The Word of God teaches that believers have enemies and fight a constant warfare against them while here on earth. There are three enemies mentioned in Scripture: the Flesh, the World and the Devil (Satan). We will consider each of these enemies and then look at the armor given to us by God to defeat them. First of all, however, let us consider the proper state of mind that each one of us must bring into the conflict in order to have the victory. In 2 Cor. 10:3-5 it says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." People in this world fight physical battles against one another, but with the Christian it is not so our battle is spiritual, and it is against the enemies mentioned. We will go on to see how mighty the weapons of our warfare are, but notice what is brought out in these verses. We must cast down imaginations! There are many thoughts that are considered to be true but, when examined in light of the Word of God, they are found to be only imaginations and untruths. We must start here! There is no way the believer can be successful in this battle unless he examines all of his thoughts and beliefs in the light of God's Word and every one of those thoughts must be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, the One who is Himself the Truth.
Having considered the necessary starting point for the conflict, let us go on to look at our enemies and then the armor given to us for our fight against them.
Enemy Number One —the Flesh
Although it is not the primary subject of this paper, the flesh is actually the greatest enemy of the believer and the one about which Scripture has the most to say. The flesh is that evil sin nature that every one of us has been born with and which will remain with us until we die or are given our bodies of glory at the coming of the Lord Jesus. The believer is never told to fight against the flesh, but rather is to be on guard for any attacks that may come, and relying upon the Spirit of God to preserve us. We are told about the works of the flesh in Gal. 5:19-21 and in the 16th verse we are told, "Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Again, we learn how very important it is for us to follow God's Word and be filled with His Spirit if we are to lead victorious Christian lives.
Enemy Number Two —the World
The second enemy is the world The world is that system of things around us that is opposed to Christ and is really headed up by Satan. Many are unsure of what the world is, but the Lord Jesus made it plain when He said in John 15:18-20, "I have chosen you out of the world." Before we were saved, we were of the world in other words, the world is made up of unsaved people around us. But, even more, we learn that the world is the society, culture, and way of thinking that characterizes them. The sooner we learn that those things are wrong at their root, the better we will be able to do what is right and according to Scripture. We are told in 1 John 5:19, "we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness." If that is true, then how can the rites and ceremonies of the society around us be alright? Many of them aren't, and we had better go to the Scripture and examine them to see which ones are of wickedness. We are told in 1 John 2:15-17 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever." James states it even more strongly when he says, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4)." This should be a real warning to many of us who are tempted to go on in friendship with unsaved companions, joining in with their activities. We are called out of that to be a separated people unto Him. Sadly, we have found that there are believers that are willing to give up anything to do with Satan and the works of darkness, but they just cannot see how to be free of the world.
But, you might say, "There is much wisdom in those things that have been handed down from our ancestors that we now practice in our culture." In some things, that may be so, like with certain farming techniques, etc. However, when it comes to do with our relationship with God or anything having to do with that, the world has no wisdom at all! In fact, the world's wisdom is called foolishness in 1 Cor. 1:20-25 where it says, "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God,-it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe... the foolishness of God is wiser than men." James says, "This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish (James 3:15)." Now we see what is behind the world's wisdom it is not only from the earth (world), but it appeals to the natural senses and is from the devil (Satan) who is the god of this world. There is only one way that we will be delivered from the world's thinking. As it says in Rom. 12:1, 2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." We will be transformed from the world through the Word of God.
This struggle is not unique to believers in Africa. Christians all over the world have to stand against what is wrong in the places where they live. In North America there are many cultural and societal practices that our families and neighbors carry on with that we cannot do because they are against Scripture. Often they don't understand, and as Peter says, "they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you" (1 Peter 4:4). But this is always difficult because it means that we will be not only misunderstood, but also persecuted. The Lord told us this in John 15:18-20 where He said, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also."
As far as our culture is concerned, it may seem that the only way to get out of our obligations and the responsibilities that our society puts on us is to die. In fact, we are told in Scripture that this is what we must do. We are told in Matt. 16:25, "Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." This does not mean physical death; rather it means that we must die to all of our ambitions, dreams, honor and respect in this world. If we are to find our life in Christ we must die to the world and ourselves and present our bodies as a living sacrifice. But then we find the reward "whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." It is a wonderful thing to find our life in walking with Christ on this earth. Yes, we will share in His rejection and persecution, but it is a life of joy that goes far beyond anything that an unbeliever or a disobedient believer can ever know.
