"Know Your Enemy," and Putting on the Full Armor

livingwaters (56)in #christian-trail • 9 years ago (edited)

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" 1 Peter 5:8

-Sun Tzu (The Art of War):

"If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."

¹ According to an article titled "The Role of the Intelligence Officer: Knowing the Enemy" by Brad Wellsandt He states that war strategies are ever changing and evolving. One of the most basic principles of war involves knowing your enemy as well as knowing yourself. Even in a natural battle, knowing the tactics of your enemy is a struggle and in every situation, especially in making quick decisions one can't be certain of his or her own personal reaction to a threat.

As Christians, we can find many articles about putting on the whole armor of God, but we don't often hear about the tactics of the enemy. There are so many warnings within the scriptures about the devil and his devices, and as Christians, we should know the different ploys that the enemy uses to hinder or even halt us.

There's a great struggle that happens when a person is under spiritual attack that not only involves how the enemy goes about a planned out attack but also goes deeper into the very way that we handle these types of situations. We all fall short occasionally, and this in and of itself can leave a person feeling defeated.

But we are not defeated!

The Apostle Paul knew this well when he wrote:

"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 2 Corinthians."4:8-10

The book of Hebrews says this:

"Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." Hebrews 10:35

And sometimes our own struggles are actually a work being done in us that will produce patience.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12

The reason that I believe that this is very important that we, as believers, know this is because of what this verse says all on its own.

"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." Revelation 12:10

All through the word, "accuser," is self-explanatory, do we really consider this?

to accuse
1a) before a judge: to make an accusation
1b) of an extra-judicial accusation
Link to Verse with Definition

Looking at the definition of "devil," from the book of John takes this even more in-depth where one single five letter word says so much.

"Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?" John 6:70

Jesus spoke this concerning Judas who would betray Him. I wanted to look up the definition of the word, "devil," from that very passage and it says this.

prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely
1a) a calumniator, false accuser, slanderer,
metaph. applied to a man who, by opposing the cause of God, may be said to act the part of the devil or to side with him
Link to Verse with Definition

As the book of Revelations points out, this is part of the end times when the "accuser," who accused them night and day, is eventually cast down." This isn't a casting down of people, this is a casting down of the lying evil enemy the devil.

I personally believe that in the times that we are in, we see constant accusations flying, from politics and the media twisting the truth, to Christianity itself being under a constant barrage of attacks through not only the media but all those who hate and oppose the truth. One would have to be completely out of touch with every aspect of life to not recognize these things happening with an intensity far greater than anything we've ever witnessed.

So we know our battle is not against flesh and blood, and we know that the battle is not ours. Yet we must stand in the shadow of the almighty who shields us from some of the fiery arrows and we keep our eyes on Jesus no matter what. Most who have dealt with this or are even dealing with these types of attacks right now recognize that it is not about flesh and blood, but a twisting in the mind of those the enemy uses.

We should be praying for those who come against us, just as Jesus said to do. While at the same time, making sure that we ourselves are not being used to hinder that of another person by this malicious twisting and extreme hate-filled evil.

"But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish."James 3:14-15

The above passage was addressing believers. Showing that we are not immune to these things, but we should be considering every situation in light of God's word, and seeking His direction in how we go about dealing with these types of things.

Although the battle is not ours, that doesn't stop the arrows from flying where they will. Still, God takes what was meant for bad makes it good. Gen 50:20.

Yet we should be equipped through the full armor of God, and some of that armor must be about recognizing the enemy at work.

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:11

¹Intelligence Officer Article: Knowing the Enemy

September 14 2017

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