Schemes of Satan

In chapter 1-3 Paul lays out what God is doing to address the messed up nature of the universe we live in. He lays out God’s redemptive plan of salvation. How the Lord brings order out of chaos and we are saved by grace through faith.

In chapters 3-6 Paul raises and answers the question, “If this is true, how then should we live? And he begins to address with detailed teaching the practical implications of the Gospel on our every day life. Take off the old… put on the new.

Then we get to Ephesians 6:10 and Paul says, “Finally…” Not sincerely, but finally. In other words - there’s one more important thing you need to understand about the Christian life. What is it? You’re in a war!

Moreover, if you don’t understand that war - even if you understand everything else about the Christian life - you’ll not be effective in living it.

Imagine if you had a set of blue prints. You had all the material you needed for building the thing on the blue print. You had the masons and the carpenters and they had all the knowledge. Could you build the building? Sure.

But what if the area in which you were going to build was under siege? Would that change the way in which you went about building? If somebody gave you all the blueprints and resources but didn’t tell you about the hostile environment wouldn’t you be upset with them? Of course!

If you know you’re working in enemy territory then you will live differently. That’s what Paul is trying to accomplish in this section.

Paul is trying to help Christians understand that the evil days they have faced, and will face in the future are not what they seem. There’s something supernatural underneath the surface.

This is incredibly important for us to understand as Christian people. Most people lose in the Christian life because (1) they expect the Christian life to be easy and blessed and full of prosperity. Or (2) they acknowledge they’re in a war but they never avail themselves to the resources available to help them win.

So this series has been an effort to both reveal the nature of our warfare and then equip us with the tools and resources for winning the invisible war.

If you’re a Christian, the content in this passage is some of the most important information you could ever know. It’s the wisest way of thinking. The most nuanced, most sophisticated and most emotionally/psychologically healthy.

With that in mind let’s read our text. Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Last week we gave a brief overview of this entire passage but for this morning we are going to dive down deeper one phrase and that is “the schemes of the devil…"

If we’re going to be effective in living the Christian life then we need to know who this enemy is and how he goes about undermining the work of God in our life and in the life of our church.

WHAT WE FIGHT AGAINST:

You may ask, “Why spend so much time on this?” It’s because, in our culture, there is a gulf between the visibility of evil and the intellectual resources to deal with it.

I’m a big fan of sci-fi movies and apocalyptic/post apocalyptic cinema. But I’m fascinated by how our culture tries to make sense of the evil in the world.

Recently I just finished watching a series on Hulu about supernatural evil. Because we live in an atheistic culture they pretty much dismissed the possibility that evil has any kind of supernatural or non-material basis. It’s purely material. Purely based on external circumstance.

If you boil down evil to completely materialistic/naturalistic causes then you’ve given up one of the strongest resources for understanding true evil. More than that, you’ll eventually end up denying free will and then you’re left with hardly any resources whatsoever. (Hannible Lecter illustration)

There are certain evils in the world you simply cannot explain away. You cannot account for them unless there’s something supernatural at work.

How can you go back and look at events like the Holocaust where people not only enacted a genocide against a group of people because of their ethnicity but vast majorities of the rest of the culture justified it and made excuses for it?

How do you explain things like slavery in the United States where EVEN CHRISTIANS justified the use of slaves and the dehumanization of people based on immutable characteristics?

I honestly think 20 years from now we’re going to look back at the issue of abortion like we do the Holocaust and Slavery. It’s not only that people perform abortions. It’s the mass delusion in our culture that it’s some how permissible to take human life or that they’re not “really human…” and hey let’s not talk about it because it’s politically charged and people get upset and we don’t want to offend.

Why are we so influenced by those kind of arguments? It’s because there’s a force at work greater than just the natural. It’s supernatural.

So granted that the Satan and demons exist, what exactly are WE fighting against in this war? Are we literally fighting Satan himself? No.

Paul says the thing against which we stand are the “schemes of the devil.” (Gk methodeia) It means strategies or methods. This means the devil has an arsenal of weapons; a portfolio of strategies.

Paul mentions this in 2nd Corinthians 2:11. The church had exercised church discipline on a fellow Christian and they were unwilling to let him back into the fellowship even after his repentance. They refused to forgive him!

