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The Matrix As A Parable
By Chip Brogden www.theschoolofchrist.org
NEO TYPICAL OF THE PARADIGM SHIFT REQUIRED OF OVERCOMERS CONCERNING SPIRITUAL WARFARE
* * *
Morpheus: We have survived by hiding from them, by running from them. But they are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors. They are holding all the keys, which means that sooner or later, someone is going to have to fight them.
Neo: Someone?
Morpheus: I won't lie to you, Neo. Every single man or woman who has stood their ground, everyone who has fought an agent has died. But where they have failed, you will succeed.
Neo: Why?
Morpheus: I've seen an agent punch through a concrete wall. Men have emptied entire clips at them and hit nothing but air. Yet their strength and their speed are still based in a world that is built on rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong or as fast as you can be.
Neo: What are you trying to tell me, that I can dodge bullets?
Morpheus: No Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.
* * *
The issue of overcoming is closely linked to the topic of spiritual warfare. Since Overcomers demonstrate the victory of Christ and the preeminence of His Life over sin, self, and satan, a paradigm shift concerning spiritual warfare as it is now taught is in order.
Modern-day spiritual warfare doctrine is based on a dualistic worldview which pits Good versus Evil, Light versus Darkness, God versus satan. While this part of the characterization is correct, dualism goes a step further and suggests that these forces are all equal, each struggling for supremacy, neither with any clear advantage. Things go along back and forth between the two like the positive and negative fields of a magnet. It is the classic pantheistic universalist "Star Wars" worldview of life, the stuff cowboy movies are made of.
This notion of cosmic dualism is reinforced with novels and warfare manuals from Christian writers depicting spiritual warfare as an invisible tug-of-war between angels and demons, with the Church caught in the middle trying to influence the outcome through prayer. This paradigm is not true at all. The Truth is that we are seated in heavenly places in Christ, far above every principality and power and name which is named. The tug-of-war is already won, and the Church is here to demonstrate a victory which is already secured by Christ Himself. In a nutshell, the difference is between fighting through to obtain the victory versus standing in a victory which has already been obtained.
THE TRAINING OF NEO TYPICAL OF THE PRESENT-DAY SPIRITUAL WARFARE FAD
The characters who have escaped the Matrix have experienced an awakening, but they remain bound. Their whole paradigm of warfare is to run from the Agents. According to Morpheus, "everyone who has ever stood their ground against them has died." Cypher's advice to Neo is, "If you see an Agent, you do what we do - run."
Immediately upon coming out of the Matrix, Neo is put through a rigorous training program. He "learns" how to fight as the computer downloads data into his brain. He becomes very fast and he is an excellent fighter. He has a complete arsenal of weapons at his disposal. This is typical of the spiritual warfare training many Christians are putting themselves through.
It should be noted however that as good as Neo is at fighting, the best he can do is match the strength and speed of the enemy. As soon as he destroys one it just reappears someplace else and the fight continues. Eventually his strength is exhausted and he ends up running from them again.
THE STRATAGEMS OF SATAN ALL RELATE TO POSITION
The strategy of satan is to bring us down from our heavenly position and get us to fight according to his rules of engagement. The problem with this sort of fighting is we are heavily outclassed and outmatched. We cannot fight a spiritual enemy by going toe to toe with him and fighting according to his rules. This sort of tit-for-tat back and forth boxing match will go on and on until we are eventually worn out. Since satan is a spirit he has unlimited endurance, whereas we do not. He can be defeated today but he will come back tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. He does not get tired and is not subject to the emotions of frustration, despair, or depression. We humans are different, and while we may be able to shout the victory today, tomorrow we may be totally routed. How so? We have forfeited our place in the heavenlies and have gotten down into the mud to wrestle with the devil.
Additonally, spiritual warfare doctrine as touted today fails to recognize that our struggle is with Self more than it is with satan. It is easy to point to an external enemy "out there" and overlook the obvious: that satan can only have the advantage over people who are still alive to Self. If Self is denied then satan has no ground in us.
While it is true that we do wrestle, it is not against flesh and blood. If it were then we would use flesh-and-blood rules of war. Instead, we are in conflict with a spiritual foe. Thus, the rules of war are different.
Contrary to popular belief, we are not told to "fight therefore", but to "stand therefore". Christ is the Full-Armor of God, thus having clothed ourselves with Christ there is nothing more to be done than to stand. Our victory is not bound up in our ability to fight and quote Bible verses; our victory consists of maintaining our heavenly position with Christ in His throne (Revelation 3:21) while bringing the will and rule of heaven to bear upon the earthly realm in which we are living: "on earth, as it is in heaven". On earth as in heaven is the key to living out the victory here and now.
