By Sherri Stevens

HOLY FIT

"Looking good!" you think to yourself as you take one last glance in the mirror on your way out the door to your best friend's birthday party. Imagine how confident you would feel if you had just bought a new outfit and you knew that you were going to show up to your friend's party and rock the room.

But on the way to getting into your car, a man walked up to you criticizing you about how filthy you looked and berating you for the wretched rags you were wearing. You would think he was crazy! You knew for a fact that you looked amazing in your new threads, and you would just blow him off as if he were a nutcase and head off to enjoy the party, right?

So why is it that we can have so much confidence in how we look in our physical clothes, but we can have such a hard time experiencing the same confidence with how we look in our spiritual clothes?

THE VISION OF JOSHUA THE HIGH PRIEST

There is a vision of Joshua the High Priest described in the Old Testament book of Zechariah 3 that gives us some valuable insight into the spiritual warfare we as Christians can experience:

"Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan: “The LORD rebukes you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you! Is not this man a firebrand snatched from the fire?” Now Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel. So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes." Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him, as the angel of the LORD stood by." - Zech. 3:1-5

TACTICS AND TRUTHS OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE

The devil is not only a liar who seeks to deceive us, a tempter who seeks to ensnare us, and a murderer who seeks to kill us, but he is also an accuser who seeks to condemn us. The very name Satan means "accuser." Hence we read in Revelation of "the accuser of our brothers...who accuses them day and night before our God" (Rev. 12:10).

In his misery, Satan seeks to surround himself with more company. And for those whom he cannot condemn (because they are in Christ), he works day and night to destroy their spiritual peace. But when we sense the Accuser is at our right hand, we can remember our Advocate is at God's right hand!

The way we wage a winning war against Satan's stragegies is to lift our eyes to the "God who justifies," remembering that "Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us" (Rom. 8:33-34). Christ died for our sins. Christ was raised to give us life. Christ is interceding for us. These three assurances, grasped in faith, raise a shield against every accusation of the evil one.

James goes on to exhort us, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you!” (James 4:7). How do we do that? Here is how they did it according to Revelation 12:11: “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” They embraced the triumph of Christ by his blood. They spoke that truth in faith. They did not fear death. And they triumphed!

IDENTITY IS SECURITY

At the heart of what it means to be a Christian is to receive a new identity. In Christ, we do not lose our true selves, but we become our true selves, only in him. Christ is our life - not only the guarantee of it in heaven but the downpayment of it by the Spirit now, as he lives in us. His joy becomes our joy; his love, our love; his peace, our peace; his strength, our strength.

We can never find our true identity inside ourselves. If we're honest with ourselves, we often feel insecure which can drive us to attach ourselves to some false identity outside ourselves. Some seek to claim an identity according to their sexual preference, some identify themselves according to their marital status, and some may identify themselves according to a title or position they may hold at their job. And the list goes on.

But whatever (or whoever) we may attempt to anchor our soul to for significance and security, outside of Christ, will ultimately fail. Our insecurity is an invitation from God to escape the danger of false beliefs about who we are and find our true identity and confidence in who he is. "The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion" (Prov. 29:1). 

CLOTHED IN CHRIST

The Apostle Paul tells us to "clothe ourselves" in Christ: "Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4:24). Paul begins by saying that we who were baptized were given a new life in Christ—clothed with him from the moment of our baptism. The book of Proverbs connects the confidence a virtuous woman has because of the character she is clothed with: "She is clothed in strength and dignity; she laughs without fear of the future" (Prov. 31:25).

In the Old Testament, we are given a beautiful picture of the bride of Christ being robed in righteousness by her God: "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (Is. 61:10).

Get God and get Holy Fit!

‍