1/25/18 – Eph 6:11, The Angelic Conflict, Pt. 9, The Enemy, Pt. 6. Lesson #18-010.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8Sak9YRSyY

Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

Stand in Warfare – Eph 6:10-20.

Outline of Eph 6 :10-24

1. The Empowerment, vs. 10.

2. The Enemy, vs. 11-12. 

3. The Equipment, vs. 13-17. 

4. The Energy, vs. 18-20. 

5. The Encouragement, vs. 21-24.

2. The Enemy, vs. 11-12.

Eph 6:11, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”

Based on the outline in L.S. Chafer’s Systematic Theology, the following is a brief outline of the career of Satan past, present, and future.

Past.

 1. Satan experienced a moral fall, Isa 14:12-20; Ezek 28:15; 1 Tim 3:6.

Ezek 28:15, “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.”

 2. Satan’s judgment was predicted in Eden, Gen 3:15.

Gen 3:15, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

 3. His judgment was accomplished at the Cross, John 12:31-33.

Present.

 1. He is reigning as a usurper today, 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2; Rev 2:13.

Rev 2:13, “I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”

Pergamos (properly called Pergamum) at that time was the capital of the Roman province of Asia, which today is Turkey. Jesus recognized it as a place where Satan dwelt and had his seat or “throne.” This refers to the idolatry of the city and the severe persecution of the Church as a result. On the city’s acropolis stood a great altar to Zeus, the chief Greek god. Nearby was an elegant temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, another to Dionysius, later called Bacchus, and another to the emperor god Trajan. Outside the city wall was a shrine to the Greek god of medicine, Asklepios, with his symbol in the form of a serpent. Thus, the city was a center for both idolatry and persecution of Christians.

2. He gains the name accuser of the brethren for what he is doing now, Rev 12:10.

Rev 12:10, “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night’.”

He accuses us before God when we sin, thinking he can cause us to lose our salvation. But Christ, our Advocate, takes our case and reminds the Father again and again that He paid for all our sins when He died on the cross, 1 John 2:1-2.

 3. He opposes believers in various areas of their lives. He opposes our witness to the Gospel. He does this by confusing us when he plants tares among the wheat, Mat 13:38-39, by snatching away the Word that has been sown, Mark 4:15, by aligning governmental authorities against believers, 1 Thes 2:18, or by imprisoning believers, believing this will keep their testimony from spreading or make them fearful of witnessing, Rev 2:10.

 4. He is father, in a spiritual sense, to all who accept his philosophy of independence from God, John 8:44; Eph 2:2.

Future.

 1. He is one day to be cast out of heaven, Rev 12:7-12; cf. Isa 14:12; Luke 10:18.

 2. He is to be confined to the abyss for one thousand years, Rev 20:1-3, 7.

 3. When released from the abyss, he will lead armies against God, Rev 20:8-9.

 4. His final doom is the lake of fire, Rev 20:10.

In the present, just as Satan tried the Lord, he also tries believers. His aim is to get us to commit evil. There are three ways that Satan tries to tempt us: appetite, beauty, and ambitious pride. He first creates an appetite in your soul so that it craves/lusts for something. Then he provides something that can satisfy that craving. And finally, he influences the soul to think you deserve to have that thing to satisfy your craving. This progressive scenario of temptation leading to sin is the concept of 1 John 2:16; Col 2:18.

1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (appetite) and the lust of the eyes (beauty) and the boastful pride of life (ambitious pride), is not from the Father, but is from the world.”

Col 2:18, “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement (appetite) and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen (beauty), inflated without cause by his fleshly mind (ambitious pride).”

Satan used these same three areas of temptation against the woman in the Garden of Eden, Gen 3:6, and our Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in Luke 4:3, 5, 9.

At any one of the three areas of temptation, we can stand firm by putting on the armor of God, utilizing the strength of His might to say no to the temptation in our soul, as our Lord did. If we do, we will be victorious experientially. Yet, if we do not, we will succumb to the demonic influence that leads to sin.

Gen 3:6, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food (appetite), and that it was a delight to the eyes (beauty), and that the tree was desirable to make one wise (ambitious pride), she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”

James 1:13-15, “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”

In others words, appetite, beauty, and ambitious pride results in lust, sin, and death. Satan’s only purpose is to tempt the believer to commit evil.

Yet, God may sometimes use Satan in testing us to prove us in resisting his temptations. Tests can have three beneficial purposes in the life of the believer:

1) To prove us, 1 Peter 1:6-7.

2) To teach us, 1 Peter 4:12-13; Heb 5:8.

3) To increase our love for God, James 1:12.

James 1:12, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”