(Photo Unsplash – Wolfgang Hasselmann)
By Dan Sherven
In Ephesians 6:12, Saint Paul writes: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Spiritual warfare is a reality faced by all Christians.
The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen spoke of three powerful weapons against Satan. The first is the Holy Name of Jesus. Demons cannot stand the reality that God would humble himself to the point of becoming human in Jesus Christ. The second is to call on the Most Precious Blood of Christ, as the devil cannot tolerate God sacrificing His only-begotten Son. The third is to call on the Blessed Virgin Mary, the “Mother of God.” The fact that God was born of a woman causes great jealousy in Satan. All three weapons are about God and humanity.
Christ Himself demonstrated how to resist the devil during His time in the wilderness. After Jesus is baptized by John, Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit and goes into the desert. There, he fasts for forty days. The devil says to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” Jesus uses Scripture as a weapon against Satan. Things of this world, such as food, are important — but they are second to seeking the Kingdom of God.
The first temptation is linked with Romans 10:8-13: “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved … For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Christ calls on the Word of God, Scripture — to call on God the Father, in Christ’s rejection of Satan. And Christ is the Word of God.
In the second temptation, “the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? To make anything an idol, including power over the whole world, comes at the cost of losing God. A person with a proper hierarchy of values, with God at the top, will flourish, even if that means death on a cross. There is more going on in reality than just the kingdom of earth, and Christ came to open the way for people to access the Kingdom of Heaven.
The second temptation harkens back to Deuteronomy 26:4-10: “I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me. Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God.” Here are the differing sacrifices of Cain and Abel. Some interpretations suggest that Cain’s offering was second-rate, symbolizing a lack of full devotion to God. This elevation of the offering higher than God is a form of idolatry. That is what Satan tries to get Christ to do: to place the earthly kingdom above the heavenly one. Christ instead offers the best, putting God first as the movement of proper worship.
In the third temptation, “[The devil] brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” (Here, the devil is quoting Psalm 91.)
Not only is it written that we should not tempt God, but Christ, fully Man and fully God, is also reminding Satan that as God, he has authority over Satan, and Satan himself should not tempt God. The Hebrew and Greek words for tempt, can also mean test. Perhaps God allows Satan to test us, in part, as a means of seeing if we can handle the upcoming blessing. An overabundance of grace, if we are not prepared, would be burning because God is a fire that purifies.
The devil is a person who uses half-truths all the time. The snake is the most subtle creature, even twisting Scripture. Perhaps Christ had another part of that Psalm in mind, calling on the Father: “The one who loves me, I will deliver; I will protect the one who knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honour him.” Christ properly calls on the Father, the Most High.
These readings show us how to engage in spiritual warfare. They are examples of hope. Hope in the victory of Christ on the cross. The witness of the Church is that the demons are defeated. If we unite ourselves to Christ — even to the cross, we will have victory in spiritual warfare. Trusting in God, having faith, is the reason for our hope — the Christian hope which Saint Peter tells us to be ready to explain, to anyone who asks.
Dan Sherven is the author of four books, including the number one bestseller Classified: Off the Beat ‘N Path and Uncreated Light. Sherven is also an award-winning journalist, writing for several publications. Find Sherven’s work.
