The Saviour Lord cautioned the disciples about the tribulations and attacks of the forces of darkness in this world. Apostle Paul also warned of this and then advised to put on the Armor of God for this battle. We are also told to stand firm in every situation for the demonic forces’ main aim is to make us fall from our faith. Once we stand firm and resist the devil he flees from us for he seeks soft targets which he can easily topple over and destroy their faith and lives.
How do the forces of evil attack us? God created Adam and Eve to live in a close relationship with Him and subdue the forces of darkness under Satan and dominate them. Since these powers were spiritual beings, filled with power from their creation as angels, any opposition to them also had to be with spiritual strength. God’s breath in Adam filled him with that strength. The daily visits of God to them in the Garden of Eden in the evening were to reinforce them with that same power everyday (Genesis 3:8). The two details provided during the temptation of Lord Jesus’ are His presence with the wild beasts, for they were subject to Him in His glory. The second, ‘the angels ministered to Him’, for the attacks of the devil would deplete His strength.
Apostle Paul helps us in getting filled with faith, for he teaches, ‘faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Word of God’ (Romans 10:17). Adam and Eve were blessed to hear His Word directly from God Himself but before they could grow a strong root in the Word, they were led into sin. The voice of Satan in the serpent was aimed at diverting Eve from the spiritual to the earthly. And in this the three sources of temptation are identified by Apostle John, ‘the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life’ (1 John 2:16). The lust of the flesh is all that directly affects the body, sex, food and drink. The Lord was without food for forty days and the devil sought Him to use His power to create food for Himself (Matthew 4:3). Eve ‘saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes’ and she fell for the trap of the devil (Genesis 3:6).
The pride of life is ego satisfaction of claiming what one perceives to be his due. The devil wanted Lord Jesus to prove in one go to the Jewish people about His identity by jumping off the highest point of the Temple (Matthew 4:6). When the angels would save Him from any injury, in line with God’s promise (Psalm 91:11-12), all will recognize and accept Him as their Messiah.
The lust of the eyes is the evil displayed on all types of social media in today’s world that turns one away from God. Satan showed the Son of God ‘all the kingdoms of the world and their glory’ to tempt Him into submission to himself (Matthew 4:8). Eve was offered to ‘be like God, knowing good and evil’ with the lie of the Word of God about their death being a lie to scare them (Genesis 3:5). The devil always offers an attractive but a false alternative to obedience to God. Lord Jesus did not challenge his authority over the kingdoms of the world, without revealing to him His own kingdom in heaven.
The first area the devil attacks is the mind or the thoughts by placing evil thoughts. The Jewish people claim there help from the north and the hills (of Jerusalem) but God challenges that. The Word is, ‘in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; truly, in the LORD our God is the salvation’ (Jeremiah 3:23). Salvation is relief from any difficult situation and also from the sinful to eternal life. Before the devil could create a root in His mind through his lies, Lord Jesus countered that by the Word of God to defeat the attack. Our thoughts are like birds flying in the sky, but no one allows a bird to create its nest on his head. Just like we would the birds, shoo away the thoughts also by getting filled up with the Word of God.
The second is the heart, the place of origin of all desires, good or evil. Eve heard the lie of the devil, thought about it and after continuous thinking about (meditating) on his words, turned towards the tree, while the desire to eat developed (Genesis 3:6). The surface desire interpreted the information differently, seen under a new light of the lie of the devil, or rather its darkness, to hide the reality. The tree then looked good for food, pleasant to the eyes and ‘desirable to make one wise’. The desire ignores the truth of God and then leads into the next step.
The third, is to act to implement the thought and ‘she took of its fruit and ate it’. Initially every sin looks a little difficult but continuous thinking about that breaks all barriers. After that it comes naturally to follow the evil desires and over time these become habits that are difficult to break. This is then rooted deep in the soul. Satan uses friends or peer pressure, need in case of poverty or a sense of loneliness. Those who stay without any supervision from an early age, are likely to fall easily into his trap.
How to escape the temptation? The spring time in Israel and the surrounding areas was the time of war to conquer territory or defeat the enemy. King David sent Joab, his commander of the army, with the troops and they conquered Ammon and besieged Rabbah, their capital (2 Samuel 11:1-2). ‘But David remained at Jerusalem’. One evening he saw from his roof, Bathsheba bathing on the roof of her house, and enquired about her. She was the wife of Uria, the Hittite, one of ‘The Thirty’, the exclusive warriors totally loyal to David and the daughter of Eliam, another warrior of the same group. Despite knowing her lineage, David committed sin with her and had her husband killed in battle.
The first step to fall into evil is not to be where one is duty bound and supposed to be. The only thing that the devil can do, is bring a situation before us, but the choice is ours. Apostle Paul cautions about this and how the world lives in obedience to ‘the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience’ (Ephesians 2:2). Lord Jesus chose all the twelve disciples with a call, ‘Follow Me’ (Matthew 4:19-20; 22). Peter and his brother Andrew ‘left their nets’ while John and his brother James ‘left the boat and their father and followed Him’. One group left their business while the other left their business and the family.
The prevailing belief at time among the Jewish people was that the Messiah will reestablish the kingdom of Israel by defeating the Roman Empire. The disciples continued to argue among themselves about who among them would be their leader. Even after His resurrection and just before His ascension into heaven, they still asked Him, ‘Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ (Acts 1:6). Judas Iscariot was the only one among the twelve to be from Judea, while others were from Galilee or adjoining areas. Once we harbor ambitions for self glory as compared to God’s glory, we are vulnerable to the devil. Judas Iscariot realized his sin but suffered rejection by the High Priest and Jewish leaders who had paid him to betray Lord Jesus. He did not expect acceptance by other disciples also and in his remorse committed suicide.