This does not mean that we are to be in any way disrespectful to those in our community. Instead, we should tell them that we respect them very much, but we belong to the Lord and as much as we would like to honor their wishes we cannot do what is displeasing to Him. Most who take a faithful stand in this way find that, although they will not understand us, those in the community will respect our position. But in many cases they will not be happy and we must, like the early disciples, do what is right in spite of them. It says in Acts 5:41 that after they had been beaten, "they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name."
Enemy Number Three – the Devil
Now we come to the third enemy of the believer, the one that has been the main subject of this paper the Devil, or Satan. When we refer to Satan, we are including all his forces the demons who have followed him in his rebellion against God and who help carry out his evil work. We are told in Eph. 6:12 that our warfare is not against men, but against Satan and his angels, for it says, "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." We must be careful to test what is said, even in the assembly, for in this battle there is much deception and we can be easily fooled. We are told to be on guard against this in 1 John 4:1 where it says, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God." And then it says in verses 5 and 6, "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." In other words, the Apostle John is saying that believers listen to what he and the other Apostles have said (as recorded in God's Word), and it is by that that we know what is of the truth. Again, we see that our guard against error and deception in this battle is the Word of God.
But, what is the nature of our warfare with Satan and his forces? Is there a physical part to it or is there just illusions and deception? Many have experienced or heard of the power of the spirits (demons) where they have made people sick or done other supernatural things. We even saw an example of that in Scripture with Job where Satan destroyed everything that he had and eventually even took away Job's health. But is this how Satan and demons work with believers today? To give a brief answer Yes, they may be allowed by God to physically touch a believer, but their primary means of fighting against us is to deceive us into believing what is false. Before going on to see how to fight that warfare, let us look at how Satan comes against us and what our proper attitude should be in meeting him.
We are told in 2 Peter 5:8, 9, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." From these verses we learn that Satan is actively looking for victims and we must be constantly on guard against him. We are told that our position is defensive and that our protection is spiritual "resist steadfast in the faith." But there is something else that we should notice as to our attitude in meeting Satan. A few verses earlier, in verses 5 and 6, we are told, "be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God." As we stated in the chapter about Power, the believer has no strength of his own. We must be truly humbled under God's hand to have any chance at all in this conflict. And His hand is a mighty one! We can trust Him for protection, and so it goes on to say in verse 7, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." It is only after we are submitted to the mighty protecting hand of God, that we can go on to. meet the powerful enemy, Satan, in verses 8 and 9. James says the same thing in a very brief way in chapter 4, verse 7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Again, the first thing is to submit completely to God. Then, with His protection, we are told to resist the devil and we will have the victory.
But how are we to resist Satan and the demons (the spirits) when they come to us. For that, let us go on to consider the armor given to every believer by God for the conflict.
The Believer's Armor
We have seen how we must be submitted to God and rely on Him for our protection. But Scripture also teaches us that we have been given armor that must be put on. One such verse is Rom. 13:12 which says, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." Here we learn that the armor is of light that is, it is associated with that which is right and of God. But before we can put it on, there is something that we must do. We must cast off the works of darkness. If we have anything to do with the spirits, charms, the witch doctor, community sacrifices to the spirits, objects buried or hidden around the house for protection, or anything else like that which is of darkness, then we cannot put on the armor of light. We already saw that this was the first thing that the believers of Acts 19 did they burned their evil books. Just in the same way, any believer who is not yet free of these things must collect them and destroy them in a public way, confessing to the community that you are completely done with them. This is what it means to cast off the works of darkness you cannot put on the armor of light with some of the works of darkness hidden away!
Having cast off the works of darkness, we next learn about the armor in Eph. 6:11-18. Below is the entire passage
"Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."
First of all, the purpose for putting on the armor is stated. It is so that we may be able to stand against Satan's wiles. We are not called to stand against physical attacks, for Satan can never touch us unless specifically allowed to by God. But he actively seeks to fool us by many different methods of deceit. Also, we are told to put on the whole armor of God. It won't do to put on just a few of the pieces or even all but one piece of the armor. We must put it all on. And, we should also notice that it is not our armor it is God's. As a result, we should always remember that it has to be used in accordance with His will and not our own this is part of submitting ourselves to God as we saw in James 4:7.
