Post by Redeemed on Apr 25, 2023 12:46:08 GMT -8
Acts 20:24 - But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
The Bible gives us many warnings telling us we will face constant assault from the world and its ruler the Prince of the air our ancient foe Satan. He has been defeated by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but he still believes that somehow, someway he can be victorious. But those of us who have read the end of The Book know that’s not going to happen.
The ultimate goal of Satan is to not go to hell. Admittedly that sounds strange, but only because we’ve lost sight of the big picture regarding who he was, who he is, what he wants, and his plan to get it. The mental picture most people have of Satan, including the one many Christians have of him, is terribly distorted. The reason is that instead of going to Scripture to get their information, most people take their cue from caricatures drawn by ignorant, superstitious people who lived during the Dark Ages.
Thinking in that way makes it impossible to see Satan for what he actually is. That is, he is a real being like Michael and Gabriel, he has volition, and he has the capacity to reason. Once that is seen, it becomes easy to understand he knows his end and is capable of attempting to avoid it. Isaiah chapter 14 and Ezekiel chapter 28 give us some insight into who Satan is and the reason for his fall.
The descriptions given by the prophets in those texts go far beyond the earthly kings they mention. From those verses, it is obvious that his insatiable pride was paramount in his attempt to usurp God’s throne. His sedition cost him his position as the preeminent one among God’s creatures, but being relieved of his position did nothing to quench his pride. Since he cannot have heaven, Satan has defaulted to an attempt to usurp the Earth from Jesus who created it.
That is where this entire saga of the Flood, the Tower of Babel in Shinar, human government, the coming Antichrist, and the effort to establish a one-world system is centered. Hell is what Satan wants to avoid; the Earth is what he wants, and he has a plan. And he wants us to help him accomplish it. That is not going to be the focuses of this study, but rather how the believer is led by God’s Word to so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. The first one we are going to look at is how he wars against our minds.
We must...Take up the helmet of salvation Ephesians 6:17 What protection does the helmet of salvation provide? The Roman soldier’s helmet was obviously designed to protect his head; so it is easy to see the parallel helmet of salvation protecting the believer's mind from the attacks of Satan. But the helmet of salvation is more than simply knowing that you're a Christian. That is important, of course, but the helmet of salvation reaches far beyond the simple terms of salvation; it encompasses the whole scope of salvation – past, present, and the future.
The enemy is constantly at work trying to wear down our defenses corrupt our minds with temptation and rationalization and false teaching – anything to confuse our thinking about God and his purposes for our life. Our only defense is to have the benefit of the mind that has lived in and conquered this world – and that is the mind of Christ. When we put on the helmet of salvation, we are putting on the mind of Christ and the wisdom of God.
And Christ wants to equip us with his plans, his thoughts, his concepts, his truth, and his revelation. With him we can stand firm in the midst of the fury of attacks that are leveled against us.
A key theme in the New Testament is that spiritual warfare is not fought as earth wars are fought – "according to the flesh." Rather, "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:3 – 5. This is the same idea expressed by Peter "always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you" 1 Peter 3:15. A defense is a well reasoned answer – using the mind to defeat untruths concerning God and faith in him.
The mind must be engaged in order to promote and defend the faith.
I personally believe that the mind is the most fiercely contested battleground in all of spiritual warfare. Our mind has to be guarded every moment to ensure that Satan does not slip in and plant seeds of carnal or sinful thinking. And in order to do that the Bible says where to take to ourselves God's helmet, God's wisdom.
How do we get the wisdom of God? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:24 that Jesus Christ has become for us the power and wisdom of God. As we put on Jesus Christ, he becomes the wisdom of God to us. Therefore the helmet of salvation is the wisdom of God in Christ. And it's available to every believer through prayer and the reading of God's word James 1:5; 2 Timothy 3:15.
The Bible gives us many warnings telling us we will face constant assault from the world and its ruler the Prince of the air our ancient foe Satan. He has been defeated by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but he still believes that somehow, someway he can be victorious. But those of us who have read the end of The Book know that’s not going to happen.
The ultimate goal of Satan is to not go to hell. Admittedly that sounds strange, but only because we’ve lost sight of the big picture regarding who he was, who he is, what he wants, and his plan to get it. The mental picture most people have of Satan, including the one many Christians have of him, is terribly distorted. The reason is that instead of going to Scripture to get their information, most people take their cue from caricatures drawn by ignorant, superstitious people who lived during the Dark Ages.
Thinking in that way makes it impossible to see Satan for what he actually is. That is, he is a real being like Michael and Gabriel, he has volition, and he has the capacity to reason. Once that is seen, it becomes easy to understand he knows his end and is capable of attempting to avoid it. Isaiah chapter 14 and Ezekiel chapter 28 give us some insight into who Satan is and the reason for his fall.
The descriptions given by the prophets in those texts go far beyond the earthly kings they mention. From those verses, it is obvious that his insatiable pride was paramount in his attempt to usurp God’s throne. His sedition cost him his position as the preeminent one among God’s creatures, but being relieved of his position did nothing to quench his pride. Since he cannot have heaven, Satan has defaulted to an attempt to usurp the Earth from Jesus who created it.
That is where this entire saga of the Flood, the Tower of Babel in Shinar, human government, the coming Antichrist, and the effort to establish a one-world system is centered. Hell is what Satan wants to avoid; the Earth is what he wants, and he has a plan. And he wants us to help him accomplish it. That is not going to be the focuses of this study, but rather how the believer is led by God’s Word to so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. The first one we are going to look at is how he wars against our minds.
We must...Take up the helmet of salvation Ephesians 6:17 What protection does the helmet of salvation provide? The Roman soldier’s helmet was obviously designed to protect his head; so it is easy to see the parallel helmet of salvation protecting the believer's mind from the attacks of Satan. But the helmet of salvation is more than simply knowing that you're a Christian. That is important, of course, but the helmet of salvation reaches far beyond the simple terms of salvation; it encompasses the whole scope of salvation – past, present, and the future.
The enemy is constantly at work trying to wear down our defenses corrupt our minds with temptation and rationalization and false teaching – anything to confuse our thinking about God and his purposes for our life. Our only defense is to have the benefit of the mind that has lived in and conquered this world – and that is the mind of Christ. When we put on the helmet of salvation, we are putting on the mind of Christ and the wisdom of God.
And Christ wants to equip us with his plans, his thoughts, his concepts, his truth, and his revelation. With him we can stand firm in the midst of the fury of attacks that are leveled against us.
A key theme in the New Testament is that spiritual warfare is not fought as earth wars are fought – "according to the flesh." Rather, "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:3 – 5. This is the same idea expressed by Peter "always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you" 1 Peter 3:15. A defense is a well reasoned answer – using the mind to defeat untruths concerning God and faith in him.
The mind must be engaged in order to promote and defend the faith.
I personally believe that the mind is the most fiercely contested battleground in all of spiritual warfare. Our mind has to be guarded every moment to ensure that Satan does not slip in and plant seeds of carnal or sinful thinking. And in order to do that the Bible says where to take to ourselves God's helmet, God's wisdom.
How do we get the wisdom of God? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:24 that Jesus Christ has become for us the power and wisdom of God. As we put on Jesus Christ, he becomes the wisdom of God to us. Therefore the helmet of salvation is the wisdom of God in Christ. And it's available to every believer through prayer and the reading of God's word James 1:5; 2 Timothy 3:15.
