Your enemy and how to defeat him

“devil” = diabolos = translated as devil 35 times, false accuser 2, and slanderer 1 in the KJV. The word means prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely.

“want to carry out” = They freely choose to do the will of the devil. “want to carry out” is in a continuous sense and could be translated as “keep on wanting to carry out” which indicates an attitude and not a one time action.

“a murderer from the beginning” = could refer to the murder of Abel by Cain, under the urging of the devil (1 John 3:12) but more probably, the murder of the entire human race when, as a result of the temptation of the devil, sin entered the world and brought death with it (Rom 5:12).

1 John 3:12  Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.

Romans 5:12  Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—

Two attributes of the devil are given here:

1. a murderer
2. a liar

God and Jesus are closely associated with truth and their enemy, the devil, wants nothing to do with it. Truth is not just spoken, but it is also lived, and the Jews are living in a false way, proclaiming to be one thing, but doing another. They are exhibiting the characteristics of the devil and thus showing their close association to him.

We, too, have an enemy and we should not be unaware of him and his tactics against us or we could act just like the Jews did. We are in a continuous battle with him and his soldiers, whether we think we are or not. He tries to lie to us and deceive us into thinking he is not trying to kill us, but that is just not true. The Bible tells us we can know his tactics so that he cannot outwit us. (2 Cor 2:11) So what is our enemy like and what are these schemes that he uses?

2 Cor 2:11  in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

The enemy began as an angel, but was thrown out of heaven because he became proud and wanted to take God’s place. (Isaiah 14:12)

Isaiah 14:12  How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

Many angels accompanied him, maybe a third (Rev 12:4). These are called by various names depending upon which position in the hierarchal structure of his dominion they occupy. It is set up much as an army with these spiritual beings having certain geographical areas or people groups to exert evil influence over. The Bible lists them in (Ephesians 6:12) as “rulers, . . . authorities, powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Whatever they are, we have very real enemies whose sole purpose is to kill us, steal from us, or destroy us. They have our worst interests at heart and will do anything they can to make life miserable for us and destroy our relationship with God and other people. But God has shown us what our enemy is like and will show us the devil’s strategies and give us the power to overcome them.

Rev 12:4  His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.

Eph 6:12  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Dean Sherman, in his teaching on spiritual warfare, says that there are

Three R’s of Spiritual Warfare

Much of what follows is quoted from his tract on spiritual warfare.

RECOGNIZE: Recognizing you’re in a war is a big part of victory, because knowing the enemy’s tactics is to be in the light – and the devil works in darkness. The devil takes advantage of our ignorance, but when there’s light, he can’t do what he planned.

The Bible teaches us to be alert, which means “to watch.” We must keep our eyes on Jesus at all times – but also on the devil. The Bible says we must not be ignorant but instead, “stand firm against the devil’s schemes.” The enemies we face are not “bad vibes,” or “negative energies in the universe,” or the “dark side of the force.” They are personalities who think, talk, listen, observe, and plan strategies. (2 Cor 2:11; Eph 6:11)

2 Co 2:11  in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Eph 6:11  Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

If we watch, we’ll recognize the strategies of the enemy in our lives as well as in society. Do you see a pattern of hurt and rejection in your life? Or perhaps you’re bothered by suicidal thoughts, or by the slow deadly escape of dope and booze. Does something always seem to happen to keep your family or church in strife? Look for the enemy’s strategies and recognize the patterns – then go to the second “R.”

REFUSE: Refusing Satan is passive warfare. Once you recognize what he is up to, ignore it and avoid it. Turn away and begin to worship the Lord and lift Him up. Refuse to be hurt. Refuse to get angry. Just let it go by. That’s warfare. Nothing defeats the devil faster than ignoring what he’s trying to stir up.

RESIST: This is active warfare! We’re told to “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” God won’t resist him – you have to. Speak to him and say, “Devil, I cut off this strategy in Jesus’ Name. You’ve been doing this to me for 15 years, but I’m on to you and IT’S OVER!” He may try it six more times, but when you’ve convinced him that you’re convinced of your spiritual authority he will stop (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9)

James 4:7  Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1 Peter 5:9  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Three Areas You Need to Defend

YOUR MIND. The devil loves to put thoughts into your mind. You can be born-again and heaven-bound, but if you have wrong thoughts, your effectiveness on earth is greatly diminished. We must war against thoughts that don’t agree with the truth. Analyze your thoughts. Just say to yourself, “Hey, thoughts! Where did you come from?” If it’s a thought of pride, fear, unbelief, lust depression, or condemnation, it needs to be cast down. That’s something you have to do. Refuse to dwell on it. Turn your mind to God and make it agree with His Word. (2 Cor 10:3-5)

2 Cor 10:3-5  For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

The devil only has access to the world through people’s sin and selfishness. Jesus defeated every demonic power on the cross 2,000 years ago – but Satan is still active to the exact degree people allow him to be. Sinners are not the only ones allowing him to work. Christians allow him to work when we don’t deal with our wrong attitudes.

