Who You Are In Christ, 33 Riches of Divine Grace

The topic today, Roger felt that after he had completed Who You Are in Christ that the last four weeks would be kind of lifted out of the book by Schaeffer on grace and this is one of the seven components of Schaeffer's book that he entitles this aspect of the book, Christ is the sphere of the believer's possessions.

Just to kind of put it into perspective, the first of these is a new standing in Christ, the second is a new life in Christ, the third is the new presence and power of the spirit, the fourth is a new inheritance, five is a new enemy, that's our topic today, six is access to God, and seven is the word of God.

The topic we've been entertaining over the last, what's it been now? Six months? Is that right? Yeah, but how many months have we been in Who You Are in Christ? Has it been three quarters? Yeah, it has been three quarters, nine months. Anyway, Schaefer divided that into 33 topics, and then these last four weeks have been kind of a continuation of that that relates to kind of a series of inclusive segments that this one is lifted out of the Schaeffer book under the topic of crisis' sphere of the believer's possessions. but a new enemy is something that really is I think critically important and we need the perspective in terms of our life in crisis, those enemies that are before us and I'm going to contend up front that there's more than one that becomes new.

All right, so who's the new enemy? And the obvious answer is Satan. And I guess the question comes up, so advance it, honey, two spots. So the question of the class is, why is Satan our new enemy? Why is his title new enemy? What's new about Satan? Right, OK, so that really reflects who we were in Adam and who we are in Christ. So what was our previous relationship with Satan before we were saved?

Yeah, kind of the same camp, weren't we? I'm sorry? Our father. Okay. Let's look at some of the verses. Let's look at Colossians 1.13. This is a glimpse of Satan and his relationship to us before we were saved.

So Colossians 1.13 is part of Paul's prayer for the Colossian Christians. And near the end of that prayer it says, giving thanks unto the Father who hath made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, verse 13, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. So we were part of the kingdom of darkness and he's delivered us from this kingdom, power, prince of darkness.

The second is 2 Corinthians 4.3-4. Can somebody pull that one for us? Alright, there's the God of this world, right? Our God is unbelievers. The God of the unsaved is in fact Satan himself.

And here's Ephesians 2.2 which I had in your handout. Wherein in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, or still works in the children of disobedience. So this is Satan's turf down here. We don't need to go back into the historical Old Testament record about Satan and his fall and the power that he's given over this earth, but I assume we're all comfortable with that historical treatise in the Word of God.

Importantly, we're no longer under his authority. Satan is still Satan. That makes us think that if we're no longer under his authority, he now becomes our enemy What kind of relationship is this that ultimately Satan has with God directly and also with us? So the question is, what is Satan's position before God? The reality, according to the word of God, is Satan has already been judged. I think that's something that's hard to really take in and accept.

But this is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, Hebrews 2.14, for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he, meaning Christ, also himself took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil. So when did that destruction take place positionally? Is it something yet to happen? It's the same kind of thing that we deal with as believers having been saved, but yet the enemy becomes reality to us. Positionally, we're righteous, are we not? We're fully accepted by God. We're adopted sons. We have the same rights as the Lord Jesus Christ because we're positioned in Him.

Satan himself has been eternally judged at Calvary. Only the ultimate conclusion of that judgment has yet to be seen. Do we believe God for what he's revealed? It's not like God is going to come back and do something more to prove that Satan is who he is. It's been done.

We just live now under the influences of him and these other two enemies which we're going to talk about more briefly. Why does it say might destroy? Is that kind of conditional? for as much than his children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part that through death he might destroy him and that power of death, that's a devil. Why is this subjunctive or somewhat conditional?

I'm sorry? I don't recall. I think it is but I'd have to look back at that again. that it's the future, that it's going to happen. So this destruction is going to make fire and gas. Okay, but what's being destroyed? Destroyed him, right? But his power has already been destroyed, right? At the cost. Isn't that what Well, what was finished was every last sin had been paid for for all of man, for all of mankind, or all of history. Absolutely. Yeah? That's OK. That's a very that's a reasonable interpretation. Is that is that conditional? Subjunctive tense, subjunctive mood, mood's probably a better term than tense here.

