In our daily lives, it is easy to focus entirely on the physical world around us. We have schedules, chores, and endless to-do lists. It is very easy to forget we are in a battle for our lives and those around us. However, Scripture reminds us that a very real spiritual battle is taking place beneath the surface. Battles are fought with both defensive and offensive weapons and tactics. I am a sports junky, so when I hear the terms “defensive” and “offensive,” I think of sports games and how they are won and lost based on the weapons and tactics used to overcome the opponent.
The greatest weapon we have at our disposal is the Word of God. Jesus proved this to us when He was tempted in the wilderness. Matthew chapter 4 gives us the outline of this battle. In verse 1, we see the plot. “Jesus is led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” The battle is on. Jesus is tempted by Satan in three different areas of life, after He has fasted 40 days and nights. Fasting in itself would make anyone weak and cause a desire to satisfy the flesh, but on top of that, you have an opponent who is Satan himself. He is the author of lies and deceit. He is jealous of God’s power. He has been thrown out of Heaven and uses everything in his arsenal to attack. He has nothing to lose.
The first temptation is to eat something. Matthew 4:3 “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Jesus is God, but He was also 100% man while living on earth. He chose to experience every temptation we experience and show us how to overcome. In each temptation, He quoted scripture. Next, he took Him to a pinnacle of the temple in verse 6 “And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” In verse 8, Satan, as a last resort to tempt Him, takes Him to a high mountain and shows Him the world. Satan tells Him that if he will worship him, it will all be His. While all of these are serious situations, given Jesus’s physical and emotional weakness at this time, I almost laugh. The evil one, who was a creation himself, offers the world to the one who created it. Jesus gives us a pattern for how we, too, can win over temptation. He quotes scripture. His weapon, the word of God, won the battle. In verse 11, the devil left Him.
Matthew 4:4 “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
Matthew 4:7-11 “Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil left him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
We too can win if we use the right offensive and defensive weapons. In Psalms 119:11, the psalmist teaches us to hide God’s word in our hearts so that we will not sin against God. We are to treat God’s word as a treasure that we will not surrender to anyone, anytime. We are to treasure His word so much that it becomes our secret guide for life. It is ingrained into who we are. Things that are valuable to us, we keep protected. The more value we place on it, the more we do to protect it. God’s word is to shape us as we internalize it. In II Timothy 2:15, we are taught to “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
As we study and memorize God’s word, we are giving the Holy Spirit something to work with when we are tempted. In John 14:26, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will dwell in every believer. He is going to teach us and bring to our memory the ammunition of God’s word to fight against Satan and his demons. By memorizing and studying God’s word, we are building an arsenal to help us not to sin against a holy God, a loving Savior, and the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Defensively, the Word of God protects your mind, heart, and soul from the enemy’s primary tactics: lies, accusations, and doubt. When the enemy attacks, he rarely uses brute force; he uses whispers that sound like your own thoughts. The Word acts as a defensive filter, catching these thoughts before they take root.
An offensive weapon is used to advance, take back territory, and destroy the enemy’s positions. The word is infused with divine power to actively demolish strongholds. In II Corinthians 10:4-5, we are taught that the spiritual weapons that the word brings to us are the ability to deconstruct a bad mindset. It demolishes arguments and anything that sets itself against the knowledge of God.
In II Corinthians 10:4-5 “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
The word of God provides both defensive and offensive weapons. If we are to be successful in the Christian life, we must fight, but we cannot afford to take shortcuts. God’s word has the weapons we need, but it is up to us to use them, and use them correctly. The ball is in your court; now is the time to take it and run with it to win!
