We searched far and wide, both high and low to rout out the enemy.  Failing to expose him we returned defeated . . . only to find we had searched in vain.  The enemy was within....

                                                Michael

            How many times, as Christian counselors, have we heard the following - "I have had more problems and struggles since I became a Christian than I ever had before!  I thought becoming a Christian was going to give me peace and happiness all the time, that God was going to answer all my prayers and things would be easy.  I feel worse now than I ever did before!"  For the new Christian the initial shock of being in warfare can be very unsettling and disconcerting.  While we were yet sinners we were enemies of God, not enemies of Satan and his kingdom.  God never personally attacked us and said we must join his kingdom.  Rather we were gently drawn by the Holy Spirit;  but, once we have become Christians, things begin to change drastically.

            The war fought between God and Satan for kingship over mankind is waged very differently.  God fights for our souls, wooing us with His love and forgiveness, even dying for our salvation.  Satan on the other hand is a bully, and would rather kill us than lose us.  Once he has lost us to almighty God, his hatred towards us intensifies for - we are now "one with Christ", the One who defeated him on the cross.  Satan will do anything within his power to defeat us and render us powerless to the army of light.  If he can defeat us, he then is assured more control over those still within his kingdom.

WHY WE ARE ATTACKED

            Why are we at war?  Ever since Satan was thrown down from heaven the scene for the battle of the cosmos was set.  When Adam and Eve sinned, the entire human race, and all of creation, fell under the dominion of Satan, and the control of sin and evil.  All of creation now "groans and suffers" (Rom. 8:22).  The Old Testament prophets all looked forward to, and anticipated a day when God would rid the world of evil and establish His kingdom on earth (Amos 9:13-15; Is 65:17).  In the New Testament, Jesus declared that His kingdom was essentially one of conflict and conquest over the kingdom of Satan - "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work" (1 Jn. 3:8).  Satan is not happy about losing his kingdom - how many kings do you know that would be?  The salvation of each Christian is in part one step, added to previous steps taken by Christ, to bring all of creation out of the devil's ownership and put it under submission to Himself (Phil. 2:10-11).  Satan will fight and attack until the last moment he is removed (Rev 20:7-10).  He will keep his own in bondage so that they may not venture out and see the light.  He will take captives of as many of those that have seen the light as he can in order to render them ineffective to the kingdom of light (2 Tim. 2:24-26).

            What are the reasons for the battle and why is it more intense for some than for others?

            The first two reasons that Christians are attacked, we have already discussed.  First, we are the body of Christ.  Just as Satan persecuted and killed Christ, so he will do the same to us.  Second, we are God's hands for carrying out His work.  If Satan can destroy the hands doing the work, the work does not get done.  In saying this, I do not wish to imply that God is limited by Satan, other than by God's own choice; for it seems that God and Satan have established rules of how warfare is waged - Satan is bound by them, and God has chosen to follow them.  These rules determine the circumstances, conditions and the degree to which Satan has access to persecute us.

            The third reason we are attacked is simply because we are weak and vulnerable to attack.  We are often not strong in His might and do not understand the rules by which war is waged.   Specific things, that we have done or our ancestors have done, open us up to attack by Satan and give ground to the enemy.  This ground is accessible to the demonic kingdom and becomes the battlefield where the war is waged. 

            What?  Are you talking about inside?  Where is this ground?  Let's take a look.

            The wording in the Greek of Ephesians 4:27 in which Paul says "and do not give  place  to the devil."  literally means a definite specific place or territory.  The word translated place, "topos", is used 84 times in the Bible; in 81 of these the implication is a literal physical place.  The place Paul is talking about then, is a specific area that Satan can gain control of and use as headquarters to begin to attack other areas.

            The fact that Christians can become demonized can be quite upsetting to many.  Let's look at some of the arguments which would support this view:

            1.  James 4:7 gives a  powerful promise, "Submit therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  But what happens if the believer fails to resist the devil?  Wouldn't he rather not flee and instead take up residence (Eph 4:26)?

            2.  In II Corinthians 2:11 - what happens if Satan "gets an advantage of us?"  What happens if we are ignorant of the devil's devices?  Does he ignore our ignorance or does he indeed take advantage of us?  Where is that advantage taken - around us or in us?

            3.  Moses warns in Deuteronomy 18:10-14 not to partake in occult activities such as fortune telling, witchcraft, spiritism, and necromancy.  If we ignore the warning, what is the result?  All these practices involve the conjuring of spirits to control or influence the host in order to receive supernatural information.  This command was given to God's people, not to the pagans.

