SURVIVING CHRISTIAN TESTING AND AFFLICTION by John H. Painter October, 2006 FOREWORD. If you are the one going through a time of testing and affliction, you would undoubtedly like someone to give you a simple way to get out of it. But, you have undoubtedly noticed that not all Christian prayers are answered with the desired outcome. Saint Paul noticed that, when God declined to remove Paul’s “thorn in the side.” So, how can a Christian deal with the fact of personal affliction, when a desired answer does not come easy or quick? Do you say that at least you’d like some compassion and support in your suffering? You got it! Jesus has that for you, and so do I. But, beyond compassion, what else can I do for you? What else can I do for you, acting as Jesus’ earthly agent? How about understanding what’s going on with you? Would you like to know what the Bible has to say in general about bad things happening to good people? Would you like some biblical tools with which to look at your own specific problems, with a view toward understanding and perhaps getting them reversed? Such tools are in the Bible. I am a teacher by gifting. And, teachers deal in understanding and how to achieve it. Teachers are charismatically drawn to promoting understanding. So, I am motivated, both by compassion and by the gut-level desire to lead you to understanding. Moreover, I am motivated to lead you to applying that understanding toward your own personal restoration. Remembering your school time, you probably remember that achieving understanding of some things is harder than for others. Christian affliction is one of those hard things. So, learning how to understand it is going to require some study and Bible reading. There is no substitute for that. But, the payoff is worth it. In reading this paper, you should remember that all things ultimately work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes. You should also remember that to accomplish His will on earth, God is working through a fallen race. We need to keep this in mind at all times, as we attempt to perform that with which the Lord Jesus has tasked us. Page-1 TABLE OF CONTENTS. SURVIVING CHRISTIAN TESTING AND AFFLICTION..................................................0 FOREWORD...........................................................................................................0 TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................1 PART-1: CHARACTERIZING CHRISTIAN AFFLICTION ................................................2 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................2 AFFLICTION – BIBLICAL CAUSES. .........................................................................2 “Thorns” in the Flesh...........................................................................................2 Sins and Sinning – Biblical Examples..................................................................3 Chastening as Children of God............................................................................3 Keeping a Balanced View of Christian Affliction - Compassion..............................4 PART-2: DIAGNOSING CHRISTIAN AFFLICTION. .......................................................4 GETTING SPIRITUAL – CONTEXTS FOR DEMONIC OPPRESSION...........................4 The Role of the Demonic......................................................................................4 The Seven Contexts of Christianity......................................................................5 Contexts for Demonic Oppression........................................................................5 Gathering Intelligence for Spiritual Warfare.........................................................6 CONTEXTUAL DIAGNOSIS OF CHRISTIAN AFFLICTION.........................................7 Spiritual Observables..........................................................................................7 Do Observables Flow From Demons or Christian Heart Defects?..........................8 Diagnosis............................................................................................................8 A Real-life Example. ............................................................................................9 Assigning Symptoms to Contexts.......................................................................10 Formulating a Considered Opinion – The Example Diagnosis.............................10 PART-3: GETTING HELP FOR CHRISTIAN AFFLICTION............................................11 RELIEF OF CHRISTIAN AFFLICTION. (Revised to Here).........................................11 Getting Help......................................................................................................11 Spiritual Warfare and The Will of God................................................................11 