Apostle Paul taught about reconciliation and forgiveness with a warning ‘lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his designs’ (2 Corinthians 2:10-11). We must examine and identify our weaknesses in every area of our lives and to escape falling into the devil’s trap, seek help. We must seek help from God through prayers, memorize Scripture verses to counter and strengthen self . Second, seek help from your spouse or a close and reliable friend to keep watch over you. Third, immediately admit failure and seek forgiveness from the Lord. As a child of God you are always under scrutiny by the devil and his forces but God can make you a mighty warrior in His power. King David, a mighty warrior, fought the giant Goliath as a young boy but He could confidently say, ‘Blessed be the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1).
Satan is the father or source of all lies. Apostle Paul and Silas faced great opposition in Thessalonica but in Berea the people (Jews) received their teaching ‘and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so’ (Acts 17:10-11). Many preachers come with new doctrines and ideas that sound very impressive but are not according to the Word of God. What is not from or in conformity with God’s Word must be rejected.
The devil works miracles. We are living in the ‘End Times’ and the agents of the devil will come ‘according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception’ (2 Thessalonians 2: 9-10). Lord Jesus revealed such miracle workers, who will claim to be His people, performing many deeds in His name. But their works were in the service of evil, to hear from the Lord, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:22 -23). Do not fall prey to such people.
Satan and his agents disguise themselves as ‘angels of light’ and righteousness. Pray to the Lord to seek and be filled with love and ‘abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment’ (Philippians 1:9). Without discernment our love will be distracted into foolishness.
Sickness, suffering and temptation are from the devil. Lord Jesus cautioned us about our life in the world full of tribulation (John 16:33). He assured us, ‘be of good cheer, I have overcome the world’. The devil is defeated and we are set free from his clutches and our walk of righteousness will keep us free from undue suffering.
Satan tempts people to sin by stealing the Word of God from their hearts. Judas Iscariot had witnessed and heard all the teaching of the Saviour Lord. The chief priests and the scribes in the Jewish Council looked for ways to ‘kill Jesus’ (Luke 22:2-3). ‘Then Satan entered Judas’ and made him turn his back from all that he had heard, seen and believed to betray the Lord. Keep examining your heart and commitment to the Word of God and His teachings to avoid falling prey to the devil’s vile schemes.
The path to be victorious in the world is through clinging to Lord Jesus, His Word and His ways. He alone has crushed the head of the devil and in His authority and power we too can overcome.
Why do we fail in overcoming temptation? Adam was blessed by God and tasked ‘to fill the earth and subdue it’ (Genesis 1:28). The Hebrew word ‘kabash’ means ‘force into bondage, subdue’ and Adam was equipped by the Creator God to have this capacity within him to do this. Prophet Ezekiel was commanded by God to reveal the creation and fall of the devil. He said, ‘you (Satan) were in Eden, the garden of God’ (Ezekiel 28:13 & 17). The devil was ‘cast to the ground’ by God due to his rebellion in heaven with one third of angels who had joined him. As per legend Adam and Eve were filled with the glory from God especially given to mankind. In that strength they were able to face the challenges of evil and overcome them.
The prophet was promised by the LORD God, ‘I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible’ (Jeremiah 15:21). Lord Jesus has fulfilled this and blessed us with His presence in us in the Holy Spirit. Apostle Paul has revealed the power and work of the Holy Spirit in a believer, ‘He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you’ (Romans 8:11). We are filled with all the power that we need to live a victorious life in the Lord. We exercise His authority in faith with confidence that His promise of not leaving nor forsaking us is true and He is with us to help face every situation in His power. We are to live ‘without complaining and disputing’ with thanksgiving (Philippians 2:14-15). And we shall ‘be blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world’. On our own we can never reach a state of holiness and righteousness acceptable before God but only through cleansing by the blood of the Saviour Lord.
We are aware that God struck the decisive blow at the forces of evil at Calvary. For on that hill on the cross, ‘God disarmed principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it’ (Colossians 2:15). The dominion hijacked by the devil in the Garden of Eden was snatched back, breaking his strangle over those who believe.
We are told to ‘resist the devil and he will flee from you’ (James 4:7). But how do we do this? We are to conquer him ‘by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony’ (Revelation 12:11). We live in the victory of His shed blood on the cross and in faith declare the victory of the Lord and become victorious. Apostle Paul revealed the weapons of warfare of God that are given to every believer. The only weapon of attack is the ‘sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God’ (Ephesians 6:17-18). The sharpening of this sword is by ‘praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end’.
The Holy Spirit being in us helps us in a continuous dialogue with ‘God, the Father of lights’ (James 1:17). He is the source and can never be in any shadow thus being overwhelmed by that. We pray in the Spirit, baring our hearts to Him, for He knows it all and in this manner we show our dependence on Him and Him alone.
We are to fight the battles as a ‘good soldier of Jesus Christ’, who is our commander (2 Timothy 2:3). Joshua was met by Lord Jesus near Jericho, when he went to study its defenses (Joshua 5:15). Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, ‘Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy’. Joshua followed the Lord all his life and succeeded in every battle. Repeatedly God has emphasized to His People, ‘the battle is not yours but Mine’. As His soldiers we follow His commands, He ensures victory and we glorify Him in everything.
God is with us in every situation and through faith in this, we can be victorious in every battle. When we receive Him as our ‘strength and shield’, we are protected and successful. Since this fight is with spiritual forces of wickedness, trying to fight in our own strength is a sure way to defeat. Our LORD God extends His hand to hold and by clinging to Him, His power works to ensure victory.