Alright, do we all believe that Satan has been, in fact, crucified before God and rendered ultimately powerless? Correct. But in a sense, we're going to try to parallel this with what the Christian life is all about. because positionally weíre fully righteous and our old nature has been crucified, correct?

But yet we live in a fallen world with the power and prince of the air still around and we got an old man thatís kind of capable of responding to these things. So is it possible that might destroy, through death might destroy him that had the power of death thatís the devil? We're talking about, too, potentially the application of the life of the believer, right? So Satan has no power over death in terms of our eternal death and separation from God, right? But what else, in fact, might be conditional or subjunctive here in terms of the life of the believer?

Do we ever fall underneath his power? Are we always victorious? that the national scale of it. Well, positionally, Satan has been crucified and done away with. The ultimate judgment of God on Satan has yet to be accomplished, but Satan is still the prince of the world, right? Power of the air.

We're going to look at how he influences the believer in a second, but his influence is still there. He does not indwell the believer. Believers are indwelled by the new nature and empowered by the Holy Spirit, not by Satan. The idea of a believer being indwelled by Satan and his powers is not biblical, but Satan has much influence.

But the issue is how do we respond to that influence? Let's come to that. Let's go ahead. I'm not going to answer it completely now. Let's go ahead and turn the page. So I'm going to then deal with the concept in position we are delivered from this power.

So let's look at a very important series of verses in Ephesians 6. 10 through 12, ìFinally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.î So the devilís around and there are ultimately temptations that he brings forth that we are subjected to. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. So what kind of a battleground is this? Spiritual, right. And what's our relationship to this? What's that?

Well, we struggle with it, but what does verse 11 say? That ye may be able to stand. And may be able is present tense, passive. It's interesting, passives are middle voice and infinitive. What's our interpretation of the verb form here? Infinitive? It's going to be, it can be, it really is in reality a proof of position.

So what's the condition by which we will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil? When we're strong in the Lord. Well, what's the term? The armor of God. It's him. It's reckoning yourself to be in Christ and having his All right, and that armor reflects the strength of the Lord and the power of his might, does it not?

So if the battles are being carried out in high places, that are places, you know, between God and Satan, that battle we've been told in Hebrews 2.14 is already victorious. So do we believe God that that battle is victorious in our response to the wiles of the devils, in fact, putting on the armor of God in that truth and righteousness?

Yes. than just an earthly battle, this is a universe battle. And so we as human beings in our Adam condition, even though we are under the lordship of God now instead of Satan, this is a battle that even the angels and stuff are watching. This is an ultimate spiritual huge battle that's going on. I mean it's not just this earth or this little classroom or my home, it's you.

But do you have any doubt who's going to win the battle based on what the Word of God says? So that's the armor of God. We put on that the battle's been won. Do we believe that as believers we can live above all the wiles of the devil? You've got to believe that. And do we succumb at times to these wiles? Absolutely.

But in fact, God said, why? The victory's already been won. Why are you dressing up with the other team's clothing? I mean, these are battles going on way up here, and the battle is already done. It's been victorious. Satan still has power. But as believers, we're tucked. We're positioned. We're capable of putting on the armor of God. And we're standing these advances of the devil.

Randy, thank you. Actually, I'm going to be really honest about this. Having come from a charismatic background, I'm actually eager to hear these verses explosive with a biblical context. I'm actually going to probably not contribute as much and just listen and enjoy. Let's go on to another section in terms of the fact that in position we're delivered from Satan's power.

Colossians 2.13-15 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, have he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting or ordinances that was against us. These ordinances against us is the entire legal system, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. Now the cross is a one-time event. It will never be repeated. So the legal system which Satan loves, by the way, because it's condemning and puts man in the power of the flesh.

It says here, and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Now this term, spoiled, is a King James term. It is better translated, disarmed. Now keep in mind, the battle is ongoing here. The devil still has power over this world. But before God, he's disarmed. I mean, this is by far more than David and Goliath.

