There is a continuous war going on in every Christian's life and actually, in every person's life (Christian or not), there is an endless struggle for survival. The advantage of being a Christian is that the Lord is on our side and He helps us to overcome all obstacles. God desires to have “His own special people” (Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 2:9). The Lord has provided all the spiritual weaponry we need to fight “the good fight of faith” and “to end our race” victoriously. The better we understand and the deeper we believe that God loves us tremendously and that He wants us to spend eternity with Him, in heaven, the harder it will be for the devil to deceive us, steal our faith and cause us to sin. In the name of Jesus we have the victory! All that is necessary to qualify to use the powerful name of Jesus is to love and obey Him. Spiritual darkness continues to grow on the earth, as more and more people refuse God and give way to the devil, empowering him and his demons to hurt them and in turn use them to hurt others. Maybe you are going through a hard season and your problems seem endless and overwhelming. No one is spared from sufferings in this life. The apostle Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit urges us to: “Resist him [the devil], steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:9). It is true that when we hear about other Christians having problems too, ours start to seem small. We take courage when we know that we are not the only ones suffering and as they overcome in Christ, we will too. We take comfort in knowing that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, understands all we are going through and that He “understands our weaknesses,” because He “went through the same tests as us, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus never forsakes us, not even for a split of a second and He helps us to go through all the difficult times, no matter how tough they are.
In the beginning, God created everything perfect. Adam and Eve started their existence in a perfect, sinless world, where there was no sickness, no pain, no spiritual warfare, until they fell into temptation.
The primordial lie, which the devil began his temptation of mankind with, is repeated infinitely throughout history and continues to deceive those who believe it. If we do not realize that Satan is the source of doubtful and accusatory thoughts that cross through our minds and we confuse them with our thoughts or even worse with those that come from the Holy Spirit, we have no chance of winning in spiritual warfare.
All temptations fall into at least one of the three categories established by the apostle John. Only after Satan implanted his tempting thoughts into Eve's mind, did she look differently at the forbidden tree and she "saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise." In other words, the lust of the flesh, made her want to eat the forbidden fruit, the lust of the eyes made it look good and the pride of life, was Eve's final downfall leading to sin; how could she resist the thought of becoming like God, knowing 'good and evil'? As a result, Eve disregarded what God had said, she reached out and took the fruit in total disobedience to God and in believing the devil. Adam fared no better; we read that he was there with Eve and when she handed him the fruit, he ate of it also, without any resistance, even though God directly told him not to do it. Because they chose to rebel against God, they lost the dominion they had over the earth and Satan became the “ruler of this world,” as Jesus called him on three occasions: John 12:31, John 14:30 and John 16:11.
The devil used the same pattern of temptation with Jesus in the wilderness. After being baptized in water, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). After fasting for forty days and forty nights, He was exhausted and hungry and the devil was hoping that He could deceive and defeat Him. For these purposes, he used "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life."
In the first temptation, the devil addressed the "flesh" of Jesus after he tried in vain to make Jesus to doubt His identity: “... If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (v. 3b). Hunger is a powerful factor that can hamper anyone's reasoning, more or less, depending on the individual. By the way Jesus replied to the temptations, He showed us that if we truly have the Word of God in us, it will keep our minds alert and help us recognize the enemy's deceptions even if we are in a weakened condition. Jesus responded to the attack by quoting the Scripture “... It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (v. 4b).
Another temptation the devil tried to use, was the "pride of life". Satan attempted to get Jesus to take pride in demonstrating that He was the Son of God, and would not die even if He would throw Himself down from the temple's pinnacle, because according to the tempter, intentionally misusing God's Word, "God would send His angels to save Him.” Jesus taught us a very important lesson here, demonstrating how vital it is to correctly interpret the Bible, taking verses in context and correlation with one another in order to know the truth, as it cannot contradict itself.
The third temptation the devil tried was "the lust of eyes," hoping to finally defeat Jesus. After the second attempt to cause Jesus to doubt His identity failed, the devil changed tactics.
The apostle Luke related this even better: "... All this authority I will give you, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish." (Luke 4:6). What the devil was saying was a half-truth, again. Adam had received from God dominion and authority over the earth, but when he sinned against God and obeyed Satan, he forfeited his dominion and authority to the devil. In fact, Satan tempted Adam and Eve for the purposes of stealing their authority and "spiritually" killing them. Jesus did not dispute this point, which confirms that the devil truly had the authority. But the Lord spoke against what was actually a lie. The devil had no intention of giving up his dominion, even if Jesus would have done what Satan had asked Him to do. In fact, it was a contradiction of terms. When someone worships another, he recognizes that he becomes that one's slave and not that he takes his place to become the master. So the result of bowing down and worshiping the devil could not have been that Jesus would become the master of this world. The enemy's purpose was to cause Jesus to sin, so He could never defeat the devil and take back the dominion over the earth from him. Jesus replied even more firmly this time, knowing He had the authority to resist him, and Jesus proclaimed the Word of God again:
The apostle Luke recorded even more details about the end of this episode. In verse 13, we read that the devil left Jesus after he had used all his basic temptations. But even though he realized he had lost, he continued to look for ways to destroy Jesus, and he does the same with us. The enemy is lurking in the shadows for any moment when we are spiritually and physically exhausted. If we do not feed our spirits, we become spiritually weak and lose the needed strength to fight. This is when the enemy comes with the most unexpected and powerful attacks. If we want to "finish our race well," as Paul said, we must daily feed our "inner man of the heart" because, as Jesus said, “... Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
Jesus Christ came in the flesh to defeat Satan and make the way for man's reconciliation to God. Jesus paid for the sins of mankind with His life; He died and rose again, giving the chance of eternal life to all who will repent, follow Him and live to please Him.
We must demolish any thoughts that the enemy tries to use to control our minds with. The enemy whispers thoughts into our minds to attempt to cause us to sin. What is tempting for one person, may not be tempting at all to another. The enemy knows what is best to attract and deceive us with. We are the ones who must resist him, by being "strong in faith," no matter how many times he tries or even when he repackages his deception. In order not to become his victims, we must realize our weaknesses and we must stand with the Bible verses that will give us the victory in our specific situations. The Bible has the right teachings for every problem, and by knowing the truth of God's Word, we become stronger and harder to be tempted.
Temptation can affect us only if we find it attractive and desirable. I'm not saying that eating sweets is a sin, but it can become a problem when we eat it without measure. Anything that we allow to control us is a sin. Someone who hates chocolate can have many boxes of the finest and most appetizing chocolates in front of them and not even want to touch them. Instead, for a chocolate lover, any chocolate is hard to refuse. We must identify our weaknesses and ask God to help us overcome them. If we meditate and pray with the Bible verses that refer to our problem, until the Holy Spirit helps the verses become strong in our hearts, we will then be able to overcome our weakness and stand against the attacks of the evil one, more and more easily. If we are not aware of our weaknesses, the devil will use them to keep us in sin.
Does this verse say that we are allowed to do everything we want? Yes and no. In fact, anything that can become an addiction, that can control or enslave us, is not allowed. God has created us with free will, so we can choose to sin. But if we know something is sin, and still choose to do it, then we are the slaves of the one we obey. And we know that the devil is the one who tempts us to sin.
It is very important to know as much as possible about our enemies. Jesus gave us some very pertinent information about Satan and his evil forces. The biblical terms used for them are distinct and clear, both in the original Greek language and in the English translations.
The original Greek word translated as “demon,” is “daimón” and it means: “evil spirit, demon” according to “Strong's Concordance.”
The original Greek word translated as “devil” is “diabolos” and it means: “slanderous, the Slanderer, the Devil, the false accuser, calumniator, unjustly criticizing to hurt (malign) and condemn to sever a relationship,” according to “Strong's Concordance” and “HELPS Word-studies.” This is a specific term that refers only to Satan and not about evil spirits in general.
Jesus speaks openly about the devil and his demons. The Lord shows us their true nature, their mode of operation and the danger they represent. Satan knows that he is condemned to spend eternity in the lake of fire, in the greatest torment, as a punishment for his rebellion against God. And because he knows that his punishment is irreversible, he tries his best to take with him, as many people as he can deceive. His nature is evil and cannot desire good for anyone. In the second part of Revelation 12:12, we read that: “... Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” This is why he does all in his power to deceive and destroy as many people as possible.
Demons put thoughts into our minds, attempting to convince us to sin, and if they fail, they remind us of our old addictions and weaknesses to compel us to sin in those ways again. Demons also attempt to defile us – by whispering dirty thoughts, and if we accept them as being our thoughts, we start to want to put them into practice, sinning and losing our holiness. Demons seek to enslave us - luring us with what we like and if we do not bring this things under submission, we then become addicted to pleasures or things that are only sin because we allow them to bring us under their power. As Paul writes "... all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any" (1 Corinthians 6:12b). If we allow it, the enemy tortures us, condemns us; steals our peace and quiet and demons can bring sicknesses and handicaps upon our bodies; if they have their way, they incite us to hate, be wicked, want vengeance, etc.
With all this in mind, let's take a closer look at the following Bible verses:
From the above verses, we see that the devil is a murderer, a thief, the father of deceit, a deceiver, a crook, an accuser of the brethren and he approaches people only to "steal, kill and destroy," as the Lord Jesus says.
