Turning the page…
Turning the page…
Glory · The Unseen Realm
Scripture never blames every struggle on demons. It maps our battles into three sources, the world, the flesh, and the devil, and it gives us tests to tell them apart, because each battle is fought with the right weapon. Discerning the source of a struggle is the first act of the fight.
https://glorystudy.com/questions/how-do-i-discern-demonic-influence-from-ordinary-struggles · Scripture quoted from the World English Bible
Ephesians 6:10-20
As you read: Paul names the real enemy and then gives the armor for the fight: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word.
10Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.
11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace;
16above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
18with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints:
19on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News,
20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
James 4:1-10
As you read: Notice where James says our fights come from: desires, not demons. Then note the one sentence on the devil: resist him, and he will flee.
1Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members?
2You lust, and don’t have. You kill, covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask.
3You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures.
4You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”?
6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.
1 John 4:1-6
As you read: John gives the test for spiritual influence: does the spirit confess Jesus Christ incarnate, or does it deny Him?
1Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3and every spirit who doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.
4You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
5They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them.
6We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn’t listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Matthew 4:1-11
As you read: Watch how Jesus answers the devil: not with special powers, but with the written word, Scripture quoted aloud.
1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward.
3The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
5Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple,
6and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you.’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’”
7Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”
8Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.
9He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
10Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me,Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”
11Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.
The Bible names three sources of our struggles: the world, the flesh, and the devil. John writes that all that is in the world with its desires is passing away, James says each person is drawn away by his own desires, and Peter says the devil prowls like a roaring lion. Most of our daily battles are world-shaped or flesh-shaped. To call every temptation demonic is to misdiagnose it, and a misdiagnosed battle is fought with the wrong remedy.
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.”1 John 2:16
“Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, produces death.”James 1:13-15
“Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”1 Peter 5:8
“You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience; among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”Ephesians 2:1-3
Scripture shows the devil working in distinct ways: accusation, deception, and a hunger for worship. He is called the accuser who accuses the brothers day and night, and Jesus calls him the father of lies, while Paul warns that he can masquerade as an angel of light. When a struggle is driven by constant accusation, lies about who God is or who we are, or pressure toward false worship, the enemy's hand is near.
“I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ has come; for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.”Revelation 12:10
“You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father.”John 8:44
“And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”2 Corinthians 11:14
“that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.”2 Corinthians 2:11
“He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.””Matthew 4:9
James is blunt: where do wars and fights come from? From your own pleasures that war in your members. Even the apostle Paul describes a very ordinary inward battle between what he wants to do and what he does. Paul does not blame demons for his struggle; he names the flesh. Normal temptations are human, and the remedy for them is the ordinary means of grace: repentance, fellowship, and the word. Blaming demons can become an excuse to avoid the painful work of killing our own desires.
“Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? You lust, and don’t have. You kill, covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask.”James 4:1-2
“For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don’t find it doing that which is good. For the good which I desire, I don’t do; but the evil which I don’t desire, that I practice.”Romans 7:18-19
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.”Galatians 5:16-17
“Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”2 Timothy 2:22
John gives the test for spirits: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that denies Him is not. Paul adds that no one speaking by God's Spirit says Jesus is accursed, and no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Whatever a voice or impulse does with Jesus tells you what spirit stands behind it.
“Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit who doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already.”1 John 4:1-3
“We are of God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not of God doesn’t listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”1 John 4:6
“Therefore I make known to you that no man speaking by God’s Spirit says, “Jesus is accursed.” No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” but by the Holy Spirit.”1 Corinthians 12:3
“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.”1 John 2:22
Paul discerned a spirit of divination in a slave girl and cast it out in Jesus' name, yet he never treated every hostile crowd or beating as demonic; he endured them as suffering for Christ. Discernment tells you which battle you are in: what to resist, what to endure, and what to repent of. Resist the devil, and he will flee; submit to God in everything else, and you will find His grace sufficient for the rest.
“As we were going to prayer, a certain girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling. Following Paul and us, she cried out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation!” She was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” It came out that very hour.”Acts 16:16-18
“Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”James 4:7
“He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.”2 Corinthians 12:9-10
“with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints:”Ephesians 6:18
“Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings.”1 Peter 5:9