Know Your Enemy
ICS Daily Devotions
Ephesians 6:11,16 (NKJV) Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. …above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
What would you do if you caught a burglar ransacking your home? Would you ask him to help himself with whatever he wants, or would you call the police? Of course, you would call the police and get him arrested. Likewise, an enemy in the unseen spiritual realm has been trying to steal from us in every aspect of our lives. The opening Scriptures describe the work of the devil. It should cause all of us to sit up and be watchful against him. Instead of being ignorant and passive regarding spiritual things, we must know how to fend off their work in the lives of our family members and ourselves.
First and foremost, we need to know that the devil is not in the same class as God. The devil is a created being, and he and his demonic forces have already been defeated and disarmed by Jesus’ work of redemption. God is the supreme being worthy of our worship, and He has no equals.
Second, the devil is not just a figure of speech, the figment of the primitive minds of biblical authors, or a cute cartoon figure with a pitchfork. He is the ruler of this world because even though God had given Adam and Eve the authority to tend the Garden of Eden and have dominion over His creation, Adam and Eve handed over the authority to Satan when they fell to his temptation. Since God is just and righteous, Satan has the right to stay until the day of judgement when he and his fallen angels will be thrown into the lake of fire.
2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV) whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
Third, Satan is the father of lies. Despite being defeated and disarmed, he still plays mind games with believers and unbelievers. He has blinded unbelievers from seeing and understanding the gospel because he wants to be their god. As for believers, he will hit us continuously with his fiery darts—lies, suggestions, accusations, and allegations.
Jesus has promised us abundant life, but we need to know what belongs to us to stop the devil from stealing. Jesus said that the knowledge of the truth sets us free (John 8:32). Nonetheless, the devil will try to deceive and attempt to hold us in bondage. Therefore, the way to counter all these influences is to renew our minds with the Word of God and cast down all arguments with the Word of God.
Sermon Series：The Weapon Of Our Spiritual Warfare
