Ephesians

Indirect Assault

By far the majority of the satanic attacks against Christians are not direct but indirect. That is why they are called the schemes of the devil. Scheming suggests deviousness, deception, and subterfuge. A direct attack of the devil upon a human life is an obvious thing, but much more common is the crafty, deceptive, almost undetectable assault—those subtle satanic suggestions and misdirections that come to us through the natural, commonplace channels of life.

The indirect attack comes to us primarily through two channels the Bible calls “the world” and “the sinful nature.” In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul writes:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world [here is the first channel] and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Paul is saying, “Don’t forget that, as Christians, you once followed the course of this world, under the grip and in the control of the devil.” Then he goes on to add:

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature [the second channel] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

The Bible presents a consistent picture of these two channels—the world and the sinful nature—that Satan effectively uses to undermine us as Christians.

The World

“The world” is the corporate expression of all human individuals and human institutions. It is comprised of all human philosophies, ideas, attitudes, goals, values, media, and so forth. When you read a book that expresses an atheistic philosophy, or see a movie that presents an immoral view of life, or see an advertisement that appeals to the sensual and lustful side of you, these are all expressions of the world. The world bombards you with anti-Christian messages, and Satan uses these messages to get a foothold in your brain, your attitudes, your emotions, and ultimately your will.

The combined expression of all such destructive ideas and messages that surround us constitutes what the Bible calls “the world,” and determines the philosophy and morality of the society. The world exerts enormous pressure on each of us to conform, adjust, and keep in step. That is why the Bible tells us as Christians, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). The world is corrupt, and Satan uses it to gain access to our minds and hearts. The best antidote to the poisonous influence of the world, of course, is to immerse our minds in God’s Word. We need to continually baptize our intellect, our imagination, our attitudes, and our beliefs by the washing of the Word. Instead of “zoning out” in front of the TV for two or three hours every night (and absorbing the world’s dying values and belief system in the process), we should spend time in the Word, both in individual study and in discussion and prayer with other believers. The mindset of the world is an opportunistic virus that seeks to take over our minds and emotions. The Bible is God’s inoculation against the virus of the world.