The Enemy of Our Souls

Why do Christians suffer unfairly? How do we understand that part of God’s love for us includes unjust and unrighteous acts that come against God’s own? Peter answers this by stating that fiery trials are used by God. When we share in Christ’s sufferings, we receive His glory. As God’s own beloved Son suffered, we enter in to His suffering to rule and reign with Him. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness when He was drawn by the spirit to fast for 40 days. Satan, that enemy of our souls, came to Him to test Him.

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Matthew 4:1 NIV

Jesus was tempted to use His power and position for self-interest but, instead, spoke the words of His Father to gain the victory. He overcame the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, never using for His own benefit. He was strengthened and refined through this process, made ready for His purpose in coming into the word. Like our Master, God uses the enemy of our souls as an adversary to strengthen us.

Why are we then surprised? Our wise Father created this adversary to destroy our flesh. Satan was evil from the beginning, not a fallen angel gathering his troops to war against Jesus. Did not Jesus defeat this enemy on the cross? Though this truth is not popular or widely accepted, it is nonetheless based upon sound scriptural evidence.

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” 1 John 3:8-9 KJV

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, it is time for this truth to no longer be hidden from God’s precious saints. Too long have we blamed the bad on satan while God is the author of all that is good. That is not what the book says! This is continuing to eat from the Tree of Good and Evil rather than from the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden of our souls. It is a trial of our faith when we discover that Father God created it this way.

“I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing peace and creating disaster; I am the LORD who does all these things.” Isaiah 45: 6b-7 AMP

Our God is a creator of contrasts: light and darkness, good and evil, so that we see the difference. If all was light and good, how will we learn in God’s school of life? We easily see what happens to a child whose parents protect him or her from all adversity and difficulty. Our parental love becomes out of balance when we shield a child from any difficulty coming their way. Such a child has no strength of character to endure what life brings to us all:

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame,

because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:2-5 ESV

Father God’s love for us allows necessary suffering to build endurance, character, and hope in Him. Some prefer to reject the idea that our loving God allows the adversary to work against us through even horrific, evil humans. Many avoid, if not reject, the book of Job that illustrates God allowing satan to come against a righteous man of God, but we can learn from Job, as we can from every book in the bible.

Through unimaginable loss and destruction that God invited satan to do, Job learns Who God is and who he, a mortal man, is not. Read Job and you will see that satan did not suggest coming against Job, God did. Job was perfect. God said so but Job had not been tried and tested, in order to come forth as gold. It is easy to appear faithful and obedient when all is well, but in times of adversity and trial, when we are tested by satan, what is truly in our hearts about God comes out.

Job lost everything we hold dear and still worshipped the Lord with these words:

“Then Job arose, tore his robe and sheared his head. He fell to the earth and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came forth from the belly of my mother, and naked I shall return there. Yahweh, He gives, and Yahweh, He takes away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh.’

In all this, Job neither sinned nor ascribed anything improper to Elohim.” Job 1:20-22 CLV

Job passed his test, brought by satan under God’s direction as did Jesus when the Holy Spirit drew Him into the wilderness to be tested. This aspect of our merciful, compassionate Lord is not easy to understand or accept. His ways are not ours. Our God is a God of opposites, knowing we need the darkness to see His light. How are we to know good if we do not have the contrast of evil? How is darkness noted if we do not have light as its opposite?

His plan from the beginning has been to use the enemy to test and refine us. That’s the mission of the enemy of our souls and he does it well. Never has God lost control of His servant, the devil. God is all-powerful and has no enemies, but we do and victory through Him for all men is sure:

“‘Behold, I have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy.

No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,’ says the LORD.” Isaiah 54:16-17 NKJV

Satan, the blacksmith, increases the strength of the fiery trials that we walk through and endure on this earth. As we mature, such trials are more and more like the suffering of Jesus—undeserved, unfair, even cruel. Just as satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he puts his thoughts into our minds and hearts, particularly during the inevitable times of adversity in living on the earth. Yet He promises that none of these weapons formed against us will prosper.

Satan is God’s instrument, this enemy of our soul, operating in the fleshly realm of our mind, our will, and our emotions. Satan was created by God for the purpose of affliction and suffering to refine us. Jesus Christ now and forever conquers satan within us, over and over. He brings His victory to triumph over every fleshly thought, desire, and emotion that satan is working to plant and increase in us.