Authorization....................................................................................................12 Closing the Door................................................................................................12 Hindrance to Prayer – A House Divided..............................................................13 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................13 Christian\Website\Library_Dvlpmnt_Files\keys_surviving_short.pdf Created Oct 2006 Page-2 PART-1: CHARACTERIZING CHRISTIAN AFFLICTION INTRODUCTION. This paper deals with the observed fact that God’s people suffer affliction. And, such affliction is apparently within God’s will. This is something that American Christians have a hard time accepting, even though both Peter and Paul talked about it in the Bible. It is very difficult for Christians to understand why bad things happen to good people. In Jesus’ day, believers thought that it must be due to sin in the life of those afflicted. Sometimes it was. But, when the blind man was healed by Jesus, He explained that the blindness was not because of sin of the man or his parents, but so that the works of God might be demonstrated in the man [John 9:3]. What this means is that God has His own purposes for permitting affliction in the life of a believer. One of God’s purposes is to make a point with the heavenly host [Eph. 3:9-13]. That is, like Paul, Christians may suffer tribulation to make the wisdom of God evident to rulers and authorities in the heavenlies. The heavenly “rulers and authorities” of [Eph. 3:10] are translated from the Greek as “principalities and powers” in [Eph. 6:12]. That is, these are the demonic officers against whom is the Church’s earthly battle. God uses a Christian’s response in faith to affliction to make God’s wisdom absolutely clear to the heavenly demonic forces. And, He equips Christians with six pieces of armor through use of which they may stand under demonic assault. This is God’s will, as expressed in the Bible. Here in Part-1, we first look at biblical affliction of God’s people, whether or not sin is present. Then, in Part-2 we will show how to deal with affliction, using a seven- fold model of Christianity. The approach will be analytical, leading to diagnosis and prescription for Christian affliction. When affliction is present in a Christian or his family, he or she is looking for compassion and loving support. An organized, analytical approach to his or her problems may not be just the thing desired. But, like medical practice, treatment is most successful when compassion, love, and analysis are combined. That’s why just the right combination of graces is required from [Rom. 12:6-8], to minister in the area of Christian affliction. AFFLICTION – BIBLICAL CAUSES. ‘Thorns’ in the Flesh. Both Old and New Testaments shed a lot of light on why bad things happen to good people . The story of Job was the first detailed example. God gave Job over to be tested by Satan. After his testing, Job confessed that he had been proclaiming about God things he didn’t understand [Job 42:3]. Saint Paul was a later example, with his “thorn in the flesh” [2 Cor. 12:7]. Whatever his physical affliction, it was put upon him by a demon, and the Lord would not remove it. There was a reason for it. It was so that Paul would not become haughty because of the abundance and excellence of the revelations being given him by the Christian\Website\Library_Dvlpmnt_Files\keys_surviving_short.pdf Created Oct 2006 Page-3 Lord. It was also to demonstrate that Paul would do Jesus’ work in the Lord’s strength and not in his own. The writer of Hebrews tells us that God disciplines His sons (and by implication His daughters, too) with a training purpose [Heb. 12:5-11]. There is also the related idea from Paul, of God’s excellent work being done by Jesus’ afflicted minister. There is a third idea of a minister demonstrating in his life God’s message for the future. This happened in the lives of the prophets, Ezekiel [Ezk. 4,5,12,24] and Isaiah [Isa. 20]. It is known as ‘walking out’ the message given. So, there appear to be many scripturally valid reasons for Christian affliction. Sins and Sinning – Biblical Examples. One recognizable sin that might even result in the death of the Christian is irreverent behavior at communion [1 Cor. 11:29]. Another was a sexually sinning Christian who should be turned over to Satan, so that his flesh might be destroyed, but his spirit saved [1 Cor. 5:5]. These sins were observable ones that could lead to death. But, they did not mean that the Christian was not eternally saved. An extreme example was that described by Jesus in [Mat. 7:21-23]. It concerned people doing such Christian works as prophesying, casting out demons, and other “wonderful works.” Jesus described what they were doing as iniquity. And, He said that He had never known them. They clearly