DODGING BULLETS VS. IGNORING BULLETS
Those who hold the popular view of spiritual warfare spend much of their time trying to become fast enough to dodge bullets, while the Overcomer sees that the bullets are not real: that the enemy is already defeated and can inflict no real damage. They ignore what their senses tell them and see beyond the temporal towards the spiritual, into the realm where Christ is preeminent.
Most Christians are fighting like they HOPE to win. They are in survival mode, just trying to battle their way through the week so they can make it to church on Sunday. They have betrayed their position already and thrown away their heavenly advantage. The more aggressive ones are going into different parts of the world to confront alleged principalities and powers which are said to be in dominion over different communities and nations.
They are still relating to the spirit world according to Daniel, which is prior to Christ and the Cross. They are not demonstrating a secured victory.
The Overcomer demonstrates the preeminence of Christ over sin, self, and satan. "[Christ] made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in the Cross." How is preeminence demonstrated if we are still trying to fight our way to victory? We must stand in victory, not battle for it. If we do fight, we fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. It must be to us an accomplished fact, not a future hope, and just there lies the difference between those who are still waging warfare and those who are quietly resting in Christ and steadily praying His Will into the earth.
OVERCOMING IS THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE
We have said that according to our interpretation Neo is not typical of a single Messiah or a sort of spiritual superman, but a remnant of people who rise up and live according to the Truth as opposed to just talking about it.
It should be reiterated over and over again that Overcomers are not a special class more gifted than the average Christian. Instead, Overcomers are living out the normal Christian life and fulfilling God's original thought for the Church. This means that "whosoever" can be an overcomer: it is not for a select few. Nor is it a case of God setting up a special class of Christians within the Church who are superior. Not at all. The fact remains that many are called, but few are chosen.
What qualifies someone to be an overcomer? "They overcame [the enemy] by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and loved not their lives unto death." The Blood of the Lamb is the Life of the Lord, and when we live according to this Life we will be changed into His likeness. The word of our testimony is the demonstration of the Life, and the death of self means that Christ is All in All because the Cross has accomplished the work of decreasing us that He may increase. That, in essence, is what an overcomer is.
REVELATION IS SUFFICIENT: THE ILLUMINATED HEART OVERCOMES THE ENEMY
Do you see a defeated devil, or a powerful devil? Many Christians still see a powerful devil, almost but not quite as powerful as God. They are afraid if they aren't looking the devil will slip in and harm them. They become angry if you suggest the devil has no power, and will defend him with anecdotal "evidence" of satanic episodes they have experienced. Their spiritual warfare is based on fear of what the devil might do next. When we see a defeated devil instead of a powerful devil then our paradigm of spiritual warfare will change. It is all in the seeing! This is why the devil must deceive us into thinking he is more than he is.
Why all the formulas and techniques and methods? Because we see the devil as powerful. True, he has power, but only over those who are deceived. I do not need a technique to defeat a defeated devil. It is absurd. It is like trying to enter into a room in which I am already sitting. We have already been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of His Dear Son.
If we see the devil as defeated then we will not fight, we will stand. If we see ourselves as earthly then we will behave in an earthly manner: our words, our thoughts, our prayers, our deeds, our warfare will be carried out in an earthly manner. If we see ourselves seated with Christ in the heavenlies then we will behave in a heavenly manner, as a heavenly people, bringing the Mind and Will and Kingdom of God to bear upon that which is contrary to Christ on the earth.
How do we obtain heavenly vision? We must ask to see as He sees. We must pray that God will illuminate our heart. Our vision affects our actions. The servant of Elisha looked with his eyes and saw the army which surrounded them. His panicked response was based on what his eyes told them. To put it in Matrix language, the Matrix was telling the servant that the enemy was about to close in and destroy them. Elisha prayed that the Lord would open his servant's eyes, and when he looked again he saw the chariots of fire and the army of the Lord around Elisha. Elisha can remain calm because he sees something the servant does not. He sees the natural, true, but he subjugates what he sees in the natural and forces it to make way for what he sees in the Spirit.
The question for us remains: what do we see? Many people look, but do not see. They look at the world and believe everything it says. Others have their eyes opened to see as the Lord sees. This revelation, or unveiling, is what enables us to live in the world while being apart from the world. This seeing enables us to overcome the world and demonstrate Christ as All in All. We do not have to live according to what we see or feel, but according to the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ.
May God show us who we are, and may God raise us up to walk worthy of the calling He has given us. If something has been said in this analysis to bring us towards that end then this writing has accomplished its intended purpose.
