapter fifty-one as his repentance prayer for this crime, he acknowledged that his true sin was against God – not Bathsheba or Uriah. He realized that what happened in his physical life was only the fruit of the spiritual root of the problem – his loss of relationship with the Lord.
When God led the Israelites into the Promised Land, He directed that all the former inhabitants be totally eradicated to prevent them from becoming a “root that beareth gall and wormwood.” (Deuteronomy 29:18) The people, in and of themselves, were not necessarily a problem. In fact, we see several occasions – most notably Rahab, who actually became part of the royal lineage – who were allowed to remain in the land as the Israelites took possession. However, the paganism that was so inbred into their mentality, lifestyle, and customs was detrimental to the people of God. The people themselves were only a symptom, but their idolatry was a root that had to be eliminated.
Job 5:3 speaks of foolishness as being a root. Hebrews 12:15 tells us that bitterness can also be a root. Certainly, we can deal with the actions that result from our foolishness or our bitterness, but if the root remains, we will only find more fruit popping up time and time again. That’s the reason that Matthew 3:10 proclaims that the axe must be laid unto the root of the trees so that every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and cast into the fire. The Lord isn’t willing that we simply pluck off bad fruit; He wants the very root source of the corrupt fruit dealt with. Notice something significant in the story of the fig tree that Jesus cursed – the tree withered up from its roots. (Mark 11:20) The tree didn’t simply wither – it withered from its very source. This was what the Apostle Jude would call “twice dead.” (verse 12) From the same verse, we can understand that there is a level of death in which we stop producing fruit. This is the kind of death that Abraham and Sarah had experienced when they became too old to bear children. (Romans 4:19) They were very much alive; however, they were defined as dead because they could not produce offspring. Jude takes us a step further when he says that there is the possibility of being twice dead – not only unable to have fruit, but totally devoid of life. He describes this state as being plucked up by the roots. God wants that to be the case in our lives. He wants the roots of foolishness, bitterness, greed, and whatever else leads to bad fruit to be dealt with. He isn’t interested in having us simply stop producing the fruit. He wants us to have the very potential of that error removed and destroyed.
The prophet’s next directive is to pull down – a term that can be associated with the biblical teaching of pulling down strongholds.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (II Corinthians 10:3-5)
For many years when I read this passage, I thought that the things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God were ideas such as atheism that says there is no God or Hinduism that says that Vishnu, Krishna, Ganesh, or any one of the other millions of their deities is God, or Buddhism that claims Gautama to be divine, or even New Age that tells us that we all are gods. Then one day, the Holy Spirit prompted me to realize that even though I rejected all these pagan beliefs I still harbored thoughts that exalted themselves against God. When I questioned Him as to how it was possible that I could possibly have such thoughts, He probed me as to what I know about God. I responded that He is Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals all my diseases. The Holy Spirit then quickened to me the realization that any time I thought that my healing was in the medicine cabinet, a doctor’s office, or a hospital that I was actually entertaining a thought that was exalting itself against what I really knew about God. He then asked me what else I knew about God. This time, I answered that I knew Him to be Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides all my needs according to His riches in glory. Again, He challenged me that every time I thought that my provision was in a bank loan, a higher credit card limit, working extra hours, or asking the boss for a raise that I was again entertaining thoughts that exalted themselves against the true knowledge of God. By the time that this little soul-searching session had taken me through several more truths about the Lord, I began to understand what this passage is really saying. It is a truth that can and must be applied to every area of our lives. Our weapons are strong enough to destroy the arguments against the knowledge of God. There are many areas of truth that we should know about God; however, for some reason, we don’t comprehend and live in them. Why? Because there is an idea that has gotten into our heads that keeps the true knowledge of God from getting inside of us. We know that God exists, but we fail to attain a complete knowledge of who God is and what He does.
God is Jehovah Tsidkenu, which means that He is the God of our righteousness. The day that Jesus came into our lives, His righteousness came into us. However, the devil will come to each and every one of us with accusations to combat any awareness we have of this righteousness. If we open ourselves to these accusations, just like David’s stone found that tiny eyehole in Goliath’ armor, the devil will aim for this vulnerable spot. If that lie penetrates into our minds and we agree with it, the enemy begins to build a stronghold against the knowledge of God’s righteousness within us. God is also Jehovah Rapha – the God who heals all of our diseases – but the devil wants to plant lies inside us saying that our ailment is either too big for God to heal or too insignificant for Him to notice. The truth is that God is just as willing to heal the little aches and pains as He is to heal major diseases. He is just as able to heal the most dreaded plague as He is to cure a minor ailment. We can go through all the redemptive names and qualities of God to learn what we should be thinking about God. Any time we allow thoughts contrary to these truths into our hearts, we have permitted the enemy to use his deceit to begin a stronghold in our minds.
