Spiritual Warfare - Lesson#6 January 21, 2014 Scripture: Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. GOOD SOLDIER 2 Timothy 2:3 5 (NKJV) You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. A Christian without affliction is only like a soldier on parade. Satan Schemes Christians Defense Temptation Lies & half-truths Deception Intimidation Fear Theft Know your vulnerable areas Know Truth well enough to discern error Be alert to Satan s schemes Stand firm in Christ Count on God s promises Protect your inheritance Murder Hide in Jesus His Name Gives Him Away Once we are confident that Satan exists, we need to be wise enough to understand how he operates, since evil often targets humans. In order to understand how Satan operates as he tries to impact our lives, we are going to have to understand his nature, for it is out of his nature that he acts to corrupt and ruin the lives of God s Children. 1
So, what is the nature of Satan? How are we going to discover his nature so that we can be prepared to defend ourselves from him? Our limited human reasoning is not sufficient for us to discover the specific truth about the Devil. To understand who and what he is, we are going to have to rely on wisdom that is far greater than ours. We are going to have to rely on the Word of God. A good place to start, as we examine what the Bible says about Satan, is simply with his name. Two words are commonly and generally used to describe this being. The first name given to this being is Satan : Satan = Satanas (GREEK) = Adversary He is God s adversary, his opponent. This simple title already tells us much about the nature of Satan. As an adversary to God, Satan must exist in opposition to the very nature of God. He opposes God; he is God s opposite. And we already know who and what God is. God is TRUTH: 1 John 1:5-7 - This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If God is LIGHT and TRUTH, then Satan must simply be DARKNESS and DECEPTION. The other name given to Satan makes this very clear: Devil = Diabolos (GREEK) = Slanderer or False Accuser Satan s names say it all. From these two words, we already understand the nature of the Devil. He is God s adversary because he is the opposite of God. Satan is all about darkness, deception and slander: John 8:43-45 - You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 2
The Relationship Between Deceit, Sin and Death According to this passage, the very nature of Satan is that of DECEIT. Satan is not only described as a liar, but also as a murderer? According to this passage, Satan is a murderer because he is a liar. He murders by lying. In essence, our acceptance of Satan s lies causes us to die: Accepted Lies = Death Go to Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death According to Paul it is sin that leads to death: Sin = Death Let s see what both passages teach when considered together: Accepting a Lie = Death Sin = Death Therefore, Accepting a Lie = Sin We can see that sin can be very simply defined as accepting a lie. We are not saying that it is a sin to accept a lie, we are saying that: 1 ALL sin is the result of accepting a lie. 2 Think about that for a minute. All sin is simply the result of our willingness to accept a lie rather than the truth that God has given us in His Word. This is important reality for us to understand, because it illuminates the strategy that Satan employs when trying to cause us to sin This is Satan s nature and goal; he is a liar and he attempts to get us to accept lies and commit sin. Let s illustrate the relationship between accepting a lie and committing a sin with a few examples: What is Adultery? It begins by believing the lie that sleeping with someone other than your wife is alright if it satisfies a need in your life or can be done without your spouse knowing. This sin is committed when we reject the truth that God has already given us about the nature of adultery. What is Stealing? It begins by believing the lie that it is alright to take something that is not yours if 3
your situation is bad enough or if the person who owns the property does not deserve or need it. This sin is committed when we reject the truth that God has already given us about the nature of a theft. What is Murder? It begins by believing the lie that it is alright to take the life of another if they have angered you enough or if you personally think they deserve it. This sin is committed when we reject the truth that God has already given us about the nature of murder. Satan Hopes to Convince Us Satan s power is the power of deception. This is his tool. We talked earlier HERE about how all evil is accomplished as the result of the perverted attempt to satisfy three desires: 1 the attempt to satisfy physical needs, 2 the attempt to satisfy personal gain, 3 or the attempt to attain power and glory. God has already given us truth in these three areas, but it is Satan s goal to convince us that God s Word is not as important as our fallen human nature and desire. The Bible gives us two examples of how Satan tempts us to accept his lies and commit sins against God. Let s read and compare Satan s temptation of Eve and Satan s temptation of Jesus. Genesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. garden? He tempts both Eve and Jesus by appealing to that first area of temptation Satisfaction of PHYSICAL NEEDS Satan appeals to a basic human desire. He still does this with us today. Maybe it will be a desire for food or for sex or something else that is basic to the physical needs of humans. 4
Satan wants us to satisfy these basic human needs by SHORT CUTTING the TRUTH of God s Word. He wants us to ignore the commands of God and ignore the limits and blessings that God offers us in these areas. Now let s read on: The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. Jesus answered, It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the Son of God, he said, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. The second area of temptation: Satisfaction of PERSONAL GAIN There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting more than we have. It s not morally wrong to want to be more comfortable or to have a better life than the one that we already have. But Satan tempts us to take short cuts. He tempts us to sin and violate even the simplest commandments of God. Is there some short cut I can take to have more money or more leisure or more property? Is there some way that I can have a better life, even if it might have to come at the expense of someone else? For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and Jesus answered him, It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. you will be like God, All this I will give you, 5
Satan appeals here to the final area of temptation Satisfaction of POWER AND GLORY The Devil understands that all of us have been wired with a desire to know our purpose and understand our personal value as a part of the creation. All of us want to matter. We all want to be important in some way and to be important to somebody. Satan perverts this by tempting us to satisfy this desire through our relationship to PEOPLE rather than through our relationship to God. Satan is truly a deceiver. And he knows that his deceptions have the final effect of separating us from the will of God. The lies of Satan truly do lead to death. Ephesians 6:11 16 (NKJV) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 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. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 6