Spiritual Warfare in the Modern World Genesis 4:1-16; 25-26
Introduction
Good morning, Brothers and Sisters! I am glad that we are gathered together this morning in Holy Worship to our God.
Today will conclude our 4-week study through the first few chapters of Genesis. We have discussed the foundational components of a Biblical worldview. The first week, we talked about Reality as God established it. Week 2, we focused on the necessity of the God’s Holy Word interpreting, and establishing our knowledge of the world and how it works. Last week we considered how to identify and respond to our sin. Today, we consider the impacts of Spiritual Warfare in our Modern World.
To preface today’s Sermon there are three disclaimers that I want to give to you:
I am a Theologian just like you, and I am not a Scientist.
We do not need to OVER Spiritualize everything.
We do not need to UNDER Spiritualize everything.
Why don’t we start with an analogy of how the immaterial spiritual world effects the material world in which we live:
Light which is made up of photons is a very unique “thing.” Photons have no mass, or matter that composes it. It’s really not made of anything. Photons are just packets of electromagnetic energy. So, is it even really a “thing”? That is similar to how the Spiritual realm is. The Spiritual world is not material in the same way we think of the material world, but this does not mean that it is insignificant in any way. Would you say that Light is insignificant? Would you consider a photon insignificant? Like the photon, the Spiritual world is not insignificant either.
Lets’ think for a minute how photons impact the material world. Photons emitted by the sun are absorbed in materials on the earth to provide warmth, produce electricity, start the process of photosynthesis, or cause a sunburn on your skin. The interactions that photons can have in the material world can be good or bad (positive or negative). The immaterial photon thing can have physical impacts in a positive or negative manner.
Similarly, the immaterial Spiritual world has positive and negative impacts in the material world too. Satanic influences can cause death, destruction, murder, chaotic events, confusion, and illnesses. There are examples of this all throughout the Scriptures. On the other hand, God’s Spirit regenerates the sinners heart bringing freedom from sin, reorders events to bring peace, restricts destruction, executes justice, disciplines believers, heals, rewards, and encourages. There are also examples of this all through the Scriptures, Jesus being the central masterpiece. We often think of miracles as events attributed to God, but how often do we consider Satan’s workings in the world?
Our worldview, if it is to be Biblical, must allow for us to consider that the Spiritual forces in the World actually affect the world and oppose God’s church. There is sobriety in thinking this way, there is hope in considering this, and there is excitement for the day of rest that awaits all God’s people from this persecution.
I hope that in our Text this morning we can identify:
Spiritual Warfare in the Rivalry (Genesis 4:1-5)
Spiritual Guidance in the Recommendation (Genesis 4:6-7)
Spiritual Warfare in the Result (Genesis 4:8)
Spiritual Redemption in God’s Response (Genesis 4:9-16, 25-26).
Spiritual Warfare in the Brother Rivalry:
1. RIVALRY: (Genesis 4:1-5) “Cain Was Very Angry and His Face Fell”
If you remember back to the curse that God proclaimed to Serpent in 3:15, you will notice that Eve expected a deliver from her womb. This might account for attribution of Cain with the help of the Lord. Also, you might notice that there is only one time in this passage that Adam knows Eve, yet there are two sons birthed. Abel is the second son. It’s possible that Cain and Abel were from the same pregnancy. Nonetheless, we are expected to view them either the same age or as very close in age. Eve apparently thought that Cain would be the deliver that would fulfill the promise of bruising the head of the Serpent. What Eve did not realize is that Cain, nor Abel could be that deliver. She didn’t fully understand that it would be several centuries before that promised Son would appear.
The two brothers each had their skill and trade. In the course of time, Cain and Abel came to worship God. They brought their offerings before the Lord, but the Lord did not regard the offerings of Cain. This caused Cain to well up with anger. This also caused Cain to become envious and jealous of Abel. This disregard for Cain’s offering caused a severe rivalry in their brotherhood.
What does the Scriptures tell us about Cain?
1st John 3:10-12 – By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
What does the Scriptures tell us about Abel?
Hebrews 11:4 – By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
Hebrews 12:22-24 – But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
So, considering these texts what really was the motivation behind the Brother Rivalry that took place?
It was a battle between light and darkness, between good and evil, between two kingdoms, between the lineage of Satan against God. The rivalry was one sided, but it was very spiritually motivated. Satan was influencing and hardening the heart of Cain as Cain hardened himself against God, and his brother. The offering of Cain was rejected because it was evil in some way shape or form, and the effect of those evil deeds brought a rivalry in the very first family. The anger motivating Cain was an internal Spiritual battle with physical implications. It was obvious by Cain’s face that he was upset. Cain’s face fell. However, this was just the beginning.
After Cain’s offering was rejected, what does God tell Cain?
2. RECOMMENDATION: (Genesis 4:6-7) “Sin Crouching at the Door, You Must Rule Over It”
God gives to Cain a recommendation after questioning him. God is good at asking questions. (Read vs. 6-7). God visits with the angry, spiritually broken Cain, and offers an opportunity to repent. Then God graciously gives Cain some advice, a recommendation. God says: Sin is there, but you must rule over it. God is telling Cain to not let that Sinful desire consume him. God is recommending to Cain to not go the way he wants to go. God is graciously appealing to Cain through objective truth, but it just hardens Cain’s heart all the more.
