David Chapter 3 David's Victory

We find now The Holy Spirit beginning to work mightily in David’s life. As stated, he was only a boy, probably 15 or 16 years old. What will transpire now will catapult him to greatness, but we will find that he never allowed this greatness or acclaim to go to his head but would “behave wisely” in the midst of it all. The army of Israel, under Saul, was fighting the Philistines. Scripture says, “And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul…” (1 Samuel 14:52). Someone has well said that the Philistines were an inward foe, meaning their area, which bordered the Mediterranean Sea, was actually in the area of Israel. An inward foe is always much worse than an outward foe. Because Saul never did quite defeat this inward foe, at least, conclusively, that inward foe would ultimately defeat him. Spiritually, it is the same presently. We must defeat all inward foes. This can be done only by the believer placing his faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross. The Cross must not be eliminated or pushed aside. If this is done, The Holy Spirit can little help us. And that leaves such a person with no course but that of defeat (Romans 7:15).

Goliath

Goliath was the Philistine champion and that which The Lord would do this day, through David, would be far more than a victory over Israel’s enemies. It would actually characterize the defeat of satan at Calvary’s Cross, which it was meant to do. It was a symbol of the fulfillment of the prophecy, given by The Lord immediately after the Fall. The Scripture says concerning this, “And I will put enmity (animosity) between thee (satan) and the woman, and between thy seed (mankind, which follows satan) and her seed (The Lord Jesus Christ); it (Christ) shall bruise thy head (the victory that Jesus won at The Cross [Colossians 2:14-15]), and thou shalt bruise his heel (the sufferings of The Cross)” (Genesis 3:15). Satan was and is the “head” of the world of darkness. The defeat of Goliath would serve as a symbol of the victory that Jesus would win at Calvary’s Cross when He defeated every power of darkness, including satan.

How Did Jesus Defeat Satan?

He defeated him by atoning for all sin, past, present, and future, at least for all who will believe (John 3:16). He also broke the grip of sin for the believer so that sin would no longer have dominion over us (Romans 6:14). When Jesus atoned for all sin, He removed the legal right that satan had to hold man captive. So, if any man, unbeliever or believer, is in bondage to satan in any way, it is because he has not taken advantage of what Our Lord did at Calvary. Please understand, it is always The Cross! The Cross! The Cross!

What Believers are Facing in the Spirit World

Goliath is a perfect picture of this heading. Goliath was what Israel was facing, and in the flesh, they could not hope to defeat him. To be sure, he was a symbol of what we, as believers, are presently facing every day in the spirit world of darkness. That’s the reason that if we do not do this thing God’s way, which the way of The Cross, we will be defeated. The way of The Cross is the way of The Holy Spirit and the only way that we can find victory within our lives. If we try to do things by the means of the flesh, which speaks of our education, ability, talent, willpower, etc., we will fail every single time. While the things of the flesh are not necessarily wrong within themselves, if we try to use them to live for God, which most believers do, defeat will be in the offing. Goliath was the champion of the Philistines. The Scripture says, “…whose height was six cubits and a span” (1 Samuel 17:4). That means that Goliath was over 9 feet tall. As stated, in a spiritual sense, this is exactly what every believer faces. To be sure, it is not possible for us to defeat such opposition within our own power and strength. There is only one way it can be done, and that is by looking to The Cross. When The Holy Spirit, though Paul, told believers how to live for God, He took us, first of all, to The Cross. It is found in Romans 6:3-5. If the believer does not understand The Cross as it regards sanctification, then it is impossible for such a believer to defeat the Goliaths which come up against him (Romans 7; Galatians 5). The number “six” is stamped upon Goliath. He was six cubits high, and he had six pieces of armor counting the weapons. The number “six” was stamped upon Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image as well. It will identify the future antichrist; the number of whose name will be 666 (Revelation 13:18). Goliath was one of the last giants, which were a product between fallen angels and women (Genesis 6:4). This effort of satan was meant to corrupt the bloodline, which would stop the coming Messiah. This occasioned Noah’s flood. This last insurgence was meant to take over the Promised Land, which would deny God’s people a place, and thereby, as well, stop the coming of the Messiah.

