Hal Chaffee Ministries

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. – Ephesians 6:11

In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul teaches that there is a war between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. It is a war that is happening at this moment in the unseen world. Just like the nations of this world battle secretly against each other with clandestine efforts, seeking to sway minds and hearts, so do the devil and his angels seek to war against the human race. His purpose is to destroy humanity and lift up himself in a place of glory and honor. He ultimately will not succeed, for God will destroy him in the end. However, he will succeed in persuading many to follow his destructive paths. Those who serve him, whether knowingly or not, will perish with him. We shouldn’t ever worry whether God will win in the end. He surely will. But we should be concerned about those around us and the condition of their souls (and our own souls). Satan is a master deceiver and accusor. Those who do not watch carefully will succumb to him. He will relentlessly pursue those who love God until the end. We need to be strong to overcome him. For it is only those who stand in the end who will be saved.

A Secret War

The war we fight happens in the spiritual world. Thus, it is unseen to the physical eye. It is a war for hearts and minds. Winning people’s hearts and minds is better than destroying them, for they come to your side. The devil would prefer to win your heart but will settle for your destruction. He gets pleasure from both. God also desires to win your heart. He desires for you to join His side. Not so He can use you til you are of use no more but because He loves you and desires your well-being. He knows His ways are perfectly aligned with that which will bring ultimate happiness and well-being to the human race.

The devil and his angels work to influence the world into doing his will:

…that they may escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. – 2 Timothy 2:26

He does this in many ways, with craftiness and subtly as his primary means. He wants us to be completely ignorant of his influence or else perceive him as a friend. Remember, when Satan tempted Eve, he appeared as a friend, pretending to be seeking her wellbeing. Satan masquerades as an angel of light and his workers as ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14). Deception is what he does best, for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44). He wars against us with lies and partial truths, bombarding us as much as possible until we give way. He can be relentless at times, bringing to us seasons of heavy attacks, seeking to weary us into casting away our confidence. This is what he did with Jesus when he met Him in the wilderness. He bombarded him for 40 days with ferocious attacks on His mind, but Christ repelled him. He used the scripture to drive him away, and Satan left Him, waiting for a more opportune time to mount another attack (See Luke 4:1-13). In the same way, we will have times in our lives when we will have to do fierce battle with the enemy. He will buffet our minds with wicked and doubt-filled thoughts (2 Corinthians 12:7). We must resist him with the truth of scripture as Christ did. If we stand firm, equipped with the armor of God, he will flee from us (James 4:7). He won’t stay away forever, unfortunately, so we must always be ready for when he may attack us once again.

The devil can’t win unless we let him

All of this may sound a bit overwhelming. With Satan and his hordes against us, how can we stand a chance against him? The good news is that he has no power over any Christian at all. He cannot touch us. Jesus said this:

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. – Jesus (Luke 10:18-19).

Unless you have compromised yourself in some way through sin, Satan cannot touch you. In the name of Jesus, you can overcome every demonic assault. He is powerless over the name of Jesus and the Holy Spirit within you. Any demon that seeks to hurt us can be cast out in Jesus’ name, for we have been given authority over them. Jesus cast out demons with a word, and so can we. When He commissioned His disciples to go into all the world, He said, “Those who believe shall cast out demons…” (Mark 16:15-17). This is why the devil must use deception and cunning, for he knows he is powerless against the name of Jesus.

We don’t need to beat the devil—that isn’t the point of our fight. The devil is already defeated. We simply must stand our ground. The devil ultimately lost when Christ triumphed over the grave (Colossians 2:15), and he lost concerning you when you put your faith in that resurrected Lord. Notice that the ultimate reason for this spiritual fight and for our spiritual armor is so that we might stand in the end. You don’t have to win, Jesus already did that. You must only stand in the end, fighting from a place of victory.

Having done all, stand.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. – Ephesians 6:13

If the devil cannot touch us, and if Christ defeated him in His cross and resurrection, what does he hope to accomplish by his attacks upon our minds?

Ultimately, the devil seeks to weary us into abandoning our faith. It isn’t those who believe at some point in the past who are saved, but those who hold fast their confidence until the end (Hebrews 3:14), for Christ said, “He who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

Unfortunately, the devil has been quite effective at this. We all know people who had once walked with Christ who do so no more. Infamously and ironically, John 6:66 says that many of Christ’s disciples departed from Him and walked with Him no more. Since that day, many more have departed from the faith, even those like Judas and Demas, who saw many miracles and walked closely to the most spiritually powerful people in the world.

We are warned over and over again in scripture to hold fast lest we fall from our place (1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Revelation 3:11, etc.). It is astonishing to me that some teach that this is impossible to do and that no true Christian can ever be lost. The scripture is replete with warnings, commanding us to put on the armor because the battle is so fierce. Yet they say, “Don’t worry or fear, it is impossible for you to fall.” But the scripture says the opposite:

Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall… -1 Corinthians 10:12

You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. – Romans 11:19-21

The audacity of those ministers who read these passages to their congregation and say, “They do not mean what they say!” It is as clear to anyone who can read what they say and what they mean. The devil laughs when men preach that salvation cannot be lost. Surely, the easiest targets are those who throw down their defenses. Millions walk away from Christ, and millions more sit in church who are on their way to hell. They have allowed Satan and their preacher to convince them that their sin is no sign of their lost state. Satan does not fear those who take Christ and sin together; he leaves them alone, for he knows that it is only possible inside a deceived mind. You can have Christ, or you can have sin, but not both.

No, we must stand. God gives us every tool we need to do so. And Satan can mount no attack that is too powerful for us to resist, for God will always provide a way of escape, that we may bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Will you stand?

Will you recognize that you are in a fierce battle? The devil desires your soul, and you must resist him. You must stand.

This is not a one-time stand or a momentary resistance. This is an enduring, day-in, day-out kind of stand. It’s the kind that still stands when the dust settles and the enemy has thrown all he has at you. It’s the stand that says, “I may be weary, but I’m not giving up. I may have fallen, but I’m getting back up—one more time.”

There are no shortcuts. No neutral ground. You are either advancing with Christ or retreating into darkness. Yes, the enemy is strong, but our Lord is stronger. And He has not called you to fight in your own strength. He has given you His armor, His Word, His Spirit. He has already won the war. Now He calls you simply to stand in that victory. To not be swayed by lies, not to be worn down by hardship, and not to be lulled to sleep by deception.

As long as you are standing—still believing, still following, still holding on to Christ—you are winning. And if you fall, get up. One more time. As many times as it takes.

“Those who endure to the end shall be saved.” – Matthew 24:13