Resisting the Devil
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At War
At War
Eph. 6:11-14
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. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
What do we know?
We are under attack.
We are to engage in the battle.
Notice the last phrase in verse 11
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
This sums up the reality of the Christian well. Because we are at war, we must do what is necessary to stand firm as the devil’s attacks come.
The exhortation to stand is also seen in verses 13 & 14
An external attack
Of course we know there is a battle within due to the remaining presence of sin in believers. (Rom. 7)
There is still a part of us, our flesh that is inclined to pursue or indulge in what john addressed in his first epistle:
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
But as far as the external attack is concerned
The devil leads the charge against the church.
And notice in verse 12
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.
The battle takes place in the heavenly places.
The same phrase is also in
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
Heavenly places is a reference to the spiritual realm.
The spiritual realm is a place of holy angels and spiritual blessings, but is also a place of unholy demons and unholy assaults.
But back to verse 11: we are commanded to put on the armor of God. Why? That we may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. How do we do this? How do we stand against the schemes of the devil?
In other words, how do we resist the devil?
We must know how the devil works
We must know how the devil works
The devil’s schemes
The word schemes in verse eleven is instructive.
It means a systematic way of deception. In other words, there is order, thoughtfulness, carefulness to Satan’s attacks.
The devil is our adversary
1 Pet. 5:8
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Notice, the devil is our adversary. He is not an adversary other people we don’t know, or who seem worse than us. He’s our adversary.
Prowls is the same word that we often translate walk. And the idea in the word walk is a way of life. The devil’s manner of life is one of stalking. One that is always on the look out for targets to take down.
The devil is the ruler of the world
He is referred to this way in the gospel of John.
John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11
But also in
Luke 4:5-6
5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.
But is he cannot influence the church from within, how can he rule the world?
The devil is at work in the world and the people of the world
Eph 2:1-2; 1 John 5:19; John 8:44
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Before people are liberated from their sin through their salvation, they followed the course of this world. In other words, they followed the world’s system, and who is over the world’s system? The devil.
Also notice in verse 2 that Satan is now at work in the sons of disobedience. The sons of disobedience are unbelievers among whom the church in Ephesus used to be. And all of us, before our salvation used to be.
19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
So the whole world lies in the power of the devil. The word here is humanity with all its ideologies, institutions and systems. And what we need to recognize is that these things do not always seem blatantly evil. Remember, Satan lies and deceives.
What comes as a result of the devil’s progress?
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The fruit of the devil’s works is deception and death. The author of Hebrews tells us that the devil has the power of death (Heb. 2:14).
We must know the devil has limitations
We must know the devil has limitations
The devil has no claim on Jesus
John 14:30
30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,
The devil has been overcome
1 John 2:13, 4:4
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them (antichists), for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
The devil cannot touch those who belong to God
1 John 5:18
1 John 5:18 (ESV)
18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
We must know the weapons of our warfare
We must know the weapons of our warfare
Back to Eph. 6.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
The power to resist is found in God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
So, from one perspective we do have the power within us to fight the battle, but the power itself is not native to us. It is from God.
Also, as we go through the armour of God, you will notice that nearly all of it is defensive. Remember, Satan is in attack mode, but when his attacks are met with this armor, they are defeated.
The belt of truth (14)
girding our loins
preparation, getting ready, commitment to the battle is displayed in this preparation
1 Pet 1:13
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
2. The breastplate of righteousness (14)
covers the vital organs
not a call to acquire saving righteousness, but a reference to practical righteousness or godliness
Our unrighteousness is our vulnerability to the devil’s attacks.
The breastplate of righteousness is a call to get rid of sin in our lives.
3. Gospel shoes of readiness (15)
In battle, shoes were a matter of life and death. Roman soldiers went on long marches and needed stability for the battle field.
The truths of the gospel are what stabilize us in the midst of our warfare.
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
spiritual oppression, fear of judgement addressed through the atonement of Jesus.
Eph 2:12-13; Rom 5:1
12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Something to point out before moving on is notice the past tense of this part of the armor:
having fastened the belt of truth
having put on the breastplate of righteousness
having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace
We put these on when we come to faith, and we keep them on. The battle is always on so our armor must always be on.
Verse 16 begins with “in all circumstances” … which might be better to say “in addition”. What follows are pieces of armor we are called to take up and put on or use.
4. Shield of Faith (16)
4-5 feet. Meant to provide near full-body protection. Often wrapped in leather and soaked with water.
The flaming darts of the evil one are his temptations to sin
What we must do is believe (have faith) in the promises of God. As we do this we extinguish the strength of these temptations.
But we should still ask, in what sense does faith overcome temptation?
Consider the aim of Satan’s temptations; He wants the church to believe his lies:
i deserve this
this is no big deal
this won’t set me back that much
God understands
Faith believes the promises of God. Faith believes the truth and when we believe the truth, we reject the lies of Satan.
affirmations and denials
5. Helmet of Salvation (17)
Obvious what a helmet does or what it’s meant to do
Despite being in a fierce battle with a fierce enemy, we are protected and our salvation is secure.
8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
Here Paul describes the helmet as the hope of salvation. In times of intense battle, our minds must be fixed on the specific truths of the gospel.
6. Sword of the Spirit (17)
The one offensive weapon
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.
Imagery of the Weapons
Isa 11:4-5, 59:16-17
The Roman Soldier’s armor
The OT
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
16 He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
These words find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He is the one who has proved the reliability of God-forged armor in the conflict of Satan. Remember what John said of Jesus and how is purpose impacted Satan:
8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. When we wear and use the armor God has provided us, we will be victorious over our enemy.