To Defy the People of God

The Scripture says, “And he (Goliath) stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together” (1 Samuel 17:8-10). Let us say it again because it is so very very important, the child of God, in our walk with The Lord, is facing giants in the spirit world of darkness. I speak of fallen angels and demon spirits that we cannot hope to defeat by our own machinations and abilities. It simply cannot be done that way. Paul said, “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” (Ephesians 6:12). The Greek scholars identify these four opponents according to the following:

1. “Principalities” - When satan led his revolution against God, approximately 1/3 of the angels fell with him (Revelation 12:4). The ones here named Principalities pertain to the most powerful of the fallen angels. They are beings of the highest rank and order in satan’s kingdom.
2. “Powers” - These rank immediately below the “principalities” and answer to that rank.
3. “The rulers of darkness of this world” - These, as well, are fallen angels who carry out the instructions of the “powers.”
4. “Spiritual wickedness in high places” – These are demon spirits.

These fallen angels seek to carry out the will of satan, while the demon spirits try to hinder individual Christians, etc. Unbelievers can be demon possessed, but believers are protected against such. However, believers can most definitely be “oppressed” by the powers of darkness. Possession is within while oppression is without. There is only one road to victory as it regards these fallen angels and demon spirits, which every believer faces, and that is The Cross. (Romans 6:1-14; Romans 8:1-11; 1 Corinthians 1:17-18, 23; 2:2; Colossians 2:10-15). It was at The Cross that satan, plus all his fallen angels and demon spirits, was defeated in totality. So, the believer is to place his or her faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross, which then gives The Holy Spirit liberty to work within our lives and to do for us what He alone can do (Romans 8:1-11; Ephesians 2:13-18).

Whose Slave Will You Be?

Goliath stands before the army of Israel and says, “…Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together” (1 Samuel 17:8-10). The tragedy is, at this particular time, the far far greater part of the body of Christ is actually functioning as a slave to Goliath, i.e., “satan.” It wasn’t so long after The Lord had begun to give me the great Word of The Cross that satan tried a particular tactic on me that was effective for a short period of time. He was making me believe that, while there were a few Christians who might need the power of The Cross of Christ, the truth is, as satan put it, most Christians are getting along very well. I didn’t say anything about this to anyone, but it was in my heart. Then, one Sunday night, The Lord emphatically showed me where I was wrong. Donny was preaching. I don’t remember his subject, but in the course of his message, he made a statement that The Lord had given Moses to state to pharaoh, “Let my people go.” When he had made that statement, “Let my people go,” all of a sudden, The Spirit of God came over me powerfully. Then, The Lord spoke to my heart and said, “Your thinking is wrong concerning the church. The truth is my people today are slaves to satan exactly as the children of Israel were slaves to pharaoh before their deliverance.” To be sure, it shook me to the core. The Lord was telling me that this what satan was trying to get me to believe was the very opposite of the truth. In other words, The Lord was telling me that His church, and He was speaking of those who truly love Him, had never been in worse condition, at least since the reformation. Then, on top of that, The Lord made it abundantly clear that The Cross of Christ was the only answer to the dilemma. In other words, it wasn’t one of several solutions, it was and is the only solution.

The Cross and Our Sanctification

As The Cross of Christ is the only solution for the unredeemed, likewise, The Cross is the only solution for the redeemed. Most believers have at least a modicum of understanding as it regards The Cross of Christ concerning our salvation. More than likely, “Jesus died for me,” is the greatest statement that anyone could ever make or hear. However, that is about as far as it goes for most believers. As it regards The Cross of Christ and our sanctification, how we live for God, how we order our behavior, and how we have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil, most Christians draw a blank. In other words, they don’t have any knowledge whatsoever as to the part The Cross of Christ plays in our everyday living. That is tragic when we consider that, without this understanding, they cannot live a victorious life. They can be saved and even be used of God, but they cannot be victorious without understanding the Cross of Christ relative to our sanctification. Please note the following very carefully:

• Jesus Christ is the source of all things we receive from God (John 1:1; 14, 20, 29 Colossians 2:10-15)
• The Cross of Christ is the means by which all of these wonderful things are given to us. In other words, The Cross, and I’m speaking of what Jesus there did, makes everything possible. Without The Cross, The Lord could not even look at us, much less have communion with us. It is The Cross that allows His grace to flow uninterrupted into our hearts and lives. (Romans 6:1-14; 1 Corinthians 1:17-18, 23)
• With Christ as our source, and the Cross as our means, The Cross must ever be the object of our faith. If we place our faith in anything else, we are then serving “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4). It’s not good enough that we merely have faith, but we must, at the same time, have the correct object of faith. That correct object is always The Cross of Christ. When we speak of The Cross, we are not speaking of the wooden beam on which Jesus died but, rather, what He there accomplished (1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 6:14; Colossians 2:10-15)
• The Holy Spirit works exclusively within the parameters of the finished work of Christ and will not work outside of those parameters. In addition, He demands that our faith ever be in Christ and The Cross. With Our Lord as our source, The Cross as our means, and our faith properly directed, The Holy Spirit will then work mightily on our behalf, doing what only He can do (Romans 8:1-11; Ephesians 2:13-18; Galatians 5)

