Spiritual Warfare: Part 2 Know Your Enemy, Know Yourself!

In Part 1 of this series on Spiritual Warfare we established through the scriptures that, even though Jesus won the victory at the Cross, Christians are still at war (in fact in a constant battle) and that our enemy is Satan or the Devil – two of the enemy’s most common names.

In the two verses above the Apostle Paul is encouraging his young disciple Timothy to endure suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. When we become born again we also become soldiers of Christ and the constant battle we fight is against evil. Paul also says that when we become soldiers of Christ we must not become entangled in the affairs of life but that we must please the one who enlisted us - Jesus Christ!

Know your enemy as a soldier of Christs!

Now why is it important for Christians to know our enemy? And by know I don’t just mean to know his name but to really know everything about him! What is his purpose, his methods? How does he operate and conduct his warfare and how does it affect the lives of believers today?

This article is not written to give attention or glory to the devil, but to rather equip the Church to know how to live a victorious life in Christ Jesus by heeding the Word of God and following the example of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour in our daily struggles against the enemy's fiery darts and the constraints of a fallen world!

If we don’t know our enemy and recognise his ways and his strategies, we can easily be overcome by him!

1 Peter 5:8-9 (AMP)

8 Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]

The above verses were written by the Apostle Peter and he, if nobody else, learnt the hard way about being aware of who our enemy is and just how he operates. Do you remember these words spoken to him by our Lord himself!

Luke 22:31-32 (AMP)

31 “Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has demanded permission to sift [all of] you like grain; 32 but I have prayed [especially] for you [Peter], that your faith [and confidence in Me] may not fail; and you, once you have turned back again [to Me], strengthen and support your brothers [in the faith].”

Matthew 16:22-23 (AMP)

22 Peter took Him aside [to speak to Him privately] and began to reprimand Him, saying, “May God forbid it! This will never happen to You.” 23 But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”

So, here in the above verses we can see just how important it is for us to know our enemy and to know just how sneakily dangerous he can be. Even Peter, at this stage, who had been walking closely with the Lord for about three years, didn’t realise just what a battle he was in due to his ignorance of the enemy and his (Satan’s) method of operation!

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” - Quote by Sun Tzu: The Art of War

The above quote was made by an ancient, very successful Chinese general in roundabout the 6th Century BC, and although he was not Christian, this famous quote holds true of how we can fight our Christian battle!

We have already identified who our enemy is; it is the Devil or Satan to give him his two most popular names. Our enemy is not man, it is Satan who infiltrates man’s being by possession and the sewing of lies in our minds, the flesh – he infiltrates and corrupts our souls - our minds are seated in our souls!

Romans 8:6-8 (NIV)

6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

But, as Christians we need to really know our enemy, not to promote him or give him any glory, but to know how God expects us to fight him off and render him null and void in our lives and to ensure that our souls and minds are governed by the Holy Spirit!

Where does the evil that is in man come from?

I have often heard it said in Christian circles and by many Christian leaders that we shouldn’t look for the Devil or his demons behind every bush or tree. This may or may not be true literally and figuratively speaking, but it is definitely true spiritually as they (demonic forces) are certainly behind the evil that man is! Let’s examine this statement through the scriptures.

Genesis 6:5 (NLT)

5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.

Romans 3:23 (NIV)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

So, coming back to the original question at the head of this section: “Where does the evil that man is come from?”

To answer this question in a nutshell, it comes from the originator of sin, Satan, the 'being' that committed the first sin and then enticed Adam and Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden – the fall of man.

We see this in Isaiah 14:12-14.

Isaiah 14:12-14 (AMP)

12 “How you have fallen from heaven,

O star of the morning [light-bringer], son of the dawn!

You have been cut down to the ground,

You who have weakened the nations [king of Babylon]!

13 “But you said in your heart,

‘I will ascend to heaven;

I will raise my throne above the stars of God;

I will sit on the mount of assembly

In the remote parts of the north.

14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’

Along the same vein, let’s have a look at what Paul tells us in Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:1-2 (NIV)

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

The two verses above speak volumes to us about just how active and influential Satan is in our lives when we are outside of Jesus Christ. Let’s put them into perspective:

Verse 1:
Outside of Christ we are dead in our sins, dead meaning in the spiritual sense of being separated from God and unless we repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, our eternal destination is in hell!

Verse 2:
We (now as born-again Christians) used to be dead in our sins. It is every Christians active duty to ensure that they follow the way of the Spirit and not the way of the flesh! The ways of this world are of the devil and the ruler of the kingdom of the air is Satan.

