“Schemes” in the Greek language is methodia. It could be translated methods, strategies, or deceits.
We are to stand against the devil’s methods and strategies that are designed in a diabolical way to make us fall. And we are, sadly, way too ignorant of his tactics.
We would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
II Corinthians 2:11 (ESV)
“Designs” in the Greek language is noema. It could be translated devices, intentions, or evil purposes. It is the word used for the minds that are blinded or corrupted by Satan (II Corinthians 3:14; 4:4; 11:3). And we are, sadly, way too ignorant of the way Satan blinds our minds to his tactics.
In war, generals will study the strategies and tactics of the enemy leaders so they can anticipate an attack. You have to know some things about your enemy or you are doomed to lose the battle.
We need to do a little recon. We need some intelligence. We need to know more about our enemy than we do. What are the devil’s tactics, strategies, and methods?
Here's a little illustration that can help us see how the enemy works.
The guy in the middle is you. Or us. We are made in God’s image. (Sorry, girls, that you’ve got to identify with a guy. This is just how Bryan Karas, our 707 worship pastor, drew things.)
The Bible says we are surrounded by a triple threat.
1) The world.
[We] once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air.
Ephesians 2:2 (ESV)
When the Bible says that the world is a spiritual enemy, it’s not talking about the planet. It’s talking about a godless value system designed to pull us away from Jesus and from each other. It’s the pursuit of money, pleasure, fame, influence. An enemy in this triple threat? The world.
2) The flesh.
I love the way Bryan drew the flesh. He’s kind of a bloated, ugly duck-like Jabba the Hutt. Now, when the Bible talks about the flesh, it’s not a reference to our bodies. The flesh describes our sinful craving to live for our own pleasure. We want to gratify our flesh with food, drink, sex, and comfort.
Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh. Romans 8:5
Enemies in this triple threat against us? The world. The flesh.
3) The forces of darkness. Our enemy can look friendly. But it's a mask - and behind it all is darkness.
Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. II Corinthians 11:14 (ESV)
Enemies in this triple threat against us? The world. The flesh. The forces of darkness.
How does this war work?
The enemy uses the influences of the world and the desires of our own flesh against us. And the battlefield is our mind. He leverages the world and the flesh against us. He lies to us about the world and the flesh.
The more we listen to the lies, the bigger the world gets to us and more power our flesh has over us. The enemy’s scheme is to get us to feed our own flesh and to allow the world to overcome us. When that happens, we've been overcome by darkness.
And that’s right where some of us are today. The world is big to you. Your flesh is controlling you.
But Ephesians teaches us that we can stand against the enemy’s schemes. How? We believe the truth of God’s word rather than the lies.
The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. II Corinthians 10:4-5 (ESV)
The implication here is that devil and his followers have access to our minds. They can’t read our minds, but they can influence our thoughts. An ungodly thought can be planted by the enemy. The Bible tells us that spiritual warfare is the battle for your mind.
The more we choose to reject the lies of the enemy and believe the truth – what God says about Himself and about us – then the less and less influence the world will have and we desire to satisfy our flesh less and less.
God has already won the victory. But in this in-between time, the battlefield is in our minds.
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