2 Corinthians 2:11 is a powerfully insightful verse of Scripture. It really allows us to understand the importance of not allowing satan to have anything on us by stopping him dead in his tracks. That is what the context of this verse is talking about–not allowing him to have anything to use against us by being willing to forgive others and not harbor unforgiveness in our hearts. Look at the four translations below:
“To keep Satan from taking advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (AMP)
“So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (ESV)
“We don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!” (MSG)
“It’s my duty to make sure that Satan does not win even a small victory over us, for we don’t want to be naïve and then fall prey to his schemes.” (VOICE)
In every one of these translations, the one thing that is crystal clear is the fact that we are engaged in combat against a foe that will use every tool at his disposal to destroy us. Warfare against the devil is not a game. It is not something that is fun. It is combat. Intense combat.
The toughest warfare to engage in, both physically and mentally, is guerrilla warfare. Guerrilla warfare is one-on-one combat. Whereas a mechanical war might use airplanes, helicopters, tanks, artillery and so forth, guerrilla warfare uses men. Flesh and blood men. The physical stress of it is one-on-one combat. The mental stress of it is having to deal with the unseen factors. You must constantly be on guard lest you be caught unaware by a trap, a snare, or a device. Maybe this is why Jesus told Peter, “Watch as well as pray.” (Matthew 26:41)
When we talk about warfare in the spiritual realm, we must be careful to not disregard the importance of it, nor of the very real reality of it. Although we may not be able to see into the other realm, we must recognize that the war we are fighting between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of satan is very real. It is Light versus darkness. It is righteousness versus unrighteousness. And it is intensifying every day.
There is something that each of us must understand concerning this war we are in, and that is God always operates by the laws which He has set forth, but satan doesn’t. Satan will break every law in the book to get to you. He’ll use every device and snare imaginable to try and destroy you. He is an expert at guerrilla warfare. After all, he’s been doing it now for the past few thousand years. Do not underestimate your enemy. He is not some little wimpy soldier. He is a fallen angel that is full of hatred and wrath against every human being.
In this warfare we are in, I have found that there are a lot of false statements that people have made for years. Statements like these: “The devil would like to kill all of us.” Or, “The devil’s trying to kill me.” No he’s not! If he kills us, all we do is go to heaven. How is that hurting us? It isn’t. He has actually helped us! Instead of killing us, he will try, instead, to ruin your testimony as a Christian. He’ll use discouragement to make you want to surrender and give up on God. That’s the warfare. That’s the victory he seeks.
Furthermore, your spiritual battles have an effect on your secular friends and fellow Christians. How you react in battle will almost always affect not just you, but others as well. Satan knows this and uses this knowledge to attempt to destroy you, your family, your friends, and your church.
Satan’s warfare is very similar to what the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong used to do. They would use every trap and snare imaginable in order to, not kill but maim American soldiers. They would do this in an attempt to only wound a man, for they knew that by just wounding a man, that it would take at least two other American soldiers to carry him out of the jungle.
Watch the mathematics in this strategy. Let’s say that you have a squad of twelve soldiers. If two of them die in battle, you still have ten left to fight. But if you’ve wounded two, it’s going to take probably four to carry those two out, leaving only six of the original squad of twelve to fight. Sadly, this is the same strategy that satan uses in our lives and in our churches. If he can get one to wound a fellow brother or sister, he can take several out at the same time. Instead of the front-line warriors being out on the battlefield, they have to retreat long enough to minister healing to those who have been wounded.
That is the reason why a lot of our churches have such oppression, and even depression, on them. Everybody is trying to uphold everyone else. Instead of mature saints eating the meat of the Word, we are still drinking milk because everyone is so busy trying to encourage everyone else. And instead of pressing on to victory, spiritual warfighters are having to help other soldiers. We need to wise up. This is what guerrilla warfare is all about–taking out enemy soldiers one by one until the attrition rate can’t keep up. The devil is a master at this.
I say enough is enough. It’s time for the Church to be the Church triumphant again! It’s time for our modern day Church to get some backbone again and stand up to the enemy. We are not the Church defeated. We are the Church victorious!
The problem is we have too many fair-weathered Christians in our ranks. When times get tough, they seem to disappear suddenly. Nobody ever said this would be easy. War isn’t fun. Those who say it is are masochists. For your information, a masochist is “a person who enjoys an activity that appears to be painful or tedious.” That describes war to a tee. But we can make it through. We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Do you know what a combat veteran is? It is someone that has made it through a war and is still alive. I’m a combat veteran in both the natural realm and the spiritual realm. You have to make it through the war first though. Did you know that combat veterans receive awards for their combat service? I did. Do you know what the Christian warfighters award is going to be? A crown of life and a glorified body! Hang in there spiritual combat veterans, the battle is almost over. Jesus is almost ready to take us home. Victory is ours.