Spiritual Warfare

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 59:1-15
New Testament Reading: Colossians 3:1-10

“The Power of the Curse, the Presence of Evil, and the Person of the Devil!”
Ephesians 6:10-12

Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor

   Tragically, many who claim to be Christians are unaware of:

• The curse God placed on the earth as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin.
• That every child is born with a sin nature and intrinsically attracted to sin.
• That we live in the very presence of evil.
• That Satan is the god of this world and that he has designed the systems of the world to trap Christians into following him rather than obeying God.

   Therefore, they are unprepared and woefully unarmed to face the spiritual warfare in which Christians are involved today.

• While the focus of our lives should always be upon Jesus Christ, the Scriptures warn us to:
• Be aware of the temporal limitations of this world so we don’t have unrealistic expectations of it.
• Be alert to our surroundings so we don’t become attracted to the world by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, and then to:
• Be armed and prepared for an attack from the devil so we are ready to defend ourselves against him rather than to be overtaken by him.

   If we are to be victorious over the wiles of the devil, we must:

• Know the source of our enemies – Satan, manifested in the rulers of the darkness in this world.
• Know the source of our energy – the Holy Spirit as released in the components of the armor of God.

	According to the Scriptures: We are spiritual beings, living in a physical body, and we possess a soul! “I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23

When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, while our SPIRIT is born again (2 Corinthians 5:17), our SOUL is not instantly born again.

• Our mind must be transformed by the Word of God. (Ro. 12:1-2)
• Our will must be surrendered unto the will of God. (Ro.12:1-2)
• Our emotions must be controlled by the Holy Spirit of God. (Gal. 5:16-26)

   Once we are “born again” we can relate to God through our spirit without condemnation. However, we will continue to relate to the world through our soul and our body, which means we must be able to contend with the presence and the power of sin.

1.  The Power of the Curse – Genesis 3:17, Romans 8:18-22– Genesis 3:17-19 – “Cursed is the ground for thy sake!”

• “Ground” – all of God’s creation was brought under the bondage of corruption – every element of life moves from order to disorder.
• “For thy sake” – for God to accomplish His goal of redemption. In “cursing the ground,” God was:
  • Coercing Adam to comprehend the seriousness of his disobedience to God.
  • Convincing him of the vanity of the temporal world.
  • Compelling him to see his only hope of salvation was to return to His Creator in repentance and look unto Him as His only Savior.
• Man would survive in the world through his hard labor.
• Man would strive against the forces of nature.God’s plan to prove to man that He alone can provide the life He intended man to enjoy on this earth.God’s provision for the curse to be lifted when Jesus Christ returns to the earth.We live under that “curse” today! Therefore:
  • Man can accept the reality of the curse, recognize God’s purpose for it, and adjust his life to live through it, or:
  • Man can fight against it, curse God because of it, and turn to the ways of the world to try to find his meaning to life.

2.  The Presence of Evil – Ephesians 2:1-3 – “In time past ye walked according to the course of this world!”

   In Ephesians 2:2, Paul said the presence of evil is the “course of this world” – it is the way the world works.

• Every generation follows the same course of life: work, worry and worship until the pursuit of that earthly treasure and personal pleasure leads to greed, war, and destruction, and the cycle begins again.
• In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul said the presence of evil is because of the “god of this world” – or “the god of this age.”
• The “god of this world” uses the “systems of the world” to establish the “course of this world.”
• Paul described the course of this world as: “the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind; and by nature, children of wrath.”
• Mark 7:21-23 – “Evil is within the heart of men.”
• James 1:14 – “Man is drawn away by his own lust.”
• Colossians 3:1-10 – Christians are to: “Mortify the evil within our heart, and set our affections on the things above, and not upon the things of the earth.”
• Romans 13:13 – Christians are to: “Make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.”

3.  The Person of Satan – Ephesians 2:2 – “following the prince of the power of the air.”

• Satan was an angel, created by God, who rebelled against God, and became the head of the kingdom of evil spirits called demons.
• Satan’s power was crushed through the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, he still has limited power in both heaven and earth.
• As the “god of this world” – Satan has blinded the eyes of unbelievers to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• With God’s permission, Satan can attack believers, (Job 1, Luke 13), and he can destroy earthly things, including our physical bodies, but he cannot destroy our spirit/soul.
• If we fall for Satan’s schemes, he will try to destroy us physically, or at least our testimony, which is why Peter warned us to be on the alert, for “our enemy; the devil, prowls around…seeking whom he may devour.”

FIVE TRUTHS ABOUT THE PRESENCE OF EVIL

• God did not create evil – evil entered into the world through Adam’s sin, and that sin nature was handed down to each generation, as evidenced by their sin.
• God allows evil to exist for His purpose – to let mankind see the vanity of this world and the futility of trying to find the real purpose for life apart from Him!
• God often overrules Satan and uses evil for good – God causes all things to work for good to those who are called!
• God is solving the problem of evil – God provided a way for us to be delivered from the penalty and the power of evil through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior!
• God has promised to deliver us from evil – God has set the day when the Lord Jesus will return, remove the curse from the earth, send Satan to the abyss, bring joy to the world, and wipe away every tear from our eyes!