When the Lord Jesus Christ was confronted by Satan in the wilderness, His testing was to be an example for us as to how we are to mortify. Two things here are important for us to note: Firstly, before Jesus was led into the wilderness, He was first filled with the Spirit and then brought by the Spirit to the place to have His filling tested. Secondly, He did not aggressively confront Satan; Satan instead confronted Him and the Lord simply withstood his assault. We must read scripture carefully to notice the order of things like this. Manufacturer warnings often come with new appliances that tell us not to turn the product on until we’ve read the directions. Inside each instruction manual is a list of steps that need to be followed in a specific order for it to work properly.
It is the same in God’s school of mortification. For example: Don’t try to resist the devil without first being in submission to God, and then don’t expect Satan to flee without you first withstanding his attack (James 4:7). Many people try to withstand the devil without first submitting themselves to God. They fall. They haven’t followed the correct order of operation as explained in instruction manual. They tried to turn the appliance on without reading the booklet, and now it doesn’t work right. Had they read this: “(1.) Walk in the Spirit, and (2.) ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16), they would have noticed the necessity of first inserting a battery before attempting to turn the product on.
Although the Armor of God is primarily defensive, the Lord showed us in the wilderness that there comes a point in the melee where Satan must bow and get behind us. This is not a permanent get-behind, but a temporary fleeing. Having all their flaming missiles quenched, Satan's forces retreat to mastermind a new plan of attack at the next opportunity. As they plan your destruction, you should be preparing your defense as well.
The Word of God is the substance your new man believes on unto the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for the fire of sin-quenching grace and protection. We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with controlling spirits of wickedness, of powerful fallen angels perfecting absolute evil for your life and bent on ceaselessly destroying you. They would kill your children if they could, using a drunk driver as a means. They would smite you with a terminal illness, and wipe-out all that you love and cherish in a single blow. If God would lower His hedge of protection around you and your family for even a moment, they would close in on you like a pack of wolves upon a trapped rabbit and tear your life to shreds. Greater is He that is in you than all the invisible wolves in the forest, but God requires our part in the defense within the ring of fire He has placed around us.
It is God’s decree threfore, God’s Word that exhorts us to mortify. As our High Priest in the wilderness parried each wolven lunge with scripture, so must we. The indwelling Spirit of God uses faith-charged scripture to repel spiritual wickedness in the same way a man will use a torch to drive back a herd of wild animals. The animals are not afraid of the man, but of the fire he wields. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (I John 5:4). Faith in God’s Word activates the weapons of destruction that give us victory over all the powers of darkness through the Spirit of Christ.
Dear Christian, will you therefore equip yourself with power? Here are some of the choice weapons of God I use in mortification. They are worth committing to memory and activating at the onset of a battle. As a knight kneels before his majesty for the blessing before riding off into battle, so take each verse, as a divine sword, and come boldly and kneel before King Jesus Christ’s throne for grace to activate the verse in time of need:
Romans 8:13; I Peter 4:1-2; Proverbs 29:11; II Peter 1:3-4; Romans 8:1-2; Philippians 4:8; Ephesians 6:12; I Peter 1:13; Philippians 3:13-14; Ephesians 3:16; II Corinthians 10:3-5; Colossians 3:16; James 4:10; Philippians 4:6-7; James 4:6; Proverbs 21:23; Galatians 6:7-8; James 4:7; I Peter 5:8-9; Romans 6:14; Philippians 4:4; Romans 8:14; James 1:13; Romans 13:14; Proverbs 23:7; II Corinthians 2:14; James 1:12; Colossians 2:6-7; Proverbs 16:32 & 25:28; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23; James 1:12; Hebrews 4:16; II Corinthians 4:16; Hebrews 4:12, 15; James 1:14-15; Galatians 5:24; Philippians 2:5; Proverbs 4:23, Philippians 4:13, Matthew 5:28; Galatians 5:16; I Thessalonians 5:16; I John 4:4, 5:4, etc.
These are among the most powerful weapons of defensive and offensive warfare we find in scripture. Some like II Cor. 10: 3-5, all of I Peter and the entire chapter of Ephesians 6 are almost atomic in power. Many Christians do not realize the inherent power of these verses in countering Satan, because they have not first submitted themselves to God. They cannot kneel before the King's throne because of unresolved matters. Deep within their hearts there is secret ambition, an argumentative spirit, the pride of life, a lust for more money, a discontent in where God has them in life, unforgiveness toward another person, white-washed motives and actions predicated upon greed. If not cleansed from these hidden defilements, the Christian will have no power against the forces of darkness. Until these issues are resolved, the verses above will remain powerless and insipid. The Christian will wave the torch at the wolves and still be torn to pieces. In order for us to effectively mortify in the Spirit, we must first walk in the Spirit of God, we must first be submission to His will and in subjection to His authority in our lives. Only then will the true fire fall from heaven and ignite the torch, and only then can you resist the forces of invisible evil and see them flee from before the King of the Universe who resides in you.
- Brother Paul