Spiritual Warfare: A Study in the Scriptures

Spiritual Warfare

"And ye shall tread down the wicked;
for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts."
Malachi 4:3

I. Every child of God has been given a promise of victory over Satan.

Isaiah 54:17 "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper;
and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt
condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord ..."

Malachi 4:3 "And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be
ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this,
saith the Lord of hosts."

Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall
by any means hurt you."

Romans 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers ... nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

James 4:7 " ... Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

1 John 4:4 "You ... have overcome them: because greater is He that
is in you, than he that is in the world."

II. It is important that we recognize who our enemy is and what his tactics
are. "For we are not ignorant of his (Satan's) devices."

2 Corinthians 2:11

A. Our battle is "not against flesh and blood " (things in the natural realm),
"but against ... spiritual wickedness." "For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal ..."

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Ephesians 6:12

B. Authority must be taken over Satan's attempts to hinder the work and
the word of God. There are spiritual powers that must be broken.

Daniel 10:12-13
1 Thessalonians 2:18

C. Satan's main device is deception.

1. Subtlety.

Genesis 3: 1 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any
beast of the field ..."

2 Corinthians 11:3

2. Doubt.

Genesis 3:1 "Yea, hath God said ... ?"
Luke 4:3, 9; Matthew 4:3, 6 "If thou be the Son of God ... if ..."

3. Lies.

Genesis 3:4
John 8:44

III. The Bible uses several metaphors to describe the "fight of faith" (1 Timothy
6:12) that the believer must wage against the evil one.

A. Boxer.

1 Corinthians 9:26 "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so
fight I, not as one that beateth the air ..."

B. Soldier.

2 Timothy 2:3-5 "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier
of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs
of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."

Ephesians 6:11-17 "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil.... take unto you the whole
armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand. Stand therefore ..."

C. Wrestler.

Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

IV. What does it mean to "resist the devil"? How can this be done?

A. The armor of God.

Ephesians chapter 6.

1. Truth. (v. 14)

2. Righteousness. (v. 14)

3. Salvation. (v. 17; 1 Thessalonians 5:8)

4. The gospel of peace. (v. 15)

5. Faith.

Ephesians 6:14
1 Thessalonians 5:8

a. Paul says that faith is of primary importance: "above all ..."

Ephesians 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts
of the wicked."

1 Peter 5:8-9 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast
in the faith ..."

1 John 5:4-5 "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world,
even our faith ..."

b. But faith and the word are inseparable.

(1) The word did not profit them, not being mixed with faith.

Hebrews 4:2

(2) Yet faith comes through the word ("rhema ") of God.

Romans 10:17

(3) It must be both by confession of the mouth and belief
in the heart.

Romans 10:9

6. The word of God.

Ephesians 6:17
Mark 11:24-25
Numbers 13:30

a. It was the spoken ("rhema ") word that Jesus used in confronting
the devil in the wilderness. He did not recite miscellaneous
scriptures to the devil, but delivered the word of God with
authority and power.

Luke 4:4, 10, 12

b. Notice that this is the only offensive part of the armor, referred
to in scripture as a "two-edged sword."

Psalms 149:6-9
Ephesians 6:17
Hebrews 4:12
Revelation 2:16

B. The weapon of praise.

Numbers 10:9, 35; 31:6-7
1 Samuel 16:23
2 Chronicles 20:21-22 (Note especially the fact that it was
their initiative: "when they began ...")
Psalms 68:1-2; 149:5-9
Isaiah 33:3
Joel chapter 2
Acts 16:24-26

C. The anointing.

1 Samuel 16:14-23
Isaiah 10:27

D. Prayer.

Luke 22:31-32

V. To stand victoriously in battle against the enemy, certain spiritual requirements
must be met in the life of the believer.

A. Obedience.

Deuteronomy 11:22-25
Deuteronomy 28:1, 7

B. A right relationship with God.

Deuteronomy 11:22-25
Psalm 91

C. No area of the life left exposed to the devil: giving him no foothold.

Ephesians 4:27

VI. It is the responsibility of the believer to prepare for battle, to put
on the whole armour of God" (Ephesians 6:11), and to "stand against
the evil one" (vv. 11-14) – these are active verbs. But it is God Who
fights the battle. Indeed, Jesus Christ has already defeated the enemy
for us. We must simply walk in the victory!

   Deuteronomy 20:1
   2 Chronicles 20:15
   Colossians 2:15

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