At least David had a weapon. What was his weapon? A slingshot and a stone, right? Faith, actually. Well, absolutely. But he did have an earthly weapon, didn't he? He had a slingshot. There's no question about David's. Fine, okay, but what I'm saying here is disarmed means there's no... before God Satan has been disarmed and that's not for the unbeliever, is it? It's us who were dead in our trespasses and sins. So as a believer we now have a new enemy because that enemy was part of our camp when we weren't saved. We're perfectly comfortable with the principles of the world, the legal system, the power of self-righteousness, the power of the flesh, and we're comfortable there, and Satan's in control of that.

He loves that. He loves the power of the flesh, because that's how he operates. Positionally, we put on the whole armor of God that, in fact, we realize that Satan has been disarmed for the believer. Everybody okay with this? Positioning Satan as no power before God, for the believer, and we're in him. Yeah?

I said I'd probably listen more, but I haven't thought on that. One of the things in legalism that I found to be, and maybe this is fleshly, but I know Satan is the accuser, is guilt. When we sin, the guilt cycle that I would go through was just to feel bad about myself. And what's the source of guilt? Think about it, everybody. What's the source of guilt? It's self. It's entirely self-centered. Isn't guilt really reflecting on something about ourselves that's inadequate? Absolutely. And before God, is there any inadequacy? No. We need to be lifted up in the sun. That's how he sees us.

And when we do fall astray, we confess, reestablish our fellowship immediately, and we move on in our courage to the Lord Jesus Christ. Guilt is entirely a flesh-oriented response. And I believe all of us have some guilt at times, or this, that, and the other thing, but confess it, move on, and be lifted up by the power of the Spirit in our lives. And remember, guilt comes from the old man, the sinful nature, not from the new man. Christ Jesus, and God sees us in Christ. Don't you think sometimes people think that guilt is their conviction by the Holy Spirit? I know people who are convicted, but it's really guilt, but in their mind they're thinking that this is God putting this guilt on them. Well, right, but the Spirit's power through the new man is to recognize darkness for what it really is. I mean, the Spirit is wonderful because He reflects the Lord Jesus Christ in us.

Our thoughts or our deeds, it's like oil and water. They mix for a second, but then they separate immediately. The flesh and Christ are two different parts of our nature. And boy, when they merge, the Spirit's beautifully faithful in making us recognize the Lord Jesus Christ in us. Now, that's living above.

But when we continue to be preoccupied with ourselves and our faith, rather than with the risen Lord Jesus Christ, we can get pretty dwelled in to the self-life. Then guilt becomes more frequent, more often, and I think becomes a manifestation. I think to a large extent Christianity responds to this by trying to work harder to please God that this guilt would go away, but in fact that guilt builds on itself and actually gets worse over time. guilt being from self, what is the follow-through and consequence of the action of guilt? Well, are we going to be responding in the Lord Jesus Christ in our new nature? Or are we going to be responding just based on the circumstances? Well, what I'm trying to drive at is guilt is kind of a diversionary tactic from grace. Right, because it returns us all to flesh and works and law. I mean, isn't guilt the response of a legal system?

It's like a self-condemnation. What it does, that's why in Romans chapter 8, verse 1, it says there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ. So positionally, God doesn't see you condemned because your sins were taken care of on the cross. So that way, when you reflect on things above, which is your resurrected position, and what all that Christ has done, and what God has done in him, then God doesn't see you like that anymore. And so we see ourselves that way. And no matter what we do, because as we fall into despair and dismay and depression, it's all self-focused stuff.

And that doesn't mean life's always easy. I mean, everyone in this room has had their trials and tribulations. I'm going through something right now that I thought was partially behind me but yet has resurfaced. It seems to me that I'm saying to Margaret, it seems like to some extent we're suffering for God's righteousness here, because there's nothing we've done to have this person be offended, at least that we can perceive in any way. Now we may have, in fact, their perception is that something's been done. Nevertheless, I think those are in fact Satan brought to, we're going to get to that in a second.

But this view of the trials and tribulations in our life has to be for our growth and development in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember God's will for our lives are to be conformed to the image of his Son. Paul talks a lot about his struggles and he talks about fulfilling, completing the struggles of Christ, not because the work on the cross was incomplete. And if you really look at his life, I really think, and we're doing a study of this someplace else, so I kind of focused on it this week.

