Bread From Heaven

Armor of God - Who Is Our Enemy?

There are a few places throughout this study that I have linked outside articles from the Internet. They go along with this subject and explain some things really well. I hope you will read these also.

Suggested reading:
https://www.wordsoflife.co.uk/bible-studies/study-9-our-enemy-and-our-warfare/

Ephesians 6:10-13
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Who is our enemy?

1. The Devil
2. Principalities
3. Powers
4. The Rulers of the darkness of this world
5. Spiritual wickedness in high places
6. Our own flesh (lusts)
7. The world

Suggested Reading:
https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/who-is-our-enemy/

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This is from my church’s statement of faith on their beliefs about the devil or Satan.

We believe that Satan is a finite, angelic being who was once holy, though not independent, and enjoyed heavenly honors; but through pride and ambition to become like the Most High, he fell and drew after him a host of angels; that he is now the malignant prince and the power of the air, and the unholy god of this world; that he is man’s great tempter, the enemy of God, the accuser of the brethren, the author of all false religions, the chief power of the present apostasy; the lord of the antichrists, and the author of all powers of darkness–destined to final defeat at the hands of the Son of God, and to the judgment of an eternal justice in hell, a place prepared for him and his angels.

(Ezekiel 28:14-17; Isaiah 14:12-15; Revelation 12:9; Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4; Ephesians 2:2; John 14:30; 1 Thessalonians 3:5; Matthew 4:1; 1 Peter 5:8; Zechariah 3:1; Matthew 13:25,35-39; Luke 22:3-4; Revelation 12:10; 2 Corinthians 11:13-14; Matthew 13:10; 1 John 4:3; 2 John 7; 1 John 2:22; 2 Thessalonians 2:8-11; Revelation 19:11; 12:7-9; 20:1-3,10; Matthew 25:41)

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👹 The Devil 👹

1 John 3:8
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.

1 John 3:9-11
9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

We fight to live as the children of God and not the devil.

Who is the devil?

A fallen angel
Isaiah 14:12-15
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

A great dragon/ an old serpent
Revelation 12:9-12
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Prince of the power of the air/ the spirit that works in the children of disobedience
Ephesians 2:1-3
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Prince of this world
John 14:30
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

The tempter
1Thessalonians 3:5
For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.

Matthew 4:1-11
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Adversary/ roaring lion
1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Resister of the Lord/ Rebuked
Zechariah 3:1-2
And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

Angel of Light
2 Corinthians 11:13-14
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

The Wicked One
Matthew 13:19
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Spirit of the Antichrist
1 John 4:1-3
1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

A liar
1 John 2:22
Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

Father of lies/ murderer/ selfish
John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Deceiver
2 John 1:7
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Wicked
2 Thessalonians 2:8-10
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Destined to burn in Hell
Matthew 25:41
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

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Principalities

Bible Dictionaries - Smith's Bible Dictionary - Principality
Principality.
In several passages of the New Testament the term "principalities and powers" appears to denote different orders of angels,good or bad. See ( Ephesians 6:12 )
https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/principality/

Principalities are the order of command of angelic/spiritual beings.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary
Principality
PRINCIPAL'ITY, noun

1. Sovereignty; supreme power.

2. A prince; one invested with sovereignty. Titus 3:1.

3. The territory of a prince; or the country which gives title to a prince; as the principality of Wales.

4. Superiority; predominance. [Little used.]

5. In Scripture, royal state or attire. Jeremiah 13:1.

http://kingjamesbibledictionary.com/Dictionary/principalities

I recommend reading this. It pertains to this subject.
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/08/26/what-are-principalities-...

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Powers

The above mentioned recommended reading also mentions powers. Spiritual power is real guys! There are always things going on in the spiritual realm that most us have no clue about. This is why we need to put our spiritual armor on and always be ready to do spiritual warfare.

Here is another internet link that explains in even more depth.

https://davidschrock.com/2017/09/08/what-are-the-powers-and-principalities-in-ep...

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The Ruler Of The Darkness Of This World

This explains it even better than I can. Please read this.
https://cffczion.org/assets/realm-of-the-supernatural-rulers-of-the-darkness-of-...

Darkness itself can even be considered our enemy.

1 John 1:5-7
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1 John 2:9-11
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

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Our Own Flesh

James 1:12-15
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Romans 7:18-25
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

They often say we are our own worst enemy. Unfortunately, according to these Scriptures, it is true. Although Ephesians 6 tells us that we don't fight with flesh and blood, there is a huge spiritual battle going on inside our flesh for the ownership of our soul.

John 1:11-13
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

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The World

1 John 2:15-17
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

1 John 3:1
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

1 John 3:13
Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

John 15:18-22
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.

We are hated by the world. Therefore, the world is our enemy. We are different from them, chosen and set apart by God himself.

As Matthew 5:14-16 says: 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

In the world there is darkness. When we shine our light, we expose their deeds of evil. They don't like that at all.

John 17:11-16
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Mark 13:13
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

John 1:10
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

The world hated Jesus. It will hate us.

Suggested reading:
https://toeverynation.com/enemy-the-world-attacks/

http://ubdavid.org/kids-world/explorers2/explorers2_7.html

Our main enemy is the devil. All these other enemies mentioned here are influenced by him. These are some of his tools he uses to cause us to stumble and fall. However, I love this promise in Psalms.

Psalm 37:23-24
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.

God will uphold us and help us to fight against evil. He is always with us and a very present help in trouble. All we have to do is call out to him for help. The good news is we fight an enemy who has already been defeated. Christ defeated the devil, death, and Hell when he died on the cross and rose again. The good news is we are more than conquerors. (Romans 8:37) We have the victory in Jesus Christ. Praise God!

Jesus is my permanent anchor!