Spiritual Warfare - The World, the Flesh, and the Devil
VBC Albuquerque · Apr 7, 2024
This sermon uses Ephesians 6:11-12 as its foundation to teach believers about spiritual warfare involving three main enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. You are reminded that your battle is not against ordinary people but against spiritual evil powers in the heavenly realm. The sermon encourages believers to put on the full armor of God to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.
The sermon emphasizes that every believer is engaged in genuine spiritual warfare, not fighting against ordinary people but against powers, authorities, and world rulers of this present darkness along with spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. The opening of Ephesians 6:11-12 is used to clarify the supernatural nature of this battle. The teaching makes clear that while you cannot see these enemies with physical eyes, they powerfully affect your spiritual life.
The sermon outlines three main enemies that believers must face. First is the world with its desires of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life, all of which come not from God the Father but from the world (1 John 2:15-16). Second is the flesh, illustrated through the internal conflict in Romans 7:19-23, where Paul describes the struggle between wanting to do good but doing evil instead, with a law of sin warring against the law of the mind. Third is the devil, evil spirits actively blinding the minds of the unbelieving so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
The sermon uses the example from 2 Kings 6:16-17 to encourage believers that those with them are more numerous than those with the enemy. When Elisha prayed, the Lord opened the servant's eyes to see that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, symbolizing God's protection. The passages from Ephesians 2:1-2 make clear that before Christ, we were dead in our trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience.
The sermon applies the message to real life by emphasizing that you must put on the full armor of God to stand firm. The quotation from C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters warns that the safest road to Hell is the gradual one, with a gentle slope, comfortable footing, and no sudden turnings or landmarks. This shows that even small sins can separate you from the Enemy if the end result is to move you from Light to Darkness. The sermon encourages believers to be watchful and alert to the subtle schemes of the enemy.