But that struggle was to keep him from being fruitful. If you really see that, I mean, he was gifted to be an apostle, and he was to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. And Satan could disarm him, so to speak, or to, in the flesh, cause him to not do what he was supposed to do, then he is accomplishing some of his work because Paul's not being as fruitful as he could be. So I really think in the condition, which is what we're supposed to be is producing fruit, you know, positionally, that's fine.

And so we have to focus on that so that we can be fruitful here. Good lead in Stan. The next question is yet Satan still around and having a living and mighty power existing surrounding him. So exactly that. Let's look at this a little bit more detail.

2 Corinthians 11 14, and no wonder for Satan himself transforms himself into the angel of light. So he shows up in strange ways and often in unexpected ways. 1 Timothy 3, 6 and 7, not a novice lest being lifted up with pride. That means us as believers. We can fall into the condemnation of the devil. There's the guilt thing.

Remember what John said about pride? What did John consider the pride of life? One of the three biggies. Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life. This pride is kind of a self-focus and when we get self-focus we get legal and under that situation we fall into Satan's condemnation because he loves guilt. He loves to allow us to be proud and prideful so that ultimately we might in fact play out his game in these earthly existences that we have.

And then it goes on to say, moreover, he must have a good report of them that are without lest he fall into the reproach and the snare of the devil. So, you know, this really reflects the fact of the believer needing to in fact be appropriately schooled and educated in terms of the new life. unless he allows his own pride to allow him to be condemned of the devil and fall under his reproaches.

1 Peter 5, 8 and we'll go on to 9 in a second. Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion and walks about seeking whom he may devour. So here we got the angel of light and then we got the roaring lion. So Satan takes on a lot of different personalities down here and we need to be aware of them.

Can we in fact be influenced in terms of our salvation by him? Absolutely not. But remember, the armor of God is what we put on to in fact withstand the power of the devil. And here's the point I was making a few minutes ago, and even under trials and suffering as members of the body of Christ, and Stan gets to the point about Paul and his ministries.

1 Thessalonians 2.18, therefore we wanted to come, even I, Paul, time and again, but Satan hindered us, right? So he can, in fact, have influences that may have been out of Paul's control. Paul may have been perfectly right before the Lord, and his intent was to be there, but he realizes this prince and power of the air of this sphere has hindered him. And that would reflect his purpose of keeping men and women from the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, this is his world, now he becomes our enemy because he's king and prince of the fallen world.

Revelation 2.10, love this one.

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you even into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Now you could look at this through the eyeglasses of awards. You can look at this through the eyeglasses of trials and tribulations, but this says that God would even allow Satan enough room to have people in prison actually die on his behalf. Are you ready for that kind of trial and tribulation that allows Satan to have influence over your life? To God be the glory. That's what his word said to the church. 210, which church was that?

Is that Sardis? But then again, fear is... No, it's Mara. Yes. Fear is actually blessing. And it goes back to what we were talking about earlier. If you're positioned, then fear is condition. Because ultimately, fear is of pain, but it's ultimately of death. And so that's Richard that says, where is thy stain of death? Because it's been already conquered. Pain is the precursor to to that death. So, again, Satan's using fear as his motivating factor for that splash.

Well, remember what Paul said in Philippians 1.21, for to me to live is Christ and die is gain. So the believer, his citizenship is in heaven.

But the way I look at 1 Thessalonians 1.21 is either way you win. for me to live as Christ, which is the new nature, spirit-empowered, or to die as game. Man, you know, that's a win-win. And most of us don't have a death wish.

J. Vernon McGee, I listen to him every morning going to work. He was dealing with cancer in the last few years of his life, metastatic prostate cancer. He constantly reflects on the fact that he doesn't want to die yet. He very much wants to remain here and preach the word of God, but yet it was clear that J. Vernon down deep understood to die is gain.

None of us should have a death wish. We'd be committing suicide today if we thought to die was gain. really trumped, in fact, our earthly existence. God has us all here for a time and it's in His perfect timing that we go home and be with Him. But the fear of death is entirely Adam-based, isn't it? Because for us as believers, we may fear the fear.

