SPIRITUAL-WARFARE-ENEMIES-SATAN

Satan’s number-one objective is to destroy our joy of faith. We have one offensive weapon: the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). But what many Christians fail to realize is that we can’t draw the sword from someone else’s scabbard. If we don’t wear it, we can’t wield it. If the Word of God does not abide in us (Jn. 15:7), we will reach for it in vain when the enemy strikes. But if we do wear it, if it lives within us, what mighty warriors we can be!

John Piper

Desiring God, 1996, p. 129, Used by Permission, www.desiringGod.org.

This is the great business of life – to “put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks.” I know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term, than to gain a distaste for it, because of a superior satisfaction in God.

John Piper

Desiring God, 1996, p. 11, Used by Permission, www.desiringGod.org.

Out of all the armor God gives us to fight Satan, only one piece is used for killing – the sword. It is called the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). So when Paul says, “Kill sin by the Spirit” (Rom. 8:13), I take that to mean, Depend on the Spirit, especially His sword. What is the sword of the Spirit? It’s the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). Here’s where faith comes in… The Word of God cuts through the fog of Satan’s lies and shows me where true and lasting happiness is to be found. And so the Word helps me stop trusting in the potential of sin to make me happy, and instead entices me to trust in God’s promise of joy (Psm. 16:11).

John Piper

How Redeemed People Do Battle with Sin, Decision, Jan. 1990.

Now, if our Lord and Master selected this true Jerusalem blade of the Word of God, let us not hesitate for a moment but grasp and hold fast this one true weapon of the saints in all times. Cast away the wooden sword of carnal reasoning. Trust not in human eloquence but arm yourselves with the solemn declaration of God, who cannot lie, and you need not fear Satan and all his hosts. Jesus selected the best weapon. What was best for Him is best for you.

C.H. Spurgeon

Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life, Sermon Matthew 4:4.

“It is written.” Stand upon it, and if the devil were fifty devils in one, he could not overcome you. On the other hand, if you leave “It is written,” Satan knows more about reasoning than you do. He is far older, has studied mankind very thoroughly, and knows all our weak points. Therefore, the contest will be an unequal one. Do not argue with him but wave in his face the banner of God’s Word. Satan cannot endure the infallible truth, for it is death to the falsehood of which he is the father.

C.H. Spurgeon

Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life, Sermon Matthew 4:4.

Spiritual warfare makes us think of demon possession, horrific demonstrations of satanic control, and dramatic exorcisms. But Scripture presents spiritual warfare not as the violent, bizarre end of the Christian life, but as what the Christian life is!

Paul David Tripp

Age of Opportunity, P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 116.

With such adversaries, growing in the fear of the Lord will not be a smooth process. Instead, it will be the path of warfare. We must hate the evil and ungodly assumptions of the world, we must hate our own sinful nature, and we must hate Satan. To accomplish these tasks demands the most powerful resources we have: The Word, the Spirit, and the body of Christ.

Edward T. Welch

When People are Big and God is Small, P&R Publishing, 1997, p. 101. Used by Permission.

The Believer’s Warfare: Internal, with the flesh- Gal. 5:17; Not after the flesh – 2 Cor. 10:3; with the armor of light – Rom. 13:12; external, with the world – John 16:33; not by resistance but submission – James 4:7; with the armor of righteousness – 2 Cor. 6:7; infernal, with the devil – Eph.6:12; with the whole armor of God – Eph. 6:13

Author Unknown

The Book of 750 Bible and Gospel Studies, 1909, George W. Noble, Chicago.

Our Western worldview gets involved here once again. We have a strong tendency to want to analyze everything and place the parts in neat, mutually exclusive categories. So we ask questions like, How do I know whether it is the world, the flesh, or the devil? My response is that most situations will involve some of each element to some extent… [They] are treated as working together so closely that you cannot talk about one without talking about the other. The flesh is the earthly qualities about which enable us to respond to the temptation. The world is the milieu in which we live and which is under the control of "the ruler of the kingdom of the air." Satan and his demons know what fleshly parts of us are especially vulnerable, and they use the stimuli of the world around us to arouse sinful thought in us. he Devil would be a fool not to try to take advantage of the world and the flesh in his aim to destroy us.

Timothy M. Warner

Spiritual Warfare, Crossway, 1991, p. 59-60.

