The bible mentions 3 enemies that are waging war against us. Today, let us look at who these 3 enemies are and how our saviour Jesus in the bible says we can combat them through His finished work on the cross!
1.THE FLESH/SINFUL NATURE
The first enemy the bible mentions, is our own sinful nature or flesh!!
In James 1:13-15, we are told that God never tempts us, but that each one of us is tempted when, by His “OWN EVIL DESIRE” He is dragged away and ENTICED.
This is known as THE BATTLE WITHIN! Sometimes we can be so quick to credit the enemy satan for something that is the FRUIT OF OUR FLESH, our own evil desires just like Eve in the garden of Eden passed on the blame to the serpent in Genesis 3:13!!
(Read 1 Peter 2:11, Galatians 5:16-18 and Galatians 6:8 and the war that our soul is going through to choose to live by The Holy Spirit rather than give into the flesh!)
2.THE WORLD
The second enemy mentioned is the world and the culture of this world that often goes against God!
Romans 12:2- “Do not conform any longer to the PATTERN OF THIS WORLD....”
James 4:4- You adulterous people, don’t you know that FRIENDSHIP WITH THE WORLD is HATRED TOWARDS GOD? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes any enemy of God.
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the CRAVINGS of the flesh, the LUST of the eyes, and the PRIDE of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
1 John 2 therefore tells us more specifically that the enemy we must deal with from the WORLD is: the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does.
This is THE EXTERNAL BATTLE! (John 15:18-19)
3.SATAN AND HIS DEMONS
Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL in the HEAVENLY REALMS. In Matthew 4:3, satan is referred to as the TEMPTER. In John 8:44, he is referred to as a MURDERER and a LIAR. In Revelation 12:10 and Zechariah 3:1 he is referred to as the ACCUSER. (The name devil=diabolos which means “false accuser”) In Genesis 3:1 and Ephesians 6:11 satan is a SCHEMER.
In Revelation 12:9 and 20:2, the name satan=satanas (in the greek) which means ADVERSARY-one who opposes the plans and purposes of God!
This is THE UNSEEN SPIRITUAL BATTLE that we face!! (We see a glimpse of this spiritual battle in Daniel 10 between the angels and demonic powers that were at battle in response to Daniel’s prayers!) Understanding how the enemy satan may attack is a pivotal part of learning how we can protect ourselves against him in Jesus!!
So, the question is: How can we overcome these 3 enemies in our life?
LET’S LOOK AT SOME OF THE WAYS THAT JESUS SAYS WE CAN COMBAT THESE ENEMIES.
1.THE BATTLE WITHIN!
Galatians 5:16-23 reveals to us that when we become Christians and followers of Jesus, there is now a BATTLE going on within us, between our FLESH and THE HOLY SPIRIT! Verse 16-18 then tells us that when we LIVE BY AND ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT, we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature!! In this battle with our flesh, we must therefore learn to submit to The Holy Spirit and His desires and bear His fruit in our lives in order to overcome our flesh!! Galatians 6:8 tells us that when we learn to SOW INTO THE SPIRIT instead of the flesh, this leads to eternal life!! WILL WE LEARN TO SOW INTO THE HOLY SPIRIT AND ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE LED BY HIM?
2.THE EXTERNAL BATTLE!
In Romans 12:2, we are told no longer to CONFORM to the patterns of this world, but be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING of our MINDS, so that we will know what God’s good, pleasing and perfect will is!! The more our mind is transformed and renewed by Jesus through The Holy Spirit when we become born again (Romans 8:5-6), the less we will desire to be like the world!! 1 John 5:4 tells us that anyone who is BORN OF GOD (born again) OVERCOMES THE WORLD! We become born again and receive The Holy Spirit in us to renew our mind when we truly put our whole faith in Jesus for salvation!!
“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who BELIEVES that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:5)
Our mind and lives are also renewed, the more we spend time with Jesus reading HIS WORD!! (See 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12)
3.THE UNSEEN SPIRITUAL BATTLE
-In Ephesians 6:10-18 we are told to BE STRONG IN THE LORD’S POWER (Acts 1:8- the power of The Holy Spirit) and to Put on the FULL ARMOUR OF GOD (Ephesians 6:11) to be able to take our stand against the devils schemes as we trust in the victory Jesus has already won over the enemy satan on the cross (Colossians 2:15)!!
-In Matthew 4:4,7,10 Jesus shows us how to use the WORD OF GOD as the sword of the Spirit and two-edged sword to combat the enemy Satan’s temptations and lies!!
-In 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3, Paul recognises the power of PRAYER AND INTERCESSION in asking God to help “strengthen and protect us from the evil one”!! This is also part of the LORD’S PRAYER our saviour Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13!! “Lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE.”
-In Revelation 12:10-11 it says the saints of God overcame satan by THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB and THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY! (The testimony about Jesus- Revelation 19:10, 20:4)
These are just some of the ways mentioned above that we can overcome the enemy satan in this spiritual battle!
May we learn to rely on Jesus and His empowerment to help us OVERCOME THESE 3 ENEMIES!!
PRAYER: Jesus, please empower me in these areas to be able to guard myself and overcome these enemies by the Power of your HOLY SPIRIT IN ME!!
Amen!
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