DEALING WITH YOUR ARCH ENEMY

“Therefore if anyone be in Christ, he is a new
creation, the old has gone, the new has come.”
(2 Cor 5:17)
Over the years as a Christian, I have heard so many
children of God talk about the devil or Satan and his
associates (hierarchy of demons or evil spirits) as
their enemy and even some go to the extremes of
pointing at human agents-one woman or man in their
neighbourhood or family as their enemies. A lot of
energy in spiritual warfare has been dispensed in
Christendom in dealing with this secondary or tertiary
enemy of man virtually leaving the highest enemy of
man’s soul or destiny untouched. And because of this,
many Christians have not enjoyed the joy, peace and
other good blessings and promises of being heirs of
God’s kingdom.
At this point, it is good for us to uncover the mask
over the greatest enemy of your soul called “the old
man” or “the sinful nature.” This enemy has made many
who would have been heroes of faith to fall by the way
side without getting to their promised land or
possessing their inheritance in the kingdom of God.
In Galatians 5:19-21, the Bible has this to say: “The
acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage or
anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and
envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you as
I did before that those who live like this will not
inherit the kingdom of God.”
Before you became a Christian, believer or born-again
these are the character traits that you manifested on
daily basis and which made or qualified you to belong
to the kingdom of the devil. At new birth, there is a
change in the supreme personality that governs your
life.
The Bible says that he who sins is of the devil
because the devil has been sinning from the beginning
but for this purpose the son of God (Jesus Christ) was
made manifest to destroy the works of the devil
(Satan, sin and its consequences) and apostle Paul
equally by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit spoke
about the transformation and transfiguration that is
to take place in your life at the new birth. The Bible
says old things, the sinful nature, the old man has
passed away. Behold all things (your character,
behaviour, nature) has become new.
You need to realise that your baptism into Jesus
Christ at new birth is a baptism into his death. You
were buried with him through baptism into death in
order that just as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the father, you too may live a
new life. A thorough understanding of what He did for
you at the new birth will free you from the bondage of
the arch-enemy “the sinful nature” or “the old man.”
Your body of sin was crucified with him on the cross,
buried, that was why he declared, “it is finished”
before giving up the ghost on the cross. The flesh
dominion over the spirit man was destroyed by the
power of the cross.
Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I
no longer live, but Christ livest in me. The life I
live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God
who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Gal.2:20.
Your body of sin has been crucified, killed and
crushed with Jesus body on the cross. So therefore
reckon your sinful nature, your body as killed or
destroyed or dead with that of Christ on the cross. A
knowledge of this truth will bring you great
deliverance from yielding your body to sin at any
slightest moment.
One thing you must know is that Jesus Christ’s death
on the cross paid the full price for your new life in
Him to be able to live for God. You don’t have any
excuse to keep committing immorality with your body,
or giving to malice, anger, slander, fighting,
drunkenness, orgies, lying and the like. You need to
fully realise that your body of sin is dead and buried
with that of Christ. Have you ever seen a dead man
committing sexual immorality, given to fits of rage or
anger, fighting and other sinful natures? If this has
not happened before and will not happen , so realise
that your sinful nature is equally dead and so you are
not to give or respond to all the vices of the sinful
nature just as naturally as a physically dead man will
never respond to the highest level of provocation from
any quarter. So mortify, put to dead the deeds of the
sinful or earthly nature. Put off the old man and come
to the realisation of your new nature in Christ Jesus
and put it on or wear it, demonstrate it in
confession, deeds and in action. He commands that you
clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness, patience, forgiveness. Put on love and let
the peace of Christ rule in your hearts and you will
not gratify the desire of the flesh.
Finally study and believe God’s Word 2 Peter 1:3-9.
We wish you God’s richest blessings as you triumph
over the number one enemy of your soul in Jesus name.