Piece 1: The Belt of Truth – The first piece of the armor is having the loins girt about with truth. Soldiers in Paul's day had a flowing robe that had to be held in place by a belt in order to keep them from tripping. So, we must have the truth holding in our garments (which speak of our works in Scripture—Rev. 19:8) so that we aren't tripped up in our Christian walk. Again, we see that the truth of God is a vital thing in the life of the believer and it must guide him in every part of his life. If Satan can get us to abandon any portion of the truth, he will then often be able to destroy our Christian testimony and walk for the Lord, leaving us completely open to attacks from his demonic forces and the world.
Piece 2: The Breastplate of Righteousness – The breastplate was a piece of armor that covered the heart and protected it and other vital organs of the chest from being pierced. It works the same way in the Christian life. If we do things that are wrong, then it is easy for Satan to send doubts and fears that keep us in a constant state of turmoil. But, as it says in 1 John 3:21, "Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." It is this breastplate of righteousness that will give us confidence, not that we are good in ourselves (for we are not), but that we have communion with Him based upon love and obedience.
Piece 3: Shoes of the Gospel of Peace – If we wear shoes when we walk, we are often kept from injury and falls. In our spiritual walk, we are told to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace. In other words, tell others that you are a Christian and what it means to be a Christian. Don't be afraid to let your light shine give them the gospel! Many believers have been spared serious difficulty by doing this. When others know that we belong to Christ, they will also know that we are not free to do what they do as unbelievers. Often they will not even ask us to participate in works of darkness with them, and even when they do, it is much easier for them to understand when we refuse.
Piece 4: The Shield of Faith – We are told to take the shield of faith and use it to extinguish all the fiery darts of the wicked. The wicked here refers to Satan and he sends doubts and fears into our minds just like fiery darts. These doubts may be, "Does God really love and care for me?" or "Am I really a Christian?" It is easy to be discouraged by these doubts and Satan can use them to damage our relationship with God which is our only real source of strength against him. It is our faith that is a shield against these thoughts from Satan, and it is reading and meditating on the Word of God that gives strength for our faith.
Piece 5: The Helmet of Salvation – The helmet protects the head, the place where our brain and thoughts are. It is this helmet of salvation, the constant enjoyment that the believer has that he is to be taken out of this world to be with Christ in glory, that will keep us from getting our thoughts on this world. When we forget our heavenly destiny, we get occupied with the ambitions, hopes, problems and affairs of this world and then get involved in things that are against the Word of God.
Piece 6: The Sword of the Spirit – The Word of God is here described as one of the pieces of armor. When Satan came to tempt the Lord Jesus (see Matt. 4:1-11), He used this sword three times to defeat Satan. By the word of His own mouth He had created the universe (Psa. 33:6) and by that same Word everything is upheld (Heb. 1:3) and the Almighty Son of God could have used that same mighty word to defeat Satan. But He didn't do that. Instead, three times he quoted from the book of Deuteronomy (8:3; 6:16; 10:20) and Satan was defeated. It is that same sword that we are given today to meet Satan with. Do we read it and use it daily? How can we ever become skillful with something that we rarely use? When it comes to spiritual warfare it is absolutely essential that we be armed with the Word of God. We should also mention that it is the sword of the Spirit it is not our sword, and we should never use it as if it is. We must be yielded to the leading of God's spirit in our lives or else we will use this sword to cut a great many things that we shouldn't. For example, it is easy to quote verses wrongly and do much harm to the faith of others.
Piece 7: Prayer – The last piece of armor is most important. It is by prayer that we express and maintain our dependence upon God and without His immediate help and guidance all of the other armor will be completely useless. We often forget to pray, but we are told that we should pray always (see also 1 Thess. 5:17). Again, the indwelling Spirit is mentioned because He is the one who really understands the conflict and our needs. And so it is in Him that we pray with all kinds of prayer (private, public, family, at regular times, at times when we are tempted, etc.) and with supplication which means that we are to earnestly plead to God for the needs of others and ourselves.
Summary: The believer has three enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil. God has given us complete armor for our conflict and we can be victorious through faith and dependence upon Him.