Dependence on Christ through whom we can do all things is the lesson learned by Paul through the instrumentality of Satan (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Pride is an ally of the evil one and brings us to resist God rather than the devil. Humility gives ear to God and finds strength in the grace of God (cf. Isa. 55:1-3). Paul tells us that it is as we walk by the Spirit that we will not gratify the deeds of the flesh (Gal. 5:16).
With Paul in the School of Spiritual Warfare (5 of 5)
This is the final installment of a five-part series on spiritual warfare. For further study see my two books on the subject: Warfare Witness: Contending with Spiritual Opposition in Everyday Evangelism (Christian Focus, 224 pages) and What is Spiritual Warfare? (P&R Basics of the Faith Series, 44 pages). Links to the previous installments can be found here, here, here and here.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12
How do we go about standing in Christ as God’s strategy for the conduct of spiritual warfare? So far we have seen that we combat Satan’s tactic of accusation by standing firm in Christ’s atonement for our sin and accreditation of His righteousness. We combat Satan’s tactic of deception by standing firm in the word of Christ, hearing His word and putting it into practice, letting that word dwell in us richly in ourselves and through the community of faith.
[Editor’s note: One or more original URLs (links) referenced in this article are no longer valid; those links have been removed.]