Until David took the city of Jerusalem, it had never been captured. When Joshua came into the Promised Land, he defeated the king of Jerusalem, but the city itself was never taken. (Joshua 10:23-24, 15:63) The Jebusites boasted that Jerusalem was so secure that its guards were the blind and the lame men. (II Samuel 5:6) Its natural position made it virtually invincible; therefore, it was unnecessary to position the able-bodied soldiers there. These strong warriors were used elsewhere while the disabled veterans defended the city. In fact, the city actually defended itself since it was built on the top of high cliffs with deep ravines surrounding it. When an attack would come, all these handicapped soldiers had to do was simply to push boulders over the edge of the cliff upon the approaching forces – they did not need to be marksmen or skilled warriors. After David took the city, Jerusalem then became his stronghold. From the city of Jerusalem, we learn a lesson concerning strongholds: their power is in their natural position; we don’t have to have a strong warrior inside a stronghold to be able to protect it because the stronghold itself is its own protection. The devil doesn’t have to be strong. If he is able to fill our minds and hearts with lame ideas and blind assumptions, he can easily defend the strongholds of our lives.
Next God mandated Jeremiah to destroy – to totally eradicate – the undesirable qualities of the nations into which he was to prophesy. It is amazing that God never settles for mediocrity when He deals with sinfulness. He repeatedly used the term, “utterly destroy” in referring to the way His people are to deal with sin and sinfulness. (Leviticus 26:44; Numbers 21:2; Deuteronomy 7:2, 12:2, 20:17; Joshua 11:20; Judges 21:11; I Samuel 15:3, 15:9, 15:18; I Kings 9:21; II Chronicles 20:23; Isaiah 11:15; Jeremiah 12:17, 25:9, 50:21, 50:26, 51:3; Daniel 11:44; Amos 9:8). To utterly destroy something means to smash it into so many pieces that there is no possibility that it could ever be reassembled. It is His intent that all who are offensive to His rule are to be literally ground to powder. (Matthew 21:44, Luke 20:18) Once the root is pulled up, it must be crushed so that there is no possibility that there is enough life left in it to ever take root again. Jesus executed this kind of judgment against the devil in His resurrection, and He expects us to continue to demonstrate that same devastation against all the works of the enemy in our own lives.
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:15)
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. (II Corinthians 2:14)
To throw down implies an even stronger and more forceful or deliberate act of aggression that pulling down. For instance, in Revelation 12:10 we hear the announcement of a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” Satan has been kicked out of heaven since time immemorial and has been stripped of his power and authority since the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ; however, this prophetic moment speaks of a final dashing of Satan’s personage in which all his activity will be brought to an end. The promise of the scripture is that all the evil influences of the devil and his demonic forces are to be thrown down to “ground zero” under the feet of Jesus. (I Corinthians 15:25-27, Ephesians 1:22, Hebrews 2:8) But more importantly, these diabolic forces are to be under our feet as well.
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19
And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. (Romans 16:20)
Now we can see a fuller dimension of the statement in II Corinthians 10:5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” We are not to simply arrest such thoughts, but we are to actually totally disable them and subjugate them under our authority, stomping them under our feet!
Next, Jeremiah is commanded to build up – a positive step after all the destructive actions he has been directed to take. This is a very important transition to go through if we expect to see true reformation. Simply destroying the evil in our lives or in the world we are called to minster to isn’t sufficient. We must follow up with restoration. Jesus told us a story that powerfully illustrates this truth.
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. (Matthew 12:43-45)
When the evil spirit came back, he found the house clean. Apparently, this gentleman had done a good job of following all of Jeremiah’s mandates so far. However, there wasn’t anything in the house to fill the void that was left when all the evil had been rooted up, pulled down, destroyed, and thrown down. Since the man’s house was vacant, the devil simply saw the “vacancy” sign as an invitation to take up residency again – only this time he brought in some companions to help him stake his claim even more definitively. In Luke 11:24-26, Jesus retold the parable and said that when the demon was cast out of the man, it found the man’s house swept and garnished. When the demon returned, he brought seven more evil spirits with him. These new intruders were even more evil than the original one, and the end of that man was worse than before. Scripture says that the demon came back and found the man’s house swept and garnished. Garnish actually has no functional value to a structure except that it makes it look pretty. Restaurants usually put some little pretty things on the plates to dress them up. The garnish may not be edible, and it may have no functional value to the meal prepared for us, but it is put on the plate just to make it look good. In this parable, the man kicked the devil out and he placed things in his life to make it look good, but they weren’t of functional value. The man’s problem was that he had nice religious decorations, but they had no function. Paul commands us not to do things for show as men pleasers or as eye service, but to do things out of a true heart that serves God (Colossians 3:22, Ephesians 6:6). First Samuel 16:7 says, “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” Man will look on the outside to see how garnished we are, but God looks on the inside and sees how we are functioning. First Corinthians demonstrates that even though we may have the outward garnish of the gifts of the Spirit, without the inward stability of the fruit of the Spirit, we are nothing, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” (I Corinthians 13:1-3)
Second Timothy 1:7 tells us, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” He takes away one thing – fear – and in its place, He gives us three things: power, love, and a sound mind. We often spend so much of our spiritual energy fighting the devil to get rid of one negative factor that we overlook our need to receive from God the fullness of His provision – provisions that bring us more and more into the full image of our Lord Jesus. God says that there are three things with which we must be filled: power, love, and a sound mind. When we are renewing ourselves in our mind with a sound mind, it has to be accompanied with power — Holy Ghost power. It has to be accompanied with love — God’s nature in us. God has given us all three, not just one or two. Until we have all three of these divine characteristics operative in our lives, we will not reach our full measure of the stature of Christ.