My late wife Sharon said, I don't mind going home and being with the Lord, I just don't know how I'm going to get there. And praise the Lord, he elaborated, kind of go into a coma the last couple days and kind of took her out very peacefully. Now she went through a lot with her cancer, but Anyway, it was kind of neat to see him answer her selfish request, if you will, that she would not suffer near the end, and she did, so praise him for that. But all this aside, as believers, we walk triumphantly, whether here, influenced by the power of Satan around us, or alternatively, in terms of our desire to be with the Lord.

It's agape love, it's perfect love, and since it accomplished all the things it accomplished on the cross, it casts out fear. There is no need to fear, but there's no need to feel guilty if you do have fear, because that's a common human characteristic.

We just have to try to lift ourselves above it. But I would challenge the class and even myself, when we feel guilty, the focus is incorrect. I mean, the Spirit convicts us of the sinful nature that we all carry still with us. But that is simply a conviction to restore fellowship and bring us back to positionally where we stand, Lord Jesus Christ.

But if you say that and then you still feel guilty, it's like even getting more guilty. It's kind of like the circle you get into. Guilt creates more guilt, which creates more guilt. So I think you just have to accept the fact that we're human, we're fleshly, we're in that condition.

We constantly have to reckon that we have to get above this, but not feel so guilty that we're going to feel guilty about feeling guilty. But see, the criticism of that theology by much of the body of Christ would be, see then, your belief then is just let go, let God. Because, you know, if you're ultimately forgiven in everything, you're positioned in Christ, then you just do what you want. But I disagree.

The person who's uplifted by the truth of the Word of God has a freedom to live a life without sin. We have a freedom The believer is free indeed. The Lord Jesus Christ said that. You will be free indeed to accept this truth and live by faith and live above these circumstances.

Sure, we all have disappointments and stresses in our life, and we all feel guilty, but let me encourage you. Let that guilt be transient. Confess and move on. Be uplifted in the new life. Christianity is not a set of deeds and works. It's a life. And that life is positioned in heavenly places. CE, those things that are above, right? That's where we're positioned. Let's go ahead.

So Ephesians, and what's our response to all the satanic activity? I think that got cut off your page there, didn't it, at the bottom. So the question before you now is all this satanic activity that can work through trials and tribulations, even righteous suffering, it can work through influencing our sin nature, it can work through the atmosphere of pride and lust, Let's look now how we respond.

Ephesians 4 says neither give place to the devil. That's a pretty simple statement. What's that all about? So Doug, the challenge there is neither give place to the devil. How do you deal with that in your own walk of faith? Put that one on. Let's put that in shoes. How do we not give place to the devil? Okay, we're going to flee from him here in a second here. Alright, but Satan's the prince of power of the world. We're, you know, walking down here, right? And we've seen that Satan can have influence over the life of the believer.

Is that the wrong verse? Boy, that is the wrong verse. Is that 2-7? Where'd that come from? I didn't see a 7 in that. It's really 4-25-26-27. 27, really. That's why you have the 7. You forgot the kitchen. But that verse comes from somewhere in the Bible. I've got to say. It should be 4-27. Is it 4-27? Yeah, 4-27. Okay, my apologies. So correct that on your handout, please. You left the 2 out as well. Alright, so it's 427. Thank you for correcting that.

I'm not giving place to the devil. I think it's recognizing by faith our position to begin with. In fact, God's fighting these battles in spiritual places, not us. We don't fight Satan. It's the power of the cross that ultimately is the victorious mechanism by which God overcomes the power of Satan. So do we believe God or not? That 25-27 is leading up to that very thought. Where do you get your source of truth? Where do you get your source of evaluating what's going on in your life?

Where is it? Don't give a place for the devil. Don't let that be the case. I mentioned earlier, when I was in the charismatic movement, people were talking about what Satan could and could not do. They were telling stories. about things that had happened in their lives, asserting that Satan was the one involved with it. And the scriptures were really lightly referenced, if at all. But we weren't going to God's word for the source of our authority. We were getting placed for the devil there, in prayer meetings and so-called Bible studies.

And we were spending huge amounts of time focusing on the flesh or Satan, and not Well, if you put those verses in context, in fact, I should have, in fact, cited verse 27 because it sets up verse 27, but this idea of being angry, I mean, yet be angry about this power and not letting the sun go down on your wrath is really to say that this is just something that needs to be quickly put away. I mean, it's just something that shouldn't be existing and continue to dwell in your eyes. So don't giving place to the devil is not really allowing something to continue to dwell in your mind and soul. Confess, move on and claim the power of the Lord over that activity.