Ephesians 4:26 tells us, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.” So we must deal with any wrong attitudes on a regular basis – like taking a shower or brushing our teeth. It’s something we must do. We “put off,” the old man and “put on” the new man. That keeps the devil shut down. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence…”

1 Peter 5:6  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Emotions should come behind our decisions to follow God. The devil prowls about and when he roars we jump. Then he can devour us. If we don’t jump, he can’t eat us. We are to obey God and not jump on an emotional response. Be suspicious of your feelings.

YOUR MOUTH. The mouth is a powerful instrument and the devil knows it. Our mouth has spiritual power for either good or evil. The same mouth can pronounce a blessing or a curse. (James 3:10) Our words can be a vehicle for the human spirit, the Holy Spirit, or an evil spirit.

James 3:10  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

The enemy loves to inspire us to speak unbelief, slander, gossip, and hurtful, harsh sarcasm. Many of us carry wounds from things said to us years ago. Don’t let the devil bring curses through your mouth. Think! Pray what David prayed in (Psalm 141:3), “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

Dean Sherman teaching

As we have seen, the major weapon the devil uses against us is temptation. Temptation is an enticement to do sin, but is not sin itself. Jesus was tempted, and you will be, too. Temptation is like a sales pitch but sin is the purchase. You don’t have to buy what the devil is selling. Everyone experiences temptation, but God breaks the power that sin once had in the lives of His children and He also gives them a way out. (1 Cor 10:13)

1 Cor 10:13  No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Temptation is something we should avoid. Jesus told us to pray this way: (Matthew 6:13)

Matt 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

God allows us to be faced with temptation, not so that we will sin, but so that we will conquer sin. When we do that, we bring Him great glory and our faith grows bigger and stronger. Bowes once said that “The trial of faith is like the testing of gold in a furnace, but with one important difference – gold, though the purest of metals, is not increased in the furnace; but faith, being tried, ‘growth exceedingly.’” (1 Peter 1:6)

1 Peter 1:6  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Temptation wears many disguises. The devil often uses the good to keep us from doing the best. He is subtle and the most clever liar that has ever existed, so beware. “There is an old fable about a one-eyed doe who only had one eye to watch for any danger approaching her. To be safe, she kept her one good eye toward the woods and grazed near the ocean with the water protecting her from hunters sneaking up on her. Some men noticed this, however, and got in a boat and came up quietly from the ocean side and shot her. As she was dying her words were, “‘Oh! Hard fate! That I should receive my death wound from that side which I expected no harm, and be safe in the part where I looked for most danger.'” (Life In Christ by Tony Salerno, 1983. p. 193)

Beware, for temptation may come when and where you least expect it. It may come after your greatest moments of victory; it may come when you are spiritually minded; it may come with a question; it may come in your weakest area; it may come in your greatest strength; it may come from unexpected sources; it may come in the same area; and it may withdraw for a season only to return again. (from Life in Christ by Tony Salerno, 1983, p. 206)

When we are tempted, we should do as the wealthy farmer did. He was once very stingy, but gave his life to Christ and became a Christian. Not too long after that, a poor man whose house had burnt down, came to him and asked for help. The farmer thought he would help him out by giving him a ham out of his smokehouse. On his way to get it, the devil whispered in his ear, “Give him the smallest one you have.” The farmer struggled with whether to give him a small one or a large one, but finally took the largest one he could find. “You’re a fool!” The tempter said to him. “If you don’t keep quiet, I’ll give him every ham in the smokehouse.” The farmer replied. (Example from Life In Christ by Tony Salerno, 1983, p. 198)

Meet every temptation head on. Realize that even though you are faced with the enemy disguised as a roaring lion, we have the Lion of the tribe of Judah living within our hearts. Though we may often fail, every victory over temptation brings glory to God and increases our faith. Remember 1Corinthians 10:13 and use scripture to defeat the devil as Jesus did when tempted in the desert.

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”