3 Powerful Enemies of the Christian
In the previous post by Brother Jess Cortez, he said that only those who believed in and received Jesus Christ as Lord and personal Savior were given the right to become children of God based on John 1:12 and that only those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God (Romans 8:14).
God’s Word is truth and there is no of going around it. There are only two sides: the Lord’s and that of the devil. You are on either side but not both and there certainly is no middle ground.
And then Bro. Jess went on to enumerate the blessings bestowed on God’s children which are truly amazing. These blessings he mentioned (based on the Word of God, of course) are things I wouldn’t trade for anything else in this world no matter how appealing they may be.
But one thing we often forget is that the moment we decided to be on God’s side is also the day we became enemies with the 3 most powerful forces that seek to constantly defeat the followers of Christ.
Enemies of the Christian
Three powerful enemies are constantly trying to defeat the Christian’s testimony and spiritual success: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
The World
The Greek word used is kosmos and the root meaning is “order” or “arrangement,” hence beauty (cf. cosmetics and the cosmos flower).
The main meaning of kosmos is the organized system that is under the devil’s control and leaves out God and Christ. According to the apostle John, “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).
That being said, it is important to note that kosmos does not always have a negative connotation. John 3:16 uses the word for the people that “God so loved.” This meaning also occurs in the expression “Savior of the world” (John 4:42). Paul also uses kosmos for the created planet in his sermon on Mar’s Hill (Acts 17:24).
Why is the world one of the 3 enemies of the Christian life? This is because it entices us to go against God. In other words, it leads us to sin. This is why the Bible warns us against loving the world or the things in the world; if we do, the love of the Father is not in us (1 John 2:15).
Does this mean we should not even think about recreation, books, TV shows, movies, etc? I once had a Christian colleague who said she does not watch movies nor listen to music because she believed it would lead her to sin. She also added that all kinds of entertainment would make her impure and unworthy of God’s love.
While I commend her for making this commitment, I honestly think it would not be fair for her to expect others to do the same. Indeed, Christians should not conform to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2) but it does not mean we should completely separate ourselves from the people of this world and have a superiority complex.
It’s undeniable that today there are many professing Christians who are walking hand in hand with the world that you can no longer tell the difference between the believer and the unbeliever.
So, where exactly do we draw the line? When considering any activity, think about what God thinks about you doing it. Will He approve of it? Is God glorified? Does this give you an opportunity to let your light shine brightly for those who are still in darkness?
The Flesh
The literal meaning of flesh is found in expressions like “flesh and blood” and “flesh and bones.” Christianity does not teach that the human body is evil, but that it can be used for evil.
The flesh can also refer to a destructive influence. As such, the flesh can be our most insidious enemy because it is inside the believer and ever-present with its depraved cravings.
We cannot say that our old, sinful cravings will completely disappear at the moment of conversion. The Bible teaches that the old nature, with all its corruption, is still there because it is living within us. The urge to sin is ever-present to drag us down and so one should not think that he or she is not a true believer because of such temptations.
Recommended Resource: War Room (Christian Movie 2015)
Even sincere and devout Christians (including the apostle Paul) can have terrific struggles with the flesh. As long as we live in the body we will have to contend with the flesh. The whole terrible catalog of the flesh is recounted in Galatians 5:19-21.
The secret of victory over the flesh is to be led by the Holy Spirit: “Walk (that is, live your life) in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
The Devil
Devil (diabolos) is simply an anglicized form of the Greek word that suggests hurling (slander) back and forth. The devil is a personal enemy who opposes God and His plans and tempts His people. The Bible calls Satan the wicked one (Matthew 13:19), a murderer, a liar and father of lies (John 8:44), an adversary who seeks to devour (1 Peter 5:8), and an accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:9-10).
Although the devil has already been beaten at the cross by Christ, he still has the power to influence men to do his work. As I said earlier, the moment you decided to follow Christ, you became enemies with the devil and he is going to tempt you and will try everything to lead you into sin.
Satan’s most powerful tactic is still deception. He does this by first sowing seeds of doubt in your mind about what God actually said. He did it to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and succeeded. And so, he will continue to do so among God’s people today.
But when Satan does this to you, there would be no point arguing with him, for he is the greatest debater of all time. He will try to disrupt your focus on God and His works, discourage you, and will stop at nothing to destroy your relationship with Christ. How do you fight him? Your best defense against the devil is the Word of God.
When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness while fasting for 40 days, our Lord in three notable temptations used the Word of God. Upon realizing he lost, the devil left Him and the angels came to attend to Him. You can read about it in this post.