thought that they were Christians, but Jesus denied them entrance to heaven. These three biblical examples seem harsh and judgmental to modern Christians. But, they were well understood by Protestant Christians of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as can be seen by reading Matthew Henry’s Commentary.1 He advised that such earthly judgments were really signs of God’s love, that the Christian might not suffer the eternal judgment that the sins deserved. Henry also called attention to the fact that such earthly judgment may be interpreted as God chastening His children for training purposes. Chastening as Children of God. Jesus says that He rebukes and chastens those He loves, with a view toward bringing them to repentance [Rev. 3:19]. Paul says that when we are judged on earth, it is the Lord chastening us, so that we won’t be eternally condemned. As in the case of Paul, not every chastening is unto death. Personal chastening is a part of being children of God [Heb. 12:5-10]. And, in fact, the Book of Hebrews says that anyone observed to not be under chastisement is not a child of God. It appears that all children of God suffer chastisement, and it is likened to flogging. Flogging hurts. So, Christians may be physically hurt, as a part of God’s chastening. Job was certainly hurt, and it is likely that Paul was, also. How, then, is the modern Christian to understand this? The very definition of the Greek Bible word that is translated as “chastening” means discipline, as a part of training. It is used thirteen times in the New Testament. That was the way Jesus used it in [Rev. 3:19]. Paul said that if we would judge among ourselves we would not be so chastened [1 Cor. 11:31]. In other words, avoiding 1 Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1706, Uncopyrighted, MacDonald Publishing Co., McLean, Va., ISBN 0-917006-21-6. Christian\Website\Library_Dvlpmnt_Files\keys_surviving_short.pdf Created Oct 2006 Page-4 chastisement requires good judgment and an understanding of scriptural Christian living. Paul says that we need to figure out how to live, so as to survive chastening and not be killed [2 Cor. 6:9]. Keeping a Balanced View of Christian Affliction - Compassion. Focusing on the bad things that happen to Christians does not mean that the good things of Christianity should be ignored. There is a balance in life, which includes both good and bad. And, life is that way because mankind fell from grace with Adam and Eve. But, the Bible says that God works all things together, for the good of those who love Him and are those called according to His purposes [Rom. 8:28]. And, the “all things” include the good and the bad. Jesus listed the good and the bad to be found in the churches of the very end- times in [Rev. 2,3]. He encourages Christians to hang onto the good and to repair the bad. Paul told the believers at Philippi to keep the good things in mind [Php. 4:8]. But, he also told Corinth to stop the bad things that were going on within Christianity [1 Cor. 11:31]. I’m coming to realize that mankind is indeed a fallen species. And, it was so, when God sent His only begotten Son to offer man a path to eternal salvation. In the flesh, mankind is fallen and so am I. And so are you. The only exception is when we’re in the Spirit. Then, it is Jesus, acting through us, individually. I need to keep this in mind at every turn in my living and in my writing for the Lord. There will be both good and bad in Christianity until Jesus makes His physical return [Rev. 22:11]. And, I need to remember that, especially now. PART-2: DIAGNOSING CHRISTIAN AFFLICTION. GETTING SPIRITUAL – CONTEXTS FOR DEMONIC OPPRESSION. Now, let’s get analytical about all this. Although affliction may be either physical or mental, or both, the cause is spiritual. So, Let’s examine the underlying spiritual aspects. The Role of the Demonic. Peter says that God’s earthly judgment begins with Christianity [1 Pet. 4:17]. In both the Old- and New-Testament, God’s judgments of individual believers were seen to be at the hands of demons. Some church doctrines hold that a Christian cannot be subject to demonic affliction. But, in his own words, Saint Paul’s situation is a clear counter-example [2 Cor. 12:7]. We are now seeing increasing testing and judgment within Christian families. These attacks may be attributed to demons. According to Paul’s teaching on sin [Rom. 7:7-25], it is present in our lives when we are not “in the Spirit.” And, I will be the first to confess that I am not continually in the Spirit. So, like Paul, in the flesh I expect to sin, perhaps thoughtlessly, and to be subject to demonic affliction, if God permits. It is important to understand God’s role in all this. As can be seen from Job, God does not specify the details of demonic affliction. But, His permission is needed for it. And, God