We must remember that we have put on Christ, if we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, and now we are in Him, and He lives in our hearts. If we remain in Him during the battles and do not turn our back on Him and reject Him, the enemy will have to face Him and His power! The enemy wants you to reject Christ! Satan knows that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).

Ephesians 6:10 says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord , and in the power of his might". If you look this verse up in the original Greek, you will find the word that was translated 'power' may also be translated 'force'. The word that was rendered 'might', can also be translated 'strength'. So what Paul is telling us here is, "let the forceful strength of the Lord (that is, the strength that is full of force), be what we rely on as our power and strength".

If we try to fight this battle in our own power and strength, we have lost from the beginning. So the first thing we are to know is, it is the power and strength of the Lord that will win this battle for us.

Ephesians 6:11 commands, "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil". The word in the original Greek from which the word 'whole' was taken, means 'complete'. The armor provides complete and total protection in the warfare. (Colossians 2:10 states, "And you are complete in him..." speaking of Christ. This will be summarized at the end of this series).

Notice, it is the armor of God that He has given to us, not the armor of man. It has spiritual power, because it is of God. We have no spiritual defense apart from God's armor. So, what is the reason given in this verse to put on all of the armor? It is so "that ye may be able to stand..." or, so that you will have the ability to stand!

The word 'stand' in this verse means to 'hold your position against the enemy in the middle of the fight'. The ability to hold our position against the enemy in the middle of the fight, depends on whether or not we have on all of the armor. If we have on all of the armor that God has provided, no matter how much the battle rages, we can hold our position because of the ability that the armor of God gives us!

SCHEMES - DECEIT - CRAFTINESS - TRICKERY

To be in victory lane (to borrow a racing term), we must understand how the enemy operates. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:11, that it is through 'wiles'. The meaning of 'wiles' is schemes, deceit, craftiness and trickery, so what Paul is telling us here is, "Put on the complete armor of God, so that you will have the ability to hold your position in the middle of the battle against the schemes, deceit, craftiness and trickery of the devil".

Notice Paul used the word 'devil'. The Greek word for 'devil' is 'Diabolos', literally meaning 'slanderer' or 'accuser', and Paul was referring to Satan himself. Diabolos is where we get our English word Diabolical, which means 'devilish'.

Satan is referred to as a serpent, or snake. Snakes are subtle creatures. They can slither in virtually unnoticed and inject their poison before you know what hit you.

He is also referred to as a dragon. The stories of dragons describe them as ugly fire-breathing creatures that would consume things with the flames that came out of their mouths. Lies are the flames that come out of Satan's mouth, and they will consume you, if you allow them to by not being sufficiently protected.

We must not only understand how the enemy operates, but we must also be able to recognize them. Ephesians 6:12 states, "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".

Notice Paul used the word 'wrestle'. Wrestling is a full-contact sport. This indicates that we are in a full-contact battle against Satan and his forces. We have full contact with sin because of the fall of Adam in the Garden Of Eden. We 'wrestle' with and against sin. This is the reason God has provided spiritual armor.

WICKED SPIRITUAL FORCES

We know that Satan is not omni-present, meaning that he cannot be everywhere at the same time, so he has to delegate authority to his forces to carry out his wishes. At some point, Satan led a rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:12-14), lost his position that God had given him and was cast out of heaven (Luke 10:18). We know that one third of the angels in heaven joined him in the rebellion (Revelation 12:4), and were cast out of heaven with him. These fallen angels are what is spoken of in verse 12, and in this message are referred to as 'Satan's forces'.

They are divided into four categories with the first being 'principalities' which means 'chief rulers' in Satan's kingdom. They have authority-and-rule over the empires of Satan.

The second category is 'powers' with the Greek word being 'Exousias' which means 'those who derive their power or authority from, and execute the will of, the chief rulers' (principalities). This could possibly be the group that opposes the angels of God that are sent to bring answers to the prayers of His people. Such was the case in Daniel 10:12-14 where we read "Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persis withstood me one and twenty days: but , lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come...". This is the angel of God called Gabriel, that was speaking to Daniel, and the archangel (chief angel) Michael, is the one who came to help him.

The third of the four categories of Satan's forces listed is 'rulers of the darkness of this world', meaning 'spiritual world rulers'. They have one task to perform. Their job is to keep people ignorant in regards to divine things. The Gospel message is "Be ye reconciled to God, through Jesus Christ the Lord" (II Corinthians 5:17-20). The forces of Satan listed in this category are constantly doing all they can to keep people from accepting this gospel.

Ephesians 2:12 says, "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world". Notice from this verse, if you are without Christ, you are without God. To be a stranger to the promises of God (the written word), is to be without hope, for our hope is in the Gospel. If these 'spiritual world rulers' (rulers of the darkness of this world), can keep you severed from the knowledge of God and His Word, Satan has free reign over you. You are in and of his kingdom. His bidding is easily carried out upon those in a state of separation from God, because there is no defense against him apart from God (John 15:5).