Romans 8:6-8 (AMP)

6 Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever]; 7 the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, 8 and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.

Why were we dead?

• Because we followed the ways of the world.

• We followed Satan – he is the spirit of the world

• We were disobedient (acting against the teaching of God in the Bible, in other words when we sin) and were thus allowing Satan to rule and influence our lives.

• God created man with a free will to choose between good and evil and according to Genesis 6:5 above, our every inclination is towards evil.

So, when man reaches the age of understanding we must make a choice. Do we choose good (Jesus) or do we choose evil (Satan)? If we chose Jesus, we receive everlasting life in heaven. If we chose Satan (the world), we receive everlasting death (separation from God) in hell where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 1341-:42 (NLT)

41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The choice man must make is to follow God or not to follow God and if we do not follow God then we are against Him and are followers of the originator of sin, Satan. With God there is no such thing as fence sitting, we are either for Him or against Him and if we are against Him then we are followers of Satan!

Luke 11:23 (NIV)

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Do born-again Christians still sin?

The answer to this question is quite simply yes, we do!

Matthew 18:15 (NIV)

"If a brother or sister sins, go and point out the fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over."

But what happens to us when we sin as Christians?

Do we cease being Christians and does God cast us away? Fortunately for us and because of what Jesus did for us on the cross and because he is our Lord and Saviour, God does not! Phew!

But…..very uncool stuff does happen to us! Let’s see just what!

Although our relationship with the Lord remains intact because of the Cross, our personal walk and fellowship with him is fractured. Let’s examine this through scripture in Psalm 51.

This is a Psalm of remorse and repentance written by King David after his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband was exposed by the prophet Nathan. The story of David and Bathsheba can be found in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. When Christians sin it is not pleasing to God even though we remain saved!

2 Samuel 11:27b

But the Lord was displeased with what David had done.

Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour is only the beginning of our Christian walk. We still have to work out our salvation and bring the flesh under submission to the Spirit. We can only do this if we are truly in Christ Jesus and filled with the Spirit. Our souls (the realm of the flesh) need to be brought under submission to the Spirit in all we do!

Philippians 2:12-13 (AMP)

12 So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. 13 For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.

Now, getting back to Psalm 51, let’s see just how David’s fellowship with the Lord was affected when he sinned.

A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

The Amplified Bible describes this Psalm like this: “A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.”

Psalm 51 (NIV)

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior,

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Verse 2, 7, 9, 10
Our sin leaves us feeling dirty, guilty and impure.

Verse 3
Sin is rebellion and is always on our mind – it haunts the soul.

Verse 8, 12
Sin robs us of the joy of our salvation.

Verse 11
Sin makes us feel that God will not allow us back into His presence.

Verse 15
Sin makes us feel that we cannot praise and worship God and that we are not worthy to be in His presence. It makes us feel that we have no way back.

Verse 16-19
Once we recognise, confess and repent from our sin, we find that our relationship with God is restored in fullness and we are able to continue our walk unhindered and unburdened.

When Christians sin, our relationship with and our worship of God is adversely affected and if we are not careful and remain unrepentant, we allow Satan to have the greater influence over our lives instead of the Holy Spirit and our sinful state will worsen! We need to cultivate an ever repentant heart so that we confess our sin quickly in order to restore our relationship with God to fulness as He intends it to be!

Know who you are and whose you are in Christ Jesus

When Christians sin, it is so important for us to recognise the fact and repent as soon as possible, the longer we wait before confessing our sin, the harder it is to come back and the easier it will become to get more and more enmeshed in sin.

This is when it is so important to know who we are and whose we are:

We are never disowned:

2 Timothy 2:13 (NIV)

if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

We are still His children and we will never be condemned:

John 5:24 (NIV)

I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

John 1:12 (KJV)

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Ephesians 1:5 (KJV)

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

God will forgive us many times, even for the same sin, when we confess our sins – God will not tell us to do anything He is not prepared to do Himself:

Matthew 18:21-22 (NLT)

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”

22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!

James 5:16 (NIV)

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I pray in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit that you would help me to work out my salvation with fear and trembling that I may bring glory to the name of Jesus! Help me to be quick to repent when I slip and sin. Help me, I pray, to live my life in the Spirit and in submission to your will. Amen.

To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!

Jesus the Name above all names!

In Him only do we have the victory!

Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for reading and studying the Bible for yourself! I am flawed the Bible is not!

Part 3 coming soon! What are the Enemy's Tactics?