1 Peter 5.9 follows 5.8 and if you remember 5.8 said, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour, whom resists steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. Let's look at this. Notice the response is in faith. What act of faith allows us to not give place to the devil or resisting his power in our life, the roaring lion?

Believing what the Lord has said about the accomplishment of what has happened to Satan. That he's already been done away? Absolutely. We look at Satan as having been crucified. It's kind of like that story of, I'm going to be paraphrasing it and probably not describing it perfectly accurately, but there's a ship that's on sale from England to the States. This is four centuries ago or three centuries ago. The captain is convicted of a heinous crime on ship. And he is judiciously dealt with in terms of this crime and sentenced to death who would be accomplished on the other side of the ocean.

But he's put downstairs behind bars, but he's still screaming out orders. So it's kind of the same way with our belief that Satan has been crucified before God. His power for the believer has been eternally limited, if not canceled. He has no permanent power at all. He's in fact been crucified, but yet he's still in existence.

And it's kind of like that Romans 6.11 truth, Reckon yourselves therefore to be indeed dead unto sin. But we still have this old nature. But that captain no longer has any power by the rule of the courtship judicial process. So here we in fact notice that we respond to Satan as a roaring lion by faith. And that faith is God has put Satan in his position for the believer. Put Satan in position.

And notice also here that the afflictions are the same that are in the world. And importantly here, the brethren are not Christian brethren. Brethren in the Greek can mean brothers, meaning the people who we live with on this earth, or within the body of Christ brethren are people who are saved and like each one of us. So the brethren here is not Christian brethren. The afflictions that are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world really reflects the world system. Everybody who's alive in the world has the same afflictions.

Satan doesn't, I think, I mean some people think he actually picks more on the believer than he does the world because he's comfortable with the world. So we're in fact challenged perhaps by him more than the world is because he's now on enemy turf. whereas in the world system he works through his subtleties and is being an angel of light and just being kind of the principle, the power of this world. But he's in control of them. Right. I mean, you know, they don't have any strength or ability to be out of his control, whereas we have that potential.

Well Todd, obviously the world is a tool of Satan. That's why it says in the Beatitudes that You will be persecuted by the world. You are not in the world. The world didn't believe whatever that passage is. They didn't accept Christ. They aren't going to accept you.

I mean, it comes back to the Lordship Principle. When you choose Christ, you choose a new master. You're no longer under the master of Satan. You're under the master of, that's why it's L-O-R-D, capital letters. That stands for Master, Lord. We want to make sure that we avoid kind of this lordship kind of salvation kind of view of the world though, right? I mean, Christ is a life, right? I mean, I think of the lordship more as kingdom truth for Israel than I do. The believer is indwelled with a new creation and that's Christ Jesus himself.

Right, but that's on you. That's when when you no longer become an enemy of God, but you become a child of God. Born again. Adopted sons. That's why way back on the first page it said, why Satan our new enemy. Because we were enemies of God. Now we're basically enemies of Satan. No argument there. And so the world is a tool that Satan uses. So obviously he would be harder on the believer than he would be the unbeliever. The unbeliever is on his side.

Right. Good. I think we agree on that one. Let's go ahead then back to Ephesians 6, 10, 11. We don't need to look at that again. Let's look at James 4, 7 just briefly. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he'll flee from you. So there's the power of the armor of God putting on the armor that protects us from the wiles of the devil. And here's something that I think is worth us taking in for a couple of minutes. Let's turn to Matthew 4. This is gospel, Old Testament truth, but yet I think as we look at this passage through the eyes of the believer and who Christ is and who we are in him, I think we have a text here that has application.

And 4.1 says, Then was Jesus led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tested or tempted by the devil. Now the interpretation of that term is open to some discussion. We'll come back to that. And when he had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterwards hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, of course, this is Satan.

If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him down on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. For it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not put the Lord thy God to the test. Again the devil took him up into an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and said unto him, All these things will I give unto thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then said Jesus unto him, Be gone, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. and then the devil left him and beheld angels came and ministered unto him.