That's why the bars are full, pornography shops abound, etc. The people that are there are in a state of separation from God. They have no desire to stay away from sin, and if they do feel a desire to stay away, they can't because they are under bondage to the enemy. Satan is ruling their lives easily, because they do not know God or His Word.

If you have heard of God and rejected Him, you have never known God. If you have known God, but you are not living for Him and have no fellowship with Him, you do not know God. The only way to know God, is to live for Him and to be in communion, or fellowship with Him. Either you have never known God, you have known God, or you know God. This group of Satan's forces tries to keep you from 'knowing' God.

The fourth and final category listed is 'spiritual wickedness in high places'. These are the wicked spirits of Satan in the unseen realm. This is the realm just outside the spectrum of the five human senses. As an example of what I mean, if you were to plug a television into an electrical outlet, hook up an antenna and turn the set on (as long as it's digital), you would receive a picture and sound that is carried over the air waves. The television signal (picture and sound) is in the air all around you, but you can't see or here it. It is ever present, as long as it is being broad-casted, but invisible. You can't see it, you can't hear it, you can't taste it, you can't smell it and you can't feel it, but it's still there. The same applies to this fourth category of Satan's forces.

Ephesians 2:2 says, "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air...'. Remember, Satan was made the god of this world in the Garden Of Eden, and he controls 'the course of this world'.

He is 'broadcasting' this band of his forces into the air, and the work of this group is what you most closely deal with in the physical realm.

Their duties include moral corruption or degradation. They try to lower the moral or intellectual character, condition and quality of life. They try to take away your self-esteem or self worth (such as is the case with an alcoholic). They try to put you into a state of disgrace, sexual sin, madness, wanting to commit suicide or into a bondage of some sort (drugs, alcohol, sex, etc.). All one has to do to see this group's handiwork is to look around, possibly in ones own home.

As the third category of Satan's forces (spiritual world rulers), keep people separated from God and His Word, this fourth category of his forces has no problem getting those souls to 'party hearty' with drugs, in the bars, sexual sin, etc., leading to bondage.

These people are trying to fill the 'void' in their life that is left by the separation from God, and this group of Satan's forces are their suppliers. They do not realize it, because they do not know God or His Word. They are 'dead in sin', whereas the born-again Christian is 'alive in Christ'.

You must remember in this battle, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4)!

Ephesians 6:13 tells us, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand". This is the second time Paul has mentioned 'the whole armor of God'. The Holy Spirit, through Paul, was emphasizing the importance of having on all of the armor, not just part of it. Some Christians may have on the breastplate of righteousness and nothing else, so they stand vulnerable to the attack of the enemy, even though they are a Christian.

If you were to look up the words in this verse (Ephesians 6:13) in the original Greek, you would find that it says, 'For this reason [speaking of Satan's forces listed in verse 12], take for your personal possession the complete armor of God, so that you will have the ability to resist and oppose, in the annoyances, perils and toils of the day, and having gone through every struggle of the fight, hold your ground'.

Notice that it says 'so that you will have the ability'. That is the reason for putting on all of the armor, so that we will have the ability to face the enemy and resist sin! This has been stressed in both this verse and in verse 11. Notice too, it says 'and having gone through [past tense] every struggle'. There isn't the slightest bit of doubt that if you will put on the complete armor of God, you will be victorious!!

We need to understand that Satan and his forces are spirit beings with spiritual power (II Peter 2:4-11), and apart from the spiritual power of God, we have no ability to fight a spiritual battle.

SOULS

I must point out at this time that we are not fighting a spiritual battle for material things!! This battle is for 'souls', and that is what the enemy wants. Your soul. Let me make something perfectly clear. The material things of this world mean absolutely nothing to Satan and his forces! They are only interested in one thing, and they use the things of this world to try and get it. Satan wants you to reject God and His Word, and bow down to him. One of his major strategies is to get you to think that you can find peace in the things of this world that you possess.

In Luke 12:15 Jesus said "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth". Let me warn you. If you get the things which you possess in this world from Satan, there will be no peace with them because he has no peace to offer you!! Jesus has the only true peace and He said in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid".

The Word of God (which is completely trustworthy), says "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon [money]. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment [clothes]? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?... And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?... for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added [given] unto you" (Matthew 6:24-26, 28-33).

"...God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him: for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:5-7).

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19. (This is discussed at length when we get to the Breastplate Of Righteousness).

We see from these references that God will take care of us and our needs, and we do not have to rely on Satan for anything.

So far, we have distinguished that we are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body, and that it is our 'spirit man' that is 'in Christ'. We have noted that it is His power and strength we are to rely on. We have seen that it is important that we put on all of the armor. We have looked at how the enemy operates and how to recognize them, and we know this is a spiritual battle for 'souls', not a spiritual battle for 'things'. We also know that it is God that will take care of us, not Satan.

Let us now turn our attention to the armor which our loving heavenly Father supplies to His children.

To Be Continued.....Upcoming - Part 4.