GOD'S
BATTLE PLAN
He that committeth sin is of the Devil; for
the Devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil. (I John 3:8)
THE PURPOSE OF WARFARE
From the beginning of time, every natural
battle that has been fought always had a purpose for which it was waged. Before we examine God's battle plan, it is
important to understand the purpose of spiritual warfare. This involves understanding the purposes of
God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.
THE PURPOSE OF GOD:
It is God's purpose that...
...in the dispensation of the fullness of
times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
Heaven, and which are on earth... (Ephesians 1:10)
From the beginning of time, Satan has battled
against the fulfillment of this purpose.
Your own warfare in the spirit world is related to this purpose of
God. Satan battles to bring your heart,
mind, spirit, and soul into allegiance to him instead of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God works in you to accomplish His purpose:
For it is God which worketh in you both to
will and to do His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13)
God also works through your life to
accomplish His purposes:
Neither yield ye your members as instruments
of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves
unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as
instruments of righteousness unto God.
(Romans 6:13)
When you yield yourself to become "an
instrument of righteousness unto God," it means you bring your life and
ministry in harmony with His purpose and plans.
By doing this, you become a target for God's enemy, Satan.
THE PURPOSE OF JESUS:
Jesus said:
He that committeth sin is of the Devil; for
the Devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil. (I John 3:8)
The reason Jesus came into the world was to
destroy the works of Satan. This immediately set Him in opposition to the
enemy:
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life and that
they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
From the beginning of His earthly ministry,
Jesus set about destroying the works of Satan:
• He revealed the bondage of sin (John 8:34).
• He forgave sins (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark
2:1-12,17; Luke 4:17-32). • He stressed the heart condition rather than the
deception of outward appearance (Matthew 15:16-20; Mark 7:20-23; Luke 6:45;
11:39). • He healed the sick (Matthew 11:5). • He raised people from the dead
(Mark 5:35-43; Luke 8:49- 56; John 11). • He released people from demonic
powers (Matthew 8:16).
In summary, He destroyed the works of Satan
in the hearts, souls, minds, and bodies of men and women:
The blind receive their sight, and the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and
the poor have the Gospel preached to them.
(Matthew 11:5)
Jesus not only destroyed the works of Satan,
He also exposed the devious strategies of the enemy:
• He taught on the deception of Satan which
would increase during the last days on earth
(Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 17:22-37; 21:8-36; Matthew 24-25). • He
warned of Satan who was able to destroy the soul (Matthew 10:28). • He spoke of
the necessity of binding the strong man (Satan) before spoiling his goods (Matthew 12:26-30; Mark 3:23-27; Luke
11:17-24). • He revealed how Satan tries to prevent the Word of God from being
effective in the hearts of men and women
(Matthew 13:38; Mark 4:15; Luke 8:12). • He exposed those who were not
right with God as being of their "father, the devil" (John 8:44-47).
• He revealed Satan as the "prince of the world" (John 14:30).
THE GREAT DIVISION
Although Jesus came to bring the peace of God
(John 14:27; Philippians 4:7), and peace with God (Romans 5:1), His coming also
brought division:
Think not that I am come to send peace on
earth: I came not to send peace, but a
sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance
against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in
law against her mother in law.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own
household. (Matthew 10:34-36)
Jesus divided all men into two battle
camps. It is not possible to be neutral:
No man can serve two masters: for either he
will hate the one, and love the
other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God
and mammon. (Matthew 6:24)
He that is not with me is against me... (Luke 11:23)
Jesus spoke of this great division in a story
about two paths, one which was straight and narrow and one which was
broad. He warned of the deception of
Satan's broad path which many took (Matthew 7:13-14). Through the account of the rich man and
Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31), Jesus removed the veil between life and death. He let men see the end result of choosing the
wrong way.
Because He destroyed and exposed the works of
Satan, Jesus was under assault throughout His earthly life. The enemy constantly tried to destroy Him or
prevent Him from fulfilling the mission for which He had come. The moment He was born, an attempt was made
on His life. During His public ministry there were several plots on His life
and at least one attempt which was aborted.
He met the opposition of demonic
powers, religious leaders, His own followers, and Satan.
When you align yourself with the plan and
purposes of Jesus by accepting Him as your Savior, you become part of the army
that wars against Satan. The purposes of
Jesus become your purposes and this sets you in a tactical position of direct
opposition to the enemy.
THE BATTLE PLAN
There are many different Scriptural
strategies that can be used in spiritual warfare, but the basic battle plan for
believers is revealed by observing how Jesus dealt with the enemy. The basic battle plan for spiritual warfare
is based on six major points. These are:
• The Word Of God • Delegated Power And
Authority • Prayer • Fasting • Keys Of The Kingdom • The Name Of Jesus
THE WORD OF GOD
One direct confrontation between Jesus and
Satan came during a special period of temptation by the enemy. In this
encounter, one of the major portions of our spiritual battle plan was revealed.
Before proceeding with this lesson, read the accounts of this temptation
recorded in Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, and Luke 4:1-13.
First Satan tried to get Jesus to turn stones
into bread. The power of Jesus which
soon was to turn water into wine surely could have turned stones into
bread. But to do so in this situation
would have been acting independently of God and using His power for personal
benefit.
Next Satan tried to get Jesus to cast Himself
down from the top of the temple. Note that Satan said "Cast thyself
down." Satan could not cast Him
down, because the power of Satan is a limited power. Satan can persuade you to sin, but he cannot
cast you down. As you have learned,
every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust. He is not forced,
but enticed. In this temptation, Satan
used God's Word to back up his appeal, but he misapplied it (Matthew 4:6). Misapplication of God's Word is a major
strategy of Satan.
In both of the first two temptations Satan
said "IF you are the Son of God," do these things. For Jesus to have complied would have been
admission that the verification of His sonship by God was inadequate. God had already spoken from Heaven confirming
this relationship (Matthew 3:17). Satan
always centers his attacks on your relationship with God. The final temptation was an appeal by Satan
for worship. In return, Satan would
deliver to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.
In these three situations of temptation you
can see the evil forces of the world, the flesh, and the Devil warring against
Jesus. Jesus met the temptations of
Satan with the Word of God. The Bible is
a very important spiritual weapon and part of the armor of God which you will
study about later. It is called
"the sword of the Spirit." The
Word of God is the only divinely inspired manual of spiritual warfare. Other books are useful only as they are in
harmony with God's Word.
In meeting the temptations of Satan, Jesus
used the Word of God. Jesus quoted specific Scriptures applicable to the
immediate battle. He did not quote
passages of chronology or history from the Old Testament. Jesus said, "It is written again..." When you use specific Scriptures, be sure
they are in balance with the remainder of the Word of God. They must be viewed
in their context and applied in harmony with the total revealed Word of God.
In order to use the Word of God effectively
in spiritual warfare, you must know the Word of God. You must study, meditate on, and memorize
it. Many defeats in life come because we
do not know God's Word:
Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err,
not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (Matthew 22:29)
The Word of God is our manual for warfare and
reveals God's spiritual battle plan.
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