What the Bible says about Struggle for the Kingdom
(From Forerunner Commentary)
The Kingdom of God will be the recipient of slings and arrows and wars and temptations, and its own people will need to be violent in return. He means "forceful." It will take a titanic struggle to enter it because so many things are acting against us. Jesus warns us it will not be easy. We are going to have to work vigorously and "violently" at times, to force ourselves to do what is right, because the Kingdom of God is now under siege in so many ways. Therefore, we have to fight as warriors in battle and violently engage the enemy.
From John 17:11-18, we know that the Kingdom functions in the world, and Jesus is not going to take us out of it. But He asks His Father to give us His protection from the Evil One so that we can at least have that added strength. We must constantly deal with the world, human nature, and the Evil One himself, as well as his demons.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Parables of Matthew 13 (Part 2): LeavenRelated Topics: Kingdom of God | Kingdom of God, Seeking First | Kingdom of Heaven | Overcoming | Overcoming Human Nature | Overcoming Satan's Influence | Overcoming World's Influences | Overcoming, Mankind's Participation in | Overcoming, Urgency in | Spiritual Battle | Spiritual Warfare | Struggle | Struggle against Carnal Nature | Struggle against Satan's Influence | Struggle against Sin | Struggle for the Truth | Struggle to Overcome