So Paul writes, “Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:10-11)

The devils designs, his schemes. In this case, the devil was using what started out as a good thing (purity in the church) but he slightly twisted it and then removed the element of love so that now they were bitter, unforgiving, harsh and judgmental.

If I could summarize it in a sentence. The devil's strategy (always) is to tear apart what God wants to keep together. He disintegrates what God wants to integrate.

There are many ways he can go about doing that. He can do it through personal sin and bad choices that break the heart of another person or destroy the soul of the person who is committing them.

He can do it through bitterness and unforgiveness of the person sinned against.

Or he can do it through pride and arrogance of the person committing the sin.

Either way, what God wants to bring together the devil aims to rip apart.

His goal is not to torment or scare or be the subject matter or horror movies. His goal is not even to create physical torment through things like torture and the like. His goal is to destroy the harmony God wants to build.

These schemes of Satan are at work in our world, even now, at a macro-level and a micro-level. They are both systemic and personal.

You notice in Ephesians 6:12 Paul lists out “rulers, authorities, cosmic powers and spiritual forces of evil…"

The words “rulers and authorities” typically refers to actual governmental leaders. (Like Ceaser). The latter two descriptions are more metaphysical and spiritual. So which is it? Does Satan have control over physical institutions or just influence and animate through spiritual mediums?

The answer is probably both! There are and certainly can be whole governments and cultural institutions that are completely controlled by Satan because they are staffed by people committed to his purposes. (Satan promises to give this kind of authority to Jesus in his wilderness temptations Luke 4:6)

There’s even an interesting passage in Daniel 10 in which the angel speaks to Daniel and says, “I would’ve come sooner but “the prince of Persia withstood me 21 days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia…” (Dan 10:13) This same angel says he’s going back to fight in the battle against Persia after he leaves.

the Bible is clear that Satan is the ruler and power behind this world; he’s the dominating influence in our world. The world governments are his governments; it’s His Wall Street, it’s His entertainment system, his educational system, and if you want to win in his world you’re going to have to play by his rules.

I mentioned last week how we have different theaters of war. Different methods for different theaters.

You’ve got the air war, the ground war, the water war, etc. You’ve got brick and mortal and bullets and guns. Every world war that’s ever been fought has had those things.

But you also had a war for hearts and minds. You had the war of information. The war of keeping people motivated. You used theaters such as newspapers, and television and - today especially - things like social media and the like.

Enemies of the United States are using all of those devices to one degree or another. And we engage in that warfare on a personal level to some degree but also live within a “system” that’s under assault via those different channels.

This dynamic happens spiritually as well. In a way - the devil even uses the same physical mediums. He just aims towards a different result.

The forces of evil have infected the systems of our world. They’re in the newspaper, TV, the institutions of our culture, he’s working in our polarized (2 Party) political discourse right now.

But we also experience attacks in our personal relationships, our own church family, our own internal monologue. We’ve got opposition coming at us from so many different angles.

One of the newest theaters of war is a thing called “Social Media.” I don’t think we even fully understand the kind of impact social media is having on our spiritual heath. Documentaries have been made at what it’s doing to us sociologically. But what about spiritually? No ground is neutral!

The last thing to remember about these schemes is that Satan takes notes of what does and doesn’t work and puts the greatest energy in the most effective lines of attack.

He knows exactly what to use, when to use it, how to use it and how to create the environments so that it’ll produce the greatest level of devastation.

If Satan were a literal war general and you snuck into his office then you would see a file cabinet with files on every person and place. It would list the strategies that he has tried and the effectiveness of each one.

Like a master strategist he combines variations of the most effective strategies and strikes when the opportunity is greatest and the destruction will reach its maximum potential.

For example it might read: “Subject may be prone to discouragement, especially if physically/emotionally tired. Suggestion: make sure he stays very busy, overcommitted, and physically worn out. At all costs, keep him from extended times of Bible reading and prayer.” (Read Screwtape letters for an example!)

If Satan had a file on you what would it read?

“Subject has a quick temper, a tendency to gossip, prone to jealousy or covetousness, weak in the area of lust.”

Don’t kid yourself. He knows you very well. Where your vulnerabilities are and when and where to strike you for maximum impact.

HOW SATAN FIGHTS:

So how does Satan go about engaging in these schemes? We could probably come up with a long list. It’s an interesting study if you ever have the time.

