The Schemes of the Devil

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11)

In his book the Art of War, the 6th century BC Chinese general Sun Tzu wrote one of the most crucial military strategies that is still being followed in our ultramodern world today: "Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster." What a relevant strategy to be used in our spiritual war against Satan.

1. The Apostle Paul used the phrase “the schemes of the Devil' (from the Greek word METHODIA) which signifies an orderly, planned, logical, subtle, systematized, and effective scheme. What Paul is saying to the Ephesians is that Satan is very thorough in launching his artful, cunning, deceitful attacks. Behind him is thousands upon thousands of years of experiences in attacking Christians. The only other use of Methodeia in the BIble is in Ephesians 4:14 where immature Christians are prone to be "tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes." Satan counterfeits God’s word, masquerades as the teacher of God’s word, and envelops human minds with lies or half-truths that tickle human ears.

His schemes are very lethal because each is tailor-made for each believer, meticulously customized to each person's specific weaknesses. It was not marketing experts who first came up with the idea of mass customization. It was Satan. It was rightly said that if God loves you and has a wonderful plan for you, Satan hates you and has an evil plan for you. And that plan is filled with fully customized tactics aimed at our weakest points. He's got you in his filing cabinets. Your file for example says: Subject has a constant preoccupation with lust. Then below it. Strategy: Late at night when he is alone, seduce him with the thought that online pornography is OK, and that as Christian adults he can cope with it without being enslaved. Let him think that it won’t harm his soul because everyone else is doing it, and no one will find that out. Lead him to believe it's only an entertainment, a thrill that is simply a few clicks away.” (more of these tactics can be found in CS Lewis' masterpiece The Screwtape Letters)

2. If you want to read Satan's Curriculum Vitae, it's in the Bible. He is a liar and murderer (John 8:44). He deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. He afflicted Job. He tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Satan "disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14). He follows us everywhere, "walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). Satan hinders, obstruct, hinder our God-honoring plan to serve Him (1Thessalonians 2:18). He influences and infiltrates our minds (John 13: 26-27, 30; Acts 5:3).

What he did in the past, he will certainly be doing today and in the future. That is why Paul reminds us that the real battle is not against people, no matter how mean they are to us at times, the real battle is against invisible supernatural beings who are determined to disrupt, discourage, disillusion, discomfort, disarm, disrupt, dissatisfy, distract, disappoint, disgruntle, dishearten, distress, disqualify, disquiet, disturb, disunite, destroy, and deceive us.

Satan knows exactly your weak points. Do you know your weak points?
Satan knows you. Do you know him, so much so that you always stand firm against him?

I am certain Satan has also read Sun Tzu's Art of War. He knows you inside out. Our only hope to win the war is that we do know this. That Satan is only a created being who has been defeated by Jesus Christ our Lord on the cross. That is why Paul wrote "“be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (6:10).