Day 95: Who Is Our External Enemy?
We face two powerful spiritual enemies: 1) The Adversary who is at work in the world and 2) The Sin that still lives in our Flesh. We need to be AWARE and AWAKE to the reality of these ever present enemies.
Today and tomorrow, we will be taking a look at the two great enemies we all face in our spiritual struggles. We need to know their attack strategies and how to deal with them. Our Adversary – The Devil – seeks to beat us down so that we never fully realize who we are in Christ. The Sin that dwells within us wants us to stay focused on ourselves as the “center of the universe,” so that we can be our own saviors and our own lords. Knowing these strategies, we can look to The Word to see how to deal with them and be FREE.
Our External Enemy: Who is The Devil, Satan?
The Devil, Our Adversary, Is Real. In a recent survey, George Barna discovered that over half of the professing Christians surveyed did not believe that the Devil was a real being, but only a symbol for evil (Growing True Disciples, 66, 69). Maybe that is why he is so effective at his work in our world today! Even in his fallen state, the Evil One holds a position of power and respect in God’s kingdom:
Jude 9
. . . even when Michael the archangel was arguing with the devil and debating with him concerning Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”
Even Michael the Archangel dared not engage the Adversary on his own terms. Michael simply entrusted his dispute to the power of God. This should give us real warning. Against our great foe, The Devil, we are ineffective in and of ourselves.
Our Enemy Is Restless and Relentless. Make no mistake about it, our Adversary the Devil is out to eat us alive:
1 Peter 5:8
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
He seeks to destroy us as he seeks to destroy all that belongs to God and His righteousness. Our Adversary does not sleep. He does not relent. He will not grow weary. He will not give up. The Enemy is always near. We are living on his battlefield. His agents are all around. The Devil is also represented by the rebellious and fallen angels—demons—who joined in his initial rebellion. We will probably never deal with the Devil himself directly. Most of our attacks will come from his agents, the demons that are in line with his dark dominion.
The Devil has worked in the World to create a tempting counterfeit kingdom, contrary to the Kingdom of God. We must always remember that he is the master of deception:“… for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” [2 Corinthians 11:14 ]
You cannot control the Adversary. He will not be tamed. You are living in his world where he is “god.” Without the Lord-God’s grace and power, we are helpless and hopeless against this foe. God has revealed in the Bible key ways that we can stand against and resist the evil of the Devil. We will consider some of these tactics in lessons to come.
The Context of Devil’s Dominion: What is The World?
The World Is Real but Passing Away. As believers, we are living in hostile, enemy territory. The “World” is the current interconnected system of cultures and traditions that dominates this planet and is totally opposed to God’s rule. It seeks to keep us distracted at every turn from all that is good and true and eternally beautiful. Hear the following passage:
1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
Everyday, you are immersed in the World. It comes at you from every angle: relationships at work, the persuasion of TV, advertising, and movies, the “spirit” of discontent that is everywhere. All of this has great power because all of the vices, all of the lusts of this world, are simply the twisting and corrupting of things that God had created to be good. So they do call to the deepest part of us that yearns for real satisfaction. Yet, these corrupt enticements can never give the pay-off they promise.
The World Hates You. Left on our own, the World would consume us. The World never sleeps, it never relents, and it never shuts down. It is always there calling to us to come and enjoy what it has to offer: things that are “beautiful,” things that are “delicious,” and things that will “take us to the top.” If we don’t take the World up on its offer, it has billions of people to shame, ridicule and scorn us. And so the World stands opposed to all who would seek to be pleasing to Father God just as John forewarned us:
1 John 3:13
Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
The World stands opposed to the good things of Father God because it is under the control of the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4), Satan our great Adversary:
1 John 5:19
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the Evil One.
The Enemy has carefully manipulated the cultures of this World, apart from the wisdom of the Lord-God, to be deceived and blinded to the reality of what is eternally true, good and beautiful. We are called to be “in” the World, but not “of” the World. If we are going to survive in this hostile territory, we are going to need to know how to deal with its deception.
Have you given serious consideration to the fact that the Devil, Satan is a real and living being? Why or Why not?
How does this Truth affect your view of the World in which you live?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
