Ephesians 6:10-13 (NKJV) "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
Notice out of Strong's Dictionary Of NT Words, the word "wiles."
g3180. μεθοδεία methodeia; from a compound of 3326 and 3593 (compare “method”); travelling over, i.e. travesty (trickery): — wile, lie in wait.
AV (2) - lie in wait 1, wile 1;
cunning arts, deceit, craft, trickery
The Greek word "methodeia" which is where we get the English word "method."
There's a saying that "there's a method to our madness."
It's true as far as satan's madness is concerned.
You really have to be "mad" to attempt to dethrone the Lord God but that's what Lucifer decided to so.
So the madness is "the course of this world."
Ephesians 2:1-3 (NKJV) "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."
So the devil has imposed upon the whole world, through Adam and Eve, the madness of sin and the entire world that wants this madness, is in complete pursuit of it.
During Noah's day, the madness of sin was so intense that the Lord had to destroy man with the exception of eight persons. Noah and his wife. Noah's 3 sons and their wives.
Sin was deeply rooted in man.
Genesis 6:5 (NKJV) "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
The wickedness of man was so intense that their lives centered only on evil continually.
The Lord God knew that man would never turn from sin and He destroyed everything with the flood as judgment upon man. Not one man, even in the face of Noah building an ark, desired to find grace in the eyes of God as Noah had done.
Remember when satan entered the serpent?
satan used his ability to be cunning and tricked Eve into thinking that she wouldn't be penalized for eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The deception worked.
After she ate, she gave it to Adam, and he ate. Their eyes were opened and the clock started.
Now that all of man is subject to death, but the Lord God initiated the plan to save man (see Genesis 3:15).
He would send His Son to pay for the debt of sin because sinful man was incapable and unqualified to fulfill or satisfy the demands of the Just and Holy God.
After the Lord satisfied God's requirement on the cross, it's now up to man to respond to the preaching of God's Word, to repent, place faith on Christ alone, and obey the commandments of the Lord for the rest of one's life.
satan is crafty and very deceptive. In order for him to get someone to sin, he knows that he has to use deception, trickery, and cunning to get you to accept the bait or enticement. The enticement must be so good that it's almost futile to resist.
So the only way to stand against the strategies of satan, you must know the truth. satan will do everything in his power to keep you from the truth because if you "know the truth, the truth will make you free" (see John 8:32).
When you know the truth, no one can take it away from you. However, it's sad when the truth is presented that people will desire to hold on to the lie. satan has been successful to inundate people with lies that people that's blinded can't or won't trust the truth.
The Garden episode was just that.
Get Eve to distrust the truth and trust the lie. It worked.
So the Lord has been lied on from the beginning.
John 8:44 (NKJV)
"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources,
for he is a liar and the father of it."
Now the Lord uses the preaching of the Word to get man to obey the command to repent. He must renounce the lies, throw away the deception, and believe the truth. So to fight against the strategies of satan, one must be willing to throw away the lies, and never trust them.
Comments