Ephesians (W12D1) Devil's Schemes

Week 12. Monday: The Devil’s Schemes

PRAY: Ask God to speak to you from His Word.

READ: Ephesians 6:10-12

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

UNDERSTAND: get a deeper understanding of the key words

• Be Strong (Greek: endynamoō): receive strength from God (Philippians 4:12-13)

• Mighty Power (Greek: ischys kratos): the ability of God’s strength and dominion

• Full Armor of God (Greek: panoplia theos): the complete armor, all that is needed

• Take Your Stand (Greek: histēmi): stand firm, stay balanced, steadfast, established

• The Devil’s Schemes (Greek: diabolos methodeia): cunning arts, craft, trickery

• The devil’s best scheme is deceit and lies (John 8:44).

• The devil manipulates us by twisting the truth.

• Our Struggle (Greek: egō palē): our continual wrestling, being attacked

• Flesh and Blood (Greek: sarx kai haima): human beings, human institutions

• Because our struggle is spiritual, we are not fighting people.

• Because our struggle is spiritual, we cannot use tangible weapons.

• The armor of God is made up of spiritual defense and offense.

• Spiritual Forces of Evil (Greek: pneumatikos ponēria): demonic wickedness

• Heavenly Realms (Greek: epouranios): the spiritual realm

APPLY: What is this passage calling me to do?

How have you experienced spiritual warfare in your life?

What are some schemes that the devil often uses?

How does the fact that our struggles are not against “flesh and blood” change how we approach our problems?

PRAY: Ask God to help you see the devil’s schemes clearly and overcome them.