This is what we do when we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those around us. The Gospel is freeing to those whom God’s Spirit is regenerating, but it is offensive and hardening to those who have no faith. Nonetheless, we are to share the objective truth of the Gospel of Jesus with all humanity. There will be one of two reactions to this truth: rejection or embrace. Sharing objective truth is a Spiritual endeavor, just as it was here with God and Cain a spiritual issue, so it is with all humanity, a spiritual issue.
God’s recommendation is no less applicable. The statement that God makes to Cain was just as true to Cain as it was to Abel, the only difference was Abel acted in Faith while Cain acted in evil. Sin is crouching at the door of all of us. Its desire is to kill us. Satan wants to use Sin to kill us, because we are the people of God. That is why, the Christian life is not always physically easy. There are many hardships and persecutions many of which might be Spiritually motivated by demonic forces, but we can take care to recognize that God is with us and has overcome the world through his death and resurrection.
Despite God’s recommendation to Cain, Cain rejects God’s Words and we see the result.
3. RESULT: (Genesis 4:8) “Abel and Killed Him”
Cain rose up against Abel and killed him. Spiritual influence of Sin now has been manifested in the physical permanent death of righteous Abel. Did Abel want this? Probably not. Did Eve want this? Most likely not. On this day, Eve lost both of her sons due to sin and the influence of satanic spiritual forces.
The result of the Spiritual influence of sin is death. “For the wages of Sin is death” Satan and his sins kill people, kill relationships, kill families, kill friendships, and kills all kinds of things.
This is why Peter reminds us to:
1 Peter 5:8-10 - Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
After seeing that this Spiritual warfare ends the physical life of Abel and tears a family apart, what is God’s response to these situations?
4. GOD’S RESPONSE: (Genesis 4:9-16, 25-26) “Lord Put a Mark on Cain. Bore a Son and Called Him Seth”
God through His omniscience knows what Satan is doing. God knows how Satan and Sin operate in the Spiritual Realms. God also knows what is needed and how to work through these situations, God’s providence accomplishes it. There is nothing that is outside of the grasp, capability or cognizance of God. God had warned of a Spiritual war that would rage between the Woman and the Serpent’s seeds. The first evidence of this War is in the death of Abel. Now, it appears that all hope is lost for the redemption of mankind since Cain is driven out, and marked specifically by God. However, God will never allow Satan to win. God gives Adam and Eve another child, Seth. It is from Seth that Jesus Christ comes. Look with me at Luke 3:38 - the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
God acts bringing punishment and restoration upon the consequences of the Spiritual world in the Physical world. Cain was an instrument of Satan used to kill his righteous brother Abel. But this is not foreign or unique to the whole of the body of the Scriptures, let’s take a quick sample to see with more clarity how the Spiritual world influences Physical realities.
a. Consider our friend Job: (Job 1-2): Satan attacks Job’s family killing his children, taking his material possessions, and then afflicting him with physical illness. The mechanism that caused these things to be were all motivated by Satan and his Demonic activities. These were not seen in the physical world, but the devastation that it caused sure was. Also, Job did not know that these trials were Spiritual warfare caused at the hand of Satan. Job did not understand why these things were happening to Him. Job just wanted it to stop. After the trials were over, God restored Job’s possessions, health, wealth, and gave more children to Job. However, Job still had to live with the grief of what he experienced.
b. Consider Judas Iscariot (John 13:21-27 - After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So, when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”) – Satan enters Judas to betray Jesus by leading those who seek to kill Jesus right to Him in the Garden.
c. Consider (Luke 13:16-17 - And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.) – Satan bound a woman through a physical disability for 18 years, and Jesus healed her.
These are all instances of Spiritual warfare having a direct effect on the physical world. The point of this is not to be depressed about the reality of the Spiritual warfare that is at work but to be sober minded about it. This gives us all the more motivation and reason to Trust God in Faith because Jesus is going to execute vengeance upon all those who are against His kingdom. That will be a dreadful day for them. God’s response to the Spiritual Warfare of Satan is Jesus who has overcome and will come again to execute ultimate judgment. Our Hope Church is in Christ and Him alone. As Jesus said in John 16:33 - I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Conclusion
Much like how light photons are not material things but have effects upon the physical world; so is it with Spiritual warfare in which Spiritual forces have an effect on the World around us. Therefore, we ought to be watchful, prayerful, and helpful to each other to remind ourselves that even in times of testing it is our Faith in Jesus Christ, because of the work of Christ that will enable us to overcome the world. Yes, we are more than Conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord. So, the Death of Abel was motivated by a Spiritual battle, a Spiritual reality; there too maybe things that happen in our lives beyond our control and they may very well be motivated by Spiritual Warfare, so suit up in the Whole Armor of God and lock arms with the person sitting next to you, and endure together. Testing and trials will not last forever and our God will execute true justice on our behalf. (Vengeance is mine declares the Lord, and I will repay).
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
“This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God”
