Colossians 2

¹³ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

¹⁴ Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

¹⁵ And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Hebrews 9

¹⁴ How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

²² And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Hebrews 10

¹¹ And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

¹² But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

¹³ From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

¹⁴ For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

¹⁵ Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,

¹⁶ This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

¹⁷ And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

¹⁸ Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

¹⁹ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

²⁰ By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

²¹ And having an high priest over the house of God;

Revelation 12

⁷ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

⁸ And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

⁹ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

¹² Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Revelation 20

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

² And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

³ And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

⁷ And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

⁸ And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

⁹ And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

¹⁰ And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Satan and his evil forces are mentioned as in Ephesians 6

¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

At the time of Christ’s crucifixion,

Colossians 2

¹⁵ And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

1 John 3:8

⁸ He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

satan was defeated at the time of Christ’s crucifixion and when Christ had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them.

What is the future of satan and his evil forces?

Ezekiel 28

¹² Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

¹³ Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

¹⁴ Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

¹⁵ Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

¹⁶ By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

¹⁷ Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

¹⁸ Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

¹⁹ All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Isaiah 14

¹² How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

¹³ For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

¹⁵ Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

First anyone wishing to know God’s will should not have preconceived ideas of what God’s will might be. Our biased ideas can make us miss God’s will for our lives. You should approach God with such an attitude that even if God’s will is completely opposite to your desire, you are willing to obey it. If you don’t have an intention to obey God’s will whatever it may be, don’t seek for His will. Come to Him with the right attitude – Lord not my will, but thine will alone be done. 

This will help in avoiding many confusions and misinterpreting God’s will.

Once the attitude is right, with a sincere heart pray to God to make clear His will to you. 

It is GOD’s will that you know His will. He wants you to know His will and do it.

Philippians 4

⁶ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Once you have made the request,the Lord will make it clear to you through the circumstances AND you may have an increasing/decreasing inner peace on that particular matter. If time permits, wait for a week or month and see if the inner peace is increasing. Also the Lord’s guidance will never be contradictory to what He has clearly made known through His written word, the BIBLE. 

There can be 3 possible responses : YES, NO, WAIT.

If it’s a WAIT, do not over run before the Lord and take the matter in your hands. This will cause future regret. God knows BEST and His timings are perfect. BELIEVE this. 

Philippians 2

¹³ For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

There is always a tendency for us to be biased and to wish that God’s will be alligned to our will. So always make sure that you approach the LORD to know and do His will, and not your own. Then it is the Lord who will guide you to know His will and He will give you the strength and grace to accomplish HIS will through you. 

Acts 16

⁶ Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

⁷ After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

⁸ And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.

⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

¹⁰ And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

Sometimes there may be a waiting period in which His will is not clear. If time permits, wait till His will be clear to you and then take the step. Another option can be to pray sincerely to God that you want only His perfect will for you and then as you take a step, ask Him to close the doors which is not as per His desire. He will reveal His will through closed doors as well. In the right time, He will direct you to the door through which you have to go and you will see that all things work together for good for those who love God and who are called according to His purpose.

If the Holy Spirit forbids you from pursing a particular course, take heed to that opposition. Wait for a week or month and see if you have increasing peace about the matter. If no increasing peace, but rather a prohibition, don’t go that way for the time being. It may either not be God’s will for you OR may be not the right time to pursue that path. 

We are His co-worker, not the boss. JESUS is the Lord. So let’s be sure that we don’t dictate, but allow Him to guide our steps and let’s follow Him. 

It can be difficult when the husband is not a believer in Christ. In such cases, the Bible mentions as below. –> It does not imply to be subject to a violent or an abusive husband which endangers the wive’s or children’s lives. Also if the husband insists on something which is contradictory to the Lord’s clear teaching, there is no need to obey that particular thing, because a woman has to give more importance to the headship of Christ and then to the headship of her husband. But otherwise let the wife live with her husband and win him to Christ through her behaviour. The Lord will give the grace to the wife who tries to honour the Lord through her behaviour.

1 Peter

3 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

² While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

³ Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

⁴ But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

⁵ For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

⁶ Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

1 Corinthians 7

¹⁰ And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:

¹¹ But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

¹² But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

¹³ And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.

¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

¹⁵ But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.

¹⁶ For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

¹⁷ But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.

Titus 2

³ The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

⁴ That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵ To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

1 Timothy 5:14

¹⁴ I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

Colossians 3:18

¹⁸ Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

Ephesians 5

²² Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

²³ For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

²⁴ Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. –> It does not imply to be subject to a violent or an abusive husband. Also if the husband insists on something which is contradictory to the Lord’s clear teaching, there is no need to obey that particular thing, because a woman has to give more importance to the headship of Christ and then to the headship of her husband.

³³ Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

1 Timothy 3

² A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

¹² Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

Titus 1

⁵ For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

⁶ If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.

1 Corinthians 15 

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

² By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

³ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

⁵ And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

⁶ After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

⁷ After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

⁸ And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

¹¹ Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

¹² Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹³ But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

¹⁴ And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

¹⁵ Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

¹⁶ For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

¹⁷ And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

¹⁸ Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

¹⁹ If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

²⁰ But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

²¹ For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

²³ But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

²⁴ Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

²⁵ For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

²⁶ The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

²⁷ For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

²⁸ And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

The Christian world seem to be divided on the doctrines supported by Arminianism and Calvinism.

Its mostly on the topic of how is a Christian born again. Either by free will of human or by the direct working of God?

The Bible says – John 6:44 ⁴⁴ No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The Bible also says – Acts 2: 

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

³⁸ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

³⁹ For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

⁴⁷ Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Acts 13:48 ⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

ROMANS 9

¹⁰ And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;

¹¹ (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

¹² It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

¹³ As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

¹⁵ For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

¹⁶ So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

¹⁷ For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

¹⁸ Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

¹⁹ Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

²⁰ Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

²¹ Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

²² What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

²³ And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

²⁴ Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

God is sovereign, and there is human responsibility also. The Lord commanded His disciples to preach the gospel. 

So it is the disciple’s responsibility to preach the gospel as the Spirit of God leads. 

It is the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin and draws the sinner to the Saviour. 

John 16:8 ⁸ And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Only a sinner requires a Saviour. To make a man/woman to realise that they are a sinner, is the Spirit’s work. With the Spirit’s illumination, the sinner recognises the wretched state they are in, and realise they definitely need a Saviour who alone can help them out. No one can save them  by themselves. They repent of their sins and accept the Lord’s free gift of salvation. 

So is it Arminianism or Calvinism? DOES IT MATTER?

Do what the Lord clearly says us to do – Preach the gospel as the Lord leads and then let the Spirit of God work and let the people get saved.

Arguing and debating on Arminianism or Calvinism does it help us to draw closer to the Lord? Can we please channelise this energy and time to know the Lord better and do the work which He wants us to do. Lets not give chance for Satan to mock at the internal Christian arguments. Lets make sure we focus on the weightier matters as well. 

Matthew 23:23

²³ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

1 Timothy 1:4

which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

⁵ Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:

Titus 3:9 ⁹ But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

JUDE

³ Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

⁴ For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

But definitely defend if there arises a question of whether Christ is the Saviour or any opposition arises against the gospel. If its only a question of small matters, let us focus on  loving the Lord Jesus with all our heart and keeping His commandments. Let’s keep this question (whether Arminianism or Calvinism is right )to ask Him when we meet Him in heaven. JESUS is the Lord.