Our Unseen Enemies
Notes
Transcript
Handout
What is our intent? We want to walk with God, love God, know God and know His power in our lives.
What are the obstacles? We have three spiritual enemies that oppose our walk with God.
What is the plan? Understand who our enemies are and our current relationship to them.
What is the result? We are free to walk with God.
Introduction
Introduction
The Christian life has much to recommend it. There are many benefits of being a Christian. What is a benefit you personally enjoy because you are a Christian?
Solicit answers
It would be hard to prioritize the benefits of being a Christian. The most valuable has to be that we been delivered from eternal death and have eternal life. Next I would suggest is that we are loved and accepted by God. After that are the fruit of the Spirit, the emotional and spiritual qualities God gives us to feel and to guide how we live. Then there are many unseen benefits, God’s protection, provision and care.
Paul describes the benefits of being a Christian in general terms in 1 Corinthians 2.
9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— 10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
There are wonderful things God has prepared for and reveals to His children. These are only for Christians, those who have the Spirit of God to understand and experience the blessings from the Spirit. Paul calls those who receive these truths “spiritual” which is the Greek word πνευματικοῖς pneumatikoi. Pneuma is the word for Spirit, and the person who is pneumatikoi is sensitive to and guided by the Spirit.
Then Paul contrasts those who don’t understand spiritual truths.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
In verse 14 Paul refers to a second type of person, the natural person, ψυχικὸς psuchikos which comes from the Greek word psuche. William Barclay, a Greek scholar explains the word the meaning of psuche.
Psuche in Greek is often translated as soul, but that is not its real meaning. It is the principle of physical life. Everything which is alive has psuche; a dog, a cat, any animal has psuche, but it has not got pneuma. Psuche is that physical life which human beings share with every living thing; but pneuma is that which makes human beings different from the rest of creation and kin to God.
So, in verse 14, Paul speaks of the person who is psuchikos. Such people live their lives as if there was nothing beyond physical life and there were no needs other than material needs; their values are all physical and material. People like that cannot understand spiritual things. Anyone who thinks that nothing is more important than the satisfaction of the sex urge cannot understand the meaning of chastity; anyone who ranks the amassing of material things as the supreme end of life cannot understand generosity; and anyone who never has a thought beyond this world cannot understand the things of God. To these people, the things of God appear mere foolishness. No one needs to be like this; but, if people stifle ‘the immortal longings’ that are in the soul, they may make themselves like this so that the Spirit of God will speak and they will not hear.
Barclay, W. (2002). The Letters to the Corinthians (3rd ed., pp. 33–34). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.
A non-Christian is a natural person, one who lives as if nothing exists beyond the world.
As believers since we are blessed with understanding the deep things from the Spirit of God, we might think that it should follow that all of life is good, blessed and without difficulty. We know from experience that isn’t so. Paul gives us a hint why this isn’t so in the next verses. In addition to these two categories of people, the spiritual and those who are natural, Paul adds one other category. Let’s continue reading in 1 Cor. 3:1-3.
1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
The third category is fleshly. Here’s how Barclay explains the word fleshly:
In verse 1, he calls them sarkinoi. This word comes from sarx, which means flesh—a word that is so common in Paul. Now, all Greek adjectives ending in -inos mean made of something or other. So, Paul begins by saying that the Corinthians are made of flesh. That was not in itself a rebuke; human beings by their very nature are made of flesh, but they must not stay that way. The trouble was that the Corinthians were not only sarkinoi, they were sarkikoi, which means not only made of flesh but dominated by the flesh.
Barclay, W. (2002). The Letters to the Corinthians (3rd ed., pp. 35–36). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.
Fleshly people are Christians who instead of being spiritual are dominated by the flesh. Some translations use the word carnal here. These are believers who live like natural men and women, non-Christians. Paul gives us a glimpse of what the fleshly person is like. In this context Paul says this person is characterized by jealousy and strife.
1. There are three spiritual classes of people. 1 Cor. 2:9-3:3
1. There are three spiritual classes of people. 1 Cor. 2:9-3:3
natural 1 Cor. 2:14
natural 1 Cor. 2:14
spiritual 1 Cor. 2:13, 3:1
spiritual 1 Cor. 2:13, 3:1
fleshly 1 Cor. 3:1, 3
fleshly 1 Cor. 3:1, 3
The natural person isn’t a Christian, but the spiritual and fleshly are Christians.