Through the apostle Peter, we are warned that our enemy pays attention to everything we do and uses all he can against us. That's why it is important that we are constantly vigilant and spiritually awake to not sin and not become the devil's prey. The most important "battlefield" is the mind, so we must pay attention to the thoughts we “hear” and take the wrong ones “captive to the obedience of Christ,” as we have read in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
How do you think that Peter must have felt, when Jesus addressed him in the above words? Not long before, the Lord praised him in front of the others by saying that only by the Holy Spirit could he know that Jesus was the Son of God, and now, not only did the Lord tell him that he was a “stumbling block,” but He also said, “Get behind Me, Satan!”” In fact, each of us can be in Peter's position when we verbalize the thoughts that the devil whispers in our minds. The enemy is an expert in developing thoughts in such a way, that we would believe they are ours and serve our best interests. In fact, he uses thoughts that are in agreement with human nature, just to make them credible. Jesus called the thoughts that Peter verbalized, “the things of men.”
An important and frequent aspect of spiritual warfare involves the negative emotions and feelings that we allow in our hearts. It costs us dearly if we do not release, every trace of “envy, selfishness, stubbornness, argumentative attitude or any evil” as quickly as possible from our hearts! The emotions we allow to develop in our hearts directly affect the thoughts in our minds, which in turn result in the words we speak. We have all been in situations where we found ourselves troubled, upset or even hurt by another person or situation, and we continued to “meditate” upon it, until it became a huge problem, knowing deep down, that the Holy Spirit was directing us to stop, because what we were doing was just hurting ourselves even more and nothing good would come from it. Then even though we had decided not to tell anyone else what had happened; we did just the opposite, telling it all to the first person who would listen or even worse, to the person with whom we first had the problem. It is so hard to repair the effects of such behavior, driven by the evil one and not by the Holy Spirit. James teaches us the difference between natural wisdom, which he calls "earthly, sensual, demonic" and the godly wisdom which comes from above that can only come from the Holy Spirit. Only with this wisdom can we find the peace we need, producing the fruit of righteousness in us.
The bitterness produced by the things or people that have upset, hurt or offended us can become worse and cause much damage in our relationships unless we take care of it as soon as possible. What should we do? If we wait too long to solve our feelings of bitterness, we are the ones that will pay the highest price. If we accumulate too much to be able to control it, then we become dangerously close to our "exploding point" and everything that the “evil root of bitterness" produced will result in "defiling" many around us.
We are tempted to tell everybody about our hurt and especially about what others have done to us. We also have in our human nature the tendency to take in the negative feelings of our hurt friends, towards someone that hurt them, but did nothing to us personally. In this way, the sinful, "demonic" feelings, that have defiled us, will end up by defiling also, all those who listened to us and accepted what we said, instead of helping us to “heal our wounds,” repent and restore peace. Demonic influence causes much damage in the body of Christ, in families and communities, as James 3:16 says "For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”
We must ask God to help us calm down when we start feeling frustrated, annoyed, offended, angry or hurt, so we may judge the situation correctly; we also need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us which are the best Bible verses to bring light to our problem. If we “empty our glass of bitterness” before the Lord and Him only, telling Him all that bothered and hurt us, He will help us to calm down and have the right perspective on the situation.
The battle is half-won, the moment we decide to control ourselves and not react according to our first impulses. If we do not realize that we have the fruit of self-control in our born-again spirit, because of the Holy Spirit living in us, and that it is up to us to allow it to manifest itself, we will slip back into the old habits we had before being born-again and then we will lose the battle. No one can change all their habits and behavior instantly when they become Christians. It takes time to reprogram our minds according to what the Bible says about all we deal with daily. As we grow in obedience to the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to help us persevere in becoming calmer and reacting better, our behavior and way of talking will change too. The words we will speak will bless and produce life instead of curse and produce death, for us and also those around us.
Our homes can become "havens of peace," as the Lord wants them to be, as we get free from the old habits and ways of managing tense situations and let the Holy Spirit guide us in everything we feel, think, say and do.
We should try to calm down all the stressful situations we can, even though we are not responsible for the quarrelsome attitudes of others. When we remain calm and collected, while others are angry and ready to fight and we ask the Holy Spirit to give us the right words, we may restore peace and prevent much pain and sorrow. During most arguments, both sides eventually exaggerate reality and say many things that they regret later. We all know that once something has been said, it cannot be taken back and the hurt may even last for a lifetime.
The apostle James uses a very straightforward explanation about the effects of our words. It is very true that if we do not pay attention to the source of what we allow to “grow” in our hearts and which will later produce thoughts that will fill our minds only to be verbalized through our mouths, we will suffer greatly.
The subjects we approach in our conversations are rooted in what we have in our hearts. If we find that we are very hard to please, that we always find something negative to say about what we see or hear, that nothing is good enough for us, it is time to stop and make a correction. When our spiritual tanks run low, our old nature starts to resume control allowing the devil free access. We need to come before the Lord and ask Him to show us what "has defiled our spirit," what roots of bitterness may have poisoned our hearts, so we can know what to repent of and ask God to forgive us. By doing so, we will be set free and become right-standing with the Lord again. As we allow the Holy Spirit to "cleanse our hearts," we will be able to enter again into the presence of the Lord through praise, worship and meditation on the Word of God, so the Holy Spirit will refill us. This is the way the root of evil is "pulled out" and we may return to where we are pure, kind, loving people and pleasing to the Lord.
Depression is the sickness of the century and it is the result of hopelessness. In Jesus we have the most wonderful and real hope no matter what! Depression can be the effect of toxic thoughts of hatred, condemnation, rejection, low self-esteem, revenge, doubt, envy, fear, anxiety or discouragement which the enemy whispers in our minds, if he succeeds in making us believe that they are our thoughts and true. If we do not recognize his tactics and we do not pay attention to every thought that crosses our minds, we suffer and it costs us dearly. Once a person becomes depressed, one has to fight harder to be set free of it. Depression is always easier to prevent than it is to get free from, once it has settled in.
The war we have to fight is spiritual and so are the weapons we fight with. The spiritual weapons are only effective through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. The level of spiritual authority we have is the direct result of our level of obedience and right-standing with God. The devil and his demons know how much power we have in the Holy Spirit, as they know many of the sins we have committed and our weaknesses. The enemy never turns down an opportunity to attack us. The devil never leaves or flees when resisted, unless we have the true authority resulted from being totally submitted to God. We may fool our fellow humans about how spiritual we are, but the Lord and those in the spiritual realm know exactly where we stand.
God does not allow the devil to tempt us more than we can handle and He makes a way out of every temptation. It is up to us to use what God has provided for us so that we will not fail. Perhaps you never thought that if the Lord allows us to go through difficult trials, it means that He knows that we are fully equipped with everything we need to face it without sinning and losing our faith.
Every test of faith we pass with the right attitude, makes us stronger and more effective in the work of the Lord. The devil comes with negative thoughts and doubts about God's Word, God's love for us and our identity in Christ. That is why it is so important to renew our minds, so that we can think according to Scripture. Only in doing so, can we correctly identify the source of every thought and stop the ones that come from the evil one. If we cannot control the thoughts in our minds, then we have no chance in spiritual warfare. Harmful thoughts that "pass through" our minds cannot hurt us, but if we allow the bad ones to develop and then speak them out, it becomes part of us and the enemy begins to build a stronghold. The sooner we realize the trap we have fallen into and sincerely ask God to forgive us for what we have thought and verbalized, the easier it will be to have the victory. If we believe the lies or doubts that the enemy brings into our minds, we are agreeing with him and exposing ourselves to his vicious attacks.
It is essential for every Christian to know the truth of the Bible on every matter. We can recognize the lie about something only if we know the truth about it. Unfortunately, many people believe many lies as being the truth, and that happens precisely because they do not know the real, unchangeable truth of God's Word.
God always wants what is best for us, because He loves us dearly and if we seek Him with all our hearts, we will find Him; He hears and answers our prayers, in order to give us a blessed and hopeful future. If we know what the Bible says what the Lord has for us, and we are convinced of His love and desire to spend eternity with Him in heaven, we will fight against all the evil assaults from a victorious position, not from defeat.
There are an enormous amount of thoughts that cross through our minds and they are not all ours. Thoughts come from one of three sources: ourselves, the Holy Spirit or the devil. When we do not recognize that the devil is the source of negative thoughts that we hear in our minds and if we do not fight against them as the Scripture teaches us to do, we may find ourselves in bondage to sin, as we read in the following verses:
While we choose who we want to serve, the truth is that we cannot serve ourselves, even if many people think so. We do not need to meditate long on the above verse to realize that it is so. We struggle daily with various temptations, and if we fall into their traps, we will suffer enormously. For example, if we do not control our craving for sweets and we eat as much as we want for days, the price tag for that will be high. The torment and effort required to lose the weight gained from the lack of self-control is infinitely greater than the "pleasure" of eating sweets without measure, and the illnesses which we expose ourselves to can cause us much suffering. For each of us, there are certain temptations we must fight against more than others. It is important to fight against all the attacks knowing that we can overcome them, because Jesus has already defeated everything and He lives in us, as Lord. We should not let our lusts control us, but we should have control over our lusts.
The Bible shows that there are two kingdoms: the kingdom of God, which is Light, and that of the devil, which is darkness. We belong to Jesus, only if we obey Him, trying our best to live pure lives and asking forgiveness when we sin, so His blood cleanses us and covers us with Jesus' righteousness. Whoever lives in sin, obeys the father of sin, Satan. Even if for us this is a very obvious truth, for those who are slaves of the kingdom of darkness, this truth is hidden, because "darkness has blinded their eyes" as we read in 1 John 2:11. Unfortunately, there are some people who call themselves Christians who believe the lies of the enemy, living in sexual sin, adultery and many other types of sin without remorse and believing that they are followers of Jesus Christ and are saved. They have accepted the lie of the devil as truth and became his slaves and if they do not repent they will end up in hell. Those who think that are free and are their own masters, doing what they want, are only fooling themselves. Jesus clearly says that there are only two masters: if we do not belong to the Lord, we belong to the evil one (“... You cannot serve God and Mammon” - Matthew 6:24b).