NEO TYPICAL OF THE PARADIGM SHIFT REQUIRED OF OVERCOMERS CONCERNING SPIRITUAL WARFARE
* * *
Morpheus: We have survived by hiding from them, by running from them. But they are the gatekeepers. They are guarding all the doors. They are holding all the keys, which means that sooner or later, someone is going to have to fight them.
Neo: Someone?
Morpheus: I won't lie to you, Neo. Every single man or woman who has stood their ground, everyone who has fought an agent has died. But where they have failed, you will succeed.
Neo: Why?
Morpheus: I've seen an agent punch through a concrete wall. Men have emptied entire clips at them and hit nothing but air. Yet their strength and their speed are still based in a world that is built on rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong or as fast as you can be.
Neo: What are you trying to tell me, that I can dodge bullets?
Morpheus: No Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.
* * *
The issue of overcoming is closely linked to the topic of spiritual warfare. Since Overcomers demonstrate the victory of Christ and the preeminence of His Life over sin, self, and satan, a paradigm shift concerning spiritual warfare as it is now taught is in order.
Modern-day spiritual warfare doctrine is based on a dualistic worldview which pits Good versus Evil, Light versus Darkness, God versus satan. While this part of the characterization is correct, dualism goes a step further and suggests that these forces are all equal, each struggling for supremacy, neither with any clear advantage. Things go along back and forth between the two like the positive and negative fields of a magnet. It is the classic pantheistic universalist "Star Wars" worldview of life, the stuff cowboy movies are made of.
This notion of cosmic dualism is reinforced with novels and warfare manuals from Christian writers depicting spiritual warfare as an invisible tug-of-war between angels and demons, with the Church caught in the middle trying to influence the outcome through prayer. This paradigm is not true at all. The Truth is that we are seated in heavenly places in Christ, far above every principality and power and name which is named. The tug-of-war is already won, and the Church is here to demonstrate a victory which is already secured by Christ Himself. In a nutshell, the difference is between fighting through to obtain the victory versus standing in a victory which has already been obtained.
THE TRAINING OF NEO TYPICAL OF THE PRESENT-DAY SPIRITUAL WARFARE FAD
The characters who have escaped the Matrix have experienced an awakening, but they remain bound. Their whole paradigm of warfare is to run from the Agents. According to Morpheus, "everyone who has ever stood their ground against them has died." Cypher's advice to Neo is, "If you see an Agent, you do what we do - run."
Immediately upon coming out of the Matrix, Neo is put through a rigorous training program. He "learns" how to fight as the computer downloads data into his brain. He becomes very fast and he is an excellent fighter. He has a complete arsenal of weapons at his disposal. This is typical of the spiritual warfare training many Christians are putting themselves through.
It should be noted however that as good as Neo is at fighting, the best he can do is match the strength and speed of the enemy. As soon as he destroys one it just reappears someplace else and the fight continues. Eventually his strength is exhausted and he ends up running from them again.
THE STRATAGEMS OF SATAN ALL RELATE TO POSITION
The strategy of satan is to bring us down from our heavenly position and get us to fight according to his rules of engagement. The problem with this sort of fighting is we are heavily outclassed and outmatched. We cannot fight a spiritual enemy by going toe to toe with him and fighting according to his rules. This sort of tit-for-tat back and forth boxing match will go on and on until we are eventually worn out. Since satan is a spirit he has unlimited endurance, whereas we do not. He can be defeated today but he will come back tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. He does not get tired and is not subject to the emotions of frustration, despair, or depression. We humans are different, and while we may be able to shout the victory today, tomorrow we may be totally routed. How so? We have forfeited our place in the heavenlies and have gotten down into the mud to wrestle with the devil.
Additonally, spiritual warfare doctrine as touted today fails to recognize that our struggle is with Self more than it is with satan. It is easy to point to an external enemy "out there" and overlook the obvious: that satan can only have the advantage over people who are still alive to Self. If Self is denied then satan has no ground in us.
While it is true that we do wrestle, it is not against flesh and blood. If it were then we would use flesh-and-blood rules of war. Instead, we are in conflict with a spiritual foe. Thus, the rules of war are different.
Contrary to popular belief, we are not told to "fight therefore", but to "stand therefore". Christ is the Full-Armor of God, thus having clothed ourselves with Christ there is nothing more to be done than to stand. Our victory is not bound up in our ability to fight and quote Bible verses; our victory consists of maintaining our heavenly position with Christ in His throne (Revelation 3:21) while bringing the will and rule of heaven to bear upon the earthly realm in which we are living: "on earth, as it is in heaven". On earth as in heaven is the key to living out the victory here and now.