Now why is that relevant for us as believers? And I would contend that its relevance relates to the fact that our response just like his by faith is one of identification. And in fact if we look at these trials and tribulations that Satan brings before us through the world system and through appealing to the power of the flesh that we should, as believers, through identification, look at these as not temptations, but as testings to prove who we really are in Christ. And I think that pair of eyeglasses, when we look through them, as testings to prove who we are, rather than we're tempted to fall into the circumstances which we're being called into, is really a victorious way of looking at these things that come our way. Is everybody with me on that principle of looking at trials and tribs and Satan's power surrounding us as testings to prove who we really are?

And look, Christ's response was by faith. The difference between the Lord Jesus Christ and us in reality is Christ could not sin. And we can. But yet, as we're positioned in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are in fact tested to prove who we really are. The power is not in Satan. than our ability to overcome these temptations in our life.

Is there just one enemy? We've got about four minutes to finish this up and I think we can do that. What about the world or the world system? Is that a new enemy or is that just something that was there all along anyway? It was there but we were part of it before and now we're not part of it.

Heaven's our home, this is our physical home. And Satan is its prince and rules here, right? John 12, 31, now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. He's talking about the cross. Out of this world system, the believer is rescued, who has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. So, John 15, 19, if you're of the world, the world would love his own, but because you're not of the world, I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

And my question to everyone here, is this a metric for our performance? Or better yet, his performance in us? I mean, do we work to try and antagonize the world and make the world hate us? But no, but I think what you stand for ultimately, even though not admitted verbally, can be perceived as an antithesis to the world system the way it operates.

I think none of us want to be hated for who we are in ourselves, but ultimately the gospel hurts and allows us to be separated from the world system, that oil and water concept again. We live in the world, but we're not of it. And we shouldn't be hated because we've offended people, we should be hated because the truth of the word of God, in fact, is what is despised by the world system. The world has always been there, it's just our position and relationship to it that's changed. So the world system is also a new enemy.

And what about the flesh, or salks? The Greek term can mean the fleshly body, it can mean the sin nature, and here it unequivocally denotes mere human nature. the earthly nature of man apart from the divine influence and ultimately prone to sin and oppose to God. The flesh is still the flesh. In fact, we've said in this class many times over the last nine months that the more you see the light of the Lord Jesus Christ, the more apparent the flesh becomes. The light gets brighter, the darkness is revealed more for what it really is. So the flesh is a new enemy. In the past, the flesh was self-serving and really we were very comfortable with a flesh-driven life. but yet now the flesh becomes real and what it really indicates is therefore.

It's sourced in the old man and the believer, it's now renamed the sin nature. Crucified but not removed. Romans 6.3, know ye not that so many of us were baptized into Christ, were baptized into his death, And verse 6, knowing this, that our old man's crucified, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. And in our lives might be destroyed, looks at the fact that we can give in to the power of Satan, the world system in our flesh, by in fact not perceiving that that destruction has really taken place. But it has. Notice again, might be. Then what's our response to all this? Well, number one, I think the series of imperatives in 6, 11 through 13. Let's look at them.

Reckon yourselves dead indeed into sin, but alive unto God through Christ. Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies, that ye should obey it in its lusts. Don't yield your members and sentiments not in righteousness, and ultimately yield yourselves unto God as those alive from the dead. So there's the truth of the victory. that we have over Satan, over the world system and all its power over us, and in the flesh and how it operates. Romans 6, 11 through 13, you can't ask for a better series of verses to see the victory that we have as believers.

So what about all of these enemies? Satan, the predominant one, the power of the world system around us, and the sin nature that we all continue to have. We need to respond by faith. Do we believe or do we not believe what God has revealed about who we are? And that's really the basis by which we have victory in this earthly existence. Do we believe his word that in fact we are complete in Christ Jesus and we're given the power to live above these enemies that exist in our day-to-day existence? By faith we have victory. when we lose faith and trust ourselves the wiles of the devil become reality testing day in and day out.

Randy, close us in prayer please. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the clear and edifying instruction in your word about our relationship with you and how that changes our relationship with Satan. Thank you for and a life that is your life. Thank you in Jesus name. Thank you. Amen.