Honestly I had a list of about 40 different things from all over the Bible but we don’t have time for that. So I want to offer 5 schemes from out of this text.

These all come from Paul’s discussion about the armor of God. He lists 5 defensive tools for the 5 different ways that Satan attacks us in the Christian life.

We need the belt of truth to guard against deception and lies.

We need the breastplate of righteousness to guard against temptation to sin.

We need the shoes shod with the Gospel of peace to guard discouragement and opposition.

We need the shield of faith to guard against Satan’s doubts and unbelief.

We need the helmet of salvation to guard against condemnation and shame.

Under each of these umbrellas Satan has schemes and strategies for tearing apart what God wants to keep together.

He tears apart unity in the life of the local church. He tears apart peace in the human heart. He tears apart plans to advance the truth of the Gospel. He tears apart righteousness in the life of a believer.

He tears apart homes and companies and reputations that are committed to representing Christ in our world. He tears apart countries and cultures and villages so that they war against each other instead of worshipping God.

And he uses these things to do it. Lies, deception, temptation, discouragement, doubts, and condemnation.

Today, we will probably only have time to talk about the first. Lies and Deception.

The Bible refers to Satan as “the Father of lies.” He’s the best liar there is.

His first appearance in the Garden is one with a lie. By far, it’s his greatest weapon.

He lies various different ways. He can outright lie through false doctrines and error that is plain as day. He plays on our “itching ears” and gets us to believe things that will satisfy our passions instead of feeding our soul with truth.

He also twists the truth. It’s what he did in the garden. “Did God really say you couldn’t eat or even touch…” He added to the Word of God. Then he made a false promise…”You’ll be like God if you… knowing good and evil…” When really they’d become like HIM and not GOD.

There are two types of lies that I think Satan uses to accomplish his goals: (1) lies about God and (2) lies about mankind.

The devil lies to try and get you to believe that God isn’t holy. That he’s not worthy of worship. That’s he’s not good or wise or worth trusting. He tries to get you to believe that God doesn’t exist and if he does he’s not who you think he is.

He tries to get you to cherish inflated ideas of your own importance. He tries to get you to believe things about your heart and motives that aren’t even true. He tries to get you to believe things about the heart/motives of other people that you can’t even really know.

If he knows he can’t keep you from learning the truth about God. He’ll take the truth that you do know and he’s twist it just enough so that it no longer has any power in your life. Or, he’ll take truths about mankind and then over amplify it so that it goes beyond what God actually says and create discouragement/anger.

THINK ABOUT IT: Lies about God and lies about mankind are at the root of some of the most horrendous evils in our culture. You can see them if you think about it.

When the devil can get us to devalue or ignore the image of God in other people then he opens us up to a HOST of demonic deception. This influences the way we talk about immigration, abortion, corruption in our institutions, the way we talk about men/women. It shapes how we engage in our politics.

It’s at the root of evils like racism and abortion. “Those” kinds of humans are really deserving of protections and advocacy… it’s not FULLY DEVELOPED so it must not have the same value as other human beings. They’re not like me so...

We also get in trouble when we believe the lie that man can do for us something only God is ultimately capable of. Pastor D had a good reminder if your candidate wins/loses and your utterly elated/destroyed - then you’ve bought a lie. Our hope isn’t built on man - our hope is IN THE LORD.

Is there any place in your life wherein you’ve believed the lies of the devil? Has he convinced you of certain falsehoods about God or about yourself/other people?

Then fight the lies with the truth. Be free of the lies and experience freedom in the truth.

Listen to Jesus in John 8:31 “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…” If the son has set you free. You’ll be free indeed.

The best way to get rid of the darkness in your life is to turn on the light. It’s an immediate reversal. Stop living in the darkness. You can’t see where you’re going and you’ll end up in a mess. Let the truth of God shine bright on you!

We don’t have much time remaining but you can clearly see how the rest of these schemes of the devil surface in our day to day life.

Maybe right now you’re experiencing demonic oppression through temptation to sin. When it comes to temptation Satan knows the perfect recipe to get you to fall.