David defeated Goliath, which was a type of what Jesus would do to satan at The Cross. Likewise, Our Lord defeated satan totally and completely at The Cross, and most believers know and understand that. However, what they don’t understand, as previously stated, is the part that The Cross plays in our everyday living for God. Consequently, not understanding this, the modern church basically is a slave to satan, exactly as the children of Israel were to pharaoh before their deliverance from Egyptian bondage.

The Sonlife Broadcasting Network

In 1997, The Lord gave me, or I should say, began to give me the revelation of The Cross. I’m not meaning by the word “revelation” that it’s something new. Actually, it’s that which had been given to the Apostle Paul nearly 2,000 years ago and which he gave to us in his 14 epistles. In fact, I am still learning, and I suspect that this subject is so wide and so broad that it will never be exhausted. That’s why Paul referred to it as “the everlasting covenant” (Hebrews 13:20). I know what it is to be on both sides of this proverbial fence. I know what it is to try to live for God with all of one’s might, doing everything one knows to do and still fail. That’s the state of every believer in this world who doesn’t understand The Cross of Christ relative to sanctification. In 2010, The Lord began to deal with my heart about a television network, which would be broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While we have been on television since the early 1970’s, still, that is vastly different than a full-time network. The Lord informed me, and grandly so, that we were not to sell time to other preachers and that the foundation of this network was to be the message of The Cross. It is not that there’s anything wrong with selling time to preachers, for it isn’t. However, The Lord informed me that the message of The Cross must be pure. In other words, everything that comes out of this network must originate at Family Worship Center so that the message will be the same. The Holy Spirit was telling me that “The message of The Cross is what The Spirit is now saying to the churches” (Revelation 3:22). That’s the reason this network is the fastest growing in the world today. The church must be made aware of the message of The Cross, whether they accept it or not. Please understand, the message of The Cross is not a side issue. It is the Gospel and, in fact, the foundation of every doctrine in the Bible. Actually, “The Cross” was formulated in the mind of the Godhead from before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:18-20). Before God created this universe or created man, through foreknowledge, He knew that man, when created, would fall. Therefore, it was decided, in the annals of the Godhead, that man would be redeemed by God becoming man and going to The Cross. So, when Adam and Eve fell, it did not come as a surprise to God. In fact, the Way had already been made, and that Way was and is The Cross (Genesis 3:15). This means that all false doctrine has its beginning stages because of an improper understanding of The Cross. In other words, The Cross is either misinterpreted, misunderstood, ignored, or outright denied. That is where all false doctrine begins and ends.

The Question!

Some might say that if this subject is that important, and we continue to speak of The Cross, why aren’t more preachers talking about it? It is true that the message of The Cross is relatively unknown, and that is because, shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the church, as a whole, opted for humanistic psychology. Either one cancels out the other. In other words, if one accepts humanistic psychology, one has denied The Cross. You cannot have both. This meant that the church quit preaching The Cross. Of course, some preachers continued to preach The Cross for salvation, and thank God for that; however, even that is beginning to fall by the wayside. I remind the reader that Martin Luther said, “As one views The Cross, one views the Reformation.” In other words, if they were opposed to The Cross, most of the time, they would be opposed to the Reformation, etc. That is the business of the Sonlife Broadcasting Network; we are to preach The Cross. That’s the reason The Holy Spirit is, once again, proclaiming this great message all over the world. Please understand, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). In other words, if The Word of God is not preached and proclaimed, then there is no way for faith to come to the believer. When preachers preach Salvation, people get Saved. When they preach the Baptism with The Holy Spirit, people are filled. When preachers preach Divine Healing, people are healed. When preachers preach The Cross, they are only, then, truly preaching The Gospel. Listen to Paul, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect” (1 Corinthians 1:17). In this one passage of Scripture, we are plainly and clearly told that The “Cross of Christ,” in effect, is the Gospel. So, if one is not preaching The Cross, one is not preaching The Gospel (1 Corinthians 1:23). One might say that everything goes back to the challenge of Goliath. If he defeated Israel’s Champion, then Israel would serve the Philistines. However, if Israel’s Champion defeated him, then the Philistines would serve the Israelites. Tragically, at this present time, most Christians are slaves to satan. They are ruled by the sin nature, simply because they do not know God’s prescribed way of victory. Once again, I would advise the reader to go back up several pages and look at the little diagram that we have drawn out. One might say that it is the following, and to make it briefer:

• Christ
• Cross
• Faith
• Holy Spirit

David

It is obvious that, from the very beginning, The Lord orchestrated the doings of David in this scenario. Whether David was aware of that is anyone’s guess. However, this we do know, when David heard the challenge tendered by Goliath, in a sense, after asking a few questions, he matter-of-factly stated that he would fight the giant. As is obvious, he received no support from his brothers, only discouragement, and actually insulting discouragement (1 Samuel 17:22-31). He was immediately taken to Saul. When Saul saw David, he said to him, “…Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33). We know that The Holy Spirit was prompting David in all that he was doing. There is an assurance in his statements that proclaim this. This giant had been challenging Israel for some 40 days and nights, and now he was about to meet Israel’s champion and yet a mere boy. David was probably about 17 years old at the time. When Saul realized that David was intent on fighting the giant, he gave David his armor. However, after looking at the armor and possibly trying on some of the pieces, David laid it all aside.

Saul’s Armor

Evidently, David had already been warned by The Holy Spirit that he could not fight this giant in the going manner. This man probably stood about 9 feet tall, while David was probably about 5 feet tall. So, to fight him in a conventional manner was a hopeless situation. In fact, I think it was obvious that The Holy Spirit had already told him what he was to do. We must understand that the armor of the world, in fact, the flesh, will serve no purpose against the powers of darkness, but yet, the world of humanistic psychology is nothing but flesh. Paul plainly told us the following, “And if Christ be in you (He is in you through the Power and Person of The Spirit [Galatians 2:20]), the body is dead because of sin (means that the physical body has been rendered helpless because of the fall; consequently, the believer trying to overcome by willpower presents a fruitless task); but the Spirit is life because of righteousness (only The Holy Spirit can make us what we ought to be, which means we cannot do it ourselves. Once again, The Holy Spirit performs all that He does within the confines of the finished work of Christ). But if the Spirit (Holy Spirit) of him (from God) that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you (and He definitely does), he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies (give us power in our mortal bodies that we might live a victorious life) by his Spirit that dwelleth in you (we have the same power in us through The Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and is available to us only on the premise of The Cross and our faith in that sacrifice)” (Romans 8:10-11). So, Saul’s armor was a work of the flesh, at least as it pertained to David. If he was going to win out over this giant, he must be guided by The Holy Spirit.

What is the Flesh?

In the case of the modern believer and, in a sense, it would stand to reason for every believer down through the ages, the flesh is that which is indicative to a human being. In other words, it is our talent, ability, personal strength, willpower, education, motivation, intellect, etc. These things, within themselves, are not sinful, but if we try to live for God by that means, we will fail every time. As we’ve just stated, due to the fall, man has been weakened to the extent that we, within ourselves, are no match for satan. If we come against him in the power of The Holy Spirit, we will win every time. However, if we come by the means of the flesh, whatever those means might be, we will lose every time. The Lord has devised His prescribed way of victory, and that prescribed way is The Cross of Christ, which we have already explained. The believer placing his or her faith exclusively in Christ and The Cross and maintaining it exclusively in Christ and The Cross will then have the help of The Holy Spirit Who is God, Who can do anything, and Who will fight on our behalf. That is God’s way and His only way. All of this requires very little of us, only that we understand that The Cross of Christ is the means by which all of these great things are given to us. As previously stated, when we make The Cross of Christ the object of our faith and maintain it as the object of our faith, then The Holy Spirit, Who works exclusively within the confines of The Cross, will work mightily on our behalf. Concerning this, The Word says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). The “flesh” would ever try to hinder faith by clothing it with unbelief. Saul’s armor will defeat no Philistines, it will destroy no Goliath, and yet the church keeps trying to wear it. Take it off and put on the whole Armor of God. David would be detained a moment by unbelief but would soon gather his spiritual perspective and allow faith to proceed. The “armor of Saul,” i.e., the flesh, is the bane of the church.

