“we begin running towards natural answers and don’t go to the Word immediately, we know we are in confusion…”

Know the wiles of the devil… (1) “wiles”, (2) “devices,” and (3) “deception”

The word methodos “wiles” was carefully selected by the Holy Spirit because it tells us exactly how the devil operates and it tells us exactly how he comes to attack and assault a believer’s mind.

The enemies methodos is “cunning, crafty, subtle and full of trickery.”

“…we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices.”

The word “devices” is taken from the word noemata (no-e-ma-ta), which is derived from the word nous (pronounced noous). The word nous is the Greek word for the “mind” or the “intellect.” However, the form noemata, as used by Paul in Second Corinthians 2:11, carries out the idea of a deceived mind. Specifically, this word noemata denotes the insidious and malevolent plot of Satan to fill the human mind with “confusion”.

The word “devices” (noemata) actually depicts the “insidious plots” and “wicket schemes” of Satan to attack and victimize the human mind. One expositor has even stated that the word “devices” bears the notion of “mind games”. With this idea of “mind games” in mind, you could translate the verse, “…we are not ignorant of the mind games that Satan tries to pull on us.”

It was for this very reason that the Holy Spirit declared through Paul, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5)

The devil loves to make a playground out of people’s minds! He delights in filling their emotions and senses with illusions that captivate their minds and ultimately destroy them. He is a master when it comes to “mind games.”

When this penetration into the mind is accomplished, and once the adversary has paved a road into that person’s mind and emotions, the process of mental and spiritual captivity is well under way. If this devilish process is not aborted by the power of God, and by the renewing of the mind, it is only a matter of time before a solid stronghold of deception will begin to dominate and manipulate that person’s self-image, emotional status and his overall thinking.

The Deception of the Devil

Deception occurs when a person believes the lies that the enemy has been telling him. The moment you begin to believe the lie that the devil has been telling you, is the very moment when those wicked thoughts and mind games began to produce reality in your life.

The devil may assault your mind by repeatedly telling you that you are a failure. However, as long as you resist those allegations, they will exert absolutely no power in our life.

If, on the other hand, you begin to give credence to these lies and mentally perceive them as though they are really the truth, those lies will begin to dictate to you and will dominate your emotions and your thinking. In the end, your faith in that lie will give power to it, and will cause it to become a bona fide reality in your life; and you will become a failure. This is a completed deception.

Perhaps the enemy constantly bombarded your mind about sickness. Perhaps his lying allegations have repeatedly told you that you are going to contract a terrible disease and die an early death. When these lies first assaulted your mind, you resisted them and refused to believe what you were hearing. Now, however, you have begun to wonder if these thoughts may have some validity.

If this process is not stopped, it will only be a matter of time until you truly begin to feel physically sick in your body. Do not give credence to those lying insinuations! When you embrace those “mind games” and perceive them as truth, you give power to them! Thus, if you do not speak to yourself and take charge of your mind, the complete process of deception will continue working in your life, until finally, the process is complete and your fears become reality. When this occurs, you are deceived.

The word war is derived from the phrase ‘confusion leading to strife’.

Let confusion start in a church and it will break up the church. If it isn’t dealt with, strife enters and people become the instruments of Satan, carrying out spiritual warfare with each other. JOHN 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…”. The Devil is trying to quench the Spirit of God in us and our relationship with our brothers and sisters and with God. He is trying to destroy us so that he can win the battle.

Paul says in 1 CORINTHIANS 10:11, that the things which happened to Israel, “happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” When we begin to read the Old Testament, we aren’t just reading the history of Israel or Judah. We are reading the natural things through which we learn spiritual methods that defeat and destroy the wiles of Satan.

Remember the base meaning of warfare is confusion. Warfare is coming. Satan’s strategy is to bring us into confusion about God, His Word, His promises, the church, our leaders, our own expectations, and about Satan, himself. If this strategy is successful, Satan is beginning to gain ground upon the saints of God. If, when the Devil drops on our lives and starts warfare, we begin running towards natural answers and don’t go to the Word immediately, we know we are in confusion. Take the normal precautions, but confess what the Word of God says.

Satan wants to replace our love, respect, and faith in God with confusion and strife. Our defense against his strategy is to understand clearly what are Satan’s intentions toward us and what are Jesus Christ’s intentions toward us.

The Devil’s work is “to steal, kill, and destroy”. John 10:10 is specifically talking about the devil operating through a hireling (one who hasn’t laid their life truly down for the gospel—wages self-centered)… Satan does kill, steal and destroy, but he likes to use people in your life…

Jesus’ intentions toward us are that we might have life more abundantly. We must remember this each time conflict / battle begins. Any time we begin to feel torment we know that Satan is attacking us.