As an obedient believer, you are to stand firm in the strength of the Lord, to be sober in spirit, and to remain alert in order to resist the schemes of the devil. However, in all areas of your walk as a believer, you are incapable in your own strength and insufficient in your own resources to overcome the wiles and temptations of Satan. Therefore, you must put on the full armor of God to be an overwhelming conqueror in you continuing spiritual battle.

Biblical Counseling Foundation

Self-Confrontation Manuel, Lesson 21, Page 4, Used by Permission of the Biblical Counseling Foundation.

Our enemies are demonic, but the warfare against them isn’t waged by commanding them, mapping their physical location, invoking magic words to subdue them, claiming authority over them, or any of the other common tactics some people usually refer to as “spiritual warfare.” We are not fighting demons in a face-to-face confrontation, or by spirit-to-spirit conversation, or with voice-to-voice communication. We attack them by tearing down their fortresses of lies… What, precisely, are our weapons? The only power that will destroy such things is the power of truth…“the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17).

John MacArthur

The Book on Leadership, 2004, p. 140- 141.

The simple fact is that you can’t fight spiritual warfare with magic phrases and secret words. You don’t overpower demons merely by shouting at them. I don’t have anything to say to a demon anyway. I’m not interested in talking to them. Let the Lord do that (cf. Jude 9). Why would I even want to communicate with evil spirits? But I have a lot to say to people who have barricaded themselves in fortresses of demonic lies. I want to do everything I can to tear down those palaces of lies. And the only thing that equips me to do that well is the Word of God. Spiritual warfare is all about demolishing evil lies with the truth. Use the authority of God’s Word and the power of the gospel to give people the truth. That is what will pull down the fortresses of falsehood. That is the real nature of spiritual warfare.

John MacArthur

The Book on Leadership, 2004, p. 141.

That is God’s plan and purpose – to use Satan’s temptations as a means of testing and strengthening our faith in Him and of our growing stronger in righteousness. God allows testings in our lives in order that our spiritual “muscles” may be exercised and strengthened. Whether the testing is by God’s initiative or is sent by Satan, God will always use it to produce good in us when we meet the test in His power.

John MacArthur

The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Matthew 1-7, Moody, 1985, p. 87-88.

There’s no need for Christians to seek to engage Satan in combat. Nowhere in Scripture are we ever encouraged to do so.

John MacArthur

Spiritual Warfare: Who’s After Whom? from Our Sufficiency in Christ, 1991, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. p. 215.

When the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians [Eph. 6], he was not suggesting that they view their conflict with the powers of darkness as a battle whose outcome still hung in the balance. He was telling them they needed to “be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might” (v. 10, emphasis added); to “stand firm” (vv. 11, 13); to use the spiritual armor – truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and God’s Word – to resist the schemes of the devil. They were to fight from a position of victory, not out of fear that Satan might make them toast.

John MacArthur

Spiritual Warfare: Who’s After Whom? from Our Sufficiency in Christ, 1991, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. p. 215.

Job’s story demolishes the notion that we can avoid Satan’s attacks if we’re sufficiently strong, or skilled enough, or trained in how to wage war against Satan. No one was more spiritually fit than Job. Yet God allowed Satan to ravage him anyway – and there was nothing Job could do about it. Job finally prevailed in the face of Satan’s merciless assault, not because he found some secret way to beat the devil, not because he rebuked him or ordered him to desist, but because God was in control all along. He knew how much Job could bear. And He would not permit Satan to cross that boundary (1 Cor. 10:13). When Satan reached that limit God stopped him and his attacks ended.

John MacArthur

Spiritual Warfare: Who’s After Whom? from Our Sufficiency in Christ, 1991, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. p. 228.

Winning against Satan is not a question of claiming some kind of imagined authority over him; we simply need to pursue righteousness, avoid sin, and stand firm in the truth [1 Tim. 1:18-19; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:9].

John MacArthur

Spiritual Warfare: Who’s After Whom? from Our Sufficiency in Christ, 1991, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. p. 234.

Satan and his demons never, never act against God’s people without the permission of God. And when God gives them permission, He always uses their work to accomplish some divine purpose. Often, to exalt the power of God and prove the devotion of His followers, God permits Satan to work the hardest on the noblest servants of God.

John MacArthur

Spiritual Warfare: Who’s After Whom? from Our Sufficiency in Christ, 1991, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. p. 230.

