Jubilee Community Church
Sunday December 21, 2025
  • Breathe
  • Scatter
  • Keep Making Me

  • Inherited Patterns or New Identity: Breaking Generational Influence Through Christ

    Primary Scripture Reading
    Text: Ephesians 6:12
    Ephesians 6:12 KJV 1900
    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.

    Introduction

    The Bible repeatedly teaches that what shapes human behavior is not merely personal choice, personality, or upbringing, but unseen influences that operate behind cultures, systems, and worldviews. Scripture never presents humanity as spiritually neutral. Every person is born into an environment already shaped by spiritual realities that predate them.
    Many believers ask why certain mindsets, sins, fears, relational patterns, and identity struggles seem to repeat across families and generations—even in societies that have had access to the gospel. The answer is not found in psychology alone, nor in blaming individuals. The answer is found in understanding how spiritual influence shapes systems, how systems shape identity, and how identity must be replaced by Christ.
    Today we are not assigning demons to age groups, nor are we elevating generational labels above Scripture. We are grounding ourselves in biblical truth: principalities influence environments; environments shape people; and only Christ can break inherited identity and establish true freedom.

    Understanding Principalities: Definition and Function

    Paul introduces the concept of principalities in Ephesians 6:12. The word “principalities” comes from Strong’s G746 and refers to first rule, origin, or governing authority. It describes a ruling power that exercises influence over order, direction, and structure.
    A principality is not a personal demon attached to an individual. In Scripture, principalities operate at a higher level. They influence systems of governance, belief, culture, and worldview. Their goal is not merely to tempt individuals, but to normalize values and behaviors so that resistance feels unnatural.
    Daniel 10 provides the clearest biblical example. The angel sent to Daniel was delayed by the “prince of Persia” and later references the “prince of Grecia.” These were not human kings. They were spiritual authorities influencing entire empires. Their influence extended over ideas, policies, religions, and cultural priorities.
    This establishes an essential truth: Principalities influence systems. Systems shape cultures. Cultures shape identity.

    How Systems Become Generational

    Once a system is shaped, it does not require constant spiritual pressure to continue. People begin to live inside it, teach it, and pass it on.
    Judges 2:10
    Judges 2:10 KJV 1900
    10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
    This generation did not reject God because a new demon arrived. They lost the knowledge of God because truth was not transferred. Memory faded. Testimony was lost. Leadership failed. The environment changed, and identity followed.
    Exodus 20:5 speaks of iniquity being visited upon future generations. This is not divine punishment passed down arbitrarily. It is the continuation of unbroken patterns. What parents normalize, children inherit. What leaders tolerate, cultures preserve.
    Psalm 78 explains God’s desire to interrupt this cycle by teaching truth deliberately so that future generations would not repeat the same rebellion.

    Tradition: The Vehicle of Spiritual Influence

    Jesus repeatedly confronted tradition, not because tradition was old, but because tradition had replaced truth.
    Mark 7:13
    Mark 7:13 KJV 1900
    13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
    Tradition is behavior learned in an environment, reinforced by repetition, and justified over time. Once a tradition becomes identity, it becomes resistant to truth.
    This explains why Jesus could say to religious leaders that they were continuing the works of their fathers. They inherited a mindset, not just practices.
    Matthew 23:32
    Matthew 23:32 KJV 1900
    32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
    They were perpetuating a system that existed before them.

    Why the World Names Generations

    The world labels generations to describe observable patterns: attitudes, reactions, priorities, and behaviors. These labels are descriptive, not authoritative. They identify fruit, not roots.
    Scripture never names generations by years. Scripture names generations by spiritual condition.
    A stubborn generation A rebellious generation A faithless generation A chosen generation
    God addresses generations by alignment, not age.
    The danger is not generational labels themselves, but when identity becomes rooted in them instead of in Christ.
    Born Into a System, Reborn Into a Kingdom
    Paul explains this clearly in Ephesians 2.
    Ephesians 2:2–3 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air…”
    Ephesians 2:2–3 KJV 1900
    2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
    This is why Paul commands believers in Romans 12:2 not to conform to the world. Conformity assumes an existing mold.
    Transformation requires renewal of the mind because identity precedes behavior.
    Colossians 1:13
    Colossians 1:13 KJV 1900
    13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
    Translated means moved from one authority to another. This is not symbolic language. It is jurisdictional.
    Christ breaks the authority of darkness instantly. But the mind must be renewed so the believer does not continue living under a defeated system.
    Why Romans 7 Feels Familiar to Generations
    Romans 7 describes a person who desires righteousness but is still operating with a mind shaped by the old system. The law exposes the problem but cannot fix identity.
    Romans 8 reveals the answer: life in the Spirit, not just discipline or effort.
    Victory is not found in trying harder within the same mindset. Victory comes through walking in a new identity.

    Application: Identifying Inherited Patterns

    Ask yourself honestly: • What beliefs did I inherit about success, authority, masculinity, femininity, marriage, money, or self-worth? • What behaviors did I assume were normal because everyone around me practiced them? • What patterns existed before I was ever aware of them?
    Deliverance begins with truth, not fear.
    Breaking generational influence is not about blaming parents or rebuking demons; it is about refusing false identity.

    Conclusion

    We are living in a time where generations are being named, shaped, and claimed by the world before they ever encounter truth. Identity is being handed to them early, loudly, and repeatedly.
    But God is calling His people to step out of inherited confusion and into revealed truth.
    The enemy does not need new power; he relies on unchallenged systems. But where truth enters, systems collapse.
    This is a season of re-identification. A season where sons and daughters choose who names them.
    If the pattern is not confronted, it will be continued. If the identity is not replaced, it will be preserved.
    But whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
    Closing Quote
    “The greatest enemy to revival is a satisfied church that has learned to live comfortably inside inherited deception.”— Leonard Ravenhill

      • Ephesians 6:12NKJV

      • Judges 2:10NKJV

      • Mark 7:13NKJV

      • Matthew 23:32NKJV

      • Ephesians 2:2–3NKJV

      • Colossians 1:13NKJV

Jubilee Community Church
jubileeministries31773@gmail.com
229-224-3359
http://faithlife.com/jcc-31773
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