Pastor’s Pen Pulpit Series:
Spiritual Warfare
October 24,
2004
HOW TO RESIST THE DEVIL
We hear about the various resistance movements taking place in the world today in the third world nations – political activists, arms resistance, etc. We ask ourselves, “should believers be a part of these resistance movements, or support them?” Well, I’m not here to tell you one way or the other what your view should be toward these confrontations.
However, there is one resistance movement that every believer should be a part of – RESISTING THE DEVIL! In fact, if you are not involved in this movement, then you are giving to him an authority in your life that he has absolutely no right to. Let’s see what the Scripture says about this.
• Jesus Christ found it necessary to resist the devil (Matthew 4:1-11).
• Peter was the object of Satan’s continual hassle (Luke 22:31, 32). He later wrote: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” I Peter 5:8.
• James saw the need to exhort the church to resist the devil (James 4:7).
God does provide us with the armor necessary to win this battle (Ephesians 6:10-17) so let’s look first of all at why we need this armor.
Verse 10 – Believers are commanded to be literally “empowered in the LORD.” We are not strong within ourselves – but in the Lord (Romans 8:37; Phil 4:13). The Lord Jesus Christ is the believer’s armor (Romans 13:12-14). The Christian is in Christ – but there is a sense in which the Christian is to put on Christ. Putting on Christ and putting on the armor of God are essentially one and the same.
Verses 11-13 - The reason for this armor is that the believer might be able to stand against the strategies of Satan.
There
are five defensive pieces and two offensive pieces. These pieces are all somewhat inter-related. All of the pieces of armor seem to center
around utilizing the Word of God.
Success in battle depends upon saturating yourself with and assimilating
the Word of God (I Peter 5:8,9 -“the faith” in verse 9 is the body of revealed
truth – The Word of God). The only way
we can resist the devil is in the sphere of God’s Truth. This is how Jesus did it (Matthew
4:1-11). There is no shortcut to
victorious Christian living. The armor
of God seems to be an expansion of Paul’s statement in II Timothy 3:16,17. The armor of God is the various ways of
getting back to the Word of God and assimilating it to make us effective as
believers.
1. The Girdle of Truth – (John 17:17). Some see this as subjective truth such as integrity or truthfulness. However, this is God’s truth – not ours! The girdle was the wide belt that was secured around the waist of the Roman soldier. It was the central piece of armor. It held everything in place. The Word of God is to be central in the life of the believer.
2. Breastplate of Righteousness – The breastplate protected the heart. This is the righteousness that God provides for the believer. It is not our righteousness, which is likened to filthy rags – rather it is God’s imputed righteousness (I Corinthians 1:30). When Satan causes the believer to doubt his salvation, to feel guilty, you need to know that you are righteous in Christ.
3. The Gospel of Peace – The believer needs to know that he is saved and know why he is saved. Stand on the promises of salvation and be ready and available to communicate this plan of salvation to others (Romans 10:15). In this way you will not be knocked off your feet by the enemy.
4. The Shield of Faith - A large shield protecting the entire man. The Greek phrase is “the faith”. This is not your faith – rather it is the objective body of revelation that is to be proclaimed – Jude 3. The believer is to be able to test everything he hears by this book. The fiery darts are false doctrine, subtly fired at the believer.
5. The Helmet of Salvation - The helmet protected the head. This seems to refer to the knowledge of salvation – past, present and future. There is a strong bid for the believer’s mind (II Corinthians 10:5). The believer should have his mind filled with the truth of salvation (I Thessalonians 5:8, Philippians 4:8).
6. The Sword of the Spirit - (offensive weapon) – This is the Word of God. The Greek word indicates that this refers to the specific utterances of Scripture - a specific Scripture to fit a particular problem. Example: when you tend to worry apply Philippians 4:6,7.
7. Prayer - (perhaps the greatest offensive weapon of all). Knowing the promises of God, praying intelligently in the Holy Sprit (Jude 20), keeping that line of communication open between ourselves and our Heavenly Father, who is the source of our strength (Psalm 28:7).
How can we make this armor effective in our lives? By understanding and utilizing the truth of I John 4:1-4! You and I need to become well acquainted with the armor of God and be doing our best to integrate each piece into our daily lives.
God bless you in Jesus’ Name!