Ephesians 6:11: The purpose of Spiritual Warfare

Outline

• The devil
• His schemes

Introduction

Satan, the devil, Lucifer, Beelzebub, Belial, the serpent, dragon, strongman, adversary, angel of light, Apollyon, Abaddon, antichrist, wicked one, enemy, god of this age, father of lies, prince of the power of the air, roaring lion, ruler of this world, tempter. All of these names indicate that the bible teaches the existence of a real and personal enemy of God and His people that we most commonly call the Devil or Satan. 65% of Britons deny the devil exist while 17% are not sure. 57% of Americans believe the devil does exist. A 2007 poll put 26% of New Zealanders as believing in a personal devil. They say the greatest lie of Satan is that Satan does not exist then NZ is high for believing a lie. The text that we have before us is there to remind us of his reality and schemes and of the purpose of putting on the armour of God, ‘that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.’

We have looked at our basic responses to the reality of spiritual warfare, our part in pursuing holiness, unity and faithful witness as the norm for our battle; well today we are going to get to know our enemy and his ways better. We must know our enemy and his strategies in order that we might not be caught unaware. We will look firstly at the devil and then at his schemes.