Three Defenses Against Spiritual Warfare

27 Apr Three Defenses Against Spiritual Warfare

 Blog Series:

Renew Your Mind ~ Transform Your Life

We learned last week that there are three categories of spiritual warfare:

1. Dirty Tricks
2. Mind Games
3. Hand-to-Hand Combat

This week we we’ll look at the three levels of defense we have in spiritual warfare.

Three Levels of Defense in Spiritual Warfare

1. Alert
2. Armor
3. Resist

Let’s unpack those three.

1. Be Alert:  You can’t win a war you don’t know you’re in.

First, we must be alert to the reality of spiritual warfare. If we aren’t, we are vulnerable. If we are ignorant, careless, or unbelieving, Satan will likely neutralize us at best and badly defeat us at worst.

Peter said, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

To be clueless is not an advantage in spiritual warfare. We can’t win a war we don’t know we’re in!

2. Put on the Spiritual Armor: You can’t win a spiritual war with natural weapons.

Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”  

Putting on spiritual armor is a metaphor for being spiritually prepared. The armor is found in Ephesians 6:14–17. The spiritual armor that Paul refers to in this passage is taken from the armor of a Roman soldier, who had six pieces to his armor. If all six pieces were in place, he was prepared and ready for successful warfare. If he were missing a piece, he was vulnerable in warfare.

Having put on the armor of God, we are now ready for the final step in spiritual warfare, which is spiritual resistance.

3. Resist the Devil: You can’t win a war without fighting.

If we are alert to spiritual attack and if we have our armor on, the Bible makes it clear that we can resist the spiritual attack…and we are safe. 1 John 4:4 says, “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

In three different passages of Scripture, we are told to resist the enemy.

• In Ephesians 6:13, the apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

• In James 4:6–8, the apostle James wrote: “‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

• In 1 Peter 5:8–9, the apostle Peter wrote: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith.”

We see the enemy’s strategies in Ephesians 6 include:

• Schemes (vs. 11), which suggests deception, tricks, lies.
• Flaming arrows (vs. 16), which suggest painful and trying circumstances.

Three passages by three different apostles tell us that our main line of defense is to resist the devil.

• In Ephesians, we resist him after putting on the spiritual armor.
• In James, we resist him after submitting to God.
• In 1 Peter, we resist him after humbling ourselves before God, firm in our faith.

These are all three complementary ideas. The bottom line seems to be a life commitment to God as a basis for being strong in spiritual warfare.

Next week, we will look at three specific ways to “resist.” I’ll see you then.

In case you’re new here

This blog post is part of a series titled “Renew Your Mind, Transform Your Life”, introduced on January 5, 2021. As the series continues, each succeeding post will be added to and available in the blog archives at www.maxanders.com.

If you know anyone who you think might enjoy joining us in this study, please forward this blog to them and encourage them to go to my web site (www.maxanders.com) and sign up for the free video, “Master the Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You”, available there on the home page. This will put them on my regular mailing list and they’ll receive my weekly blogs on this subject.

In addition, I am creating a new online membership site, The Change Zone, that will provide information, strategies and resources to help motivated Christians renew their mind and transform their lives. If you would like to learn more about this and get updates to know when The Change Zone will be available, click here.

I look forward to going through this life-changing journey with you.

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