We are in a continuous war, whether we admit it or not, and we need the strength that comes only from truly having Jesus as Lord in our lives. The heavenly Father has given Jesus all authority in heaven and on earth, and in-turn Jesus has delegated authority to His church, the body of Christ which consists of those who are true, born-again Christians (Matthew 28:18-20). In the article "The Authority of the Believer" you can read more about this subject.
God “always” leads us to victory, because Jesus is our Lord, living in us. The Lord is constant and faithful even though we fail sometimes. These verses show that the spiritual world can have a wonderful, pleasant, sweet scent of life if it belongs to the kingdom of God, or it may be a fatal, offensive odor of death if it belongs to the kingdom of darkness. Those who reject Jesus cannot stand our spiritual "scent" and avoid us. The perfume of God's presence makes them realize that they are dead in their sins and will end up in eternal death (separated from God) if they do not repent, continuing to reject Jesus. Instead, whenever we meet with other children of God, we feel the love and peace of Jesus that unifies us, because we all have His "fragrance" and through Christ we have eternal life.
As a conclusion of 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, we could say that any vulgar, injurious, defamatory and negative language produces a “foul smell” in the spiritual world. Such an "odor" will draw the forces of darkness and invite them to attack and hurt those who spread it.
To think that it is alright to use filthy, vulgar or rude language as long as no one can hear it and no one will be hurt is a big deception. In fact the one who talks like that will end up hurt, because they empower the enemy to attack them. Instead, if we do our best to please God with all that we feel, think and speak and ask forgiveness when we sin, no matter where we are at, we will empower God to work in our behalf and we will get the victory in every trial.
God has given us everything we need to be victorious over Satan, through Jesus Christ. It is up to us to strengthen ourselves in the Lord and in His power. The Holy Spirit was the power source for Jesus, while He lived in a human body and He is also the source of power for us. He is our Helper, which means that He does not force us to do anything, but He helps us when we ask Him and gives us the strength we need in every situation. Until the crucifixion, Jesus was never separated from His Father and they always had a close relationship. We should follow Jesus' example in being obedient, praying and following God's direction, all the time. By praying, studying and meditating upon the Word of God, by praising and worshiping the Lord, we strengthen our "inner man of the heart" and we are able to overcome the strategies of the devil. The Lord has prepared the most appropriate armor to protect us so that we can fight against the "devil's schemes." But this armor can only protect us if we wear it.
What is the "full armor of God"? The original Greek word, translated as “all/full/complete/whole armor” is "panoplia" which means:“a complete set of defensive and offensive armor (weapons), i.e. everything needed to wage successful warfare; (figuratively) the full resources the Lord gives to the believer so they can successfully wage spiritual warfare. In this way they do not fight for victory – but from His victory!” (according to “HELPS Word-studies”).
Why do we need the Lord's armor? We need it because we are fighting in the spiritual world, where physical weapons have no effect. Our enemy is spiritual and we need effective spiritual weapons, both offensively and defensively to overcome him. Though sometimes the enemy uses other people to hurt us, he is still the one behind them. Once we recognize who the true enemy is, we must use the spiritual authority we have in Jesus' name against the evil spirits that are behind those people and that will ensure our victory.
The Bible also shows that there is a certain hierarchy in the kingdom of darkness. There are different demonic ranks that dominate territories and the people they use to manifest their power. In Daniel 10:13 and 20, we read that an angel of the Lord had to overcome the princes of Persia and Greece, who tried to stop him from bringing God's answer to Daniel's prayers for his nation. Demons, no matter their rank, cannot defeat the angels of the Lord, they can only delay them from accomplishing their assignments. In Hebrews 1:14 we read that angels are "servant spirits sent to perform ministry for those who will inherit salvation," so God sends them to help us. It is really helpful to know this truth, which we find in several places in the Bible. Here are just a few of them: Genesis 32:1; Genesis 32:24; Psalms 34:7; Psalms 91:11; Psalms 103:20.
You have probably noticed that there are certain places where the atmosphere is oppressive and where it is much harder to pray, praise the Lord or focus on reading God's Word. The abundance of sin and the measure of people living in darkness harden the spiritual atmosphere in a given area. As a result, the Christians that live in such an area must fight harder to live to please God. Persia and Greece were heathen kingdoms during Daniel's time, and the demon who led them spiritually had the “prince” rank. The 28th chapter of Ezekiel's book brings more clarity on this subject. Here we find both: the human leader of Tyre and the demon that was operating through him. From the way the "prince of Tyre" is presented (Ezekiel 28:2-8) we understand that he was the human leader of that country. Then, in Ezekiel 28:12-19, we read about the "king of Tyre," who was the devil who had dominion over the whole earth, including the territory of Tyre, and who carried out his evil plans through the human leader who was subjected to him. As we already stated, Satan was called by Jesus "the ruler of this world."
Spiritual warfare is very real, but we must not fear, because Jesus already overcame Satan and his demons. As long as Jesus is Lord in our hearts and "we fight the good fight of faith," "we are more than conquerors through Him [Jesus] who loved us" (Romans 8:37).
Now, how do we “put on the full armor of God”?
We have to be equipped with all the pieces of armor that God has provided for us in order to walk faithfully on God's path, on a daily basis. Without having the armor on, we would be unable to remain strong in our faith in God, knowing that our Lord always loves us and never forsakes us. The enemy does everything in his power to convince us that God allows the problems and tribulations in our lives because we do not deserve God's love, therefore He does not love us anymore. Jesus was rejected, mocked, imprisoned, tortured and even whipped close to death and then crucified as a common criminal. Yet He never doubted the love of the Father. Jesus endured tremendous rejection, pain and suffering and never gave up on us. He went through such terrible torment to save us, because He loved and continues to love us so much. Everyone must change the way they think when they become a Christian and start to think in agreement with what God's Word says. Only by doing so can we be truly convinced of how much God loves us and be able to stop measuring His love for us based on the quality of life we have.
God's plan for our lives is far greater than just to live prosperous lives while on this earth. We are here to prepare ourselves for eternal life in heaven. To get there we have to become more and more like Jesus, which is not always easy as we change and are modeled when we go through hard times and suffering, not when everything is going well for us.
Because of the power that we have in us through the Holy Spirit, even if we are under a massive attack, we do not feel "destroyed". We know that the Lord will bring us "out into a broad place" (2 Samuel 22:20). Even when it seems that there is no way out, we do not lose hope, because the Lord will make a way for us. Even if we are persecuted, the Lord is with us. He never forsakes, us not even for a split second, and "no one can snatch us out of His hand" (John 10:28). Even if we are struck down, we will only die when the Lord decides it is time to take us home, and even then, only our bodies will die, but our spirits will live forever, in heaven with our Lord.
The difference between the sufferings of those who live without Jesus and ours, is enormous. They have no hope, they often see no way out of trouble, and the demons lead them from one bad decision to another, even if they do not realize what is happening to them. While we, as Christians, know that Jesus is with us in the test, He helps and strengthens us and "... that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). This means that what the enemy intends for our destruction, God changes and uses for our good in the long run.
Through Jesus we can also demolish the plans and works of the devil that are meant to destroy us. God provides us with His armor, so that we may be over-comers and fulfill our calling.
What are the pieces of armor that God has prepared for us?
It is crucial to be always prepared, ready to fight, because the spiritual war has no breaks. Knowing the truth of God's Word is the most important part of our armor. Only the “belt of truth” allows us to move freely and holds our offense and defense weapons in place, just as the belt of the Roman soldier kept all his armor pieces in place. The belt also held the sheath in which they carried their sword. If we only hear the truth, without "knowing" it, it is not enough to be free, as Jesus said in John 8:32. The truth of the Bible revealed by the Holy Spirit, becomes "living and working" in our hearts where it convinces, teaches, transforms us and it becomes a fearsome weapon in our hands. There is incredible power when a truth in God's Word becomes real for us. This is the kind of a word we read about in Hebrews 4:12. Only the truth of the revealed Word (“rhema” in the original Greek) when it becomes a part of us, helps us in recognizing the enemy's lies and by proclaiming it we get the victory.
The “breastplate of righteousness” is the piece of armor that protects the vital organs, especially the heart. In the Bible, the "heart" is not the physical organ that maintains physical life, but it refers to the "inner man," that is the spirit of the person who is "born-again" by the Holy Spirit when they sincerely repent of their sins and believe upon Jesus. In the "heart" we become pure, we have the righteousness of Jesus, for there we have the Holy Spirit and this is what Paul is speaking of in:
How do we put on the breastplate of righteousness? We can be righteous, (which means without sin) only through the sacrifice of Jesus. If we truly ask God to forgive us when we sin and regret what we have done, the Lord is faithful and forgives us. When the enemy comes to condemn us for the sins we have already repented of, we need to realize that we are forgiven, we have on the “breastplate of righteousness” and we can resist the enemy's accusations in the name of Jesus. The enemy's attack will fail if we realize that when we repented with all our hearts the Lord forgave us, “casting all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19b), meaning that our sins are gone forever.
We are all called to tell others of the Good News of salvation. Sharing the Good News of the Gospel is the most important task of every Christian, not just for evangelists, pastors or preachers. Each of us have contact with people whom no one else can reach and if we pay attention to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can be efficient workers in the Lord's “vineyard.” Telling others about our Lord Jesus Christ is not only for their benefit, but for ours too. We become more careful of how we live and how our words and actions impact the lives of others. It also motivates us to become more and more like Christ. What a wonderful command Jesus has given us!