            4.  I Corinthians 12:3 and I John 4:1 speak of `testing the spirits' to be sure they are of God.  It would appear that the tests are to be done on Christians.  We are also to discern the spirits, not the people who prophecy or speak in tongues.  The testing of the spirit involves a verbal confession affirming or denying that Jesus Christ came in the flesh.  How could there be such verbal assent if the deceiving spirit was not inside?  What is the result of being deceived and believing a false spirit?

            II Corinthians 11:4 also mentions the concept of receiving a different spirit.  This reception is in correlation (vs. 3) of Satan leading our minds astray.  Again we see the importance of discerning the spirits so that we would not believe an error and give access to a false spirit.

            5.  In Ephesians 4:27, what is the result of giving place or ground to the devil?  In John 14:30 Christ says, "...for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in me..."  Christ was the only sinless man who could make such a statement.  We too are positionally sinless (Rom 6:18) but do continue to sin and have the remaining effects of sin (Rom 7:17,23; Gal. 5:17; I Jn 1:8).

              6.  In I Peter 5:1-9 Christian elders are to tend God's flock and protect them from Satan - who is as a lion "seeking whom he may devour."  How are Christians devoured?  Are not demons spiritual beings who attack us at a spiritual level?  Would not a spiritual lion devour spiritual meat?

            7.  Romans 4:3-9 states that Abraham was justified by faith, and Galatians 3:7 affirms that all those who are of faith are called children of Abraham.  In Luke 13:10-16 a woman who is called "a daughter of Abraham had a spirit of infirmity ... whom Satan had bound, lo, these eighteen years..."  Jesus laid His hands on her and she was made well.  Would not this woman have been counted among those justified by faith?  And being so would she not be considered a child of God?

              8.  In Luke 22:31-34 Satan obviously wanted to get to Peter. What is meant by being sifted like wheat?  It would seem to me that this would involve the entire being of the individual, inside and out.  Obviously Satan had gotten through to Peter before (Matt:16:23) for, while Peter was talking, Christ commanded Satan to get behind him.

            9.  Acts 5:1-11 records how Ananias, along with his wife, had allowed "Satan to fill their hearts".  These were Christians who were putting the Spirit of the Lord to a test.  It seems obvious that something was going on "inside" these people.  Being filled to lie, though, does not indicate uncontrollable possession.  Ananias was responsible for the lie.  He had "conceived this deed in his heart" (vs 4).  There seems to be a close correlation between the "conception of the deed" and the "filling with Satan to lie" to the Holy Spirit.  All the activity here is occurring inside, not outside of Ananias. 

            10.  James 3:14-16 implies that if we open ourselves to jealous and selfish ambition, we may become open to being controlled by wisdom that is "earthly, natural, demonic".  Where there is "jealousy and selfish ambition..., there is disorder and every evil thing."  What are all the evil things?  Would not demons be included in this list?  And where would the selfish ambition be if not in the heart?

            11.  Paul writes in I Timothy 4:1-3 that "some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons."  If we are to be deceived in our minds would there not be an inside connection?

            12.  I Corinthians 5:1-13 records how a man, so deceived and controlled by Satan, was flaunting his illicit relationship of incest with his father's wife before the whole church.  Paul "decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (vs 5)."  How is the flesh destroyed, from internally, externally or both?

            13.  In II Corinthians 10 and 11 Paul talks about the spiritual warfare which believers are waging.  Neither the weapons nor the warfare are fleshly (10:3,4; Eph 6:12).  The warfare involves breaking down strongholds and casting down imagination and every high thing against the knowledge of God.  There appears to be a very close correlation between, bringing our thoughts captive, and breaking down strongholds.  Could it be that strongholds are in the mind?  In II Corinthians 11:4 we are warned of the dangers "If one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted..."  How do you receive a different spirit?  Where would you receive it?  It seems to be closely related to mental acceptance of truth or error.  Does accepting the "gift of error" mean accepting the giver of the gift?

            14.  Deuteronomy 27 and 28 describes blessings and cursings that are passed from one generation to the next.  Those of us that have had significant experience in deliverance ministry understand that the result of a curse is a flow of demons towards the cursed person or object.  The effect of bringing a curse upon ourselves, by involvement with certain types of sin, will bring this negative flow towards us; and not only upon us but upon our "children to the third and fourth generation" (Dt. 5:9).  Part of what is entitled in a blessing from God is protection from demonic attack.  These blessings are passed on to one thousand generations.  If curses were not related to the demonic how would we explain the results which occur with them? 

