A surprising element regarding the infant Church of Jesus Christ is that nearly all the Epistles were written prior to the four Gospels being recorded. It appears that since the Church age began after Calvary and the Upper Room impartation of the Holy Spirit, God wanted the new converts to be instructed more in the RESULTS of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection than in the mere history of these amazing accomplishments.
We see this clearly in Paul’s letter to the Church of Ephesus. In the first three chapters, he is inspired by the Holy Spirit to write about Doctrine. He clearly has received revelation knowledge regarding what God did for man through the gift of His Son, Jesus. In the last three chapters, Paul writes to the church about Discipline. These chapters (4-6) are instructions to the early believers about what their responses should be to chapters 1-3. These last four chapters are all about DECISIONS we are to make based on Christ’s work for us and in us.
Decisions indicate choices are available. You find in life there are many “either/or” options you face. These contrasts are seen in the Bible as “eat/don’t eat, good/evil, God/ Satan, light/ darkness, right/ wrong, heaven/ hell, sin/ salvation, sand/rock” and a host of other choices. Obviously, our Lord went to great lengths to teach us the value of making the proper choices in life. In fact, He died so that we would have a choice!
As Paul is writing to the Ephesians in chapter 6, he begins his summary on Discipline in verse 10 by telling them they must take a stand against the “wiles” ( Greek, methodia meaning “craft, deceit, cunning methods”) of the devil. This is a decision the believer has to make. The apostle is warning these Christians that Satan will come in predictable ways in an attempt to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10) them. Their assignment is to recognize him and take a firm stand against his deceit, no matter what the cost. Paul writes this as a stern directive not a friendly suggestion.
The goal of the Holy Spirit here is to educate the believer in his authority and armor in dealing with the devil. God has not left us naked and vulnerable. He gave us “the whole armor of God” with which to do battle against our adversary. Our Lord did not birth His Church just to see it victimized and vandalized by a previously defeated foe. He planned and paid for His Church to be victorious. To realize that goal, the Church must, at all times, make the correct decisions. On the individual level, that means that each of us must determine to live the disciplined life of Ephesians 4-6.
Probably the most difficult task will be when you make a quality decision to take your stand against those wiles of the devil. Exactly what are those wiles? They represent ANYTHING THAT CONTRADICTS GOD. If God says you’re saved, Satan will say you’re not. If God says you’re blessed, Satan says you aren’t. If God says you’re more than a conqueror, Satan says you’re a loser. If God says you’re healed, Satan says you’re sick. These are a few examples of the wiles of the devil. Though they may vary between the spiritual, physical, emotional, financial and personal areas of your life, the one thing they have in common is they always contradict God’s Word.
Another easy way to identify Satan’s wiles is that they will always deal with your “feelings”. Feelings emanate from your thoughts. Therefore, Satan will plant a thought of sadness, sickness, failure, fear, etc that, if unchecked, will begin to produce the negative feelings associated with those thoughts. You will quickly begin to “feel” sick, sad, lonely, depressed, neglected, fearful or like a failure. Paul’s instruction is so clear: “take a stand against these methods of the devil.”
Saints, we are instructed by our Lord to stare down the devil when he comes around. This is the message of Paul to the Ephesians and to us. Don’t blink when the devil comes roaring your way. Take you stand and stare him down! The Bible says that if you resist the devil he will flee from you. That is a promise from the “nail-scarred hands” people.
How do we accomplish this feat? It is easy. Build you life on FAITH not FEELINGS. Choose to believe the Word of God, not the wiles of the devil. That is why God took three chapters to tell the Ephesians what He had done for them and made of them so they would not be swayed by Satan’s contradictions. Those words are for us today. Therefore, construct your thought-life on the Rock, not shifting sand. Make the choice to live in the Light, not darkness, salvation not sin, peace not fear, good not evil, right not wrong and Jesus not Satan.
Will there be a reaction from the devil, oh yes. He will wage war on you. However, take your stand as Paul instructed because, with God’s armor, you cannot lose. Remember the words of Christ in Matthew 18:19, “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”
Just make sure it is never you and the devil that are in agreement.
****A Personal Word to Our Readers from Dr. Frazier****
There are great insights to be derived from the study of the Greek New Testament. Each month I will endeavor to share a nugget of truth from the Book of Truth, God’s Eternal Word. These will be concise and should not intrude into your time or opportunity to explore the richness of the vein from which they were extracted. That is for you and the Holy Spirit to excavate together. These nuggets are just to let you know where to begin the digging, if you so desire. They are NOT designed to be an exhaustive commentary providing all the answers on the subject. The Spirit will guide you in how deep to dig. The Greek will be presented in a way that is easy to understand (transliterated) and easy to verify (“SC” refers to Strong’s Concordance). With a little help, you can check the assayers report for yourself. So, pull out this shiny, new nugget and see where it leads you. Please feel free to share your questions, observations or insights with our readers and me.
Website: http://www.donfrazier.com
Author: Donald Frazier
| Author's Website: http://donfrazier.com
Written: 02/01/2008
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Category: Golden Nuggets
Comments: 1
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I am so delighted to hear such deep insight from the mines of God's word. Dr. Frazier it is obvious to see from your writings that God has illuminated the mysteries of how all believers must walk and live in victory, please continue letting God use you to feed us.
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