The “shield of faith” has a vital role in spiritual warfare. For the soldiers, the shield was an essential part, because with its help, they were blocking the enemy's arrows. It is not in vain that the devil fights with such fierceness to sneak thoughts in our minds, that would make us doubt God's love and the promises from His Word. If our faith is wavering, we become his victims for sure. We are not attacked with toy arrows that are harmless; on the contrary, Paul tells us that by faith we quench the most powerful arrows, which have fiery heads that could destroy us completely.
The devil not only uses the sins we have committed since we have become Christians to attack us with condemnation, but also the sins before we even came to Christ. The “shield of faith” is for extinguishing all the arrows of the enemy, no matter what kind they are and help us after the rest of the armor has accomplished its purpose. We must align the words we speak with what we believe to be in accord with the truth of the Bible to have a strong and efficient faith. Our relationship with Jesus must not be based upon our emotions or on how much we "feel or not” the presence of the Lord but must be based on what God's Word says. This is the only way to remain faithful to the Lord and continue to walk with Him. As James says, "… he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind" (James 1:6b).
Our feelings come from the way we respond to internal and external factors. In order to have Jesus as Lord, we have to be led by the Holy Spirit and God's Word and not by the “way we feel.” The only truth that remains the same and never changes is the Word of God, and we have to rely on it, no matter how we feel or how difficult our situation is.
We also need the protection offered by the “helmet of salvation” against the evil thoughts. The “helmet of salvation” is the insurance that as long as we are totally surrendered to the Lord, obeying Him and living for Him, we cannot lose our salvation. Therefore, let us not hesitate to resist the lies of the enemy by which he attempts to make us doubt the love and salvation that we have in Jesus.
The following are some of the best Bible verses that we can use to “put on the helmet of salvation" in the spiritual war:
The Word of God becomes an effective “sword” for the one who learns and applies it. The Scripture is the truth, and when we apply it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can defeat the lies and deceptions of the enemy and even of our own carnal nature. The proclamation of the Word of God has power and strengthens our faith.
Prayers led by the Holy Spirit are efficient and powerful. Jesus encouraged the disciples, by telling them that after His departure from this earth, His Father would send them "another" Helper, meaning “one of the same kind,” someone like Him. The Lord referred to the Holy Spirit who is one of the three persons of God's trinity. Jesus was limited in time and space while on earth, by living in a human body, and He could only be in one place at a time. The Holy Spirit is God omnipresent, there is no place that He is not present. Through Him, God the Father and the Son live in our hearts. Jesus said, about Him: “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things, and will remind you all what I have told you” (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit knows all things and everything we need. If we ask Him to help us pray and teach us what we need to know, He will do it. If we pray under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, to Father God, in the name of Jesus, we know that we pray according to God's will and we will receive what we are asking for. If we are truly led by the Holy Spirit, we will pray for what the Lord wants to give us, because He knows better than we do, what is best for us. In the "Holy Spirit Articles" section, you may find more information about who He is, what He does, His fruit, His gifts and the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
And now let's see some of the devil's actions against us:
The devil is the one who takes advantage of those who are not paying attention to what is happening to them, to not fight to keep “the seed of God's Word.” He causes them to lose it and not be able to follow Jesus.
The devil is the source of evil thoughts and urges us to sin.
The devil is the father of lies and whoever is lying is doing his will. Every lie opens the door for more lies and causes much hurt. There is no such thing as an “innocent lie.”
The enemy uses any unforgiveness, to bring division and destroy those implied in any incident.
The enemy is always ready to take advantage of us when we are angry and uses every available opportunity to incite us to lose our temper.
The longer it takes us to resolve our anger, the harder it is not to sin. Especially at night, when there are less distractions, we think more about the issue, which causes our anger to grow and we are more likely to fall into sin.
Pride was the cause of the devil's fall. When we become prideful, we fall into the same trap.
The devil is the one who tempts us, and not God.
The devil is the one who urges us to quarrel and criticize others, sinning against God.
There are many more ways in which the devil attacks us, but whatever methods he uses, his purpose is always to destroy us. But Jesus “in us is greater" than Satan and through Christ we are "more than conquerors,” as we read in 1 John 4:4 and Romans 8:37.
Christians cannot be possessed by the devil because they are possessed by Christ, but the enemy can "press," "oppress," or "depress" God's children. Being possessed means “being completely controlled, dominated, owned by something, someone or an evil spirit” (according to “Merriam-Webster Dictionary”). Since Jesus Christ became the Lord of our lives, we belong to Him, He is our Master and we cannot have two masters, just as Jesus said. Whoever does not belong to Jesus, can only belong to the enemy. Christians have the Holy Spirit in their born-again spirit, where the devil has no access. Instead, the physical body, the emotions and the mind can be influenced, pressed or oppressed by the evil one. Jesus Christ can set us free from any evil spirit that oppresses, depresses, presses or influences us. All we have to do is believe and pray for deliverance and that Jesus' blood will cleanse us from any effects and consequences of the demonic presence, in the name of Jesus.
The word translated with "opressed" by the devil is "katadunasteuo" in the original Greek language, and it means "oppressed, defeated by a greater power, overwhelmed, overthrown, harshly mastered, oppressed; powerfully bringing someone down (denying them the higher position or blessing they should enjoy), i.e. tyrannize; to dominate (treat harshly), overpowering someone" (according to “HELPS Word-studies”).
Demonic influences can come from many different causes. Curses or sins committed by ancestors, personal unconfessed or willingly repeated sins for which we did not ask God forgiveness for, can allow the demons to come against a person. Since the causes can be multiple, it is important to identify them, to honestly repent and to ask Jesus to forgive and set us free. Once we are free, we must live right, in obedience to the Lord, and to avoid any contacts or places where those demonic influences might lure us back into their trap.
It is also very important to take care of what we allow our eyes to see, our ears to hear and where we choose to go. Whatever we have seen, even if only for a few seconds, will be used by the devil to tempt or condemn us, and it may take years to erase those images from our memory. The bad memories that have been stored in our brains over the years, will be used to torment us. Even while we sleep, we can be attacked with nightmares. Any negative image is toxic to our brain and it becomes a memory if we allow it back into our conscious mind again and again, as we remember and keep on seeing that image in our mind. The devil knows that if he reminds us often enough of something or someone that had a bad effect on us, as well as of any other negative, tormenting thought, those thoughts will become permanent, automated memory. Any similarities to the toxic automatic memory, will trigger it. Just as brushing our teeth has become an automatic, by repeating it all of our lives. Once we pick up the tooth brush and toothpaste, we no longer have to think about what we need to do. When a bad thought is turned into a toxic automatic memory, it becomes a wicked stronghold that is perpetuated over and over again, hurting us without even the need of the devil's help, until it is corrected. But, glory to the Lord, because He has created us capable of changing our ways of thinking and regenerating our brains. Any toxic, negative memory can be replaced by the right, beneficial one, based on the truth of the Word of God, which is the absolute truth. The Holy Spirit urges us through the apostle Paul to "transform ourselves by renewing our minds so that we may well distinguish the will of God: the good, the pleasant and the perfect" (Romans 12:2). You may read more in the article, "Renewing of the Mind."
Since the first sin, mankind began to be led by their carnal nature instead of the spirit, as God created us to be. All wisdom that does not come from God, including human wisdom, is called “demonic” in James 3:13. So, we should not be surprised that the most spiritual battles we have to fight, are against our own carnal nature, in order to keep it under submission.
We are familiar with the verses of Romans 7.
The war between our carnal nature, the flesh, and the born-again spirit never ends. Our spiritual condition is the direct result of who is winning this continuous war. The more we feed our spirits, by studying the Bible, praying, and seeking to have an attitude of praise and thankfulness towards God, the more we overcome the impulses and lusts of our sinful nature. It is up to us to continually crucify the flesh and to strengthen the spirit.
Whatever is more important to us than God, becomes an idol and sin. If not corrected we will stray from the narrow path that leads to Jesus. Our goals in life show to whom we belong. If we seek to have the fruit of the Holy Spirit and do whatever the Scripture tells us to do, we fight the good fight of faith and we will end our race in the arms of Jesus. The choice is up to us.
Our cravings, hobbies, desires and dreams that we pursue determine our actions and how we live. It is a continuous battle between good and evil, between obedience and rebellion, between light and darkness, and the decisions we make, moment to moment, determines who wins.
Whenever we make the right choices, in submission to the direction of the Holy Spirit, we are victorious and free in Jesus Christ. If we are free, we can help others in obeying the Lord, knowing the truth and becoming free, also.
In the Bible we find many encouraging verses that confirm over and over, how we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. Here are some of these:
Colossians1:11-14 ... strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Romans 6:8-14 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Isaiah 59:19 “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”
Romans 8:31-39 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 16:20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
2 Thessalonians 3:1-3 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
1 John 2:13 -14 I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers,because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.
In the beginning, God created everything perfect. Adam and Eve started their existence in a perfect, sinless world, where there was no sickness, no pain, no spiritual warfare, until they fell into temptation.
- Genesis 3:1,6,13,15 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” ... 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate... 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate”... 15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
The primordial lie, which the devil began his temptation of mankind with, is repeated infinitely throughout history and continues to deceive those who believe it. If we do not realize that Satan is the source of doubtful and accusatory thoughts that cross through our minds and we confuse them with our thoughts or even worse with those that come from the Holy Spirit, we have no chance of winning in spiritual warfare.
