The traitor behind the walls has been executed. The armies that have surrounded the city have been defeated. But one final enemy is still at large. We must take out the general. This final enemy is the most powerful one that we have faced, but his power pails in comparison to the God whose men we are. But never the less, the devil is very real, and a very real enemy. We cannot rule him out and ignore him, because when we do, he wins.
"The devil no doubt has a place in our theology, but is he a category we even think about in the daily events of our lives? Has it ever crossed your mind that not every thought that crosses your mind comes from you?... We are being lied to all the time."
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis gives a perspective into the workings of the devil and his demons. In the book Screwtape, an older experienced tempter, is mentoring his nephew Wormwood in the art of temptation. Through letters Screwtape instructs his prodigy on ways to guide and influence his patient's thoughts. Though this is a fictional work I don't think it's too much of a stretch as to how the devil works.
It's got to be subtle, otherwise our suspicions are immediately aroused and the attack is stopped before it can gain any momentum (this is why denying his existence gives him an advantage.) But this attack is so effective because so often it makes us think that it's our own thoughts. As we think them we begin to think that we are worthless sinners who can do nothing but pursue what is a counterfeit desire. If we give in to this attack, if we are beaten by it, the other enemies are resurrected. But the man of God is victorious, because his strength is true.
1 John 2.12-14 tells us about the battle we fight against the unholy trinity. "I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one."
Little children have been forgiven, their hearts have been made clean and new, and the traitor has been dealt with. Young men have done battle, they are strong and victorious, full of God's word and therefore the truth. Fathers know God, and have grown closer to Him through this entire journey. All men of God are on the journey to become spiritual fathers (what is described in these verses).
When we stop listening to the voice of the traitor, when we refuse to compromise to the ways of the world, the only way for the unholy trinity to continue the attack is by filling our thoughts with false truths. At this point the enemy is desperate to take you out, and so it pulls out everything it has left. "It is the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which the demons hurl their mightiest weapons."
Think about it, men bear the image of God's strength and power, and that is what every attack has been against. The enemy does not want God to be reflected to the world. The enemy does not want God to be seen, and so it attacks most fiercely against our strength, against the image of God we bear.
Think about this, the Bible says that God made man in His image, male and female. Men bear part of the image of God, women bear the other part. In marriage the two parts come together to make a whole, to give the most complete portrayal of the image of God humans are capable of displaying. Is it a surprise that traditional marriage is under attack?
"Behind the world and the flesh is an even more deadly enemy... one we rarely speak of and are even much less ready to resist. Yet this is where we live now -on the front lines of a fierce spiritual war that is to blame for most of the casualties you see around you and most of the assault against you."
It all comes down to this final enemy. "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith," (1 Peter 5.8-9a) "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4.7-8).
Alone, we cannot defeat this final enemy, but if we are alert and ready, empowered by God, Satan will flee. Three down, battle over.
"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3.20-21
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
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