“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee
You can’t hit what you can’t see…” – Cassius Clay (Later known as Mohammed Ali)
This taunt, used so often in films and by boxers, is one of the same lies that Satan uses to attack us. He wants us to believe that we’re powerless against him. Ephesians 6 tells us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but rather invisible spirits and principalities, the forces of darkness. The question is, how do we defeat a foe we can’t see?
Hosea 4:6:
“6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
The apostle Peter, in his first epistle, refers to us as part of a priesthood, a royal priesthood. However, not everyone is part of this priesthood. The Lord says – My people are destroyed…. Decimated, crushed, killed. Overcome by death (Or, according to Romans 6:23, sin). Why? A lack of knowledge is our downfall. The knowledge referred to here isn’t book knowledge, it doesn’t rely on intellect, but rather, it’s the knowledge of God. Not just knowing His laws, or who He is, but knowing Him! Having a personal relationship with Him! His people are destroyed because they don’t know Him, and because of this they are denied priesthood, because they rejected Him, He will reject them. However, we as children of God, those of us who can call Him father, those of us who love Him, even we are affected by this lack of knowledge. The knowledge of God, although knowing Him is the major issue, isn’t the only aspect we should be looking at. He should be our focus, not just who He is, but what He does and wants. We as children of God need to know His heart; we need to live inside His will, and to do that we need to know what His will is.
God gave us a spirit
“7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7)
“15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Rom 8:15)
We are free through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. He broke the chains that held us down, and now we have a choice to make. We can remain in bondage, or we can choose life. When we choose life God fills us with His spirit and we are truly free, sons and daughters of the Holy one.
Paul said – we have not received a spirit of bondage to fear, but rather a spirit of adoption through which we cry, Abba, Father! We are free and we are His.
Being co-heirs with Christ
When the son of a king goes into town he has authority over those less superior in rank or standing, so also, we as Christians have authority over Satan and his forces. God is almighty and none can stand before Him, definitely not the devil. When we live according to God’s ways, filled with His spirit, close to His heart, we have authority over Satan and all his forces.
James 4:7:
“7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
We have been given authority by God, not because we deserve it but because we have submitted to Him, because we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. When the enemy comes against us, he is coming against Jesus Christ, therefore he is powerless and we are victorious in Christ.
The cunning foe
We face a subtle and cunning enemy (Gen 3:1). He knows our weaknesses and how to exploit them. He knows how to bring us down, how to bind us and rob us.
Let’s look at some of the tactics he uses against us:
Rebellion: He likes to makes us rebellious towards God. 1 Sam 15:23: tells us that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. God hates rebellious spirits. He abhors the prayers of those who despise and disobey authority. (Proverbs 28:9) .
Further reading on rebellion – Num 14:9, Pro 17:11, Ps 66:7, Isa. 30:1:
Isaiah 1:20: (KJV)
“20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken.”
Division: When your forces are divided you cannot stand…
1 Peter 5:8-9 (KJV)
“8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”
The devil comes as a lion before us, looking for a victim, a meek one to devour. It is our duty as Christians to carry the weak, to help them grow in Christ where we can. It is our duty to defend our faith, standing steadfast, together.
Romans 12:5 (KJV)
“5 So we, [being] many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”
We are the body of Christ, His hands and feet. Can a body function if all its limbs are divided? Can a body function if its members are separated? Satan knows this, but somehow we don’t. We need to be vigilant, we have to build bridges, not burn them. Christ came and died on a Cross, not just for a select few but for everyone.
In James 2:1-12 we find that we as Christians, as children of God, shouldn’t differentiate between rich and poor, and although he is referring to physical status, he could also be referring to the spiritually rich and poor. All too often we as Christians try to keep away from less desirable company just because they don’t fit our spiritual template, just because they’re not on the same spiritual level as us. This is sin, for God said that we should love all our neighbors and our enemies! In simpler terms – love everyone regardless. James said in verse ten that even if you keep most of the law, but transgress at one point, you are guilty for all of it. If you despise or judge even one person you are just as guilty as the adulterer or murderer.
We should stand together in Christ and be strong.
Deceit: The devil is the prince of lies. He misleads us daily, or tries at least.
John 8:44 (KJV)
“44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
Here we see that he is the father of all lies; that he abides not in the truth. There is no truth in him.
1 Tim 4:1: (KJV)
“1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”
Satan attacks our thoughts, and by filling our heart with evil our actions correspond.
Proverbs 4:23 (KJV)
“23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.”
Fear: Fear is probably the most powerful weapon the enemy forges against us. There is only one healthy kind of fear and that is the reverential fear and awe of God. Fearing God doesn’t mean being afraid of Him but rather that you should revere and respect Him.
Proverbs 14:26 (KJV)
“26 In the fear of the LORD [is] strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.”
Fearing God is matter of confidence. There is strong confidence in the fear of the Lord. His children find refuge in Him. In this verse we see that fearing God is likened to the respect a child has for his father.
As long as we respect Him and keep His commandments we will have refuge. When you have this reverential and worshipful fear of God you’ll obey and your confidence and trust in Him will grow.
However: In the first chapter of Job, Satan goes before God to accuse God’s servant. Here we find that Satan is an accuser, but not just before God. Sometimes he accuses us personally. He tells us how useless we are, he reminds us of all our transgressions and forces us to believe that God cannot possibly love us. He is the father of lies and his lies carry fear. Being afraid is hazardous to the body of Christ, to the church. When fear sets in we are immobilized, we are often paralyzed by the “what if’s” and “what now’s”! Situations like these take our focus away from God, and thereby we are slowly pulled away from God.
There are approximately 355 references to ‘fear not’ in the Scripture. That’s one ‘fear not’ for almost every day of the year.
Philippians 1:28: (KJV)
“28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.”
The problem with fear is that it rushes you on a daily basis. We should keep in mind that it’s okay to feel fear, but we shouldn’t give into it. The Bible doesn’t say “Don’t feel afraid!” But rather “fear not!”
“Fear not!” means not running away, not letting fear set in.
Hebrews 10:35 -38: (KJV)
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if [any man] draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
We should be confident in Christ, knowing that He is our salvation, that He is our future! Walking by faith means putting your trust in Him, putting your hand in His, knowing that nothing can stand in your way because you’ve got God on your side. Know that fear, the kind that makes you break out in a cold sweat, the kind that makes you run and hide, that fear is not from God, but above all realize that you have authority over the devil through Jesus Christ who clothed you in His righteousness.