- 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
All temptations fall into at least one of the three categories established by the apostle John. Only after Satan implanted his tempting thoughts into Eve's mind, did she look differently at the forbidden tree and she "saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise." In other words, the lust of the flesh, made her want to eat the forbidden fruit, the lust of the eyes made it look good and the pride of life, was Eve's final downfall leading to sin; how could she resist the thought of becoming like God, knowing 'good and evil'? As a result, Eve disregarded what God had said, she reached out and took the fruit in total disobedience to God and in believing the devil. Adam fared no better; we read that he was there with Eve and when she handed him the fruit, he ate of it also, without any resistance, even though God directly told him not to do it. Because they chose to rebel against God, they lost the dominion they had over the earth and Satan became the “ruler of this world,” as Jesus called him on three occasions: John 12:31, John 14:30 and John 16:11.
The devil used the same pattern of temptation with Jesus in the wilderness. After being baptized in water, the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). After fasting for forty days and forty nights, He was exhausted and hungry and the devil was hoping that He could deceive and defeat Him. For these purposes, he used "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life."
In the first temptation, the devil addressed the "flesh" of Jesus after he tried in vain to make Jesus to doubt His identity: “... If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (v. 3b). Hunger is a powerful factor that can hamper anyone's reasoning, more or less, depending on the individual. By the way Jesus replied to the temptations, He showed us that if we truly have the Word of God in us, it will keep our minds alert and help us recognize the enemy's deceptions even if we are in a weakened condition. Jesus responded to the attack by quoting the Scripture “... It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (v. 4b).
- Matthew 4:5-7 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, "It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
Another temptation the devil tried to use, was the "pride of life". Satan attempted to get Jesus to take pride in demonstrating that He was the Son of God, and would not die even if He would throw Himself down from the temple's pinnacle, because according to the tempter, intentionally misusing God's Word, "God would send His angels to save Him.” Jesus taught us a very important lesson here, demonstrating how vital it is to correctly interpret the Bible, taking verses in context and correlation with one another in order to know the truth, as it cannot contradict itself.
- Matthew 4:8-9 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
The third temptation the devil tried was "the lust of eyes," hoping to finally defeat Jesus. After the second attempt to cause Jesus to doubt His identity failed, the devil changed tactics.
The apostle Luke related this even better: "... All this authority I will give you, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish." (Luke 4:6). What the devil was saying was a half-truth, again. Adam had received from God dominion and authority over the earth, but when he sinned against God and obeyed Satan, he forfeited his dominion and authority to the devil. In fact, Satan tempted Adam and Eve for the purposes of stealing their authority and "spiritually" killing them. Jesus did not dispute this point, which confirms that the devil truly had the authority. But the Lord spoke against what was actually a lie. The devil had no intention of giving up his dominion, even if Jesus would have done what Satan had asked Him to do. In fact, it was a contradiction of terms. When someone worships another, he recognizes that he becomes that one's slave and not that he takes his place to become the master. So the result of bowing down and worshiping the devil could not have been that Jesus would become the master of this world. The enemy's purpose was to cause Jesus to sin, so He could never defeat the devil and take back the dominion over the earth from him. Jesus replied even more firmly this time, knowing He had the authority to resist him, and Jesus proclaimed the Word of God again:
- Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
- Luke 4:13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
The apostle Luke recorded even more details about the end of this episode. In verse 13, we read that the devil left Jesus after he had used all his basic temptations. But even though he realized he had lost, he continued to look for ways to destroy Jesus, and he does the same with us. The enemy is lurking in the shadows for any moment when we are spiritually and physically exhausted. If we do not feed our spirits, we become spiritually weak and lose the needed strength to fight. This is when the enemy comes with the most unexpected and powerful attacks. If we want to "finish our race well," as Paul said, we must daily feed our "inner man of the heart" because, as Jesus said, “... Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
Jesus Christ came in the flesh to defeat Satan and make the way for man's reconciliation to God. Jesus paid for the sins of mankind with His life; He died and rose again, giving the chance of eternal life to all who will repent, follow Him and live to please Him.
- 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We must demolish any thoughts that the enemy tries to use to control our minds with. The enemy whispers thoughts into our minds to attempt to cause us to sin. What is tempting for one person, may not be tempting at all to another. The enemy knows what is best to attract and deceive us with. We are the ones who must resist him, by being "strong in faith," no matter how many times he tries or even when he repackages his deception. In order not to become his victims, we must realize our weaknesses and we must stand with the Bible verses that will give us the victory in our specific situations. The Bible has the right teachings for every problem, and by knowing the truth of God's Word, we become stronger and harder to be tempted.
- James 1:12-15 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Temptation can affect us only if we find it attractive and desirable. I'm not saying that eating sweets is a sin, but it can become a problem when we eat it without measure. Anything that we allow to control us is a sin. Someone who hates chocolate can have many boxes of the finest and most appetizing chocolates in front of them and not even want to touch them. Instead, for a chocolate lover, any chocolate is hard to refuse. We must identify our weaknesses and ask God to help us overcome them. If we meditate and pray with the Bible verses that refer to our problem, until the Holy Spirit helps the verses become strong in our hearts, we will then be able to overcome our weakness and stand against the attacks of the evil one, more and more easily. If we are not aware of our weaknesses, the devil will use them to keep us in sin.
- 1 Corinthians 6:12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
Does this verse say that we are allowed to do everything we want? Yes and no. In fact, anything that can become an addiction, that can control or enslave us, is not allowed. God has created us with free will, so we can choose to sin. But if we know something is sin, and still choose to do it, then we are the slaves of the one we obey. And we know that the devil is the one who tempts us to sin.
It is very important to know as much as possible about our enemies. Jesus gave us some very pertinent information about Satan and his evil forces. The biblical terms used for them are distinct and clear, both in the original Greek language and in the English translations.
The original Greek word translated as “demon,” is “daimón” and it means: “evil spirit, demon” according to “Strong's Concordance.”
The original Greek word translated as “devil” is “diabolos” and it means: “slanderous, the Slanderer, the Devil, the false accuser, calumniator, unjustly criticizing to hurt (malign) and condemn to sever a relationship,” according to “Strong's Concordance” and “HELPS Word-studies.” This is a specific term that refers only to Satan and not about evil spirits in general.
Jesus speaks openly about the devil and his demons. The Lord shows us their true nature, their mode of operation and the danger they represent. Satan knows that he is condemned to spend eternity in the lake of fire, in the greatest torment, as a punishment for his rebellion against God. And because he knows that his punishment is irreversible, he tries his best to take with him, as many people as he can deceive. His nature is evil and cannot desire good for anyone. In the second part of Revelation 12:12, we read that: “... Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” This is why he does all in his power to deceive and destroy as many people as possible.
Demons put thoughts into our minds, attempting to convince us to sin, and if they fail, they remind us of our old addictions and weaknesses to compel us to sin in those ways again. Demons also attempt to defile us – by whispering dirty thoughts, and if we accept them as being our thoughts, we start to want to put them into practice, sinning and losing our holiness. Demons seek to enslave us - luring us with what we like and if we do not bring this things under submission, we then become addicted to pleasures or things that are only sin because we allow them to bring us under their power. As Paul writes "... all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any" (1 Corinthians 6:12b). If we allow it, the enemy tortures us, condemns us; steals our peace and quiet and demons can bring sicknesses and handicaps upon our bodies; if they have their way, they incite us to hate, be wicked, want vengeance, etc.
With all this in mind, let's take a closer look at the following Bible verses:
- Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
- John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
- John 10:10a “The thief [the devil] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”
- Revelation 12:9-12 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.
From the above verses, we see that the devil is a murderer, a thief, the father of deceit, a deceiver, a crook, an accuser of the brethren and he approaches people only to "steal, kill and destroy," as the Lord Jesus says.
- 1 Peter 5:8-9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.
Through the apostle Peter, we are warned that our enemy pays attention to everything we do and uses all he can against us. That's why it is important that we are constantly vigilant and spiritually awake to not sin and not become the devil's prey. The most important "battlefield" is the mind, so we must pay attention to the thoughts we “hear” and take the wrong ones “captive to the obedience of Christ,” as we have read in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
- Matthew 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
How do you think that Peter must have felt, when Jesus addressed him in the above words? Not long before, the Lord praised him in front of the others by saying that only by the Holy Spirit could he know that Jesus was the Son of God, and now, not only did the Lord tell him that he was a “stumbling block,” but He also said, “Get behind Me, Satan!”” In fact, each of us can be in Peter's position when we verbalize the thoughts that the devil whispers in our minds. The enemy is an expert in developing thoughts in such a way, that we would believe they are ours and serve our best interests. In fact, he uses thoughts that are in agreement with human nature, just to make them credible. Jesus called the thoughts that Peter verbalized, “the things of men.”
- James 3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
An important and frequent aspect of spiritual warfare involves the negative emotions and feelings that we allow in our hearts. It costs us dearly if we do not release, every trace of “envy, selfishness, stubbornness, argumentative attitude or any evil” as quickly as possible from our hearts! The emotions we allow to develop in our hearts directly affect the thoughts in our minds, which in turn result in the words we speak. We have all been in situations where we found ourselves troubled, upset or even hurt by another person or situation, and we continued to “meditate” upon it, until it became a huge problem, knowing deep down, that the Holy Spirit was directing us to stop, because what we were doing was just hurting ourselves even more and nothing good would come from it. Then even though we had decided not to tell anyone else what had happened; we did just the opposite, telling it all to the first person who would listen or even worse, to the person with whom we first had the problem. It is so hard to repair the effects of such behavior, driven by the evil one and not by the Holy Spirit. James teaches us the difference between natural wisdom, which he calls "earthly, sensual, demonic" and the godly wisdom which comes from above that can only come from the Holy Spirit. Only with this wisdom can we find the peace we need, producing the fruit of righteousness in us.
- Hebrews 12:15 ... looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.
