Ephesians 6:12--For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Paul brings up the term 'wrestle' in this verse. Is it possible to wrestle with the devil? Can we wrestle with the devil and win? The answer to those questions is a resounding 'YES'.
Paul would have never put a statement like that in one of his letters if he didn't actually do it himself. He not only wrestled with demon forces, but he was pretty successful at it. He reached people who had never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. He started churches in areas of the world that no other missionary/evangelist had ever been before. His achievements for the cause of Christ speak for themselves.
But, how do you wrestle with demon forces? How do you dare tackle the devil when he already has an evil stronghold in an area? How do you hope to win when your unsaved loved ones seem to be so entrenched in sin?
There are four things that are more powerful than any demon force. The first is the Word of God. According to Ezekiel 28, the devil was created by God. We find this in John 1:1-3. (KJV) "(1)In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." The Word of God created the devil because the devil is a created being. Therefore, the Word of God is stronger than the devil.
The Word of God also puts a limit on the devil. When the devil asked God to be able to tempt Job, God replied in Job 2:6 (KJV) And the lord said unto satan, behold. he is in thine hand, but save his life." Satan DID bring a lot of terrible things into Job's life, BUT he couldn't kill Job. And, by the way, at the end of that story God blessed Job with twice as much as the enemy stole from him.
The second thing at our disposal that is more powerful than the devil is the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross. Colossians 2:14-15 (NIV) "Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." We already know that Jesus paid our sin debt with His blood. But notice verse 15 "And having disarmed the powers and authorities". These are the powers and authorities that he was talking about in Ephesians 6:12. The power of the blood of Jesus disarmed those evil powers and authorities.
Look at what Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 2:2. (NIV) For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." This apostle who knew the Old Testament extremely well traded all that knowledge for the knowledge of the cross. Here is what he wrote in Galatians 6:12. (NIV) "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." You'll find this statement throughout the letters that Paul wrote. It was the power of the blood of Jesus Christ that He shed on Calvary's cross that caused people to forsake the devil and his ways and turn their lives over to Jesus.
The third thing that is more powerful than any demon force is the name of Jesus. Philippians 2:10 (KJV) "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things in earth, and things under the earth." No matter where the devil is, no matter where any of his demonic forces are and no matter what any of them are doing; they MUST bow their knees at the name of Jesus.
All three of these things don't do any good until the fourth thing comes about. The fourth thing that is more powerful than any demon force is ANY blood-bought child of God praying/wrestling by using the other three devil stoppers. All the powers of Heaven are at the disposal of ALL Christians. The reason that evil still runs rampant on the face of this earth is because Christians do not exercise their God-given authority and power to overthrow the forces of evil. If God didn't want satan overthrown, He would not have gone to such great lengths to supply us with such powerful weapons.
How do we wrestle? James gives us some pointers in chapter 4 and verse 7 of his letter. It says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." That word 'flee' means to run in terror. So this verse is telling us that there is something that we can do that will make the devil run away from us with his tail stuck between his legs and yelping like the defeated dog that he is.
How do we resist him? What's the definition of the word 'resist'? Let's look at some of the synonyms for the word resist that can be found at thesaurus.com and we'll be better able to define the word.
Confront--Confront the devil about what he is doing. Find a promise in the Word of God and claim it's benefits. Tell the devil that he can't hold back what the Word of God says is yours.
Dispute--When you find that promise, argue with the devil about the outcome. Don't wimp and whine. If it's a promise from God then it belongs to you. Suppose one of your neighbors kids came into your yard and began to run off with your child's bicycle. Any one of us would run after that kid yelling and screaming to keep his thieving little hands off of what was rightfully yours. It's the same thing with the devil. He has stolen from us because we don't put up a fight. Well, it's time to fight, don't you think?
Refuse--Refuse to allow him to keep telling you that you're not worthy to be blessed. The blood of Jesus Christ made you worthy. Refuse to believe that God doesn't want you to have your answer. God NEVER goes back on His Word. And that brings us to one more.
Endure--Once you start praying in line with the Word of God. Keep praying. Jesus gave the parable of the widow and the unjust judge in Luke 18:7-8, "And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? I tell you He will avenge them speedily."
God's answers don't always come immediately. But, when they do come, He makes up for lost time.
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