sets limits upon it. For every test at the hands of a demon, God Christian\Website\Library_Dvlpmnt_Files\keys_surviving_short.pdf Created Oct 2006 Page-5 provides a way out [1 Cor. 10:13], so that the Christian can bear it. To understand this, the Book of Job should be carefully and completely read. God is very just about this. My observation is that disciplining afflictions are in the seven identifiable contexts of Christianity. Satan’s purpose in these attacks is to disable the Christian from playing his proper role in the Church. These disabilities may be mental (deception) or physical. God’s purpose in permitting such chastening may involve sin, but definitely has a training aspect. A demonic attack may come in one part of a Christian family (house), in order to disable another part. The Seven Contexts of Christianity. Whether sin is the cause of Christian affliction, or whether God is making a point in heaven, there is a lot of information obtainable from analysis of the affliction, in light of biblical doctrine. It is biblically verifiable that there are seven contexts to Christianity and that God operates in those contexts. Jesus’ discourse in Revelation-2 and -3, addressed to the seven churches in Asia, demonstrates those contexts and His actions in those contexts. Much supporting information is available elsewhere in the Bible, to fully characterize those contexts. For details, see the companion paper on the Alpha Aquila website2, entitled The Sevenfold Structure of Christianity, which may be read for fuller understanding of what follows, below. The seven Christian contexts are simply labeled as Faith, Truth, Spirit, Power, Ministry, Doctrine, and Maturity. Given knowledge of the detailed characterization of the seven contexts, a Christian’s afflictions may then be observed to fall within one or more of these contexts. Identifying a context then points at what may be God’s will in allowing the affliction. If God’s will can be discerned in the matter, then a course of action may be indicated for the afflicted Christian. In a case where the cause can be determined to be sin, a prescription for repentance may be formulated. What has just been outlined in the above paragraph is a procedure for diagnosis and prescription that is spiritual, rather than physical. To apply it in detail may require the services of an appropriately gifted and trained ‘deliverance’ minister. The existence of such a procedure follows from two biblical promises. One is that in every testing, God provides for a way out [1 Cor. 10:13]. The other is that we have not because we ask not, or we ask for the wrong reasons [Jas. 4:2]. That is, if we understand what, why, and how to ask, then we have a much better possibility for our prayers to be answered affirmatively. Certainly, God wants us to understand what His will is [Eph. 5:17]. And, the biblical Greek for that “understanding” is to “put it together.” Contexts for Demonic Oppression. Demons oppress Christians in areas of life such as health, finances, family, work, ministry, and home. The attacks are mounted by seven classes of demon, each one acting within one of the seven particular contexts of Christian life. The first two contexts are those within which work individual basic disciplers and witnesses, sharing their faith and communicating the truths of Christianity. The next five contexts are those within which work prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and apostles, in that order. But one does not need to be one of the 2 Alpha Aquila Ministries, http://alphaaquila.org/Library/sevenfold_christianity.pdf Christian\Website\Library_Dvlpmnt_Files\keys_surviving_short.pdf Created Oct 2006 Page-6 denominationally ordained ‘five-fold’ ministers, to be involved in the corresponding context [Eph. 4:11-13]. The demonic attacks are to disable any Christian for work in the particular context. My observation is that if there is enabling sin present, it will also be in the same context. Table 1., below, shows seven scripturally identified demon classes and their contexts. Also shown are the corresponding defects of the Christian heart, which may produce an enabling sin that opens a Christian up to spiritual oppression. The context and corresponding demon type may be identified by the effects observed in the Christian. These listed soulish heart defects are those that manifest through the Christian’s speech [Mat. 15:18]. So, analyzing how a Christian talks may point at the context of the oppression. Note that poor health is identified with the maturity context. An attack on health is intended to prevent a Christian from working in the mature things in the Church. The Christian may not be tasked as an apostle, but the context will be the apostolic, which is all about bringing Christians to maturity. The context includes such things as viewing Jesus as Conqueror (Apostles’ doctrine) [Acts 2:34-35], and Church unity [Eph. 4:1-6], and patience [2 Pet. 1:5-7] and mercy [Rom 12:6-8], and going on to maturity, if God permits [Heb. 6:1-3]. OPPOSES HEART SPIRIT OF … REFERENCE CONTEXT DEFECTS OF … [Mat. 15:18-19] Antichrist [1 John 4:3] Faith Selfishness Error [1 John 4:6] Truth False Witness Divination [Acts 16:16] Spirit Counterfeit Love Fear, Bondage [Rom. 8:15] Power Undercutting Authority Uncleanness [Luke 4:33] Ministry Putting Down Slumber [Rom. 11:8] Doctrine Worthless Dialoging Infirmity [Luke 13:11] Maturity Selling Self Table 1. Seven Demon Classes and Corresponding Christian Heart Defects. Gathering Intelligence for Spiritual Warfare. Using tables to characterize spiritual things may seem artificial to some. But, in dealing with demonic activities it is absolutely necessary to get a top-down view of the situation. Spiritual warfare is the same as physical warfare, in that good real-time military intelligence is required about the enemy, in order to formulate and mount a successful counter-attack. What we are doing here is laying out military-like tabular models that will allow us to analyze enemy organization and operations. We will continue this below, analyzing the detailed effects of enemy attacks upon our troops. It turns out that Satan has organized his forces to match God’s organization of Christianity. That is, Satan has what I will call a “Five-fold Anti-Ministry,” which functionally targets God’s apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Members of the chain of command below Satan are biblically labeled as “principalities, Christian\Website\Library_Dvlpmnt_Files\keys_surviving_short.pdf Created Oct 2006 Page-7 powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places” [Eph. 6:12]. There are equivalent labels for the last two in [Eph. 1:21] and [Col. 1:16], being “dominions” for the last, and “might” or “throne” for the third. There are then seven different specialized classes of demonic troops to do the bidding of the command structure. A complete teaching on spiritual warfare is not possible in the present short paper, but can be obtained from this writer, separately. Our counter-attack upon the demons responsible for Christian affliction may not be mounted on our own volition. As in all warfare, the command for a counter- attack must come down from our Commander, who is the Lord of Hosts, Jesus. We will deal with this necessity to have authorization, below. CONTEXTUAL DIAGNOSIS OF CHRISTIAN AFFLICTION. Spiritual Observables. Analyzing visible effects of demonic oppression identifies both the Christian context and the demon oppressor’s type. The analysis is based on observing the effects displayed by the Christian. Table 2., below, shows a number of characteristics observable in oppressed persons, categorized by demon type. Only one context results in an attack upon the Christian’s physical health. The other six contexts result in attacks on the Christian’s mentality and thought processes. There can be combined attacks by more than one demon, in which case the observables must be separated and properly assigned to multiple contexts in the diagnosis. Both Jesus [Mat. 12:45] and Luke [Luke 8:2] referred to the presence of multiple demons. SPIRIT OBSERVABLE CHARACTERISTICS CONTEXT OF … May be observed as passive effects or dynamic actions Antichrist Unbelief, distrust, unmoved, unsharing, negative, cold, Faith dry, empty. Error Illegal, deceptive, hard-heart, hard-head, unrepentant, Truth legalistic, hypocritical, deaf. Divination Blasphemy, sacrilege, meddling, rebellion, divisive, vain, Spirit phony, paranoid. Fear Manipulate, confuse, terrorize, attack, violate, capture, Power enslave, control. Uncleanness Loud, accuse, proud, lewd, immoral, unholy, addict, Ministry waste. Slumber Self-sufficient, self-absorbed, worldly, lull, dull, denial, Doctrine fuzzy-thinking, blind. Infirmity Torment, afflict, entrap, weaken, disable, humiliate, Maturity vanquish, silence. Figure 2. Observable Characteristics of a Demonically Oppressed Christian. Christian\Website\Library_Dvlpmnt_Files\keys_surviving_short.pdf Created Oct 2006 Page-8 Do Observables Flow From Demons or Christian Heart Defects? In looking at the above list of observables, it may be asked whether they are being generated by an oppressing demon, or whether they are just manifestations of the Christian’s heart. Here, we’re talking about the soulish heart, not the fleshly one. I will be the first to admit that I do not know where the dividing line is between demon oppression and human heart. Those seven symptoms of a bad heart, in Table 1., are quite credible as emanating from a non-believer. But, it’s a question whether the heart symptoms and the observables of Table 2. can be displayed by a Christian who is not demon-oppressed. The heart is the subject of much