The bitterness produced by the things or people that have upset, hurt or offended us can become worse and cause much damage in our relationships unless we take care of it as soon as possible. What should we do? If we wait too long to solve our feelings of bitterness, we are the ones that will pay the highest price. If we accumulate too much to be able to control it, then we become dangerously close to our "exploding point" and everything that the “evil root of bitterness" produced will result in "defiling" many around us.
We are tempted to tell everybody about our hurt and especially about what others have done to us. We also have in our human nature the tendency to take in the negative feelings of our hurt friends, towards someone that hurt them, but did nothing to us personally. In this way, the sinful, "demonic" feelings, that have defiled us, will end up by defiling also, all those who listened to us and accepted what we said, instead of helping us to “heal our wounds,” repent and restore peace. Demonic influence causes much damage in the body of Christ, in families and communities, as James 3:16 says "For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.”
We must ask God to help us calm down when we start feeling frustrated, annoyed, offended, angry or hurt, so we may judge the situation correctly; we also need to ask the Holy Spirit to show us which are the best Bible verses to bring light to our problem. If we “empty our glass of bitterness” before the Lord and Him only, telling Him all that bothered and hurt us, He will help us to calm down and have the right perspective on the situation.
The battle is half-won, the moment we decide to control ourselves and not react according to our first impulses. If we do not realize that we have the fruit of self-control in our born-again spirit, because of the Holy Spirit living in us, and that it is up to us to allow it to manifest itself, we will slip back into the old habits we had before being born-again and then we will lose the battle. No one can change all their habits and behavior instantly when they become Christians. It takes time to reprogram our minds according to what the Bible says about all we deal with daily. As we grow in obedience to the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit to help us persevere in becoming calmer and reacting better, our behavior and way of talking will change too. The words we will speak will bless and produce life instead of curse and produce death, for us and also those around us.
Our homes can become "havens of peace," as the Lord wants them to be, as we get free from the old habits and ways of managing tense situations and let the Holy Spirit guide us in everything we feel, think, say and do.
- Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
We should try to calm down all the stressful situations we can, even though we are not responsible for the quarrelsome attitudes of others. When we remain calm and collected, while others are angry and ready to fight and we ask the Holy Spirit to give us the right words, we may restore peace and prevent much pain and sorrow. During most arguments, both sides eventually exaggerate reality and say many things that they regret later. We all know that once something has been said, it cannot be taken back and the hurt may even last for a lifetime.
- James 3:5-6 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
The apostle James uses a very straightforward explanation about the effects of our words. It is very true that if we do not pay attention to the source of what we allow to “grow” in our hearts and which will later produce thoughts that will fill our minds only to be verbalized through our mouths, we will suffer greatly.
- James 3:10-11 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
The subjects we approach in our conversations are rooted in what we have in our hearts. If we find that we are very hard to please, that we always find something negative to say about what we see or hear, that nothing is good enough for us, it is time to stop and make a correction. When our spiritual tanks run low, our old nature starts to resume control allowing the devil free access. We need to come before the Lord and ask Him to show us what "has defiled our spirit," what roots of bitterness may have poisoned our hearts, so we can know what to repent of and ask God to forgive us. By doing so, we will be set free and become right-standing with the Lord again. As we allow the Holy Spirit to "cleanse our hearts," we will be able to enter again into the presence of the Lord through praise, worship and meditation on the Word of God, so the Holy Spirit will refill us. This is the way the root of evil is "pulled out" and we may return to where we are pure, kind, loving people and pleasing to the Lord.
Depression is the sickness of the century and it is the result of hopelessness. In Jesus we have the most wonderful and real hope no matter what! Depression can be the effect of toxic thoughts of hatred, condemnation, rejection, low self-esteem, revenge, doubt, envy, fear, anxiety or discouragement which the enemy whispers in our minds, if he succeeds in making us believe that they are our thoughts and true. If we do not recognize his tactics and we do not pay attention to every thought that crosses our minds, we suffer and it costs us dearly. Once a person becomes depressed, one has to fight harder to be set free of it. Depression is always easier to prevent than it is to get free from, once it has settled in.
The war we have to fight is spiritual and so are the weapons we fight with. The spiritual weapons are only effective through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. The level of spiritual authority we have is the direct result of our level of obedience and right-standing with God. The devil and his demons know how much power we have in the Holy Spirit, as they know many of the sins we have committed and our weaknesses. The enemy never turns down an opportunity to attack us. The devil never leaves or flees when resisted, unless we have the true authority resulted from being totally submitted to God. We may fool our fellow humans about how spiritual we are, but the Lord and those in the spiritual realm know exactly where we stand.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
God does not allow the devil to tempt us more than we can handle and He makes a way out of every temptation. It is up to us to use what God has provided for us so that we will not fail. Perhaps you never thought that if the Lord allows us to go through difficult trials, it means that He knows that we are fully equipped with everything we need to face it without sinning and losing our faith.
Every test of faith we pass with the right attitude, makes us stronger and more effective in the work of the Lord. The devil comes with negative thoughts and doubts about God's Word, God's love for us and our identity in Christ. That is why it is so important to renew our minds, so that we can think according to Scripture. Only in doing so, can we correctly identify the source of every thought and stop the ones that come from the evil one. If we cannot control the thoughts in our minds, then we have no chance in spiritual warfare. Harmful thoughts that "pass through" our minds cannot hurt us, but if we allow the bad ones to develop and then speak them out, it becomes part of us and the enemy begins to build a stronghold. The sooner we realize the trap we have fallen into and sincerely ask God to forgive us for what we have thought and verbalized, the easier it will be to have the victory. If we believe the lies or doubts that the enemy brings into our minds, we are agreeing with him and exposing ourselves to his vicious attacks.
It is essential for every Christian to know the truth of the Bible on every matter. We can recognize the lie about something only if we know the truth about it. Unfortunately, many people believe many lies as being the truth, and that happens precisely because they do not know the real, unchangeable truth of God's Word.
- Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
God always wants what is best for us, because He loves us dearly and if we seek Him with all our hearts, we will find Him; He hears and answers our prayers, in order to give us a blessed and hopeful future. If we know what the Bible says what the Lord has for us, and we are convinced of His love and desire to spend eternity with Him in heaven, we will fight against all the evil assaults from a victorious position, not from defeat.
There are an enormous amount of thoughts that cross through our minds and they are not all ours. Thoughts come from one of three sources: ourselves, the Holy Spirit or the devil. When we do not recognize that the devil is the source of negative thoughts that we hear in our minds and if we do not fight against them as the Scripture teaches us to do, we may find ourselves in bondage to sin, as we read in the following verses:
- Romans 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
While we choose who we want to serve, the truth is that we cannot serve ourselves, even if many people think so. We do not need to meditate long on the above verse to realize that it is so. We struggle daily with various temptations, and if we fall into their traps, we will suffer enormously. For example, if we do not control our craving for sweets and we eat as much as we want for days, the price tag for that will be high. The torment and effort required to lose the weight gained from the lack of self-control is infinitely greater than the "pleasure" of eating sweets without measure, and the illnesses which we expose ourselves to can cause us much suffering. For each of us, there are certain temptations we must fight against more than others. It is important to fight against all the attacks knowing that we can overcome them, because Jesus has already defeated everything and He lives in us, as Lord. We should not let our lusts control us, but we should have control over our lusts.
- Philippians 3:18-19 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.
- Colossians1:11-14 ... strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
The Bible shows that there are two kingdoms: the kingdom of God, which is Light, and that of the devil, which is darkness. We belong to Jesus, only if we obey Him, trying our best to live pure lives and asking forgiveness when we sin, so His blood cleanses us and covers us with Jesus' righteousness. Whoever lives in sin, obeys the father of sin, Satan. Even if for us this is a very obvious truth, for those who are slaves of the kingdom of darkness, this truth is hidden, because "darkness has blinded their eyes" as we read in 1 John 2:11. Unfortunately, there are some people who call themselves Christians who believe the lies of the enemy, living in sexual sin, adultery and many other types of sin without remorse and believing that they are followers of Jesus Christ and are saved. They have accepted the lie of the devil as truth and became his slaves and if they do not repent they will end up in hell. Those who think that are free and are their own masters, doing what they want, are only fooling themselves. Jesus clearly says that there are only two masters: if we do not belong to the Lord, we belong to the evil one (“... You cannot serve God and Mammon” - Matthew 6:24b).
We are in a continuous war, whether we admit it or not, and we need the strength that comes only from truly having Jesus as Lord in our lives. The heavenly Father has given Jesus all authority in heaven and on earth, and in-turn Jesus has delegated authority to His church, the body of Christ which consists of those who are true, born-again Christians (Matthew 28:18-20). In the article "The Authority of the Believer" you can read more about this subject.
- 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 (AMP) But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which ascends] to God, [discernible both] among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the latter one an aroma from death to death [a fatal, offensive odor], but to the other an aroma from life to life [a vital fragrance, living and fresh]. And who is adequate and sufficiently qualified for these things?
God “always” leads us to victory, because Jesus is our Lord, living in us. The Lord is constant and faithful even though we fail sometimes. These verses show that the spiritual world can have a wonderful, pleasant, sweet scent of life if it belongs to the kingdom of God, or it may be a fatal, offensive odor of death if it belongs to the kingdom of darkness. Those who reject Jesus cannot stand our spiritual "scent" and avoid us. The perfume of God's presence makes them realize that they are dead in their sins and will end up in eternal death (separated from God) if they do not repent, continuing to reject Jesus. Instead, whenever we meet with other children of God, we feel the love and peace of Jesus that unifies us, because we all have His "fragrance" and through Christ we have eternal life.
As a conclusion of 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, we could say that any vulgar, injurious, defamatory and negative language produces a “foul smell” in the spiritual world. Such an "odor" will draw the forces of darkness and invite them to attack and hurt those who spread it.