David and Goliath

The scripture says, “And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance” (1 Samuel 17:42). The giant made fun of David, and more than likely, the Philistine army was laughing as well. The giant cursed David by his gods. He probably claimed the help of dagon, the Philistine god, which, in fact, was no god at all but, rather, a demon spirit. “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). As Goliath cursed David by his gods, David now invokes the “name of the LORD of hosts,” so, in effect, it is Jehovah against dagon. David continues by saying, “This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” And then he said, “And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:46-47). To be sure, the “the battle is the LORD'S,” however, we have to function against the giants, which come against us, according to God’s prescribed order or His prescribed way, or else we will lose the conflict. As stated, that “order” or “way” is Christ and what He did for us at The Cross, which must ever be the object of our faith. That being the case, The Holy Spirit will then take our part exactly as He did for David, and we are assured of victory (Romans 8:1-11). We have the Philistine army on one hill and the army of Israel on the other hill facing each other with the valley in between. I have personally been to the Valley of Elah (1 Samuel 17:2) and have walked in this area trying, in my mind, to visualize the scene that transpired that day over 3,000 years ago. To be sure, no one would have given David any chance at all against this giant. Many scholars think that Goliath was one of the eruptions of the giants as a result of fallen angels cohabiting with women, with the giants being the result of that cohabitation. At any rate, Goliath was the champion of the Philistines and, thus, the enemy of the Lord in every capacity. The question becomes, what were David’s thoughts when he came to the moment of truth? He had made some bold statements about defeating this enemy, which, I think, tells us something.

David’s Faith

I believe The Lord had so moved upon David’s heart at that moment that the “sweet singer of Israel” felt a confidence in his soul that only The Lord could give. And yet, I am not saying that this was iron clad. There is always an area in these situations to where we wonder “Am I right?” or “Am I evidencing presumption or faith in God?” I personally believe that The Lord always leaves that little area there so that we may totally depend on Him, thereby, totally trusting Him. We have to be made to know at all times that, without Him, we can do nothing. Yes, I believe that David was confident, very confident. At the same time, I also feel that he was praying in his spirit that this which he was doing was at the very center of God’s will. If he was wrong, he died, and Israel was defeated.

Toward the Enemy

Scripture says, “And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:48). This tells us something, we do not run away from our problems, our troubles, our dangers, etc. This means that we do not run away from satan, but we face him. For, if we run in the opposite direction, he will run the rest of our lives. Victory is never won by side-stepping the issue. We must meet it head on. Let me quickly say this, we cannot meet anything on this journey of life that is detrimental to our soul, be it that which seemingly is small or be it satan himself, unless we do so through and by The Cross of Christ. Always, and without fail, this is the key to our victory. It is The Cross, The Cross, The Cross!!! If our faith is in anything else, that means, in essence, it’s in ourselves and not The Cross, which The Lord can never bless. It has to be The Cross where Jesus defeated satan, defeated all of his fallen angels, and defeated all of his demon spirits. As someone has said, “When Jesus died on that Cross, He did so, not only to save us from sin, but, as well, from self.” To be frank, the latter is our greatest problem. There may be some setbacks, there may be some difficulties, and we may stumble along the way, but if our faith is exclusively in Christ and The Cross, and if we don’t quit, victory is guaranteed. However, if our faith is placed in anything except The Cross of Christ, as the former guaranteed victory, the latter direction, which is self, guarantees defeat. That is where most of the modern church is at the present, and I speak of those who truly love The Lord. The church staggers from one fad to the other, all without success. That’s why Paul said, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul was one of the most educated men who ever preached The Gospel. He was educated both in the law of Moses and the culture of the world, but yet, he told the Corinthians, in essence, that none of these things would help anyone. It is only The Cross, so he determined in his mind that this would be his message.

