Don't Be Prey For The Devil
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I Peter 5:8 (NKJV)
The Bible tells us to be on the alert for the plots, plans, and schemes of our enemy, the devil. Similar to a lion, he prowls around, looking for unsuspecting prey so he can devour them. So much of the body of Christ has been falling prey to his lies, and he has made great strides in making the church weak and vulnerable. There is a simple reason why this is happening.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6 (NKJV)
The reason so many blood-bought people of God have been duped by the enemy is because they don’t know the Word. A large percentage of the church doesn’t even read their Bible on a regular basis, let alone go deeper and actually study it. As a result, the church is plagued by things we’ve actually been redeemed from such as sickness, lack, and fear. However, this is not God’s will for us. He wants us to grow up in Christ and know what His Word says so we aren’t easily led astray by the lies and trickery of the enemy.
That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: Ephesians 4;14-15 (NKJV) emphasis mine
I don’t often use paraphrase versions of the Bible, but look at how The Message renders this passage.
No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are easy prey for predators. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. Ephesians 4:14-15 (The Message, MSG) emphasis mine
God does not want us to remain spiritual babes, but that is what has happened to us as the body of Christ. Because we have not progressed beyond the milk of the Word to the more substantial meat of the Word, the body has remained babies in Christ. It is okay to be a baby when we are first born-again, but like a baby feeds and grows physically, so should we spiritually. Growing up is important so we can do what we are called to do.
Like natural babies cannot be used in the military to fight against enemies, we cannot be used to stand and fight against the enemy spiritually if we are still babies in Christ. As a result, the devil has taken so much ground in the world, and he has taken the church hostage, so to speak. Each believer must know the Word in order to be able to fight and overcome the sneaky attacks of the devil. Without a true knowledge of the Word, we have no sword with which to fight him (Ephesians 6:17).
If we are to be victorious in our individual lives as well as in our communities and the world, we must dedicate time to learning the Word and actually studying it. We must first read it, but then go deeper to truly understand what it is saying and how we can apply it to our lives. Without a solid knowledge of the Word, we will easily fall prey to the devil and his lies.