To think that it is alright to use filthy, vulgar or rude language as long as no one can hear it and no one will be hurt is a big deception. In fact the one who talks like that will end up hurt, because they empower the enemy to attack them. Instead, if we do our best to please God with all that we feel, think and speak and ask forgiveness when we sin, no matter where we are at, we will empower God to work in our behalf and we will get the victory in every trial.
- Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.
God has given us everything we need to be victorious over Satan, through Jesus Christ. It is up to us to strengthen ourselves in the Lord and in His power. The Holy Spirit was the power source for Jesus, while He lived in a human body and He is also the source of power for us. He is our Helper, which means that He does not force us to do anything, but He helps us when we ask Him and gives us the strength we need in every situation. Until the crucifixion, Jesus was never separated from His Father and they always had a close relationship. We should follow Jesus' example in being obedient, praying and following God's direction, all the time. By praying, studying and meditating upon the Word of God, by praising and worshiping the Lord, we strengthen our "inner man of the heart" and we are able to overcome the strategies of the devil. The Lord has prepared the most appropriate armor to protect us so that we can fight against the "devil's schemes." But this armor can only protect us if we wear it.
What is the "full armor of God"? The original Greek word, translated as “all/full/complete/whole armor” is "panoplia" which means:“a complete set of defensive and offensive armor (weapons), i.e. everything needed to wage successful warfare; (figuratively) the full resources the Lord gives to the believer so they can successfully wage spiritual warfare. In this way they do not fight for victory – but from His victory!” (according to “HELPS Word-studies”).
- Ephesians 6:12-13 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.
Why do we need the Lord's armor? We need it because we are fighting in the spiritual world, where physical weapons have no effect. Our enemy is spiritual and we need effective spiritual weapons, both offensively and defensively to overcome him. Though sometimes the enemy uses other people to hurt us, he is still the one behind them. Once we recognize who the true enemy is, we must use the spiritual authority we have in Jesus' name against the evil spirits that are behind those people and that will ensure our victory.
The Bible also shows that there is a certain hierarchy in the kingdom of darkness. There are different demonic ranks that dominate territories and the people they use to manifest their power. In Daniel 10:13 and 20, we read that an angel of the Lord had to overcome the princes of Persia and Greece, who tried to stop him from bringing God's answer to Daniel's prayers for his nation. Demons, no matter their rank, cannot defeat the angels of the Lord, they can only delay them from accomplishing their assignments. In Hebrews 1:14 we read that angels are "servant spirits sent to perform ministry for those who will inherit salvation," so God sends them to help us. It is really helpful to know this truth, which we find in several places in the Bible. Here are just a few of them: Genesis 32:1; Genesis 32:24; Psalms 34:7; Psalms 91:11; Psalms 103:20.
You have probably noticed that there are certain places where the atmosphere is oppressive and where it is much harder to pray, praise the Lord or focus on reading God's Word. The abundance of sin and the measure of people living in darkness harden the spiritual atmosphere in a given area. As a result, the Christians that live in such an area must fight harder to live to please God. Persia and Greece were heathen kingdoms during Daniel's time, and the demon who led them spiritually had the “prince” rank. The 28th chapter of Ezekiel's book brings more clarity on this subject. Here we find both: the human leader of Tyre and the demon that was operating through him. From the way the "prince of Tyre" is presented (Ezekiel 28:2-8) we understand that he was the human leader of that country. Then, in Ezekiel 28:12-19, we read about the "king of Tyre," who was the devil who had dominion over the whole earth, including the territory of Tyre, and who carried out his evil plans through the human leader who was subjected to him. As we already stated, Satan was called by Jesus "the ruler of this world."
Spiritual warfare is very real, but we must not fear, because Jesus already overcame Satan and his demons. As long as Jesus is Lord in our hearts and "we fight the good fight of faith," "we are more than conquerors through Him [Jesus] who loved us" (Romans 8:37).
Now, how do we “put on the full armor of God”?
- Ephesians 6:13 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.
We have to be equipped with all the pieces of armor that God has provided for us in order to walk faithfully on God's path, on a daily basis. Without having the armor on, we would be unable to remain strong in our faith in God, knowing that our Lord always loves us and never forsakes us. The enemy does everything in his power to convince us that God allows the problems and tribulations in our lives because we do not deserve God's love, therefore He does not love us anymore. Jesus was rejected, mocked, imprisoned, tortured and even whipped close to death and then crucified as a common criminal. Yet He never doubted the love of the Father. Jesus endured tremendous rejection, pain and suffering and never gave up on us. He went through such terrible torment to save us, because He loved and continues to love us so much. Everyone must change the way they think when they become a Christian and start to think in agreement with what God's Word says. Only by doing so can we be truly convinced of how much God loves us and be able to stop measuring His love for us based on the quality of life we have.
God's plan for our lives is far greater than just to live prosperous lives while on this earth. We are here to prepare ourselves for eternal life in heaven. To get there we have to become more and more like Jesus, which is not always easy as we change and are modeled when we go through hard times and suffering, not when everything is going well for us.
- 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed...
Because of the power that we have in us through the Holy Spirit, even if we are under a massive attack, we do not feel "destroyed". We know that the Lord will bring us "out into a broad place" (2 Samuel 22:20). Even when it seems that there is no way out, we do not lose hope, because the Lord will make a way for us. Even if we are persecuted, the Lord is with us. He never forsakes, us not even for a split second, and "no one can snatch us out of His hand" (John 10:28). Even if we are struck down, we will only die when the Lord decides it is time to take us home, and even then, only our bodies will die, but our spirits will live forever, in heaven with our Lord.
The difference between the sufferings of those who live without Jesus and ours, is enormous. They have no hope, they often see no way out of trouble, and the demons lead them from one bad decision to another, even if they do not realize what is happening to them. While we, as Christians, know that Jesus is with us in the test, He helps and strengthens us and "... that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). This means that what the enemy intends for our destruction, God changes and uses for our good in the long run.
- 1 John 3:8b ... the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
Through Jesus we can also demolish the plans and works of the devil that are meant to destroy us. God provides us with His armor, so that we may be over-comers and fulfill our calling.
What are the pieces of armor that God has prepared for us?
- Ephesians 6:14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.
It is crucial to be always prepared, ready to fight, because the spiritual war has no breaks. Knowing the truth of God's Word is the most important part of our armor. Only the “belt of truth” allows us to move freely and holds our offense and defense weapons in place, just as the belt of the Roman soldier kept all his armor pieces in place. The belt also held the sheath in which they carried their sword. If we only hear the truth, without "knowing" it, it is not enough to be free, as Jesus said in John 8:32. The truth of the Bible revealed by the Holy Spirit, becomes "living and working" in our hearts where it convinces, teaches, transforms us and it becomes a fearsome weapon in our hands. There is incredible power when a truth in God's Word becomes real for us. This is the kind of a word we read about in Hebrews 4:12. Only the truth of the revealed Word (“rhema” in the original Greek) when it becomes a part of us, helps us in recognizing the enemy's lies and by proclaiming it we get the victory.
The “breastplate of righteousness” is the piece of armor that protects the vital organs, especially the heart. In the Bible, the "heart" is not the physical organ that maintains physical life, but it refers to the "inner man," that is the spirit of the person who is "born-again" by the Holy Spirit when they sincerely repent of their sins and believe upon Jesus. In the "heart" we become pure, we have the righteousness of Jesus, for there we have the Holy Spirit and this is what Paul is speaking of in:
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
How do we put on the breastplate of righteousness? We can be righteous, (which means without sin) only through the sacrifice of Jesus. If we truly ask God to forgive us when we sin and regret what we have done, the Lord is faithful and forgives us. When the enemy comes to condemn us for the sins we have already repented of, we need to realize that we are forgiven, we have on the “breastplate of righteousness” and we can resist the enemy's accusations in the name of Jesus. The enemy's attack will fail if we realize that when we repented with all our hearts the Lord forgave us, “casting all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19b), meaning that our sins are gone forever.
- Ephesians 6:15 ... with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
We are all called to tell others of the Good News of salvation. Sharing the Good News of the Gospel is the most important task of every Christian, not just for evangelists, pastors or preachers. Each of us have contact with people whom no one else can reach and if we pay attention to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can be efficient workers in the Lord's “vineyard.” Telling others about our Lord Jesus Christ is not only for their benefit, but for ours too. We become more careful of how we live and how our words and actions impact the lives of others. It also motivates us to become more and more like Christ. What a wonderful command Jesus has given us!
- Ephesians 6:16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
The “shield of faith” has a vital role in spiritual warfare. For the soldiers, the shield was an essential part, because with its help, they were blocking the enemy's arrows. It is not in vain that the devil fights with such fierceness to sneak thoughts in our minds, that would make us doubt God's love and the promises from His Word. If our faith is wavering, we become his victims for sure. We are not attacked with toy arrows that are harmless; on the contrary, Paul tells us that by faith we quench the most powerful arrows, which have fiery heads that could destroy us completely.
The devil not only uses the sins we have committed since we have become Christians to attack us with condemnation, but also the sins before we even came to Christ. The “shield of faith” is for extinguishing all the arrows of the enemy, no matter what kind they are and help us after the rest of the armor has accomplished its purpose. We must align the words we speak with what we believe to be in accord with the truth of the Bible to have a strong and efficient faith. Our relationship with Jesus must not be based upon our emotions or on how much we "feel or not” the presence of the Lord but must be based on what God's Word says. This is the only way to remain faithful to the Lord and continue to walk with Him. As James says, "… he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind" (James 1:6b).
Our feelings come from the way we respond to internal and external factors. In order to have Jesus as Lord, we have to be led by the Holy Spirit and God's Word and not by the “way we feel.” The only truth that remains the same and never changes is the Word of God, and we have to rely on it, no matter how we feel or how difficult our situation is.