Paul and Athens

I personally believe that Paul was not happy with what happened in Athens. I believe that he was unsettled in his spirit regarding the message that he preached. He, in a sense, preached the reality of Jehovah versus these heathenistic gods worshiped by the Athenians, and he preached on the Resurrection. Completely misunderstanding what he was saying about the Resurrection, actually, the powers that be that particular day, stopped Paul. The idea of a resurrection was that they would come back and try to live life all over again, which they had no desire to do. The account is given in the 17th Chapter of Acts. I personally believe that Paul left Athens with a heavy heart. He, then, went to Corinth, which is one of the principal cities of the Roman Empire, a distance of approximately fifty miles from Athens. Actually, the harbor for Corinth was Cenchrea, about five miles from Corinth. Paul, no doubt, walked this distance. I think he did so that day as a troubled man as he came into Corinth. His thoughts very well could have been, “If I couldn’t break through at Athens, what in the world am I going to do at Corinth?” Corinth was one of the most jaded cities in the entirety of the Roman Empire. They had temples to many gods as well as over 1,000 prostitutes, both men and women, who served in the temples, so as it regarded morality, there is very little, if any, in Corinth. As well, Corinth was one of the great cities of philosophy of that day, having produced some of the greatest philosophers. Thus, these twin evils of philosophy and immorality stared the great apostle in the face. He might have thought, “How in the world am I going to break through the shell in this city?” However, I think that somewhere along the way, The Holy Spirit whispered to Paul, “Preach The Cross! Preach The Cross! Preach The Cross!” Then, The Holy Spirit may have added, “If The Cross will work at Corinth, it will work in any city in the world.” That’s exactly what Paul did. I derived this attitude in direction from the following passage given in the church at Corinth. Paul said, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). The word “determined” means that powerful forces had pushed at him so that he would take other directions when ministering to the Corinthians. However, The Holy Spirit impressed upon him that it must be The Cross that he preached, so against all outside forces, he “determined” to preach Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. The reason for that is simple. The only message that will reach humanity and will break the bondages of darkness is the message of The Cross. As we have stated, the message of The Cross is the Gospel (1 Corinthians 1:17). So, David, with the assurance of The Lord in his heart, instead of running away from the giant, “ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.”

The Victory

The scripture says, “And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth” (1 Samuel 17:49). When the stone hit the head of the giant, it was flung with such force that the scripture says, “the stone sunk into his forehead.” In fact, about the only unprotected part of the giant’s body was his forehead. Armor covered everything else, but this one spot was vulnerable. It was that to which David aimed, and it was that to which The Holy Spirit took that stone and gave it even greater strength. The giant was now dead. The Scripture says, “Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled” (1 Samuel 17:51). 

The Spiritual Implications

All of this has tremendous spiritual implications and is intended so by The Holy Spirit. The Lord, as we have previously stated, had predicted immediately after the fall (Genesis 3:15) that the seed of the woman, namely The Lord Jesus Christ, would bruise the head of satan, which would be done at Calvary. So, when David killed this giant, he took the large sword of the giant and, “cut off his head therewith."  This was a forepicture of what Jesus would do at Calvary as it regarded defeating Satan and all of his cohorts of darkness (Colossians 2:14-15).

The Position of The Child of God

As well, the Scripture says that, after David killed Goliath, he “ran, and stood upon the Philistine.” That is supposed to be the position of the child of God. We are to stand upon our enemies instead of them standing on us. I speak of demonic powers, etc. Unfortunately, the exact opposite is altogether true at this particular time. There is only one path of victory, and that is the Cross of Christ. There, Jesus defeated satan in every capacity. The Scripture says, “And (Jesus) having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15). The Scripture also says, “But this man (this Priest, Christ Jesus), after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever (speaks of The Cross), sat down on the right hand of God (refers to the great contrast with the priest under the Levitical system, who never sat down because their work was never completed; the work of Christ was a ‘finished work’ and needed no repetition); From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool (these enemies are satan and all the fallen angels and demon spirits, plus all who follow satan). For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified (everything one needs is found in The Cross [Galatians 6:14])” (Hebrews 10:12-14). Our Lord paid a terrible price at Calvary’s Cross in order that we might have and enjoy more abundant life and be victorious in every capacity over the world, the flesh, and the devil. No, the Bible does not teach sinless perfection, but it most definitely does teach that “sin is not to have dominion over us” (Romans 6:14). Once again, let us state this great truth, instead of our problems and difficulties standing on us, we are to stand on them exactly as David stood on Goliath, signifying his victory. It was all a picture and type of what Jesus would do to satan at Calvary. We are the recipients of that great victory. That is, if our faith is properly placed, which refers to Christ and The Cross.

Worthy is The Lamb the hosts of heaven sing

As before the throne, they make his praises ring;

Worthy is the Lamb, the book to open wide

Worthy is The Lamb, Who once was crucified.

Worthy is The Lamb, Who shed His precious blood

To restore a world to happiness and God;

When no eye could pity, and no arm could save,

Jesus for our ransom, Himself freely gave.

Worthy is The Lamb, the bleeding Sacrifice,

Who, for Adam’s race, paid such a fearful price;

Worthy is The Lamb, the pascal Lamb of God,

For the world received redemption through His blood.

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Worthy is The Lamb, let man and angels sing;

Worthy is The Lamb, let hallelujahs ring;

And when life has passed upon the golden shore,

Worthy is The Lamb, we’ll shout forevermore.