15.22 STAND – Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand (Part 1)

We have talked about sitting or resting in the finished work of Christ. We have also talked about the Christian walk that proceeds from the finished work of Christ. Today we will talk about standing against the wiles and attacks of the devil.

Sitting has to do with our relationship with Jesus. Walking has to do with the way we relate to other people as a result of our relationship with God. Standing has to do with standing firm in the finished work when our faith is under attack by the devil.

So if we fail to sit, then walking is merely a religious activity with a form of godliness but without its power. And there is no way to stand against the wiles of the enemy if we do not sit tight.

As we talk about standing against the wiles of the enemy, I would like to first define spiritual warfare.

A lot of Charismatics make the devil bigger than he is. They attribute everything to the devil. “The devil caused me to fall sick”, “The devil caused this car accident”, “The devil caused it to rain”, “The devil stopped me from going to church”. From the way they talk, we may even think that the devil is bigger than God. That is giving too much glory to the devil. He is a defeated enemy. Jesus defeated him on the cross, and stripped him of his weapon, and made a public spectacle of principalities and powers.

(Col 2:13-15)
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

He is a lion without teeth. He roars and he uses – deception, accusations and temptations in your mind to rattle your faith. His weapon is the law, which he uses to accuse you. But on the cross, Jesus disarmed him by nailing the handwriting of requirements that was against us (the Ten Commandments written in God’s handwriting). The law was perfect and the devil knew that man was in sin, so he took advantage of the perfect law to condemn mankind. But Jesus forgave our trespasses (paid the demands of the law), and disarmed Satan. So he cannot accuse you anymore. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Notice: The next Grace Fellowship is on Thursday 12th March 09. Please contact Jeffrey Teo at 65-81119307 if you would like to join us to discover more of Jesus.