While weapons are surely formed against us, His servants, they do not prosper! He promises this. Earlier verses leading to the above passages provide further context to show that rather than destroying His creation, God makes a new earth in us:

“To me, this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again.

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:9-10 NIV

God swore that He would never again be angry enough with humans to destroy them by a flood nor would He rebuke them as in the days of Noah. Think of it! His compassions are new every morning. No trial lasts forever, though we may feel like it does. This is the heritage of the promises given to Abraham. He will have compassion on us for good. He promised not to again destroy the earth, giving us a sign of this promise in every rainbow in the sky.

“Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living creature of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.

And whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of every kind that is on the earth.’ So God said to Noah, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and every creature on the earth.’” Genesis 9:14-16 BSB

God recalls His promise through the rainbow as a sign to us of His eternal promise. A rainbow is made by a multicoloured arc of light striking water droplets, most commonly when sunlight strikes raindrops at a precise angle. The colors on a primary rainbow are always in order of their wavelength, from longest to shortest: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet (National Geographic, paraphrased.)

God is light and there is no darkness in Him, so this rainbow of light is His everlasting promises of restoration. God has assured us He will never again destroy people nor any living creature on the earth again. God is a destroyer of sin and death, not of the creation He made. He loves His creation, this world, so much that He redeemed it through the great and wonderful sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God set in motion His eternal plan for the ages to redeem us all fully back to Him. His plans do not fail. Mountains may be shaking and all those high places where humans are dwelling that are not established by God are brought down. Hilly places of difficulty where the path becomes harder are moved from our walk as we overcome each adversity. His unfailing love is not shown in spite of these shakings but through them all.

The Lord is the One we cling to as He brings these shakings in and around us. The shaking of all things that can be shaken on this earth is His work in us and others. The apostle James tells us to count it all joy when trials come upon us, because of new growth, the new heaven and new earth that comes from it. This surely makes the Lord’s own distinctly different from others in this world as we all go through increasing upheavals:

“Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].

And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 AMP

We are assured that our many trials are for the testing and refinement of our faith. Through it all, God is perfecting us into the very image and likeness of Jesus Christ, the firstborn of many brethren. Many experience this purging as we draw near to Him in this life. He is always coming to us, His temple where God Himself dwells within. We are where He is building His Kingdom. We are being clothed with His glory to be revealed in us, His saints.

The only way we can consider all our trials with a joyful heart is to know that God remains in charge no matter what. His divine purpose is to strengthen our faith, producing endurance, through them all. Endurance is based upon a Greek word that means to “stay; abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand”. We abide and remain in God as He develops His precious qualities of spiritual gold and silver.

He is burning up our nature of flesh as the enemy of our souls is actively trying to influence and defeat is in our very mind, will, and emotions. He dwells in the very inner being of His servants, to defeat any enemy, bringing strength and growth as we submit to God. We are destined to be transparent like Him, a pure light in the darkness of this world.

“You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 BSB

Which is more glorious—when we shine in blessings or when enduring adversity? Which distinguishes us, the body of Christ, from others? His plan is working out our spiritual garments, our heavenly clothing without spot or wrinkle in His holy people. Good deeds led by God from a pure heart of love and faith are indeed seen by others. We are to be seen as His light in the earth for all eternity when the reconciliation process is complete.

This promise is for those who overcome the flesh, obedient unto death to self. The dying man or woman who has walked with the Lord intimately for many years passes easily through the thin veil between flesh and spirit to come into the presence of the Lord. But those who are deathbed confessors are naked before God. They have not been clothed with the Christ when passing from this life. How can they be? They have just met Him!

This person will be facing God, sleeping until God calls them to be further judged for restoration and refinement. It may take ages before the billions who did not know the Lord in this life are awakened to be further changed and clothed with righteousness. God has a lot of work for His saints yet to do that has never been done, that could not be done until this Day of the Lord. Now is the time to pray for reapers of His harvest of the fruit of the Spirit:

“…His disciples came to Him saying, ‘Explain [clearly] to us the parable of the weeds in the field.’ He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and [as for] the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend [those things by which people are led into sin], and all who practice evil [leading others into sin], and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].