One other thing, although we can defeat Satan with the use of Scriptures, we must also submit to God and resist the devil so that he will flee from us (James 4:7). But before the devil even launches an attack against us and catches us off guard, let us always remember to apply the blood of the Lamb.
Lastly, the Christian’s defense against the devil is the “whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-17). The devil is a defeated foe – Christ bested him at Calvary. Nevertheless, he will remain active in the world until he is locked up for one thousand years. The devil’s ultimate doom is the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).
Conclusion
Life here on earth is a battleground and the Christian life is warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil.
But the Bible tells us that we have victory in Christ because He has already defeated the enemy and has emerged victorious. Christians can live a victorious life because of what Christ has accomplished on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:57).
This is not to say that everything is going to be “a bed of roses” for the believers in Jesus. Sure, there will be trials and difficulties. In fact, the Lord Jesus Himself said that in this world we will suffer tribulations. But we should not lose heart because He has already overcome the world (John 16:33).
7 Replies to “3 Powerful Enemies of the Christian”
My experience is that Christians are Christianity’s worst enemy.
They drove me right out over the diabolical trinity doctrine.
Then you have those who say if one denies the Trinity – they are not Christians.
I’m done – and so are millions of others.
Trinity, pre-trib, literal 6-day creationism, Calvinism, JOHN MACARTHUR! are driving people out!
In lieu of this notion of these three powerful enemies, many of us seem to be tuning in to deception, and we fail to listen to the Holy Spirit.
This is a very insightful critique that we should all pay attention to. This is particularly addressing how we actually confront Satan in our daily lives.
https://youtu.be/ane_S2tAhx0
🙂
Thank you, Alice!
I would like to leave you with this thought-provoking consideration. Why do you think Jesus places heavy emphasis on avoiding things of the world and the flesh throughout Scripture? Look at this Trinity. The world. The flesh. Satan. Do you see a connection between these powerful powerful enemies?
a. The world IS the kingdom of Satan. Satan has dominion over this sinful world, especially in America.
As for the Christian, they are citizens of God’s kingdom, which is eternal, whereas Satan’s kingdom is temporary. 2 Corinthians 4:4 calls Satan “the god of this world.” Logically, based on what we know about original sin and the nature of Satan and his legions, we can conclude that the world that we currently reside in is under the control of Satan himself.
We may only see looting and rioting in the natural sense, viewing them as a reaction to economic disparities and a global pandemic. When in fact, the flesh and Satan are working simultaneously as these sins are being performed.
b. Given that the flesh is an incarnation of the “old” sinful nature, I would not hesitate to call this a vehicle that drives us on the highway to sin. Before we converted to Christ, we were slaves to sin. Now, you can either be on the side of Christ or the side of Satan — No in between.
This means if a desire of the flesh becomes an idol in your life, you technically have TWO idols: one of which is Satan since you are following his commandments, which is to sin.
For example, anyone who is avarice would worship money AND Satan, since greed goes against God’s laws, and goes towards Satan’s laws (consider Christ’s temptation in the wilderness.) Same thing for pride. You worship knowledge (or whatever you feel you are superior to) AND Satan.
C. While Satan is the author of deception and temptation, he is also a master of evil. You don’t have to be convinced to jump off a temple to give in to temptation. Sometimes, it doesn’t even include a direction or Scripture. It might even be something visually appealing or something that smells good.
Ultimately, there are bad consequences. Sometimes, we underestimate how clever these enticements are, and how easy it is to be lured into the dark path until it is too late. As one of my friends from high school said after the insurrection, “It is hard for us to know when we are blinded by the schemes of Satan. Satan is crafty, and even believers are caught in his trap.”
In fact, this pandemic has truly revealed to me these crafty schemes and his true colors. Here is a short presentation I made about the mind and the spirit realm. It is truly fascinating if you see these mysteries in the Spirit.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1rFj7TuRryyzUYRx9imTSoIEHNGxe8A9pNXe4TOMR_OI/edit?usp=drivesdk
May we all cling to Jesus and search for the truth. May the Holy Spirit guide us and teach us to be vigilant of Satan’s schemes.
Also, my testimony can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e58ZyoU_JVF4PeIEceA0ikIvWiqtp80WpzCLRZniMJE/edit?usp=drivesdk
Hello Maia,
Thank you for another insightful comment.
The days are really getting evil and we, Christians, must be very careful to not be deceived by the evil one. We must always put on the full armor of God in order to win over our three greatest enemies.
Once again, thank you for sharing with me and the readers your story.
God bless you more.
Standing strong against the kingdom of Satan! 🙂
Amen and amen.
We can overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
Amen!