DODGING BULLETS VS. IGNORING BULLETS
Those who hold the popular view of spiritual warfare spend much of their time trying to become fast enough to dodge bullets, while the Overcomer sees that the bullets are not real: that the enemy is already defeated and can inflict no real damage. They ignore what their senses tell them and see beyond the temporal towards the spiritual, into the realm where Christ is preeminent.
Most Christians are fighting like they HOPE to win. They are in survival mode, just trying to battle their way through the week so they can make it to church on Sunday. They have betrayed their position already and thrown away their heavenly advantage. The more aggressive ones are going into different parts of the world to confront alleged principalities and powers which are said to be in dominion over different communities and nations.
They are still relating to the spirit world according to Daniel, which is prior to Christ and the Cross. They are not demonstrating a secured victory.
The Overcomer demonstrates the preeminence of Christ over sin, self, and satan. "[Christ] made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in the Cross." How is preeminence demonstrated if we are still trying to fight our way to victory? We must stand in victory, not battle for it. If we do fight, we fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. It must be to us an accomplished fact, not a future hope, and just there lies the difference between those who are still waging warfare and those who are quietly resting in Christ and steadily praying His Will into the earth.
OVERCOMING IS THE NORMAL CHRISTIAN LIFE
We have said that according to our interpretation Neo is not typical of a single Messiah or a sort of spiritual superman, but a remnant of people who rise up and live according to the Truth as opposed to just talking about it.
It should be reiterated over and over again that Overcomers are not a special class more gifted than the average Christian. Instead, Overcomers are living out the normal Christian life and fulfilling God's original thought for the Church. This means that "whosoever" can be an overcomer: it is not for a select few. Nor is it a case of God setting up a special class of Christians within the Church who are superior. Not at all. The fact remains that many are called, but few are chosen.
What qualifies someone to be an overcomer? "They overcame [the enemy] by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and loved not their lives unto death." The Blood of the Lamb is the Life of the Lord, and when we live according to this Life we will be changed into His likeness. The word of our testimony is the demonstration of the Life, and the death of self means that Christ is All in All because the Cross has accomplished the work of decreasing us that He may increase. That, in essence, is what an overcomer is.
REVELATION IS SUFFICIENT: THE ILLUMINATED HEART OVERCOMES THE ENEMY
Do you see a defeated devil, or a powerful devil? Many Christians still see a powerful devil, almost but not quite as powerful as God. They are afraid if they aren't looking the devil will slip in and harm them. They become angry if you suggest the devil has no power, and will defend him with anecdotal "evidence" of satanic episodes they have experienced. Their spiritual warfare is based on fear of what the devil might do next. When we see a defeated devil instead of a powerful devil then our paradigm of spiritual warfare will change. It is all in the seeing! This is why the devil must deceive us into thinking he is more than he is.
Why all the formulas and techniques and methods? Because we see the devil as powerful. True, he has power, but only over those who are deceived. I do not need a technique to defeat a defeated devil. It is absurd. It is like trying to enter into a room in which I am already sitting. We have already been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of His Dear Son.
If we see the devil as defeated then we will not fight, we will stand. If we see ourselves as earthly then we will behave in an earthly manner: our words, our thoughts, our prayers, our deeds, our warfare will be carried out in an earthly manner. If we see ourselves seated with Christ in the heavenlies then we will behave in a heavenly manner, as a heavenly people, bringing the Mind and Will and Kingdom of God to bear upon that which is contrary to Christ on the earth.
How do we obtain heavenly vision? We must ask to see as He sees. We must pray that God will illuminate our heart. Our vision affects our actions. The servant of Elisha looked with his eyes and saw the army which surrounded them. His panicked response was based on what his eyes told them. To put it in Matrix language, the Matrix was telling the servant that the enemy was about to close in and destroy them. Elisha prayed that the Lord would open his servant's eyes, and when he looked again he saw the chariots of fire and the army of the Lord around Elisha. Elisha can remain calm because he sees something the servant does not. He sees the natural, true, but he subjugates what he sees in the natural and forces it to make way for what he sees in the Spirit.
The question for us remains: what do we see? Many people look, but do not see. They look at the world and believe everything it says. Others have their eyes opened to see as the Lord sees. This revelation, or unveiling, is what enables us to live in the world while being apart from the world. This seeing enables us to overcome the world and demonstrate Christ as All in All. We do not have to live according to what we see or feel, but according to the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ.
May God show us who we are, and may God raise us up to walk worthy of the calling He has given us. If something has been said in this analysis to bring us towards that end then this writing has accomplished its intended purpose.
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