In Galatians 5 Paul gives us a clearer distinction between Christians who are spiritual and those who are fleshly. We are all familiar with the qualities of one who is spiritual.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
In the verses that precede these Paul describes the characteristics of one who is fleshly.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Paul describes the following contrast for Christians:
Spiritual - fleshly
love - rivalries
joy - fits of anger
peace - enmity
forbearance - dissensions
kindness - jealousy
goodness - drunkeness
faithfulness - idolatry, sorcery
gentleness - strife
self-control - sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, orgies
2. Christians can live as spiritual or fleshly. Galatians 5:19-23
2. Christians can live as spiritual or fleshly. Galatians 5:19-23
There couldn’t be a starker contrast. When you look at it like this, it seems to me that everyone would choose to live as spiritual! Everyone wants these qualities. Do you agree that the joy of the Spirit is wonderful? Of course. It’s easy to go down this list and say the fruit of the Spirit are always desirable. But we don’t always live our lives as spiritual, do we? Why not?
Why would anyone who has the fruit of the Spirit ever give it up for the works of the flesh?
I don’t think anyone would intentionally do this. No one says to himself, “You know, I’ve been peaceful a long time. I think it’s time to give it up and get anxious. It’s about time I got really discouraged. What can I be discouraged about?
We go from being spiritual to being fleshly because of spiritual warfare.
We have unseen enemies who attack us with the goal of disrupting our walk with God.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
One enemy, the flesh, wages war with our souls.
4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Another enemy the world, tries to make us an enemy of God.
3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Satan tries to deceive us and turn our devotion away from Christ.
3. Three spiritual forces attack us to disrupt our walk with God. 1 Peter 2:11, James 4:4, 2 Cor. 11:3
3. Three spiritual forces attack us to disrupt our walk with God. 1 Peter 2:11, James 4:4, 2 Cor. 11:3
These forces dominated our lives before we were Christians and now that we are Christ followers attack us to get us to turn away from God. Our lives before Christ are described in Ephesians 2.
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
the flesh Ephesians 2:3
the flesh Ephesians 2:3
The flesh, also called sin or sin nature, is that inclination to sin within all people, which came into the world as the result of the first sin and renders all humanity sinners, separated from and hostile toward God.
To Paul, the flesh is much more than merely a physical thing. It means human nature apart from God, that part of men and women, both mental and physical, which provides a point of entry for sin. So, the fault that Paul finds with the Corinthians is not that they are made of flesh—all human beings are—but that they have allowed this lower side of their nature to dominate all their outlook and all their actions. Barclay, W. (2002). The Letters to the Corinthians (3rd ed., pp. 35–36). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.
the world Ephesians 2:2
the world Ephesians 2:2
The world or world system is the man-centered transitory system of beliefs, standards, values and priorities that is accepted, embraced and promoted by the society in which we live and which is opposed to God, influenced by sin and controlled by Satan.
the prince of the power of the air - Satan Ephesians 2:2
the prince of the power of the air - Satan Ephesians 2:2
Satan - is a powerful spirit-being, created by God and called different names in the Bible including the Devil, the Adversary and the Serpent, who is followed by like-minded spirit beings, all of whom are opposed to God and the people of God, who try to destroy Christians and disrupt the work of God.
These are worthy enemies, but we have nothing to fear from them.
4. These spiritual forces have no power over us. Ephesians 2:4-5, 2 Cor 5:17
4. These spiritual forces have no power over us. Ephesians 2:4-5, 2 Cor 5:17
a. Our flesh, old self, was crucified Romans 6:6, Romans 7:24,
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
b. We are no longer part of the world John 15:19. We are delivered from the present evil age. Gal 1:4, John 16:33
19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus overcame the world. He’s defeated it.
c. We are delivered from Satan’s dominion to Christ’s kingdom Col 1:13, Hebrews 2:14-15, Matthew 6:13
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
5. Our task is to learn how to win each spiritual warfare by the power of God. Romans 7:12-25.
5. Our task is to learn how to win each spiritual warfare by the power of God. Romans 7:12-25.
However, we can allow them to have power over us. We were used to following their evil desire before we became Christians. It is easy to slip into our former way of thinking and allow them to dominate our lives.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
It is a battle to stay spiritual. It is spiritual warfare. We have to learn how each enemy attacks and reject or resist that enemy’s attacks.