Let me begin today with a reminder of what Sun Tzu wrote in his book “The Art of War.” “It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.”
If you know the enemy and yourself you will not be put at risk of being harmed, injured, or destroyed. Therefore, we will continue learning about the enemy and ourselves in the role of spiritual warfare.
A woman bought an extravagant dress, and the husband asked why it had to be so extravagant, she said, “The devil made me buy it”. The husband asked, “Why didn’t you say get behind me Satan?” The woman said, “I did and said it looked as good in the front as it did in the back”.
When Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthians about the importance of forgiving a certain individual, it was so they would be familiar with evil schemes of Satan. Jesus said that a part of the ministry of his believers would be to “cast out demons in my name” and “to knock down the strong holds of human reasoning.”
When we hear these statements, we tend to think of a ministry of exorcism where demons are cast out of someone. And we tend to think of debating the word of God with such effectiveness that the truth overcomes unbiblical reasoning that the world presents. While these statements are true, they are not the entire framework of the believer’s responsibility.
Before we can battle the enemy, we must realize that we also have demonic influences in our lives. We also have strong holds of human reasoning in our lives. Look at the lady at the beginning of our teaching. She was allowing a demonic influence to overcome her sense of reasoning. Although this was a joke, it happens constantly among believers. Although we are redeemed, we can allow ourselves to continue to be spiritual hostages.
1 John 3:7-8 “Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.”
Remember last week we talked about Adam, not having the knowledge of good and evil did not have to walk a balancing beam as we do. We desire to live a righteous life. But we have an enemy in the devil that shows us our sinful ways to remind us that we are still capable of sinning. As we discovered last week Paul never realized that coveting was a sin until it was exposed as sin. Then he wanted to sin even more. It’s like a child. When they go to touch something and you say “No” they usually don’t turn from it. Suddenly there is a desire to touch the item now that is irresistible to them. So is the devil’s work in our lives. When God says “No” the enemy fills us with a desire to do that which God has commanded us not to do.
Jesus came to destroy those works. The Greek word is luo and it meant to untie or to loosen. John the Baptist used this same word when he said, “I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals.”
So Jesus came to untie and loosen the binding power that the devil has over us. And He succeeded in doing so. We are no longer bound by Satan and his evil influences. Romans 8:12 tells us we have no obligation to do what our sinful nature urges us to do. Yet it seems that we allow ourselves to be bound up in sin numerous times. It’s because we open the doorways of our minds to allow the devil to gain the foothold he desires.
Read Romans 6:11 “So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”
The Bible also says, “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right.” “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.” “My old self has been crucified with Christ.” We have been crucified with Christ and we are dead. Why is that important for us to realize?
I had a friend in high school that landed a job at a local funeral parlor. His job was mostly janitorial. One night the mortician asked him to help with a cadaver. As they were moving this person into a sitting position, the cadaver moaned. Naturally, it was air still trapped in a body cavity but to my friend it did not matter. He never returned to the job.
Reality is the dead man could not have responded to anything on his own. Dead people are incapable of responding to anything. When it comes to sin, we are dead and incapable of responding to it. Unless, that is, we decide to give the power of sin back to its originator which is Satan. And in doing so, we bound ourselves back into the wraps of sin that we have been delivered from.
Spiritual warfare is not about having victory over Satan. Jesus has already accomplished that victory. We cannot do anything to add to that victory. There is nothing we can do to make that victory more complete.
Let us read Colossians 2:15. “In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”
The Greek word for disarmed is used only one other time in the New Testament. We find it in Colossians 3:9. “Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds.”
The word meant to completely strip off one’s garments to the point of complete nudity. In Colossians 3:9, we make a choice to strip off our old sinful nature to the point of complete nudity in relation to sin. However, in Colossians 2:15 we see Jesus stripping not only Satan but also all of his demons of their ability to retaliate. He completely disarmed them of all of their power.
Not only did He defeat them He paraded them in the heavens so they would be publicly displayed and their ineffectiveness exposed. In other words, they were publicly humiliated. And Jesus did so boldly and with confidence. We have the assurance of the complete unarming of Satan and his demons. We should live our lives to reflect that fact.
So the question should be “If Satan is so defeated why is there spiritual warfare?” Let’s pursue that question next. We are about to discover that the word “war” or “warfare” is only used five times in the New Testament and not once does it refer to Satan.