This is not a complex battle plan: Submit to God and resist the devil [James 4:7]. How? By being firm in the faith, committed to truth, and keeping a clear conscience. What will Satan’s response be? “He will flee from you.” That is the only statement in all the New Testament that tells us how to get rid of Satan. There are no biblical guidelines for exorcism. There is no more elaborate strategy for spiritual warfare. There is nothing in Scripture that tells a believer to speak to demons, cast them out, bind them, tie them up, or do anything like that.

John MacArthur

Spiritual Warfare: Who’s After Whom? from Our Sufficiency in Christ, 1991, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. p. 235.

You might be interested to learn that there is no illustration in the entire Bible of anyone casting demons out of a believer. The only people who ever legitimately cast out demons were Christ and the apostles. All the demon-possessed people they dealt with were unbelievers. Furthermore, they usually cast out demons totally apart from the will of the unbeliever. Jesus and the Twelve were exercising the gift of miracles. They were authenticating messianic and apostolic credentials, not establishing a pattern for us to follow.

John MacArthur

Spiritual Warfare: Who’s After Whom? from Our Sufficiency in Christ, 1991, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. p. 235.

In opposition…to all the suggestions of the devil, the sole, simple, and sufficient answer is the word of God. This puts to flight all the powers of darkness. The Christian finds this to be true in his individual experience. It dissipates his doubts; it drives away his fears; it delivers him from the power of Satan.

Charles Hodge

A Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians, Baker Book House, 1980, p. 389.

If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved to be steady… [It] is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point [of attack].

Martin Luther

Quoted by Francis A. Schaeffer in The Great Evangelical Disaster, Crossway, 1984, p. 50-51.

In effect, by accepting Satan's statement, Eve was calling God a liar, even though she might not have recognized those implications of her action. She accepted Satan as the truth-teller and God as the prevaricator. By partaking of the fruit she was implicitly stating her belief that Satan was more interested in her welfare than God was. Yielding to the temptation implied that she accepted Satan's analysis of the situation instead of God's.

Henry Virkler

Hermeneutics, Baker Books, 1981, p. 219.

Every temptation is a kind of test, but not every test is a temptation. Tests and temptations have different purposes, and they come from different places. Tests are designed to show what someone can do. Their purpose is positive, which explains why God himself tests people, as he tested Abraham (Heb. 11:17). A test is a trial posed by God to prove the strength of our faith. Temptations, on the other hand, are more negative. Their explicit purpose is to entice people to sin, which is why they come from the Evil One. A temptation is a trial posed by Satan, with the wicked hope that we will fail.

Philip Graham Ryken

The devil is relentless. No sooner have we resisted one temptation than his demons come after us with another. He is persistent. If we show the slightest sign of weakening, he will keep pressing us until we sin. He is crafty, gradually leading us down the road of destruction. He starts with a small temptation. When it succeeds, he presents us with a slightly greater temptation, slowly drawing us deeper and deeper into sin. He is subtle, so subtle that sometimes we find ourselves sinning before we are even aware of being tempted. Satan is also creative. He offers us a complete line of transgressions to choose from: greed, lust, hatred, despair, and anger.

Philip Graham Ryken

If thou dost not stumble at this stone, the devil hath another at hand to throw in the way. He is not so unskillful a fowler as to go with one single shot into the field; and therefore expect him, as soon as he hath discharged one, and missed thee, to let fly at thee with a second.

William Gurnall

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 290.

The devil tempts, that he may deceive; but God suffers us to be tempted, to try us. Temptation is a trial of our sincerity.

Thomas Watson

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 295.

Satan tempts to sin under a pretence of religion. He is most to be feared when he transforms himself into an angel of light. He came to Christ with Scripture in his mouth: “It is written.” The devil baits his hook with religion.

Thomas Watson

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 289.

Satan doth not tempt God’s children because they have sin in them, but because they have grace in them. Had they no grace, the devil would not disturb them… Though to be tempted is a trouble, yet to think why you are tempted is a comfort.

Thomas Watson

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 295.

Soon the battle will be over. It will not be long now before the day will come when Satan will no longer trouble us. There will be no more domination, temptation, accusation, or confrontation. Our warfare will be over and our commander, Jesus Christ, will call us away from the battlefield to receive the victor’s crown.

Thomas Watson

The Lord’s Prayer.

Idleness tempts the devil to tempt.

Thomas Watson

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 154.

Satan, like a fisher, baits his hook according to the appetite of the fish.

Thomas Adams

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 290.