The final stage of the reformation process is labeled as planting – causing something positive to grow in the place where the negative thing once flourished. Notice the words that the Lord later spoke to Jeremiah and their parallel in Isaiah, promising not to stop the process halfway through. God intends to see that whenever He removes a negative, there is a positive result that thrives in its place
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:27-28)
And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. (Isaiah 58:11-12
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul directed the believers that they not walk in the vanity of their minds as the Gentiles do. (verse 4:17) Of course, it is easy to immediately define vanity as “emptiness” and go on – totally missing what this verse really has to say. To really catch on to what Paul was trying to communicate, we need to review the book of Ecclesiastes where Solomon defined exactly what vanity entails. In verse 1:14, he concluded that all the works or accomplishments that have been done under the sun are vanity. In verse 2:1, he summarized pleasure and entertainment as vanity. In verse 2:11, he concluded that all forms of employment are nothing more than vanity. Intelligence and education find their way to the vanity list in verse 2:15. Verse 2:17 embraced all of life as vanity. Being in a position of management or authority is also vanity according to verse 2:19. Being in a position to leave behind a legacy or inheritance is also vanity according to 2:21. Verse 2:23 adds diligence and a strong work ethic to the list. Living a moral life falls into the vanity category in verse 2:26. Being human as opposed to simply being a product of evolution still leaves us in the vanity category according to verse 3:19. Verse 4:4 tells us that “keeping up with the Jones” is also vanity. Struggling to make it “up the corporate ladder” falls in the vanity category in verse 4:7. Actually making it to that lonely place “at the top” is also vanity according to verse 4:8. Verse 4:16 describes even the “Rocky syndrome” of the underdog making unexpected achievements as vanity. Verse 5:10 pulls fiscal security into the discussion of vanity. Verse 6:2 amplifies this truth by adding that – even when it is obvious that wealth is a blessing from God – it can be fleeting and, therefore, vanity. Even long life and a prominent family do not ensure that one’s life doesn’t end as vanity according to verse 6:4. Verse 6:9 adds desire to the vanity list. Verse 7:6 adds a fool’s comments. The inequities between good man and evil men fall on the vanity list in verse 7:15. Verse 8:10 tells us that the things that are forgotten as soon as our obituaries are written are nothing but vanity. The fact that just men seem to get the rewards of the unjust and vice versa is obviously vanity according to verse 8:14. Verse 9:9 says that even a happy home can belie the underlying vanity of the relationship. Verse 11:8 adds that even a long life can be only a camouflage for vanity under the surface. Youthfulness makes the list in verse 11:10. And the concluding summation is that everything is vanity is found in verse 12:8
Well, that leaves us with essentially “no stone unturned.” Business, industry, finance, education, politics, religion, entertainment, family – every area of human interest and endeavor is included as being vanity. Thus, it becomes obvious that the Apostle Paul wasn’t saying that the gentiles don’t have anything in their brains; rather, he was trying to tell us that the things that they occupy their minds with have no substance. Even if their plans and schemes move nations, transfer fortunes, and change the course of history, they are still vanity in God’s sight. In that case, what is it that must be planted so that our minds as believers will not be focused on such vanity? Paul answered this question by sharing his own testimony in Philippians chapter three.
Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. (verses 3:3-8)
In this passage, Paul gives us a pretty impressive list of accomplishments and pedigrees that would certainly qualify as the “stuff” of success in almost every dimension of life. Yet, he says that all these things are essentially dung – vanity, if you prefer a little more polite description – to him. The one thing that he says is worthy of his consideration is “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” The truth is that the New Testament abounds with confirmations of the fact that the knowledge of God is the essence of the Christian life. (Romans 1:28, 10:2, 11:33; I Corinthians 15:34; II Corinthians 2:14, 4:6, 10:5; Ephesians 1:17, 3:4, 4:13; Colossians 1:10, 3:10; II Peter 1:2, 1:3, 1:8, 2:20, 3:18) It is the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that must be planted in us to take the place of the vanity that will otherwise fill the thoughts of our minds and hearts. (Ephesians 3:17 Colossians 1:23, 2:7)
But does this mean that we must always go about thinking about God and Jesus like monks cloistered away from the rest of the world in a monastery somewhere? No – a thousand times no! Jesus prayed that we would be able to remain in the world while not being part of it. (John 17:15) We must find a place of balance where we can continue to live in and have an influence upon all the dimensions of society – yet not be sucked into the vacuum of their emptiness. The key is to realize that Christ is the true essence of every aspect of life – business, industry, finance, education, politics, religion, entertainment, family, and every other element of life. (I Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 1:10, Colossians 3:11) The exquisite “Christ hymn” of Colossians 1:14-20 expresses this truth with such grandeur:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
In essence, the Jeremiah mission is not accomplished in our lives until we are able to look at every aspect of our lives and see Christ in it. Is there a dimension of Christ in each business deal that we arrange? Is there an aspect of Christ in every political move we make? Is the authority of Christ evident in our homes? Is Christ lord over how we spend our leisure time? Is Christ exalted in our religious activities? Is Christ the center of all we put our hands and hearts to? If not, then there is still something that needs the radical transformation of Jeremiah’s ministry of rooting out, pulling down, destroying, throwing down, building, and planting.
Paul emphasized this same kind of all-out, jail-destroying, rooting-up, tearing-down action when he admonished the Galatian believers to move from simply living above fulfilling the lusts of the flesh to literally eradicating them, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh…And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Galatians 5:16-24) Don’t just stop fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, mortify it! My wife serves as a chaplain in the local jail, and often speaks of the girls who are released only to wind up right back in jail within a few weeks – or, sometimes, days. You see, they are out of the physical jail but haven’t torn down the emotional, psychological, financial, relational, and demonic prisons they are in; therefore, they wind up back in the physical jail as well
The next significant move that we can identify in the story of the Philippian jail was that he saved the jailer’s life. The Philippian jailer had beaten Paul and left him bound and bleeding while creepy, crawly things slithered across his back. Since his hands were tied, he could not defend himself from their invasion and infection. Yet, when the jailer was ready to commit suicide, Paul rushed to his rescue and saved his life – and then his soul. (Acts 16:22-34) I’ve often wondered if I would have responded so quickly when I saw the man who had treated me so cruelly ready to commit hari-kari. Perhaps, I would have let my emotional desire for revenge override my spiritual desire to obey Jesus’ command, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44) Probably only after it was too late, would I have thought to do the right thing. But Paul acted immediately to save the man – because Paul was not in the emotional prison of hate, resentment, or self-pity. He had torn those prisons down long before the physical jail came crumpling down.
In this story we find a few other principles that Paul applied resulting in maximum impact. One thing was that he seemed to recognize that people weren’t his problem – otherwise, he would have taken revenge on the jailer. When people persecute or tempt us, we must remember that they are only instruments of the devil. In most cases, they really have no reason to try to hurt us, but they do so because they are captive to the forces that control them. In essence, we should think of abusers, pimps, drug dealers, and other people who damage our lives just like the person who passes a cold to us – they are sick, and can’t help the fact that they are contagious. Directly related to this revelation was Paul’s next principle – forgive. Paul took his relationship with the jailer one step further when he not only refused to hold resentment against him but also went so far as to forgive him and give him the greatest gift possible – leading him and his family to the Lord. Paul was able to have a powerful impact in the life of the jailer and in the city of Philippi as a whole because he was proactive – like Jesus, he desired to minister rather than wanting to be ministered to.
One last point that I’d like to highlight in the story of Paul’s experience in Philippi is that he demanded a public release. This may not seem significant at first, but when we consider all the implications we can see it was essentially his way of making a public testimony out of his test. It would have been one thing for the magistrates to privately acknowledge that Paul was right and they were wrong, but Paul insisted that it be made public to demonstrate the triumph of the gospel. In the book of Romans, Paul emphasized that our salvation is not actually complete until we make a public confession with our words (Romans 10:9-10) and a public demonstration through water baptism (Romans 6:4). After all, we were sick, depressed, addicted, and so on in public; so, we should go public with your deliverance. It is God’s intent that we spoil the enemy by making a public show of him. (Colossians 2:15, II Corinthians 2:14, Revelation 12:11) When it looked as if the devil had won a victory over David by enticing him to commit adultery with Bathsheba and then to have her husband killed, the king won the victory of the guilt and condemnation by praying the dynamic prayer recorded in Psalm fifty-one; but note that the prayer ends with David’s commitment to public worship – his way to testify openly and boldly that the enemy had been defeated in his life and that his sin had been reckoned with. Maximum impact comes when our deliverances and victories are demonstrated openly not only in the earthly realm, but also in the spiritual dimension. “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:10-11)