He knows all of your weak spots and strikes when the iron is MOST hot. He’ll wait until you’re already really agitated, really frustrated, really compromised in your spiritual walk with God - then he’ll offer up the carrot. If only…

I tell people all the time I’m most open to spiritual attack right after I preach a sermon. I don’t know why it is. Probably because I’m physically and emotionally exhausted. I do a lot on Sunday past a sermon. Be on guard!

Think about your past. Where are you weakest? Are there any holes in your breastplate of righteousness? Any area of your life that isn’t fully surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ is exactly where Satan is going to focus his attention.

Has Satan discouraged you from sharing the Gospel? Have fear or apathy overtaken your heart?

I think his greatest weapons here are anxiety and apathy. Anxiety is the opposite of peace. Anxiety over the fear of rejection. Fear of not knowing what to say. Fear of going overseas or surrendering to ministry. Fear of the lack of financial provision.

Anxiety is a big reason why people don’t give to God’s redemptive purposes. We dail back our World Missions giving because what if the economy doesn’t rebound. What if we need it for something else? It’s never a bad financial investment to give to the Great Commission.

Apathy also a big problem. We magnify our pleasures and minimize the reality of hell. We lose a brokenness over the lost. We get more wrapped up in smaller problems and smaller solutions than the ultimate problem and ultimate solution.

Do you even pray? This is the biggest thing on Paul’s mind because as soon as he finishes this section he says, “Please pray for me so that I might have words to speak as I ought to speak when given the opportunity to share the Gospel!"

The last weapons Satan likes to use are doubt and condemnation. He tries to convince you God cannot be trusted and you cannot be loved or forgiven.

This is especially true in seasons of suffering. In the valley low when all hope is lost. He comes with whispers of unbelief. God isn’t really good. Or, you’re suffering because God is mad at you. You deserve this. You are unlovable.

In those moments you need to be reminded of the truth of the Gospel. Yes, it’s true you’re far worse off than you could’ve ever imagined. But, in Christ, you’re also far more loved than you could ever dare hope! There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus.

You’re suffering is real and the questions are strong. But whatever God’s reasons may be for your pain and heartache we know two things it CANNOT BE. It cannot be because he doesn’t love you. It cannot be because he doesn’t care. He proved both of those things true at the cross of Christ and his resurrection from the grave.

CONCLUSION:

If you go back to Paul’s summation of the armor of God it could really be summed up with one phrase: faith in the Gospel.

If you want to go to war against demons, just let Jesus be strong in your life. Let the Gospel saturate every part of you.

Let the Gospel cover your head, and your feet, and your waist and your chest—that’s the armor, because when something is covered by and fortified in the Gospel, Satan can’t touch it.

You want to keep Satan out of your marriage? Learn what it means to establish and ground your relationship in the Gospel!

You want to keep Satan from messing with your self-esteem? Learn to establish your identity in the Gospel.

You want to be able to resist his temptations in your soul? Let the Gospel fill you with satisfaction in God’s presence and love in your life.

The command is not to do warfare, per se, but to be strong in Jesus. Vs. 10, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.”

Think about the metaphor of darkness Paul uses in vs. 12, calling the demons “the power of darkness.” How do you do war against the darkness? If you walk into a room and it is dark, how do you do war against the darkness?

When you go in a dark room, you don’t say, “I rebuke you oh spirit … figure out where the darkness is coming from and bind it and throw it out … or punch it … “ You just turn on the light.

Christian growth is learning to drive the Gospel deep into every part of your life until you think out of it … until it saturates all of you … until all of your life and relationships and thinking are established on the Gospel.

Are there any areas of your life that are not surrendered to Christ or any areas that aren’t actively being shaped by the Gospel?

Whatever those areas are - that’s where you’re going to experience Satanic attack and demonic oppression. (Not possession)

A Christian cannot be demon-possessed in the sense that a demon takes over the core of your being … because every Christian has the Gospel at the core of his being.

But those parts of your life where the Gospel has not taken over and become the pattern and foundation, the demon can afflict and take control. (Marriage, temper, emotions, ambitions, self-esteem, finances)

Many of you, your problems are spiritually, demonically induced, and it’s because you haven’t learned to ground that part of your life in the Gospel!

There are only 2 categories: those who are surrendered to Jesus; those in the domain of Satan.

Satan’s goal for you is absolute death and total destruction. You going to trust and follow Him, or Jesus

Earn an accredited degree from Redemption Seminary with Logos.