If God were not my friend, Satan would not be so much my enemy.

Thomas Brooks

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 295.

Don’t excuse yourself by accusing Satan.

Thomas Brooks

As Christians, we are involved in a battle. Our arch-enemy is Satan who “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The way in which he devours unwary people is by tempting them to sin – by convincing them that sin is a more rewarding master than Christ. He therefore disguises himself and his agents, and he makes the pleasures of sin appear very appealing to us. And Satan does not just attack us from the front where we can clearly see him coming; he attacks from every side.

Jim Elliff

Why Should I Join a Church? Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.

The chief weapon we ought to use in resisting Satan is the Bible. Three times the great enemy offered temptations to our Lord. Three times his offer was refused, with a text of Scripture as the reason, “it is written” (Mt. 3:4, 7, 10).

J.C. Ryle

Commentary: Matthew 4.

We are evidently no friends of Satan. Like the kings of this world, he wars not against his own subjects. The very fact that he assaults us should fill our minds with hope.

J.C. Ryle

Sin dwells in hell, and holiness in heaven. Remember that every temptation is from the devil, to make you like himself. Remember when you sin, that you are learning and imitating of the devil – and are so far like him. And the end of all is that you may feel his pains. If hell-fire be not good, then sin is not good.

Richard Baxter

The Reformed Pastor.

While God most often appeals to our wills through our reason, sin and Satan usually appeal to us through our desires.

Jerry Bridges

It grieves me to say this, but the primary reason people are in bondage to sin is because people are bored with God. One of Satan’s most effective tactics is to convince us that God is a drag.

Sam Storms

How do you win a battle? You read the enemy’s book. Familiarity with his tactics, knowledge of his ways, is essential in waging a successful war. It’s true in military warfare. It’s true in spiritual warfare as well. Patton gained an immeasurable advantage by learning in advance of being attacked where, in all likelihood, Rommel would concentrate his strike. He studied Rommel’s personality, his strategy in previous battles, his philosophy of tank warfare, all with a view to anticipating and countering every conceivable move. Satan doesn’t have a book. But he’s in ours.

Sam Storms

Tactics of Temptation, November 8, 2006, www.enjoyinggodministries.com. Used by Permission.

Nowhere in the New Testament are believers ever depicted as living in servile fear of demons, that is precisely the state from which they have been delivered by the gospel.

Melvin Tinker

Wisdom to Live By, Christian Focus Publications, 1998, p. 172. Used by Permission.

The devil will try to destroy us by leading us into immoral behavior (Eph. 4:27). That is a real struggle for every Christian. Which is easier: to march around the city and claim it for Christ or to stop running down a fellow believer behind her back? Which is the more demanding: to pray over someone that the demon of jealousy be cast out or going up to someone and asking their forgiveness for the way you have hurt them by your cutting remarks inspired by jealousy? I know which is a real wrestling match for me (Eph. 6:12). This is where the real battle lies in Christian relationships, putting into practice at personal cost Christian truth – not some imaginary Dungeon and Dragons world.

Melvin Tinker

Wisdom to Live By, Christian Focus Publications, 1998, p. 178. Used by Permission.

What is the goal of this warfare? To disarm angelic beings? No! Christ has already done that on the cross, as we read in Colossians 2:15: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” It is simply that we take a stand, remain immovable, and that paradoxically is to advance. You advance by standing firm – as Paul repeats in Ephesians 6:11, 13, and 14.

Melvin Tinker

Wisdom to Live By, Christian Focus Publications, 1998, p. 181. Used by Permission.

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” I’m not afraid of the devil. The devil can handle me – he’s got judo I never heard of. But he can’t handle the One to whom I’m joined; he can’t handle the One to whom I’m united; he can’t handle the One whose nature dwells in my nature.

A.W. Tozer

The enemy will not see you vanish into God’s company without an effort to reclaim you.

C.S. Lewis

The primary way to overcome Satan is on our knees.

Derek Prime and Alistair Begg

On Being a Pastor, Moody Press, 2004, p. 70.

Satan gives Adam an apple (fruit), and takes away Paradise. Therefore in all temptations let us consider not what he offers, but what we shall lose.

Richard Sibbes

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 293.