Then the righteous, [those who seek the will of God] will shine forth [radiating the new life] like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears [to hear], let him hear and heed My words.” Matthew 13:36-43 AMP

All seed sown in the earth of our hearts grows a crop, including the seed of God planted in every being. God allows these two crops, from the good seed of the Christ to grow His kingdom and from the evil one, the enemy of our souls, to grow together until the end of the age. Then the weeds from the evil one are gathered up and burned in the fire of His presence brought by His angels, His messengers who bring tidings of great joy.

God’s fruitful harvest is the nature and character of all souls becoming Christ-like, having all the fruit of the spirit on display. There is a time, a season, a period where God does this work. He sends His angels, messengers of God’s word, to do this reaping at the end of the age. The crop of weeds, the works of the flesh, must be destroyed because no flesh can enter into His kingdom, but we are saved by faith through it all.

The literal earth is not to be destroyed nor His righteous people who bear His seed. Our being is the holy temple of God. He came to save the world, not destroy it. His messengers are sent to gather the crop from His good seed in our earth. God will reap the fruit of His kingdom, which is in those of us who believe and serve our Lord.

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” 2 Corinthians 6:16 BSB

What do we do with fruit that has been ripened to harvest? Why, we eat it! We all know that the very best, tastiest, most nourishing fruit is picked off the vine to immediately consume. So too is the fruit of God’s word to be given as a feast of nourishment for others. As we abide in the Vine, others are able to eat the nourishing fruit of His spirit, the love, peace, and joy within us. He has planted His seed and it is growing a spiritual crop that become His harvest.

When the light of His countenance shines with purity from His holy and refined people, others see Him. We are on that path and long for its completion within us. His work in the world is done by holy, righteous people, prepared by God and joined in spiritual Zion, that great cloud of witnesses on the other side. It is done in the rest of the Lord, by the spirit of a purified, united people with no guile. Think of it!

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away (vanished), and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed like a bride adorned for her husband; and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying,

‘See! The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them [as their God,] and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be death; there will no longer be sorrow and anguish, or crying, or pain; for the former order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4 BSB

What heavenly words of promise! All of our former dwelling places, on earth and in those spiritual heavens we’ve known, pass away. So does the sea, that sea of unbelief, all the waters of people of the world who do not know Him. John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. Note that Jesus Christ descends, coming down to dwell within us fully.

After He has coming within us for initial salvation, He completes His coming by making us His holy habitation. He continues His work within until our salvation and redemption is complete. This is not a geographical place to which we can point He is raising us up to dwell with Him in unity by spirit. God plans to establish His holy habitation in the spirit from spiritual Zion where He rules.

God wipes away tears and death on this earth, for there are no tears or death in heaven! This place of the throne of Jesus Christ and Father God is finally brought to dwell—stay, move in permanently—in and among us—in spiritual Zion, the place where His departed sons and daughters, martyrs and leaders of the faith, are already found awaiting our perfection, our completion:

“These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39-40 BSB

In this well-known faith chapter of the Bible, the writer of Hebrews lists many of God’s saints who were commended for their faith. What a powerful, diverse list it is! All were buffeted and even martyred by the evil that was in the world. God’s plan has been to withhold what was promised to these precious saints until we who remain on the earth, having this same calling of faith, are made perfect. One is not to proceed without the other.

How they must long to see the fulfillment of this most precious promise, from Abraham on through the revelation of John. No wonder the saints dwelling in spiritual Zion, our homeland, are cheering us on in this day and hour. Dare we believe that now is the time? God does reveal His times and seasons to those who love Him.

Many of God’s people, from various walks of faith and regardless of differing doctrines, believe that the Day of the Lord is dawning upon us. We welcome it and are surely in desperate need of it. No wonder the enemy of our souls is ever more active and destructive, working in the souls of all to bring an end to God’s plans. But of course, he cannot do it for any action on satan’s part is limited by Father God, who loves us. In this we have confidence as the spirit intercedes for us, His saints.

“And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:27-28 BSB

Only God can repair, heal, and restore the increasingly desperate conditions we now have on this earth. When we seek to understand His ways, God grants marvelous and powerful revelatory understanding of these important scriptures for our day. My heart fills with gratitude and appreciation to the many ministers of the Gospel, past and present, who faithfully taught such truths as the reconciliation of all men and the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Many are now all on the other side but the life of their ministries lives on in those of us who were privileged to learn from them. May God bless and increase the fruit of the spirit in your hearts, removing fear of the enemy from our spirit, soul, and body, thus preparing us for the great reaping to come!