Daily Encouragement: Day 351

Adapted from Handbook to Spiritual Growth

SPIRITUAL WARFARE BATTLE FRONT #3:
THE DEVIL 

“. . . the ruler of this world has been judged.” (John 16:11b)

“. . . the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. . . . greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 2:14b; 4:4b)

As members of the body of Christ, we play a crucial role in a universal conflict with “spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” The “schemes of the devil” involve a highly organized structure that is constantly waging war on believers. Satan’s invisible army consists of vast numbers of spiritual beings in a hierarchy of rulers, powers, world-rulers, and spirit-forces.

We should avoid the two extremes of morbid fascination and fear with this battle front. Fear is the opposite of faith, and it leads to defeat. Satan’s primary target of attack is the mind (2 Corinthians 4:4; 10:3–6; 11:3). As children of God, we have been given authority, power, and victory in Christ. But it is our responsibility to claim aggressively the truth of Scripture regardless of our feelings and to stand firm in the fact that we are dead to the dominion of sin and Satan in our lives (Romans 6:12–14).

We cannot hope to face spiritual powers in our own strength. Christ alone is invincible, and “we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). He is the one who is able to preserve us complete until His coming, to equip us in every good thing to do His will, and to keep us from stumbling (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; Hebrews 13:20–21; Jude 24). Therefore, we must completely submit ourselves to Him, stand our ground, and resist the adversary: “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).