I know well that when Christ is nearest, Satan also is busiest.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne

Man, it’s great to be in the thick of the fight, to draw the old Devil’s heaviest guns, to have him at you with depression and discouragement, slander, disease! He doesn’t waste time. He hits good and hard when a fellow is hitting him. You can always measure the weight of your blow by the one you get back. When you’re on your back with fever and at your last ounce of strength, when some of your converts backslide, when you learn that your most promising inquirers are only fooling, when your mail gets held up and some don’t bother to answer your letters, is that the time to put on your mourning suit? No Sir! That's the time to pull out the stops and shout hallelujah! The old fellow’s getting it in the neck and he’s giving it back. And all of heaven is watching over the battlements: “Will he stick it out?” And as they see who is with us, as they see around us the unlimited reserves, the boundless resources, as they see the impossibility of failure with God, how disgusted and sad they must be when we run away. Glory to God! We're not going to run away. We're going to stand.

Unknown Missionary

Let's use the idea of "binding Satan," which is taught in some churches as a norm for Christian living. In Revelation 20:1-10 we read that Satan will be bound for a thousand years, later released for a short time, and finally thrown into the lake of fire (hell) for eternal punishment. In other words, it seems quite clear that until Satan is bound for the thousand years, he is not bound. He will not be bound until Scripture says he will be bound. The 1000 years of Revelation 20, when the Lord returns to this earth to set up His millennial kingdom, is a future event. Therefore the "binding of Satan" today is really unscriptural terminology and unscriptural practice, even though the intent may be for the glory of God. Christians who spiritualize the 1000 years of Revelation 20 to the present "Christian age" (the "amillennial" view of Revelation) are inconsistent if they call for the "binding" of Satan. If Revelation 20 is in the present time, then Satan is already bound by God, and he doesn't need to be bound again and again by Christians! Any way you look at it, "binding Satan" shouldn't be part of normal Christian conduct today.

David Reid
Binding Satan, XXIV-2 1998/99, www.growingchristians.org.

What does the New Testament indicate about normal Christian attitude in reference to Satan? James 4:7 says that we are to "resist the devil and he will flee" from us. How do we resist the devil? The classic passage in the New Testament for resisting the devil is Ephesians 6:10-18. This is the Christian "Standard Operating Procedure" for spiritual warfare today. Notice that there is nothing in either James 4 or Ephesians 6 about binding Satan! We are told to resist Satan –to oppose and combat his efforts and schemes. We are to take on the full armor of God so that we can stand firm and extinguish Satan's flaming missiles.

David Reid
Binding Satan, XXIV-2 1998/99, www.growingchristians.org.

If it were possible for us to "bind" Satan today, we would not need instruction about the various pieces of the armor of God. If Satan could be bound, he would not be capable of attacking us and throwing flaming missiles. In fact, the concept of "binding" Satan can actually be quite a dangerous belief. If we believe that we can "bind" Satan, we will (wrongly) think that he has been incapacitated, and we will be completely unprepared for the enemy's attacks. In addition, if we believe that our prayers can "bind" Satan, we will be far less diligent about "putting on God's armor," and will be defenseless and vulnerable to Satan's attacks. Satan is not bound – and cannot be bound at the present time. Our strategy, then, is to be fully armed to repel his attack. Putting on the armor of God and fighting is the kind of resistance that thwarts the enemy's scheming tactics, and forces Satan to flee.

David Reid
Binding Satan, XXIV-2 1998/99, www.growingchristians.org.

Consider how our Lord Himself resisted Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness (see Matthew 4 and Luke 4.) Jesus did not "bind" Satan. In all three instances of Satan's temptations, our Lord quoted Scripture, and the devil was repelled ("he left Him for a season.") We should follow our Lord's example when attacked or tempted. And let's not forget that if we are going to quote Scripture, we must know Scripture! Our Lord quoted three times from the book of Deuteronomy. How many of us can quote three verses from the book of Deuteronomy? Knowledge of the Word of God is important for repelling Satan, and is crucial for Christian growth and living as well. As He was growing up, the Lord Jesus must have spent a lot of time memorizing the Word of God (see Luke 2:52). What an example for us to follow!

David Reid
Binding Satan, XXIV-2 1998/99, www.growingchristians.org.

Prayer as a piece of armor is focused not on "binding Satan" but on requesting strength for resisting the devil and growing in faith.

David Reid
Binding Satan, XXIV-2 1998/99, www.growingchristians.org.

There are two views which the Christian ought to cultivate with all that he has: the Devil’s back and the face of God [see James 4:7].

Kent Hughes