“Oppose the Devil, and he will flee.” ?⚔️?

[Bible Speaks]

"Put on the complete suit of armor from God that you may be able to stand firm against the machinations of the Devil."—Eph. 6:11.

Oppose the Devil and His Crafty Acts

“Oppose the Devil, and he will flee.”—JAMES 4:7.

“WE HAVE A STRUGGLE . . . AGAINST THE WICKED SPIRIT FORCES”

How does Satan fight against individual Christians?

Satan cannot win the war, so to speak, but he can make casualties of us as individuals if we let our guard down. Satan knows that he can devour us if he can weaken our bond with Jehovah. How does Satan try to achieve this? By attacking us intensely, personally, and cunningly. Let us consider these main strategies of Satan.

Why is Satan intensely attacking Jehovah’s people?

Intense attacks. The apostle John stated: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) Those words contain a warning for all true Christians. Since Satan has already devoured the entire ungodly world of mankind, he can now focus on and intensify his attacks on those who have so far eluded him—Jehovah’s people. (Micah 4:1; John 15:19;Revelation 12:12, 17) He has great anger because he knows his time is short. So he has stepped up the pressure. Today, we face his final rampage of savagery and destruction.

What does the apostle Paul mean when he states that we have “a struggle” against wicked spirits?

Personal struggle. The apostle Paul warned fellow Christians: “We have a struggle [“wrestling,” footnote] . . . against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Why did Paul use the term “struggle”? Because it conveys the idea of hand-to-hand combat. Thus, by using that term, Paul stressed that each of us has a personal fight with wicked spirits. Whether we live in a country where belief in wicked spirits is prevalent or not, we should never forget that when we dedicated ourselves to Jehovah, we stepped on the wrestling mat, as it were. At least from dedication onward, each Christian is locked in combat. No wonder that Paul saw the need to urge Christians in Ephesus three times to “stand firm”!—Ephesians 6:11, 13, 14.

(a) Why do Satan and the demons employ various “crafty acts”? (b) Why does Satan try to corrupt our thinking, and how can we resist his efforts?  (c) Which crafty act will we now consider?

Cunning schemes. Paul exhorts Christians to stand firm against Satan’s “crafty acts.” (Ephesians 6:11) Note Paul’s use of the plural. Wicked spirits use not one but various cunning schemes—and for good reason. In the course of time, some believers who have stood firm against one kind of trial have given in when faced with another. Hence, the Devil and the demons closely observe the behavior of each one of us to detect our weakest spot. Then they exploit any spiritual weakness we may have. Thankfully, though, we can recognize many of the Devil’s methods, for they are revealed in the Bible. (2 Corinthians 2:11) Earlier in this publication, we discussed such schemes as the lure of materialism, harmful association, and sexual immorality. Let us now consider yet another one of Satan’s crafty acts—spiritism.

Satan has not changed. His basic tenet remains the same: Corrupt the mind, and sinful actions will follow. Satan has this system’s politics, religion, commerce, and entertainment set up to spread his propaganda. (John 14:30) He has succeeded in distorting the thinking of the vast majority of mankind, changing their attitudes and viewpoints. Conduct that was once viewed as sinful—such as practicing homosexuality, living together without marriage, and bearing children out of wedlock—is often viewed as acceptable, even desirable. How effective has Satan been in seducing humans? The Bible says: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.”—1 John 5:19.

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102008075?q=eph+6%3A11&p=par