Satan is like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8)
(Picture: Namibian desert lion- please don't kill them!)
As we speak, the
world’s attention has been drawn away from the war against the invisible Covid
virus to the current Russian war against her cousins – the Ukrainians. Our world is always at war in one form or
the other. There have been at least 250 wars [1]
since the end of WW II in 1945.
Why are there so many wars? The answer is complex at one level, but essentially the answer to this question is not very difficult. The fall of man into sin is the origin of all conflict and war. There is a far greater war out there than those that we see withour own eyes daily portrayed in the social media .
The greater war which we are referring to is a war conducted in this world from the realm of the unseen, and to which Ephesians 6:10-20 draws our attention. This war is conducted at the level of spiritual deceit. Paul calls this ‘the schemes of the devil’[3] . Most people do not recognise that there is this great war behind all the wars which we find in the world.
Now let us be
quick to affirm, that the fact that devil is in the detail, does not absolve mankind from its responsibility in the matter. The Bible for instance teaches that we give Satan a foothold when we engage in mindless anger (Eph.
We also need to
understand that devil does not work haphazardly but methodically[4]
and systematically. He works methodically against the primary institutions
created by God, namely (i) marriage and
the family (ii) the church and (iii) the
state and the nations. He conducts a
continuous and subversive war against all these God created institutions.
Therefore it is necessary that we should understand his methods. We must understand the Bible’s counsel on how to resist and stand firm against the devil – and against his hirelings, which the Bible in Paul's letter to the Ephesians calls,
“the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic over this present darkness… the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places …” (6:12).
We must understand that we need more than human ingenuity and strength to stand against such an enemy. We must learn that we need the full armour of God, so that we may be able to stand our ground against these evil forces in the heavenlies.
So where do we begin? We begin by getting behind the biblical worldview!
There Is An Ultimate Enemy Behind All Evil
- He is revealed to us here as the devil - a personal being. He is not simply an abstract force or power.
- He is the father and the source of all evil. He is a powerful being. He is a created, but fallen angel who has rebelled against God (we don’t know why, how and when). He leads the universal rebellion against God.
- He has many names in the Bible besides ‘Satan’- his most common name. This name is mentioned 52x in the Scripture and it means 'adversary'. 35 times he is called the ‘devil’ (Gr. ‘diabolos‘ - lit. slanderer). Other names used of him are prince of this world (Jn. 16:11); prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2); god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4); Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Lk. 11:15).
- He is superhuman in his power, which means that he cannot be ordinarily resisted by mankind. And yet he is not divine. He is a created being. He has a kingdom/dynasty (Eph. 2:2).
- He has servants and followers, described here in Eph. 6:12. These beings, we are told, are not made of flesh and blood (i.e. of human substance); they are metaphysical beings. They are not seen with the naked eye, and yet they exist just as surely as electricity and gamma rays (which are not seen with the naked eye) exist.
The evidence of evil is everywhere and in every age. By their evil Satan and his servants manipulate politicians, systems and institutions, the church and even Christians.
The devil’s chief desire is extinguish the true church. He hates her, because she is God's greatest weapon on earth against his evil designs. He hates the church because he hates Christ, who by the the cross overcame the power of sin and death, by which principle Satan is enabled to hold humanity in his grip.
This Fallen World Is A Battleground And Not A Playground.
This world is a restless place by virtue of sin entering into our world through Satan’s agency (Gen. 3:1) and man’s complicity (Gen. 3:6-7).
The fruit of
this most tragic event is seen in the language of Genesis 3:14-19. Mankind originally created for a life of peace and
harmony under God rule has now tasted of the knowledge of good and evil.
Conflict and
disagreement become the order of the day. In Genesis 4 we find Cain killing his
brother Abel, and Cain walks away from the presence of the LORD (Gen. 4:16). Conflict, murder and war now
dominates the histories of the Old and New Testaments. It dominates the
histories of all civilizations. The Lord Jesus made this point specifically in
His Olivet discourse (Matthew 24 &25), namely that a sign of the end of the ages would be the
fact that there would be wars and rumours of wars (Matt.24:6-7). The Revelation of John points us in a similar
direction. The war in the heavens in Revelation translates into war on earth when Satan, the
great dragon, and his angels are thrown down to earth, thus inciting a rule of
hatred and warfare, particularly after the event of the cross of Christ.
So then, it is important that we understand what is behind the notion of war.
It starts with a fallen angel who is at war with God. It starts in the heavenlies. At face value however wars start in our own sinful hearts. Satan captitalises on these. Listen to what James 4:1-2 says,
“What causes quarrels and what causes fights
among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder.
You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.”
Then James goes
right to the root and he says that this mentality is born out of an attitude.
He calls it “enmity with God” (Jas.4:4). That enmity began with
Satan’s rebellion against God in Genesis
3. This is the vital link to Ephesians 6:10-20.
So then, the real reason behind all wars is not simply disagreements between people, rulers and nations, although that is true.
War is not just about armies fighting each other for whatever reason given, although that is true.
