One of the Principles of War is to "Know Your Enemy."

 

 

The Armor of God:  Know Your Enemy

(Ephesians 6:10-18)

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Scripture tells us to clothe ourselves with the armor of God for defensive protection against Satan, who wants to destroy our testimonies and our lives. There are six pieces of armor to put on. Five of the pieces are defensive; one is offensive. We must wear all six pieces for protection. We must not leave any part of our life unguarded. The only place that is not protected is the back. This is because God expects "no deserters" in His army. We must face the enemy and not turn our back to him as we are in a battle.

As we look into the purpose for each piece of armor, we will realize we are "putting on the Lord Jesus Christ."  In Romans 13:11-14, Paul tells the Christians that the hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber...the night is nearly over and the day is almost here, so let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ...Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

One of the principles of war is to know your enemy

Who is the enemy? The Bible passage tells us… For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Satan is the god of this world, and the prince of the air

One of the principles of war is to know your enemy.  All those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ and living in Christ, are in at spiritual battle with the spiritual forces of evil.  We know Christ Jesus has already won the battle for us and disarmed Satan while on the cross. He also provided everything we need to claim the victory over Satan when he tries to bully us by tempting, discouraging, or accusing us, lying and deceiving us, or defeating us in any other way.  He has many tactics to use against any one of us and he will use them.  Most often, he will work through others who are still under his influence and are not yet under the blood of Christ.  This is why our battle is not against flesh and blood (the people Satan uses as tools); it is against the unseen evil spiritual forces that influence these attacks.

Satan is the most  bitter enemy of God and His people. Here are some of the names he is called in Scripture: “the deceiver” (Revelation 12:9), “a murderer” (John 8:44), “the tempter” (Matthew 4:3), “the destroyer” (Revelation 9:11), “the liar, and Father of lies” (John 8:44), “accuser of the brethren” Revelation 12:10, and “the evil one” 1 John 5:19.

He is depicted as “a roaring lion, searching the world for those he can devour,” yet he attempts to portray himself as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). He is also known as “the Author of Confusion.”

Satan’s strategies:  He beguiles, seduces, opposes, resists, deceives, hinders, buffets, tempts, and persecutes believers.

Satan tries to counterfeit everything of God’s.  He will even have a counterfeit savior, called the Anti-Christ sometime up ahead. He is at work today through false prophets, and false teachers who misquote Scripture, teach corruption, and mix enough truth into falsehood to make it seem trustworthy and believable. He is busy deceiving people into believing he doesn’t really exist and there is no hell.  He loves it when he can influence people to blaspheme our holy God, and he will do all he can to drag as many as possible into hell with him. He is the instigator of all evil and all the unsaved are, unknowingly, his puppets. The only way to freedom from his grip is through Christ Jesus and His shed blood while on the cross.

Satan is the great destroyer.  Often he divides first, by causing dissensions and splits then he will find it easier to conquer. He wants to destroy our life through adversity and he will try to block the moves God wants to make in your life. He does that by discouragement, by dissipating your time and energy, and by frontal assault on your weak areas to lead you into sin. Satan wants to disrupt your walk with God, ruin your testimony, and destroy your life.

We must take the enemy seriously as he is determined to destroy us.  We must always be prepared for battle, stay alert, and always be in communication with our Commander-in-Chief.

God wants us to be praying in all kinds of prayers on all occasions. If we are not wearing all parts of our armor we will be injured in the unprotected places. We must be daily wearing the whole armor of God (which is putting on Christ). We are not to battle in our flesh, but in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. We cannot battle in our own strength, but we can do all things in Christ Jesus, and in Him, we are more than conquerors.

Note: some of this was taken from David Jeremiah’s study guide, Spiritual Warfare.

 

Next, will be the first piece of armor we must put on: The Belt (Girdle) of Truth

~Annie~