In this scripture, Paul is speaking to the early church about spiritual warfare. There is a battlefield where we are to fight hollow philosophies, demonic ideologies, and human thoughts that set up against the word of the Lord.

If you are a Christian, you are a theologian. You have thoughts about God. Biblical theology covers the whole story of the Bible. That is, the core story through the covenant structure, with a kingdom standard. We must see the Bible as a whole where Jesus is at the center.

The Bible story has four parts. Creation, separation, redemption, and restoration.

Creation
God spoke everything into existence and made everything good. He created us to live and commune with Him. He made everything on purpose, your life is not accidental, and your life is not self-defined. He gave us order, beauty, intention, design. He gave us responsibility, order, instruction, sets boundaries, give blessings, forms community. If we don't have this understanding of what God created, we can think life is meaningless, our bodes are ours to redefine, we can think work is a curse, and morality is negotiable.

Separation
Mankind was deceived by Satan and rebelled against God, letting sin and death into the world. Our relationship with God was disturbed, and God eventually spelled out the sin problem when He delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses. Sin is what brings poverty, pain, sickness, distortion, and violence. Lack of information, flawed systems, lack of resources, low self esteem, poor education are problems, but they are symptoms of sin.

In our society, sin is redefined, relabeled, and rebranded by culture to have a disguise. "struggle", "injustice", "dysfunction". We don't need a strategy, we need the Good News. We cannot fix ourself. We need redemption.

Redemption
God did not leave the world he created in ruin. God stepped in and sent Jesus to live the life we should have lived. Jesus died the death we should have died. Jesus did not just come to inspire and teach. He came to save us from guaranteed death. The principles of Jesus will help you, but the person of Jesus will save you.

Without Jesus, the Bible is just a book of principles, church is just a social club. Redemption is about what Jesus did for us against sin, but the Bible does not end at the cross.

Restoration
There is a day coming where all things will be made new. A new heaven and a new earth will appear. Jesus will return and evil will be judged. Without restoration in the story, you will try to build only what Christ can bring. Restoration is about God bringing his completion, His plan, and His purposes back to the world in perfect form. Restoration is a reminder that evil does not win and the suffering and pain on the earth is not forever.

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