(Read Ephesians 6:11, 12)
We are in a spiritual battle or wrestling match, but our opponent is not a person. The text above says that we do not struggle against “flesh and blood” which is translated as human/mankind. We are not in a struggle with our fellow man; our battle is spiritual. It is against rulers, authorities and evil powers of the spiritual realm. The enemy we wrestle with hates us, he wants to destroy us, and he will do whatever it takes to overpower us. This is frightening when you think about it but as we will soon see this is nothing for us to be afraid of.
According to Webster’s 2 New Riverside Dictionary the word wrestle is defined as “struggle with an opponent in an attempt to throw or pin him down.” This is what the sport of wrestling is, whether fake or real, it is trying to pin down your opponent. It is a sport of strength, endurance, the mind and manipulation (Various moves). Many moves of a wrestler are not ones where you overpower by sheer strength your opponent but are often moves of strategy where you set up your opponent (manipulate him) so you can put a move on him that will result in victory.
There is a saying, generally said before going into battle or even before a wrestling match or any sporting event, “Know your opponent.” Why is this? Because if we have done our homework and studied our opponent’s tactics and we have properly trained and prepared for our match, then we will be able to come out victorious. This is why sports teams watch films of their opponents the week before a game; so they can be familiar with plays, strategies and weaknesses so they can be victorious. The same goes for Christians in Spiritual warfare. We need to know our enemy because he is crafty, deceitful and he will do whatever it takes to pin you down and destroy you.
Our struggle is taking place in the spiritual dominion. The enemies are the spiritual authorities, powers, forces and rulers of evil in the heavenly realm. These include Satan and his legion of dark angels. Did you know Satan is real? I believe one of his craftiest maneuvers is to deceive people into believing he does not exist, to convince people he is just a figment of our imagination. He is this character that people made up to represent evil. Some people actually think if you believe in this Satan character then you may be delusional or mentally unstable. The Bible talks about the devil, Satan, the dragon or Lucifer quite a bit. Jesus talks about him and many of the epistles make references to him as well. He is alive and well and he is doing whatever he can to try and destroy God’s people.
Who is Satan, what does he represent? This could be a sermon series in itself, but I will give you a glance at his characteristics. Satan has no love for God’s people, in fact Jesus says to Peter in Luke 22:31, “Simon, Simon, Satan demanded to have you, that he may sift you like wheat.” And James says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” He doesn’t like you and he will do whatever it takes to deceive you and cause you to fall and stumble.
We are in a spiritual battle or wrestling match, but our opponent is not a person. The text above says that we do not struggle against “flesh and blood” which is translated as human/mankind. We are not in a struggle with our fellow man; our battle is spiritual. It is against rulers, authorities and evil powers of the spiritual realm. The enemy we wrestle with hates us, he wants to destroy us, and he will do whatever it takes to overpower us. This is frightening when you think about it but as we will soon see this is nothing for us to be afraid of.
According to Webster’s 2 New Riverside Dictionary the word wrestle is defined as “struggle with an opponent in an attempt to throw or pin him down.” This is what the sport of wrestling is, whether fake or real, it is trying to pin down your opponent. It is a sport of strength, endurance, the mind and manipulation (Various moves). Many moves of a wrestler are not ones where you overpower by sheer strength your opponent but are often moves of strategy where you set up your opponent (manipulate him) so you can put a move on him that will result in victory.
There is a saying, generally said before going into battle or even before a wrestling match or any sporting event, “Know your opponent.” Why is this? Because if we have done our homework and studied our opponent’s tactics and we have properly trained and prepared for our match, then we will be able to come out victorious. This is why sports teams watch films of their opponents the week before a game; so they can be familiar with plays, strategies and weaknesses so they can be victorious. The same goes for Christians in Spiritual warfare. We need to know our enemy because he is crafty, deceitful and he will do whatever it takes to pin you down and destroy you.
Our struggle is taking place in the spiritual dominion. The enemies are the spiritual authorities, powers, forces and rulers of evil in the heavenly realm. These include Satan and his legion of dark angels. Did you know Satan is real? I believe one of his craftiest maneuvers is to deceive people into believing he does not exist, to convince people he is just a figment of our imagination. He is this character that people made up to represent evil. Some people actually think if you believe in this Satan character then you may be delusional or mentally unstable. The Bible talks about the devil, Satan, the dragon or Lucifer quite a bit. Jesus talks about him and many of the epistles make references to him as well. He is alive and well and he is doing whatever he can to try and destroy God’s people.
Who is Satan, what does he represent? This could be a sermon series in itself, but I will give you a glance at his characteristics. Satan has no love for God’s people, in fact Jesus says to Peter in Luke 22:31, “Simon, Simon, Satan demanded to have you, that he may sift you like wheat.” And James says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” He doesn’t like you and he will do whatever it takes to deceive you and cause you to fall and stumble.