teaching in both Old- and New-Testament. It’s mentioned 159 times in the New Testament and 718 times in the Old Testament. So, there is a lot to be known about it. What I remember most is [Jer. 17:9], saying, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” I believe that only God can accurately read the human heart [Acts 8:21-22]. Therefore, if I need to decide whether or not the displayed symptoms proceed from demon or heart, I will ask the Lord. Diagnosis. Diagnosis is a good Greek Bible word, that means to ascertain exactly. It was used twice in Acts, concerning Paul’s trial at the hands of Felix, the Governor at Caesarea. There, Felix, acting in his capacity as judge, said that he would investigate Paul’s situation, thoroughly [Acts 24:22]. The word means a hearing, in the magisterial sense [Acts 25:21]. And, a biblical magistrate is a “master,” that is, a teacher [Luke 2:46]. This is because such diagnosis depends heavily upon knowledge of the Bible. A biblical diagnosis is a hearing, to which the hearer applies judgment to determine the facts of the case. There are four different kinds of judgment in the Bible, which apply to this kind of diagnosis. Christians are biblically instructed to use all four kinds. In making a diagnosis, a believer must be “in the Spirit” and “in Christ,” at all times. This is because every step in the diagnostic process requires interaction and communication between the believer and Jesus. This is the most important aspect of the whole diagnostic process. First is what I will call, “Sizing it up.” This is a gross estimation, with the Greek being, “anakrino” [1 Cor. 2:15]. It is getting a rough estimate of the situation. The second is “diakrino,” which I will call, “Cutting it up” [1 Cor. 6:5]. It is a careful sorting and examination of the evidence. (This is what Paul told the Corinthians to do.) The third is “sugkrino,” which is making comparisons [2 Cor. 10:12], in order to “Put it all together.” The final step is “krino,” which I call “Summing it up” [1 Cor. 5:12]. It is formulating a considered opinion. The diagnostic procedure starts with making a list of symptoms. Use Table 2., above, as a guide to articulate the symptoms in as few words as possible. Ask for Holy Spirit guidance to both make the list and to make the following rough estimate of the situation. This is the “sizing up” step. Next, use a table, like Table 3. in the example, below, to match the symptoms to Christian contexts. The Context column headings represent, from left to right, Faith, Christian\Website\Library_Dvlpmnt_Files\keys_surviving_short.pdf Created Oct 2006 Page-9 Truth, Spirit, Power, Ministry, Doctrine, and Maturity. Again, Table 2, above, may be used as a guide. This is the “cutting it up” step. Next, determine which of the Christian contexts have the most symptoms. And, there may be more than one major problem area. Contexts that have just a comparative few entries may be treated as secondary. Next, look at the major problem areas, to see how they may be linked for a demonic purpose. The last step is to write a detailed description of what the problem is, and how to approach the necessary repentance. This is the “Summing it up” step. A Real-life Example. This real-life example describes a pastor whose church failed. The symptoms were assembled from a short interview of one of his church elders, whom this writer knew well. Many of the symptoms came from observations of how the pastor interacted with those around him in the church. A longer interview would have probably provided more symptoms. However, these were enough to render a good diagnosis. # SYMPTOMS CONTEXT F T S P M D M 1 No meaningful relationships with congregants. ♦ 2 Praise/worship all enthusiasm. ♦ 3 Gone from church much of the time (traveling). ♦ 4 Rejects elders confronting him on church issues. ♦ 5 Doesn’t promote evangelism. ♦ 6 Overemphasizes hierarchical administrative structure. ♦ 7 Distrusts lay ministries. ♦ 8 Insists on strict “training” of lay leaders. ♦ 9 Discourages church giving to the poor. ♦ 10 Allows no church support of missionaries. ♦ 11 Allows no member access to office. ♦ 12 Sermons poor, unprepared. ♦ 13 Does not encourage making visitors feel welcome. ♦ 14 Allows no bible-study initiatives. ♦ 15 Makes no provision for children during services. ♦ 16 Has no plan for church “vision.” ♦ 17 Manifests a heartfelt desire to serve the Lord. ♦ TOTALS 5 2 3 5 1 1 0 Table 3. Example of Symptom Context List. From the column totals, the two major indicated problem areas are Faith and Power. Faith is the area wherein disciplers share their faith with new believers, showing them by example what Christian faith is. Power is the area wherein the evangelist works, bringing unbelievers to the point of belief in Jesus Christ. Christian\Website\Library_Dvlpmnt_Files\keys_surviving_short.pdf Created Oct 2006