            15.  The Greek word translated "demon possessed" throughout the new testament "daimonizomenos" does not mean owned by a demon (possession), but simply "demonized."  The phrase "daimonion echein" can be most accurately translated "to have a demon."  In that sense it basically describes the condition of a person who is inhabited by a demon or demons, and is to various degrees under control, resulting in a range of symptoms.  Can we be owned by God and still have part of ourselves squatted upon because of some right?

are "worshipping the sun toward the east".  This practice too was part of the Babylonian worship of the sun god Osiris.  Off and on for the last 100 years, such practices had been going on inside the temple, but God's spirit remained there (9:3).  Chapters 9 and following record the judgments which fell upon the inhabitants of the land because of this defilement.  II Corinthians 6:16 says "Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?  For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,..."  How do we have agreements with idols, without being involved with the demons behind the idols?

            17.  2 Corinthians 7:1 (which follows the section talking about what fellowship is there between righteousness and lawlessness; light and darkness; Christ and Belial; a believer and an unbeliever; and an idol and the temple [who we are]) states, "Therefore, having these promises, beloved let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit,..."  Is not the flesh defiled with that which is fleshly or worldly, and is not the spirit defiled by those things which operate at a spiritual level?

            18.  Paul was given a "thorn in the flesh" which was "a messenger of Satan" (2 Cor 12:7).  Paul prayed 3 times that the Lord would remove it but the Lord allowed it to remain so that "His power could be perfected in weakness" (vs 9).  Was not this thorn, "in" the flesh?

            19.  We are warned by Jesus Christ to "Take heed, that the light which is in you be not darkness" (Lk. 11:35 KJV)  The light which is in us is our spirit for "The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord..." (Prov 20:27).  When we sin, our light falls into darkness.  Where does Satan dwell - in light or in darkness?

            20.  In Philippians 2:12b,13 we are told to: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (KJV).  As believers we are told that God is working in us but that we are to "work out" our salvation.  The Greek word here translated "salvation" is "soteria."  The primary meaning for this word in Thayers Lexicon is "deliverance from the molestation of enemies."  Are we not then to work out our own deliverance from any lingering effects of sin, the world and the devil until we are free?

            21.  What does it mean to be caught in the snare of the devil? (2 Timothy 2:26).  The passage here is speaking directly to the Christian, not the pagan.  The context is referring to the "bondservant of the Lord" (vs 24), and follows instructions regarding the cleansing of one's own vessel (vs 21) so that one will not be led astray (vs 18).  Being caught in the snare of the devil speaks of "being held captive to do his [Satan's] will".  When we are cleansing our vessel, the reference is to removal of that which dishonors [abstain from wickedness (vs 19)].  In context, we are to remove that which is `within' the house.

            Many Christians find it disconcerting to think that some of their fellow Christians may need deliverance from demons; but really, this should not surprise us, for Christ encountered a man with an unclean spirit in the temple who must have been worshipping alongside everyone else (Mk 1:23).  Who knows how long this person may have been attending and worshipping, before his encounter with the Saviour caused the spirits within him to cry out.  Many, who have had ministry in church settings, have testified and written how, when the Holy Spirit comes in power, people who have been Christians for many years all of a sudden experience a welling up inside them of demonic power (which they had not realized was there).  The reason it had gone undetected for so long was that it had never been confronted by the power of Jesus in any meaningful way.

            Of those that minister in the area of deliverance, I know of none who would deny the fact that Christians can become demonized.  I also know of none who believe that God called them to minister deliverance to the non-Christian.  Such a ministry would be fruitless.  (There are times in which a person is not able to pray out loud for salvation, but in these cases, the demons simply need to be bound for the person to proceed in prayer.  Deliverance can occur later when the person is firmly grounded in truth and faith.)

     Why do we come under attack?  To summarize: we are the body of Christ and we undertake His work;  we often are weak and accessible to attack; and we are ourselves the ultimate battleground.  The battle is within as well as without.

POSITIONAL HOLINESS VS EXPERIENTIAL HOLINESS

At conversion we receive positional victory over Satan and his kingdom (Col 2:15; Rom 8:37-39).  Nothing can ever again separate us from the love of Christ; but, though we are positional conquerors, we must fight for this position experientially (Eph. 6).  In the same way that we are positionally free from sin (Rom. 6) each of us is in a continual battle to "reckon" ourselves free, and walk in complete freedom from sin's power.  Just as we all continue to sin, we also continue to fall prey to the devil.  One day, when we experience the transformation of our physical bodies, we will be totally free from sin and the power of the evil one.  Until that day, we wrestle with sin via the world, the flesh, and the devil.

            Our failure to experience complete release from the kingdom of darkness can be attributed to a number of things:  1)  We  continue to sin and give foothold to the devil.  2)  Satan often retains legal rights to us because of things our ancestors have done and these rights must be broken.  3)  We fail to put on the whole armour of God and stand firm.  4)  We fail to appropriate the full protection of God and stay under his Fatherly umbrella.

