.
Last time we started looking at why we need to put on the Armor. We talked about the Christian war. We are in a spiritual battle with an unseen enemy and we need to be strong in Lord. Today, I want to talk to you about the enemy we face.
I love to watch documentaries especially the ones based on empires. One common thread you see is there were lots of wars and bloodshed in establishing an empire. For Vikings, sword and shield were like a cell phone for us. It was never too far out of reach from them. Whether it be Vikings or the ottoman army or the Romans, one thing all of them had in common is they studies their enemy before attacking. They knew the strength and weaknesses of their enemy as well as their own limitations. Your enemy, Satan also is a shrewd operator and he studies your weaknesses and attacks, therefore, we must learn about our adversary and how to defend. Before we go any further, I would like to clarify this point, dead men don’t go and fight wars. Do you agree? On the battlefield, the enemy army is not worried about the corpses, they focus on those who are alive and can fight. The same rules apply to Christian battle as well. You can only put on armor if you are spiritually alive. In other words, if you are “Born Again”. So as we learned last time, our first step is to be strong in the Lord and then to put on the armor. The second thing we need to do is learn about our enemy. The phrase “put on” by the way means to put on once and for all. This isn’t like game uniforms you know where you just put it on game day when it’s game time. You put the armor on once and leave it on the rest of your life. You put your armor on and keep it on and if you don’t have it on you become vulnerable at any point.
Let’s start learning about our foe and what we are up against. Verse 11 “That you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” In other words, we know we have the power of the Lord and his might. We put on the whole armor. We’re ready, obedient with our armor, depending on divine power, and are able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Always the believer is to stand because Satan will attack him. You don’t need to go find the devil. By the way, the Bible never tells us to attack Satan. Even arch angel Micheal did not fight Satan in his own strength. We’re just told to resist him and he’ll flee. Stand firm. Hold our ground. And that’s what he says here. Who is the enemy? Easy to see. The devil. People say “oh there’s no devil. The devil is just a Halloween costume, pointed tail, and two little horns, pitchfork.”
That’s not what the Bible says. The Bible tells us there’s a real devil, that this is nothing but Lucifer the greatest angel. Read Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28 talks about this angel, the anointed cherub, the one who sparkled with all the jewels of heaven, the highest being God ever made. This anointed angelic being wanted to be like God and in the sin of pride, he was thrown out of heaven. We must understand Satan is real and exists. Jesus believed in him and was tempted by him. Both Paul and Peter talked about him. Even was tempted by him. Bible calls him “prince of this world” ( John 16), “anointed cherub” (Ez 28), “prince of demons” (Luke 11:15), He is an imitator in 2 Corinthians. He is an imposing enemy. Lucifer, fallen from heaven, the ruler of a vast host of demon beings who have been around for centuries and thousands of years since first they fell and first they were created. They’ve been here for a long time. They are crafty, they are clever, they are shrewd, they are cunning, they are invisible, they are superhuman and they are our enemy. At this point, I wan to draw your attention to the word “WILES” not exactly a word we use in our daily conversation. The Greek word is methodeia, and translated cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive us. About what? Like children tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine. The emphasis is that the wiles of the devil are lies, false doctrine, false religion, false teaching. Bible tells us, Satan is a liar and father of it. He is a deceiver. His whole system deceives subtly, supernaturally, smoothly, effectively. He has created false religions and false gods to deceive people throughout history. He deceived Israel into idol worship in the Old Testament and deceived them into killing their own Messiah. In tribulation, he will deceive them into worshipping Anti-Christ. He snatches the word Luke 8 says. He twists and perverts it. He has men stand in pulpits who deny the authority of Scripture, deny the deity of Christ, deny salvation by grace, deny the second coming, deny judgment, deny sin, deny everything. To Christians, he comes and creates doubt in their minds as he did to Eve and did throughout the history of God’s people. He causes us to doubt, to lie, to immoral behavior, to pride, to self-reliance. He discourages us and causes division among us. There are two ways, satan attacks the Church. First, it is through the front door where he brings persecution and hardship but that tactic always leads to stronger church and growth. Secondly, he comes through the back door in disguise. He penetrates the church and becomes one of us. He does this in three ways. 1) false teaching 2) false teachers 3) false Jesus. He deceives us by false Gospel and we see this teaching in various cults such as the Catholic Church, Church of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah’s witness, and prosperity gospel. They teach you false doctrine and work-based salvation. To spread this false Gospel, Satan uses false teachers. They are wolves in sheep clothing and they fleece the flock instead of feeding them. These are the shepherds who lead flock astray and focus on worldly blessings. So together false teachers preaching false gospel present a false Jesus and not the Jesus of the Bible. Sometimes they present Him as an angel, as lucifers brother, one of many prophets. But, He is God and He is our savior and Satan uses deception to draw people away from Jesus. This tactic of penetrating the church with false doctrine has proven to be very effective as he destroys the church from within giving people a false sense of security in their self-righteousness. Folks, Satan is a formidable opponent. And so Verse 12 tells us ” For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We need divine power to fight this battle and this is why verse 13 tells us we need to put on the whole armor so we withstand the evil and stand.
Here is the good news, There is victory. If the armor is on and the confidence is in the Lord. Prepare in the strength of the Lord. The battle is real. our struggle is real. We have a nasty foe. Don’t get caught with your armor off. You say “Well when is the evil day?” Today, yesterday, tomorrow, any day. The evil day is the day when evil reigns in the world and that’s as long as Satan is the prince of the power of the air. Report to the commander, the victory is yours. Resist the devil, he’ll flee from you. How do we do this? Verse 14 tells us to stand firm but we will look at that next time.
only savior jesus 