THE BATTLE FOR THE MIND (Armor of God 2)
(11 of 15 blogs about spiritual warfare and marriage/family, taken from material I presented at a marriage retreat, Winning the Battle For Your Family, in 2019)
When a soldier faces his enemy, he needs to use the armor provided by his commander to be victorious. The same is true in our Christian life. The first piece of equipment we are commanded to wear is the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17).
The Roman soldier chained to Paul in prison wore a helmet made out of metal. Enemies would attack with a large, heavy sword which they would try to bring down on the Roman soldiers head. Thus the helmet had to be strong to protect their head. The same is true for us. Satan attacks our mind and thoughts first. He puts doubt, fear, confusion, lust, greed and whatever defeats us in our mind. Our spiritual battles are won or lost in our mind (thoughts) first of all. That’s why we need the mind of Christ to have victory (1 Corinthians 2:16).
We must know who we are in Christ so we don’t give in to discouragement, fear or anger. We must be aware of all we have so we don’t turn to sin to meet needs God has already met. We are a new creation and must know what that means and how it applies (2 Corinthians 5:17). Knowing God’s truth is the only way to protect our minds against Satan’s lies.
God has given us over two hundred benefits that come at the moment of salvation. For one thing, He promises that past, present and future sins are gone forever (Romans 8:1). He deals with us in grace, not works.
We are in God’s family by birth (John 3:3) and by adoption (Ephesians 1:5). Thus we are children of God (John 1:12). Ours is a family relationship with God, not king and servant or master and slave. God is our Father, Jesus our Elder Brother (Hebrews 2:11-13). We are family, with all its security, benefits and privileges. Those are ours now, not something we have to wait to have. Not only are we in His family, but we are also friends with God (John 15:15). Can you imagine God calling you a friend? Great privileges are ours! As such she shares His plans and blessings with us.
We must know beyond a doubt that we are unconditionally loved by God, now and forever (Romans 8:38-39). It has nothing to do with what we deserve or don’t deserve, and there’s no way we can lose it. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us more. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us less. He can’t love us more and He won’t love us less.
When we are hit with doubt about His provision we must remember He has promised to meet all our needs (Philippians 4:19). When we doubt His love we must remember we can never lose our salvation (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). When we get weary we must remember we will be in heaven with Him forever (Philippians 3:20). When we struggle with sin we must remember He gives us victory over sin (Galatians 2:20). When we struggle in our warfare with Satan’s forces we must remember that He has promised victory over them (Colossians 1:13; Luke 10:18-19).
When both husband and wife are committed believers and wear the helmet of salvation they will be likeminded in their values, priorities, motives and goals in life. They know only Jesus can meet all their needs, not their mate, and turn to Him to have them met. Children, too, must understand all they have in Jesus as Christians. This is key to preventing Satan’s attacks to our mind and thoughts.
Colossians 1:13 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Who is winning the battle for your mind? Do your thoughts line up with Jesus’ thoughts? Are you able to control your thoughts and make them obedient to Christ? If not, write down what you must do and ask God for His help doing it.
Jerry Schmoyer
Christian Training Organization