            Experientially we are attacked on three fronts.  All three of these fronts are in the clutches of sin.  We must wage war  on all three fronts - the world, the flesh, and the devil - or fall prey to the devil.

THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL

              First, we are at war within.  We have a problem with the flesh which is bent towards evil, and will remain that way until it is crucified experientially.  Realistically this will not happen in entirety until we experience physical death.  Galations 5:16-18 is the classic description of the war that goes on between the Spirit and the flesh.  The flesh is responsible for all types of sin.

            Second, we are at war without.  We have a problem with the world which is under the control of sin and the devil.  I John 2:15-17 states:  "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.  And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever."

            Third, we are at war with organized evil - Satan and his demons, principalities and powers.  Satan has come under the power and control of sin and is himself the father of sin.  He oversees a vast kingdom which includes not only his demonic hoards, but also the world and all those within it.  Paul states in Eph. 2:1-3:  "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest."  Here we see the war on all fronts.  Before salvation, sin blocked us and broke our fellowship with God.  Sin holds fallen man and all of creation in bondage through the three fronts; the world, the flesh, and the devil.  The devil became, with the fall of man, the owner and lord of all fallen creation. 

            After salvation, the sin that blocks us from God is positionally removed and we are again connected with Him.  We still wage war on the three fronts but we are no longer in a position of being dominated by our owner - we are now owned by God.  We have been bought by a price (I Cor 6:20) and can now win the war that is waged.  We are in a position to overthrow each of these powers: 

            We are to overcome sin with sanctification (Rom 6:6).

            We are to overcome the flesh with crucifixion and submission (Gal 3:20; Ro 12:1,2).

            We are to overcome the world by not becoming entangled in it and not loving it (I Jn 2:15).

            We are to overcome Satan by resistance (James 4:7), by the armour (Eph 6), and by deliverance (Acts 10:38). 

            Let's look at each of these fronts in more detail:

THE WORLD

            How are we to wage warfare against the world?  We are called to `overcome the world' - "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. And who is the one that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I Jn 5:4-5).  There are two ways we can overcome by faith:  First, faith comes by the study of the word of God (II Tim 3:15).  As we grow in the truth that comes through the word, we are able to compare our desires and lusts to the truth from God and detect the lies and deceits of the world and the devil.  Second, it is our faith that comes as a gift from God (Ro 12:3; Eph 2:8; 6:23) and provides us with our union to Jesus Christ.  Because of our position in Christ we know that we eventually will have complete victory over the world.  Its doom, like Satan's, has been sealed by Jesus Christ (Jn 12:31).  We are positionally "crucified to the world, and it to us" (Gal 2:20; 6:14).

            "Ye are from God, little children, and have overcome them;  because greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world" (I Jn 4:4).

            "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.  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.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (I Jn 2:15-17).  "... do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (James 4:4).

THE FLESH

            "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envyings, drunkenness, carousings, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal 5:19-21).

            "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts and fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.  All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man" (Mark 7:20-23).

            "The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so;  and those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:7,8).

            When we struggle with those things that are listed as proceeding from the flesh or the heart, our responsibility is to "abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul" (I Pet 2:11).  We are to  "Flee youthful lusts" (II Tim 2:22).  Our attitude is to reckon ourselves dead to sin (Rom 6:11).  Our position is to set our mind on God.   The instruction is to avoid and run from that which tempts us, to the point of eventually not even noticing the enticement.  We are to confess our sins as they occur and then avoid those things.  For problems that are rooted strictly in the flesh, this process will bring deliverance.  The problem though, for many people is that, although they confess, run from sin, have people pray that they will be delivered from temptation, and do all to crucify the flesh and not surrender to its pull - they remain in bondage.  Instead of the usual strong pull to do certain things, there is a compulsion, or obsession, and at times even an inability to refrain from the sinful activity.  It is in these instances that you can be certain that there is a need for warfare on more than one front.  For some, a change of environment (the world) can make a dramatic difference.  For most it involves a direct offensive against the devil. 

THE DEVIL        

              "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood , but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph 6:12).

            Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd who loves and cares for His sheep.  In contrast the devil is described as a thief and a wolf:

"I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy;  I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.  I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.  He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them" (Jn 10:9-12).

            Stealing, killing, and destroying - these actions describe the overall basic functions of the satanic kingdom.   Let's look at some of the specific names which also describe their functions:  

            Let's now look at some of the specific activities that are carried out by the satanic kingdom:

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