- Ephesians 6:17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
We also need the protection offered by the “helmet of salvation” against the evil thoughts. The “helmet of salvation” is the insurance that as long as we are totally surrendered to the Lord, obeying Him and living for Him, we cannot lose our salvation. Therefore, let us not hesitate to resist the lies of the enemy by which he attempts to make us doubt the love and salvation that we have in Jesus.
The following are some of the best Bible verses that we can use to “put on the helmet of salvation" in the spiritual war:
- John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”
The Word of God becomes an effective “sword” for the one who learns and applies it. The Scripture is the truth, and when we apply it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can defeat the lies and deceptions of the enemy and even of our own carnal nature. The proclamation of the Word of God has power and strengthens our faith.
- Ephesians 6:18 ... praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints...
Prayers led by the Holy Spirit are efficient and powerful. Jesus encouraged the disciples, by telling them that after His departure from this earth, His Father would send them "another" Helper, meaning “one of the same kind,” someone like Him. The Lord referred to the Holy Spirit who is one of the three persons of God's trinity. Jesus was limited in time and space while on earth, by living in a human body, and He could only be in one place at a time. The Holy Spirit is God omnipresent, there is no place that He is not present. Through Him, God the Father and the Son live in our hearts. Jesus said, about Him: “The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things, and will remind you all what I have told you” (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit knows all things and everything we need. If we ask Him to help us pray and teach us what we need to know, He will do it. If we pray under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, to Father God, in the name of Jesus, we know that we pray according to God's will and we will receive what we are asking for. If we are truly led by the Holy Spirit, we will pray for what the Lord wants to give us, because He knows better than we do, what is best for us. In the "Holy Spirit Articles" section, you may find more information about who He is, what He does, His fruit, His gifts and the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
And now let's see some of the devil's actions against us:
The devil is the one who takes advantage of those who are not paying attention to what is happening to them, to not fight to keep “the seed of God's Word.” He causes them to lose it and not be able to follow Jesus.
- Luke 8:12 “Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved."
The devil is the source of evil thoughts and urges us to sin.
- John 13:2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him...
The devil is the father of lies and whoever is lying is doing his will. Every lie opens the door for more lies and causes much hurt. There is no such thing as an “innocent lie.”
- John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
- Ephesians 4:25-26 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.”
The enemy uses any unforgiveness, to bring division and destroy those implied in any incident.
- 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
The enemy is always ready to take advantage of us when we are angry and uses every available opportunity to incite us to lose our temper.
The longer it takes us to resolve our anger, the harder it is not to sin. Especially at night, when there are less distractions, we think more about the issue, which causes our anger to grow and we are more likely to fall into sin.
- Ephesians 4:27 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.
Pride was the cause of the devil's fall. When we become prideful, we fall into the same trap.
- Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.
- 1 Timothy 3:6-7 ... not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
The devil is the one who tempts us, and not God.
- James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
- Luke 4:1-2 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.
The devil is the one who urges us to quarrel and criticize others, sinning against God.
- James 3:16 (NIV) For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
There are many more ways in which the devil attacks us, but whatever methods he uses, his purpose is always to destroy us. But Jesus “in us is greater" than Satan and through Christ we are "more than conquerors,” as we read in 1 John 4:4 and Romans 8:37.
Christians cannot be possessed by the devil because they are possessed by Christ, but the enemy can "press," "oppress," or "depress" God's children. Being possessed means “being completely controlled, dominated, owned by something, someone or an evil spirit” (according to “Merriam-Webster Dictionary”). Since Jesus Christ became the Lord of our lives, we belong to Him, He is our Master and we cannot have two masters, just as Jesus said. Whoever does not belong to Jesus, can only belong to the enemy. Christians have the Holy Spirit in their born-again spirit, where the devil has no access. Instead, the physical body, the emotions and the mind can be influenced, pressed or oppressed by the evil one. Jesus Christ can set us free from any evil spirit that oppresses, depresses, presses or influences us. All we have to do is believe and pray for deliverance and that Jesus' blood will cleanse us from any effects and consequences of the demonic presence, in the name of Jesus.
The word translated with "opressed" by the devil is "katadunasteuo" in the original Greek language, and it means "oppressed, defeated by a greater power, overwhelmed, overthrown, harshly mastered, oppressed; powerfully bringing someone down (denying them the higher position or blessing they should enjoy), i.e. tyrannize; to dominate (treat harshly), overpowering someone" (according to “HELPS Word-studies”).
- Acts 10:38 ... how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
- Luke 4:18 (AMP) “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity]”
Demonic influences can come from many different causes. Curses or sins committed by ancestors, personal unconfessed or willingly repeated sins for which we did not ask God forgiveness for, can allow the demons to come against a person. Since the causes can be multiple, it is important to identify them, to honestly repent and to ask Jesus to forgive and set us free. Once we are free, we must live right, in obedience to the Lord, and to avoid any contacts or places where those demonic influences might lure us back into their trap.
It is also very important to take care of what we allow our eyes to see, our ears to hear and where we choose to go. Whatever we have seen, even if only for a few seconds, will be used by the devil to tempt or condemn us, and it may take years to erase those images from our memory. The bad memories that have been stored in our brains over the years, will be used to torment us. Even while we sleep, we can be attacked with nightmares. Any negative image is toxic to our brain and it becomes a memory if we allow it back into our conscious mind again and again, as we remember and keep on seeing that image in our mind. The devil knows that if he reminds us often enough of something or someone that had a bad effect on us, as well as of any other negative, tormenting thought, those thoughts will become permanent, automated memory. Any similarities to the toxic automatic memory, will trigger it. Just as brushing our teeth has become an automatic, by repeating it all of our lives. Once we pick up the tooth brush and toothpaste, we no longer have to think about what we need to do. When a bad thought is turned into a toxic automatic memory, it becomes a wicked stronghold that is perpetuated over and over again, hurting us without even the need of the devil's help, until it is corrected. But, glory to the Lord, because He has created us capable of changing our ways of thinking and regenerating our brains. Any toxic, negative memory can be replaced by the right, beneficial one, based on the truth of the Word of God, which is the absolute truth. The Holy Spirit urges us through the apostle Paul to "transform ourselves by renewing our minds so that we may well distinguish the will of God: the good, the pleasant and the perfect" (Romans 12:2). You may read more in the article, "Renewing of the Mind."
Since the first sin, mankind began to be led by their carnal nature instead of the spirit, as God created us to be. All wisdom that does not come from God, including human wisdom, is called “demonic” in James 3:13. So, we should not be surprised that the most spiritual battles we have to fight, are against our own carnal nature, in order to keep it under submission.
We are familiar with the verses of Romans 7.
- Romans 7:22-23 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
The war between our carnal nature, the flesh, and the born-again spirit never ends. Our spiritual condition is the direct result of who is winning this continuous war. The more we feed our spirits, by studying the Bible, praying, and seeking to have an attitude of praise and thankfulness towards God, the more we overcome the impulses and lusts of our sinful nature. It is up to us to continually crucify the flesh and to strengthen the spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 9:25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
- 1 Timothy 6:10-12 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
Whatever is more important to us than God, becomes an idol and sin. If not corrected we will stray from the narrow path that leads to Jesus. Our goals in life show to whom we belong. If we seek to have the fruit of the Holy Spirit and do whatever the Scripture tells us to do, we fight the good fight of faith and we will end our race in the arms of Jesus. The choice is up to us.
- Hebrews 12:4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
- James 4:1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
Our cravings, hobbies, desires and dreams that we pursue determine our actions and how we live. It is a continuous battle between good and evil, between obedience and rebellion, between light and darkness, and the decisions we make, moment to moment, determines who wins.
Whenever we make the right choices, in submission to the direction of the Holy Spirit, we are victorious and free in Jesus Christ. If we are free, we can help others in obeying the Lord, knowing the truth and becoming free, also.
In the Bible we find many encouraging verses that confirm over and over, how we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. Here are some of these:
Colossians1:11-14 ... strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Romans 6:8-14 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Isaiah 59:19 “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”
Romans 8:31-39 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 16:20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
2 Thessalonians 3:1-3 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
1 John 2:13 -14 I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers,because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.
COMPANION ARTICLES
SPIRITUAL WARFARE - BIBLE VERSES
Bible verses about spiritual warfare and having the victory in Jesus' name.
THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER
Understanding who we are in Christ and the authority we have as a Christian.
THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER - BIBLE VERSES
Bible verses about the authority of the believer and spiritual warfare.
THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD
We truly cannot wrestle the devil with anything less than the armor of God. The armor of a Roman soldier is used for analogy sake. The power & weaponry are of God.
OTHER ARTICLES ABOUT "PERSEVERANCE & STRENGTH"
BY YOUR PATIENCE POSSESS YOUR SOULS
Understanding the virtue, power and importance of "patience" and how to see it working more effectively in us for a more victorious life.
HOW TO KEEP JESUS AS LORD
Living to please God is the key to remaining in Jesus and He in us.
REJOICE IN THE LORD AND AGAIN I SAY REJOICE
Understanding the true meaning and power of rejoicing in the Lord.
THE POWER OF THE WORD OF GOD
What does it take to see the power of the Word of God working effectively in our lives?
WHERE DOES OUR STRENGTH AS CHRISTIANS COME FROM?
Do we really realize how much strength the Lord has for us & the many ways He strengthens us? Taking a closer look at God's provision for us is amazing.
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Copyright © 2016 Carmen Pușcaș. May be used for personal study or instruction but shall not be copied and/or distributed in whole or part without permission or for financial profit.