The Enemy Described

The Enemy Described
Posted on June 17, 2015  in Blog, Christian Warfare
In any situation it’s always good to know what the bad guy looks like.  Walking into a situation gets dangerous when you’re not sure what, or who, to look for.  For the Christian knowing what the Enemy looks like is invaluable.  Without this knowledge confusion, disarray, and misdirection can result. 
Lloyd-Jones takes up the task of describing the Enemy in the fourth chapter of his book, The Christian Warfare: Ephesians 6:10-13.
One of the first things that we are to notice about the Enemy is that he is powerful.  It is a mistake to think that the Devil is equal and opposite to God, or even equally powerful in some way.  This is simply not true; this way of thinking comes all packaged up in a heresy called Dualism.  Scripture teaches that the devil is powerful, but by no means comparable to God.
Scripture brings out the idea of the Devil’s power via the use of comparison language (metaphor, etc.).  In Ephesians 2:2 the Devil is referred to as the prince of the power of the air. In other words the devil is the leader or chieftain; he has a kingdom, servants, emissaries, and followers. He is at work in those who are still dead in their sins and walk in rebellion to God. In Luke 11:21, the Devil is referred to as a strong man armed.  In a third passage, the Devil is compared to a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8).  Each of these descriptions serves to show us the power of the Evil One; he is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4).
The Devil is more powerful than man but nowhere near as powerful as God.  Thus we are instructed, in Ephesians 6, to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might and to put all the full armour of God.  The latter half of verse 11 tells us that pressing into the Lord, in this manner, will enable us to stand firmly.
With the power question settled Lloyd-Jones considers what it is the Devil does. This question is answered with a few key words that the Bible uses to refer to the Devil.  The Devil is described as the adversary, the accuser, and the tempter. Essentially, the aim of the Devil is to stand opposed to those who believe.  His goal is to mislead, delude, confuse, cheat, and deceive. Lloyd-Jones makes a worthy comment to summarize this reality.  He says,
“How vitally important it is that we should realize all this, that we have an adversary, that there is someone who is always set against us, tempting us, trying to drag us down and destroy us, someone who is ever ready to accuse us. Such is the teaching of Scripture. (Lloyd-Jones, 56)”
There is a force in this world that is made up of darkness; its very nature is dark and evil.  This force desires to grab a hold of us and capture our attention.  This great evil seeks to captivate us with empty promises, vain pursuits, and destructive accusations. The Devil is a thief, and as our Lord told us in John 10:10, the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. This is the nature of the Enemy. His nature and purpose are contrary, in every capacity, to God’s. The Devil’s evil is all around us; he is the god (the object of worship, ruler, etc.) of this world. Those who have not trusted in Jesus as Savior are still in darkness; they remain subject to the destructiveness of the Evil One. A person who professes faith but does not practice faith (submission to Jesus, obedience to the Bible) is willfully subjecting themselves to the attack of the enemy.
Oh how important it is that we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and put on the whole armor! If we are not standing guarded with the truth, salvation, faith, peace, righteousness, and word of the gospel we will leave ourselves tragically exposed to the wiles of the enemy. It is the Christian’s duty to put on the whole armor of God so that they will be able to stand in the evil day. When the Devil attempts to deceive, destroy and kill, the person shod with the armor of God will remain steadfast, rooted in the power of the gospel; a power that cannot be thwarted.
We have an enemy! His tactics are not pretty. He is powerful. This is not projection, opinion, or fantasy.
The question is: are you wearing the armor?

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