SATAN IS OUT TO WIN CONTROL

SATAN AND THE FLESH IS AT WAR WITH THE MIND

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2 Cor 11:3.

THERE is a great battle to-day over the use and control of the mind, not only in the world, but among the children of God.

The fact of a "war " declared by Paul.

First note the fact that the Apostle declares that there is. a "war" in which he is engaged. " My warfare ," he says, "is not waged according to the flesh." This is in accord with his statements in other parts of his writings.

The battle for the mind described.

We see there is an aspect of the war described in this passage which has to do with the mind .

"Thereby can I overthrow the reasonings of the disputer." In verse 4 we read of a " pulling down of strongholds ". The Apostle seems to infer that the mind is a "stronghold" which has to be pulled down, and every rebel thought in it made captive.

A "stronghold" is generally held by an enemy , and truly there is an enemy holding the stronghold of the mind, according to 2 Corin. 4:4 where it says that the "god of this world" (age) has "blinded the minds of them which believe not".

The condition of the mind by nature.

In various parts of the Pauline epistles we can gather very clearly the state of mind, when held by the enemy as a stronghold. It is described in some cases as a

reprobate mind " Romans 1:28)

• a " blinded mind " (2 Corinthians 3:14)


• a darkened mind, causing men to walk in the " vanity of their minds " (Ephesians 4:17-19), intruding into things which the mind cannot fathom, "vainly puffed up" by a " fleshly mind " (Col 2:18).

In Rom. 8.7, the Apostle says, "The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" .

This is confirmed in Col. 1:21 where those who are unregenerated are described as "enemies" in the " mind ", and therefore alienated from God. We therefore clearly see how, in the natural man, the mind is "darkened", "puffed up" by the flesh, empty and vain in its thoughts, carnal because governed by the flesh, and in all its activities-whether apparently "good" or visibly "bad"-at enmity with God.

The unregenerate mind the stronghold of Satan.

The stronghold of the mind of man is therefore the strategic centre of the "war" with the "god of this age", because it is primarily through the mind that he holds his captives in his power, and through the mind of those captives transmits his -

(1) Poison into the minds of others, and his

(2) Plans and schemes for arousing those souls to active rebellion against God.

The mind of the Christian is also the strategic centre of the "war on the saints" which Satan wages with ceaseless and fiendish skill. And for this reason the mind is the vehicle for the Spirit of God , dwelling in the spirit of the believer, to transmit to others the truth of God, which alone can remove the deceptions of Satan which fill the minds of all who are in the darkness of nature.

If the Holy Spirit is dwelling in the regenerate spirit have you considered the question of His outlet ? If it were only by speech you would be an oracle! But there are no "oracles" on earth now. The " oracles of God " are the Scriptures. The Word of God is being displaced not only by the Higher Critics, but by many of God's own people by their taking supernatural" revelations" as being of equal authority with the written Scriptures. There are wrecked lives because they have turned from the Word of God to what they call direct revelation. There is a direct revelation by God the Holy Ghost illuminating the Word of God, and putting it into the spirit, but not apart from the Scriptures.

part two later