What are three areas a spiritual battle takes place?

For the next few weeks, I want to prepare us to face our Enemy and recognize the battle we can find ourselves in. Then, we will study each piece of our godly armor.

Preparing for battle: introducing our Enemy.

There is considerable debate about when Satan was created and when he was banned from heaven. But he was made to be one of the angels.

“Son of man, sing a funeral song for the king of Tyre and tell him this is what the Lord God says: Once you were complete and perfect, full of wisdom and flawless in beauty. I gave you the position of guardian cherub, and I anointed you. You lived on God’s holy mountain, and you walked among the stones of fire.

You were innocent in everything you did from the day you were created until you were found to be doing evil, you were so busy with all your trading schemes that they destroyed you inside, leading you to sin and filling you with violence. So I sent you away in disgrace from God’s mountain, and I removed you from your position as guardian cherub from your place among the stones of fire.

You became proud because of your beauty; you ruined your wisdom because you thought you were so wonderful. So I threw you down to the ground, and I made sure kings saw what happened to you. By all your sins and your dishonest trading, you have made your sanctuaries unclean. So I had the fire come from inside you, and it burned you up. I turned you into ashes on the ground as everybody there watched.” Ezekiel 28:12,14-18

Satan’s fall to Earth

Satan was the guardian cherub. He had precious stones, was full of wisdom, and was very beautiful. But he wanted more; he became jealous and allowed violence to overtake him, and he sinned. And because of his sin, God banished Satan, the guardian cherub, to the earth.

“Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Luke 10:18

“There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought, but he was not strong enough, and they could no longer remain in heaven. The great dragon, the ancient serpent called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world, was thrown down to the earth, and his angels with him.” Revelation 12:7-9

The battle lines are drawn.

The very first battle was in the garden. Satan disguised himself as a serpent and tempted Eve with doubt. From that moment on, Satan and the other angels that fell with him became demons and started their attacks on God’s image-bearers.

“The serpent was more cunning than any of the other wild animals that the Lord God had made. He asked Eve, “Did God really say that you can’t eat fruit from every tree in the garden?” Eve replied to the serpent, “We can eat from the trees in the garden, but not the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. God told us, ‘You mustn’t eat from that tree, or even touch it, otherwise you’ll die.'”

“You certainly won’t die,” the serpent told Eve. “It’s because God knows that as soon as you eat it, you’ll see things differently, and you’ll be like God, knowing both what is good and what is evil.” Eve saw that the fruit of the tree appeared good to eat. It looked very attractive. She really wanted it so she could become wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it, and she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it too. Immediately, they saw everything differently and realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves up.” Genesis 3:1-7

Knowing Satan’s battle plan.

There are three main areas Satan will attack.

The first battle is through the world.

“At one time, you were dead in your sins and evil actions, living your lives according to the ways of the world, under the control of the devil, whose spirit is at work in those who disobey God. All of us were once like that, our behavior determined by the desires of our sinful human nature and our evil way of thinking. Like everyone else, in our nature, we were children of anger.” Ephesians 2:1-3

For this attack, Satan will use anything in our environment to pull us away from God: our jobs, family, and the social and political differences tearing everyone apart. If Satan can distract us with the shiny things of the world, we turn our backs on God.

The second is from Satan himself.

“Be responsible, and stay alert. The devil, your Enemy, is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

Because Satan hates God, he hates God’s image bearers, too, and will do everything he can think of to destroy the relationship between us and God. He schemes and devises ways to cause pain and suffering every chance he gets. Here are a few of Satan’s different names and Scriptures telling how he operates.
Accuser (Revelation 12:10)
Adversary (1 Peter 5:8)
Angel of Light ( 2 Corinthians 11:14)
Murderer (John 8:44)
Prince of this World (John 12:31)
Satan (Luke 10:18)
Serpent (Revelation 12:9)

The third is our flesh.

“‘for I know that there’s nothing good in me as far as my sinful human nature is concerned. Even though I want to do good, I’m just unable to do it. The good I want to do, I don’t do, while the evil I don’t want to do, that’s what I end up doing! However, if I’m doing what I don’t want to, then it’s no longer me doing it, but sin living in me.” Romans 7:18-20

Our flesh is constantly leading us astray. Satan will use it against us, telling us lies. Our minds and our emotions are often easy targets in this battle. Satan is watching for a way into our thoughts and emotions; things like fear, wrong thinking, a past hurt, or wrong beliefs will always be an open door for an attack.

Are you ready for battle?

Now that we have briefly examined Satan’s battle plan, how do we fight back? Come with me and learn about some unique pieces of armor God made for each of us to wear. We are covered head to toe with this great armor, each designed as a defensive or offensive weapon.

God knows our Enemy; he knows that Satan will do anything and everything to keep us separated from God. God’s divine armor is a gift to each of us to wear and stand strong against every lie and scheme Satan plans for us.

We must fight this battle daily, so let’s learn how to wear and use our armor.