Our enemy is not visible to us, so we can not simply observe his actions. But we do have study material. God knows the plans and actions of Satan and his demons, so the only way to battle is by totally depending on Him.
- A wrong way to battle
There are two extremes of belief that are serious in terms of fighting. First when refusing to believe that there is a battle, it is easy to suffer spiritual wounds since we are without weapons equipped or ready for the darts that come. The other extreme is to attribute everything that happens to Satan, which ends up giving him more power than he really has.
Many people believe that the way to fight against these powers is a power struggle. They behave like spiritual detectives, always looking for the devil to reprimand him and take away what he has taken away. This is not the teaching of the Word. In fact, the Bible teaches something very different. We see in Jude 1: 9 that the archangel Michael, who has more power than us, did not dare to make a cursing judgment against the devil when he disputed about the body of Moses. We also see the story of the sons of Esceva in Acts 19: 11-16, itinerant exorcists who were rebuked by a demon to the point of ending naked and wounded.
- A call to resist
So, what does the Word call us? James says: "Submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4: 7). Do you notice the call to resist? Look also at the well-known passage in Ephesians 6. First the apostle calls us to Strengthen us (Eph 6:10) by then "stand firm against the snares of the devil" (Eph 6:11), "to resist in the bad day, and ... be firm "(Eph 6:13), and once again in Ephesians 6:14" Stand firm, then. " The Apostle Peter calls us the same (1 Pet. 5: 8-9). In spiritual warfare, the main task of the Christian is not to attack: it is to resist.
So, how do we resist? When Satan tempted Christ in the garden, what did Jesus do? He quoted the Word. Satan, the father of lies, can not resist the truth! What he knows, where he works, what he is an expert in is lies. When we submit to the truth of God, believing His word, he will flee, seeking another tactic to come again.
- The tricks of Satan
Satan has certain strategies or tricks that are repeated throughout the Bible and that every Christian can recognize. Some of them:
The deceit (John 8:44) Through deception, Satan can make us believe a lie that then becomes a harmful fortress for our lives. In this sense, we must be on the defensive with the Word of God to not allow the formation of new strengths through believing the lie, but we must also actively seek the truth and eliminate what lies in our thoughts.
The temptations (Rev. 12: 9). Satan has observed us well, and since the first sin of mankind he has shown himself to be very cunning (Gen. 3: 1). He has noticed what our weaknesses and our sinful desires are, and he knows how to present the temptation in a deceptive way. He makes sin seem pleasant, possible to perform without anyone noticing, and we think we can enjoy it for a short time and without repercussions. The truth of the Word is that God is omnipresent and omniscient, and even darkness is like light to Him (Psalm 139: 12). When we disobey, we are rising above God and He resists the proud (James 4: 6) Therefore, resist the temptations in the power of Jesus Christ!
Accusations (Zac 3: 1-2). After Satan manages to make a child of God fall into temptation, or even when the son of God is firm in the Lord (as Job did), he proceeds to accuse us: to blame our consciences and to make us doubt our place in front of us. God. Faced with these accusations, we can joyfully say that we are new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Not only have our sins been forgiven, but forgotten (Heb 10:17). And if Satan makes us think that we are sinners, without him noticing, he is giving us good news: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners! (1 Tim.1: 15) Then we must not falter, because even if they kill the body, our eternal life is secure in Christ (Luke 12: 4-5).
- Armor of faith
Because of the great importance of the passage in Ephesians 6, let's read it completely and briefly comment on what we see:
"For the rest, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand firm against the devil's snares. For our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against powers, against the powers of this world of darkness, against the spiritual hosts of evil in the heavenly regions. Therefore, take all the armor of God, so that you can resist in the bad day, and having done everything, stand firm. Stand therefore, having your waist girded with truth, clothed in the breastplate of righteousness, and shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in everything, taking the shield of faith with which you can put out all the fiery darts of the evil one. Take also the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and supplication pray at all times in the Spirit, and so, watch with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints ", Ephesians 6: 10-18.
Our waist is girt with the truth, and His word is the truth (John 17:17). It is the belief in the word and the application of it to our actions that holds the entire armor together. Being clothed with the breastplate of justice produces resistance while Satan flees. No doubt this justice comes from the Lord and his gospel, and at the same time we can know that a life of piety and holiness provides defense against satanic attacks. We also learn to raise the shield of faith that extinguishes all the fiery darts of the evil one when there is no doubt of the Word in our hearts. All this is possible because we have our helm, salvation, which, although it can not be removed (John 10:28), Satan will try to attack it, accusing us of not being what God says we are.
If you notice, in this passage there are only two offensive weapons: the shoes to share the gospel and the sword of the Spirit, both representing the Word of God. Once again: our call is to resist. Our weapons are mostly defensive because the battle belongs to the Lord (1 Sam. 17:47). It is He who fights for us. Only with His word and in His power there is victory.
When we support our faith with living in the Word and prayer, we receive our instructions from the Holy Spirit for battle, and our Lord fills us with His truth so that we can preach with His sword (Eph 6:17). He has told us that his sword is like a hammer that shatters (Jer 23:29), and we have the guarantee that "my word that goes out of my mouth, will not return to me empty without having done what I desire, and achieved the purpose for which I sent it "(Isaiah 55:11).
The battle has already been won by Christ on the cross, where He stripped the authorities by triumphing over them (Colossians 2:15). This single realization totally changes the tone of our struggle: we battle with an enemy that, in the end, has been defeated. The devil can not force us to do anything. We decide in each event who we are going to serve, God or the world. Understanding Satan's defeat will free us from over emphasizing the power of the evil one (he is a defeated enemy!), And knowing the Word of God will lead us to be alert to the devil's wiles
Greetings to my friends and brothers in christ @sirknight, @steemchurch and @sniffnscurry
The focus is that we must unite and be prepared for battle together as brothers in Christ:
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The strength is in the joining
