It is important for every Christian to be aware of spiritual warfare. The devil is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He particularly wants to devour Christians. He attacked Jesus, and he will attack us.
We must not be ignorant of the devil’s tricks (2 Corinthians 2:11). We need to know basic things about how the devil operates so that we are not tricked, tripped up, wounded, or destroyed. We need to be able to defeat his attacks.
The Bible says that a curse will not come without a reason (Proverbs 26:2). A curse is spiritual power that operates to destruction; it is the opposite of a blessing. Whenever a curse operates, there is a reason for it; it doesn’t happen randomly. It’s similar with spiritual attacks. For Satan to defeat us in a battle, there must be a reason for it. We must not give any cause or reason for the devil to win victories over us.
When Satan came to attack Jesus, he could find nothing in him. Jesus said Satan had nothing within him (John 14:30). The devil looks for ground or territory within people to attack them. To the extent that he has ground or a right over someone’s life, to that extent he will defeat them. Satan had no right over Jesus, therefore he could not defeat him.
We need to cleanse our lives from things that give the devil advantage over us.
Jesus explained spiritual warfare through a simple parable. He said when a strong man is armed, he keeps his palace. But when someone stronger than he comes upon him, he takes away all his armor, defeats him, and divides his spoils (Luke 11:20-22).
The strong man is the evil spirit.
The palace is the human.
The stronger man is Jesus Christ.
The armor is that which protects the devil’s position within a person’s life. In order to defeat the evil spirit, his armor must be taken away.
The spoils are all the things about the man’s life that can be now used for God after he is delivered from the evil spirit.
Jesus is the stronger man. The name of Jesus is above every other name (Philippians 2:9). Jesus has crushed Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). He stripped fallen angels of their power (Colossians 2:15). He cast out demons and gave us authority to cast out demons.
We fight spiritually in the name of Jesus, with his authority. We have no strength over evil spirits in ourselves, but our power over them is through the name of Jesus Christ (Luke 10:19).
According to Jesus, when we are dealing with evil spirits, the first thing to do is to take away their armor. Armor defends a position. It defends territory. To attack a position, the evil spirit’s armor must first be overcome and then the territory can be taken.
The Israelites had to take territory in the Old Testament. They had to defeat cities like Jericho. Jericho was surrounded by a massive wall. This wall was like its armor. As long as the wall stood, Jericho could not be taken. But when the wall fell down, then their defense was gone and the city could be taken.
We are called to possess our souls. “In your patience, possess your souls” (Luke 21:19). Our souls are like land that needs to be possessed by God. The Holy Spirit should occupy the full extent of our soul. There should be no ground in our souls for the devil.
Satan has armor that protects his right over our lives. Sometimes we have Satanic strongholds within us that defend his position. A stronghold is a fortified position like a castle that is impervious to attack. These strongholds can be in our hearts or minds. They defend the devil’s right to hinder us.
We must demolish these strongholds. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal or material weapons, but they are spiritual weapons that are mighty to God to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). Strongholds are demolished as defensive positions are broken. Until these defenses are broken, no amount of offense will work, and the stronghold will remain. We can shout at the devil all day long, but as long as he defends his position in our lives with Satanic armor, this shouting won’t work.
God has provided us with divine armor to protect us in spiritual battles (Ephesians 6). This divine armor protects God’s position within us and enables us to be spiritually strong against the enemy. The devil’s armor is the opposite of the armor of God, and it protects Satan’s right to oppress us. Instead of the shield of faith, it is unbelief. Instead of the belt of truth, it is lies. Instead of salvation, it is lostness. Instead of the word of God, it is thoughts from the devil. Instead of righteousness, it is unrighteousness. This is Satanic armor that protects the devil’s position.
Satan’s armor can manifest in our lives in many diverse ways. Sin opens the door to evil spirits. Entertaining ourselves with sin or with evil opens the door to the enemy. Sin should not be entertaining for God’s people. Sin is what drove the nails through Jesus’ hands and feet. God’s people should not entertain themselves with the very things that killed the Son of God. We should not enjoy sin; instead we should hate it. Lyrics of most popular songs today glorify evil. Most movies today entertain people through sin— lust, violence, or horror. Horror movies in particular open people up to demonic attack. Romance novels and sinful images and videos are wrong. Video games that glorify murder and mayhem are destructive to our souls. We should not derive pleasure from killing people, whether in real life or on a screen. This is perversion. False religious rituals from other religions create spiritual problems. Even false Christian traditions that are not based on the Bible can open us up to Satanic attack.
These things give the devil ground within us. They are Satanic armor.
The presence of these things in our lives is often defended through lies or vain imaginations.
“These things don’t really matter.”
“It’s just for fun, it’s not THAT serious.”
“Demons only operate in Third World countries, not in the good ole USA.”
“The devil won’t attack me because I’m a Christian.”
“I just don’t think about the devil, therefore he doesn’t bother me.”
In order to destroy Satan’s power to drag us down, we may need to first demolish vain imaginations or lies that protect his position within us. As long as these lies remain, Satan’s armor will remain; his position being defended by our own thoughts and choices.
In Acts 19:19, many people came to the Lord. They gathered together their occult books and burned them. They didn’t leave these books hanging around their lives, but they got rid of them. What was the content of these books? These books probably contained magic spells. They likely contained details of interactions between evil spirits and people— some real and some fictional. They probably contained testimonies of people who used magic and the results they obtained, whether real or fictional. Our culture is awash in demonism today, and this is particularly affecting young people. We need to throw this out of our lives and burn it if necessary.
When the armor of Satan is destroyed, then the person can be set free from the devil’s rights over his life. The soul of the man can be clear from demonic influence. Jesus will be the victor. And then Jesus will divide the spoils. The spoils of the man’s life are his time, money, energy, talents, relationships, and possessions. Everything about the man can now be used for God and his glory.
May God open our eyes to see the spiritual battle raging around us. May the Holy Spirit destroy lies that protect the devil’s position within us. May God help us throw Satanic armor out of our lives so that he does not have ground within us.
Lincoln House Churches 