The first time this word is used is in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
From this verse, we discover that our war is against mental bondages. There are strongholds of worldly reasoning. The Greek word for stronghold is only used once and it’s in this passage. It meant a prison. We have captured our thoughts and instead of freeing them to be godly thoughts, we have imprisoned them by trying to ration away our wickedness and make excuses for our actions. We must tear down these walls of reasoning away our actions and destroy our arguments against God’s truth. We must take charge of our minds. If not we have allowed Satan to discover a way to bind us.
The second time is in 1 Timothy 1:18 “Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles.”
Here again there is no mention of Satan. In this verse, Paul encourages Timothy to stay strong in the fight, remembering all the prophetic words spoken over him. And using those promises to fight in the war that lay before him. In other words, stay away from doubt of God’s ability to see him through to the end.
We have many prophetic words spoken over us as believers in the word of God. We must know those prophetic words and apply them to our lives. We can’t afford to live lives filled with doubt. If we do, we have allowed Satan to find a way to bind us.
The third time is in 2 Timothy 2:4. “Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.”
The word “soldier” refers to one who engages in warfare. Again, there is no reference to Satan. Paul instructs Timothy to look at the structured life lived by a Roman soldier. Their main objective was to please their superior officer. They were not tied up in the politics and religions that surrounded them. They were true to their main objective.
We must stay true to our main objective, making disciples through spreading the gospel while being the salt and the light of the world. We are to keep our lives free of clutter and be singled minded about our service to God. When we allow ourselves to become so preoccupied with the affairs of the world, we allow Satan to find a way to bind us.
The fourth time it is used is in James 4:1 “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?”
Again there is no reference to Satan. According to James, the “spiritual warfare” comes from within us. It is a by-product of the evil that was created as a part of our being. It is us fighting our lusts and not Satan. But this battle can open the door for Satan to find away to bind us.
The last time it is used is in 1 Peter 2:11 “Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.”
Again, it’s not the devil but rather our worldly desires that attempts to conquer and subdue our mind. As we continue with this study, we will discover that we battle Satan. But as far as warfare goes, the war is within us. The war is between our spirit desiring to have control of our minds and the flesh desiring to have control o our lives. In the midst of this war is Satan, tugging on us to follow our fleshly desires.
Three contractors were on a tour of the White House. One is from Minnesota, another is from Tennessee, and the third is from Chicago. As they are walking through, they notice a broken fence and ask if it would be possible to submit a bid to fix it. They are told of course.
All three go with a White House official to examine the fence. The Minnesota contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. "Well," he says, "I figure the job will run about $900: $400 for materials, $400 for my crew and $100 profit for me."
The Tennessee contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, "I can do this job for $700: $300 for materials, $300 for my crew and $100 profit for me."
The Chicago contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the White House official and whispers, "$2,700."
The official, incredulous, says, "You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?"
The Chicago contractor whispers back, "$1,000 for me, $1,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Tennessee to fix the fence."
This is the way demonic powers work. They have absolutely no power to bring about our destruction unless we leave an open door into our mind. They whisper deals in our ears and convince us that God’s approval does not rally matter. The only thing that matters is that we get what is rightfully ours in the first place. That is what they did with King David as he looked upon Bathsheba. Eventually he came to his senses and confessed to God his sinful behavior.
Were you to ask most Christians where they feel the greatest attacks are coming from with regard to Satan; they would answer finances, illness, and marriage.
But, before you give the devil credit for attacking you financially, when is the last time you balanced your checkbook? When is the last time you looked at your budget if you even have one? When is the last time you were responsible for not paying a bill on time because you wasted the money on some material item? That’s not the devil. That’s on you. Take responsibility.
Before you give the devil credit for attacking you health wise when was the last time you looked at your diet plan? When was the last time you exercised? When was the last time you took a day of rest, which God commanded us to do weekly, to recuperate? That’s not the devil. That’s on you. Take responsibility.
Before you give the devil credit for attacking your marriage when was the last time you spoke kind and not harsh words to your spouse? When was the last time the two of you took a walk with no distractions just to talk and spend time together? When was the last time you made your spouse a priority in your life if only for a short time? That’s not the devil. That’s on you. Take responsibility.
Every time we blame Satan for our problems, we give him a portion of his power back over our lives. I have determined not to give Satan his power back. When situations occur, my first question will be “What is my role in this? What have I done to cause this problem in my life? How am I responsible?” I will study and ponder this question until I get an answer.
If I can honestly say that I played no part in the situation I am facing, then I will ask this question, “What is God getting ready to do in my life that Satan is trying to hinder?” And Satan will try to stymie God’s plans, as we will see next week. However, he will never fail to be successful as long as we protect our minds from our flesh, keep our eyes on our calling, and never doubt God’s ability to see us through.
