Ephesians 6:11,16 (NKJV) Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. …above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
What would you do if you caught a burglar ransacking your home? Would you ask him to help himself with whatever he wants, or would you call the police? Of course, you would call the police and get him arrested. Likewise, an enemy in the unseen spiritual realm has been trying to steal from us in every aspect of our lives. The opening Scriptures describe the work of the devil. It should cause all of us to sit up and be watchful against him. Instead of being ignorant and passive regarding spiritual things, we must know how to fend off their work in the lives of our family members and ourselves.
First and foremost, we need to know that the devil is not in the same class as God. The devil is a created being, and he and his demonic forces have already been defeated and disarmed by Jesus’ work of redemption. God is the supreme being worthy of our worship, and He has no equals.
Second, the devil is not just a figure of speech, the figment of the primitive minds of biblical authors, or a cute cartoon figure with a pitchfork. He is the ruler of this world because even though God had given Adam and Eve the authority to tend the Garden of Eden and have dominion over His creation, Adam and Eve handed over the authority to Satan when they fell to his temptation. Since God is just and righteous, Satan has the right to stay until the day of judgement when he and his fallen angels will be thrown into the lake of fire.
2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV) whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
Third, Satan is the father of lies. Despite being defeated and disarmed, he still plays mind games with believers and unbelievers. He has blinded unbelievers from seeing and understanding the gospel because he wants to be their god. As for believers, he will hit us continuously with his fiery darts—lies, suggestions, accusations, and allegations.
Jesus has promised us abundant life, but we need to know what belongs to us to stop the devil from stealing. Jesus said that the knowledge of the truth sets us free (John 8:32). Nonetheless, the devil will try to deceive and attempt to hold us in bondage. Therefore, the way to counter all these influences is to renew our minds with the Word of God and cast down all arguments with the Word of God.
Sermon Series：The Weapon Of Our Spiritual Warfare (Part 1)
了解你的敌人
以弗所书 6:11,16 要穿戴上帝 所赐 的全副军装，就能抵挡魔鬼的诡计。 此外，又拿着信德当作盾牌，可以灭尽那恶者一切的火箭。
如果你发现小偷洗劫你的家，你会怎么做？你会请他：想要什么随便拿；还是会报警？当然是报警将他逮捕。同样的，在看不见的灵界里也有一个仇敌一直试图窃取我们生命中的方方面面。开篇的经文描述了魔鬼的工作。这应该引起我们所有人的警醒，并提防牠。与其无知而被动地面对灵界的事，我们必须知道如何在我们的家人和我们自己的生命中抵御魔鬼的作为。
首先，我们必须知道魔鬼与上帝不在同一个阶层。魔鬼是受造之物。牠和牠的魔军已经被耶稣的救赎工作击垮，并解除了武装。而上帝是至高无上的存在，配得我们敬拜，祂无与伦比。
其次，魔鬼并不仅仅是一个修辞手法；牠不是圣经作者早期思想中的虚构人物；更不是一个拿着干草叉的可爱卡通形象。牠是这个世界的统治者。因为尽管上帝给了亚当和夏娃权柄来打理伊甸园并统治祂所造的万物，但当亚当和夏娃陷入撒但的诱惑时，就把这权柄交给了撒但。既然上帝是公正和公义的，撒旦就有权留下来直到审判之日。到了那时，牠和牠的堕落天使将被扔进火湖里。
哥林多后书 4:4 此等不信之人被这世界的神弄瞎了心眼，不叫基督荣耀福音的光照着他们。基督本是上帝的像。’
第三，撒但是谎言之父。尽管被击败并被解除了武装，牠仍然与信徒和非信徒们玩着心理游戏。牠蒙蔽非信徒，使他们看不到，也不能理解福音—因为牠想成为他们的神。对信徒，牠会不断地用牠的火箭—谎言、暗示、指责、抨击来攻击我们。
耶稣应许了我们丰盛的生命，但我们需要知道什么是属于我们的，才能阻止魔鬼偷窃。耶稣说：认识真理使我们得以自由（约翰福音 8:32）。尽管如此，魔鬼仍会试图欺骗，并捆绑我们。因此，对抗所有这些影响的方法，就是以上帝的话语更新心意，止息一切争论。
讲章系列: 属灵争战的武器
Image Source: pixabay.com