The ultimate reason for any war is a spiritual reason, instigated by an evil principality, using the fallen nature of mankind to get into our systems. Therefore we must not just see war as two parties levelling the score until they fall down exhausted in terms of what that war produces. When we speak about war we must not forget to speak about its fundamental problem, which is a spiritual problem, and if a spiritual problem, then we must understand that more than loss of life is at stake. The foundations for gospel ministry and gospel living is at stake! For this reason also the apostle Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:1-2,
“First of all, then, I urge that supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings
and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life,
godly and dignified in every way.”
Every war threatens the soul’s peace. Our real desire for peace should be based upon the further desire to have the fullest opportunity to live a holy and godly life, and to be able to build ourselves up in the faith. The shedding of much blood has awful consequences in terms of a nations’ loss of spiritual peace. Just think about the terrible collective guilt the German soul has borne following the 2nd world war. Just think what guilt the Russian collective soul must now bear for this senseless war on its Ukrainian cousins. This will not go away easily.
Satan and his accomplices will do everything to make us not live in peace, so that we cannot think about the gospel. He will do everything for a nation to live in fear and horror, for in so doing he removes our ability to be united in worship and prayer.
War is one of his best used tools, and you dear Christian are exhorted in the Scripture to, "fight the good fight" (1 Tim 1:18; 6:12); to “not grow weary and loose heart” (Hebr.12:3); “to resist the devil and he will flee from you" (Jas 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8,9).
The apostle Paul warned the elders of this same church at Ephesus in Acts 20: 29 - 31:
“29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears".
Part of the church's ministry is to warn the flock continually not to play in the devil’s backyard.
Carelessness and sin kills relationships. It starts wars. It must be understood therefore, that behind
many of the wicked people and their institutions in this world, there is a
manipulative power. What evil and disobedient men & women do not realize is
that they are manipulated. They are pawns in the hands of the kosmokraton (lit.' kosmocrats -
worldrulers'). This fact does not hold people innocent in the eyes of God. They
cannot say, “We are pawns in his hands; the
devil made me do it". Christians sometimes also unwittingly have been
tools of the devil. We are responsible to resist the devil (Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet.5:9). We are commanded
not to give the devil a foothold (Eph.
We Must Have The Right Perspective On This Spiritual War.
The call to
resist Satan and his hostile forces does not begin with an inward look. Lay the thought aside that you should be able to
resist the devil in your own strength.
The call to
resist Satan also does not begin with an
outward look. You may be tempted to think - "well as long as those around me
are strong in the Lord, and as long as
our elders pray for us and fight our spiritual battles,
keeping the devil at bay, and the church at peace, I will be all right". Do not be fooled! And do not depend on the elders to keep this
church free from Satan’s attacks. None of these are strong enough to resist
Satan. The church together is God’s army.
The call to
resist Satan begins with the upward look.
Take note of these words, “Be strong in
the LORD, and in the strength of HIS might. Put on the whole armour OF
GOD... that you may be able to
stand!“ (6:10,11). Here is the ruling principle of that most basic discipline of not
giving the enemy a foothold: Be
strong in the LORD, and in the
strength of HIS might.
Be strong’ (Gr. ‘endunamoo’) - the verb
here is in the passive voice: literally this should read "be continually strengthened" (i.e.
receive strength). We do not have the strength to resist Satan in ourselves. We
are called to depend on the Lord for the supply of that strength. This battle cannot
be fought in our own strength. The Lord, as in Joshua's day or Jehoshaphat's day
must fight the battle for us.
The only way in which we can successfully wage war against the devil’s methods is by employing God’s methods. Any other way with which to stand against the devil is useless. We cannot fight the battle against Goliath in Saul’s armour. We need a smooth stone well directed by God into the devil’s forehead. That is the only way to deal with Satan! Spiritual warfare is only ever waged successfully in the Lord and in His mighty power. The smallest, most insignificant Christian boy can slay Goliath with a slingshot, if he has God on His side- by means of prayer.
William Cowper[5] wrote:
Restraining
prayer, we cease to fight;
Prayer
makes the Christian’s armour bright;
And Satan trembles when he sees,
The weakest saint upon his knees.
CONCLUSION
Thomas Brooks in his excellent book, Precious
remedies against Satan’s devices, writes, “Christ, the Scripture, your own hearts and Satan’s devices are the
four prime things that should be first and most studied and searched. It is my
work as a Christian to do my best to discover the fullness of Christ, the
emptiness of the creature and the snares of the great deceiver”.
If you like me find these days of war and rumours of war depressing and alarming then I invite you now to turn with me to seek the help and the promises of God as we committ these things to God in prayer.
We do not have the mental or intellectual capacity to figure what is ultimately going on in the unseen realm, and in the realm of deep politics. Our own strength and intellect is like using a peashooter to kill an elephant!
We need superhuman wisdom and superhuman tools to deal with this realm. Thank God that He has not left us uninstructed or without a word in this matter. I hope to address this in my next article.
[2] I
am substituting the slaves – masters relationship here for a more modern
context
[3] Gk. ‘methodeias
tou diabolou’
[4] 2 Cor. 2:11 “… so
that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs”
(Gr. methodeias)
[5] English
poet and hymnodist (1731–1800)
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