For we are not ignorant of his devices

The Bible lets us know we have an enemy – the devil – but we have the power of God to defeat him.

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand [stand firm] against the wiles [all strategies] of the devil." - Ephesians 6:10-11 KJV

"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." - Ephesians 6:12 KJV

Our battle is not physical, but spiritual.

In order to stand firm in our battles, we must first of all believe and obey the gospel. We believe that God Himself robed Himself in flesh and dwelt among humanity, He died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day rose victoriously alive forevermore.

"And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;" - Ephesians 6:15 KJV

It is the gospel of peace – God making peace between us by the blood of His cross – that prepares us to stand in our spiritual battles. We repent of our sins, we apply the blood He shed for us by being baptized in His name Jesus, and receive the gift of His Spirit (speaking in tongues as His Spirit gives the utterance) so that we may stand in victory. (Colossians 1:19-23).

The Bible says that satan has evil schemes to outsmart us, but we are familiar with them.

One of these is forgiveness. Because Jesus has forgiven us of all our sins instead of requiring justice, we must do likewise, if we want our sins forgiven. This goes to the point of asking God to erase from their account what someone has done to us.

"To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices." - 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 KJV

To be continued…