Spiritual Protective Principles
Godly Provided Armor
In the Battle for our Minds it is important to realize that God has given us the tools to help us in the battle. This is the Christian’s armor. It is described in Ephesians chapter six. In Ephesians 6:17 we see the helmet of salvation. It is important to see why God named the helmet of the head, which is a covering of the mind, salvation. When we are resting in the safety of our salvation we have the Holy Spirit’s protection and can make the proper response to Satan’s attacks. We are easily able to say you can’t touch me! When we are saved Satan or his demons can tell us anything in order to lead us astray into danger. We know better and can fight back by saying NO; I won’t think like that or let those ugly polluted thoughts into my mind.
Spirit Filling
Ephesians 5:18 tells us “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” The fundamental principle that the apostle is trying to convey to us is that we must allow the Spirit to control our thoughts and therefore our lives. The comparison made here is that of an alcoholic who is under the complete control of that mind controlling substance. Christ revealed one characteristic of the Holy Spirit when He said in John 16:13a “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” When we properly relate to the Spirit, Satan cannot have any influence on our minds. Satan will attack us at our weakest moments and issues. The Holy Spirit will protect us at all times so Satan will not be successful. So therefore we must be constantly feeding the Spirit with God’s Word and beautiful thought categories given in Philippians 4:8.
Know God’s Word
This principle is of the upmost importance. We must learn and know the Bible well. We must know the “Whole Counsel of God” not just a few verses here and there taken out of context. Our brains function similarly to a computer. In fact computers were designed with our minds as the basis for the engineering design of a central processing unit of a computer. One factor of computer technology is its ability to process information regardless of its quality. Our minds will do the same thing. If we bring garbage in it will put garbage out but affect our soul while it is residing in our mind and being processed by it. We may bring information into our minds and it will be stored away for future use unbeknownst to us. While we may not be conscious to the “hidden” data it will surface at a later time reminding us of what we took in. This is like a Trojan horse virus in a computer. If it contains pure information we can use for proper purposes. If it is bad it will harm us when it resurfaces and has probably been infecting through its influence on our thoughts all along. This is one more reason to prevent the evil from entering. The only way to do that is to first be fortified with a complete knowledge of Gods Word and secondly to avoid the pollution Satan wants to instill within us. It will make us pure.
Psalm 119:9 tells us this in the form of a question and answer:
[Beth] How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word (ESV).
Consider what the apostle is telling us in Romans 12:2:
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (KJV).
We must constantly feed on the Word of God through memorization, Bible study and fellowship with other believers that are growing in the Word of God. Satan wants to take us away from serious Bible study and from other believers who are growing daily in the Word. Genuine Bible study is not an emotional centered mindless experience. It is a logical practical and rational understanding of what God has for us. When experience is elevated above the rational doctrine expressed in the infallible Word of God we are setting ourselves up for any wind of false doctrine that will come our way. God’s Word is the sword of the Spirit that will send Satan and his demons away from us. If we rely on the subjective imprecise emotionalism that accompanies experience we are ignoring logic and objective truth for the subjective.
Godly Provided Armor
In the Battle for our Minds it is important to realize that God has given us the tools to help us in the battle. This is the Christian’s armor. It is described in Ephesians chapter six. In Ephesians 6:17 we see the helmet of salvation. It is important to see why God named the helmet of the head, which is a covering of the mind, salvation. When we are resting in the safety of our salvation we have the Holy Spirit’s protection and can make the proper response to Satan’s attacks. We are easily able to say you can’t touch me! When we are saved Satan or his demons can tell us anything in order to lead us astray into danger. We know better and can fight back by saying NO; I won’t think like that or let those ugly polluted thoughts into my mind.
Spirit Filling
Ephesians 5:18 tells us “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” The fundamental principle that the apostle is trying to convey to us is that we must allow the Spirit to control our thoughts and therefore our lives. The comparison made here is that of an alcoholic who is under the complete control of that mind controlling substance. Christ revealed one characteristic of the Holy Spirit when He said in John 16:13a “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” When we properly relate to the Spirit, Satan cannot have any influence on our minds. Satan will attack us at our weakest moments and issues. The Holy Spirit will protect us at all times so Satan will not be successful. So therefore we must be constantly feeding the Spirit with God’s Word and beautiful thought categories given in Philippians 4:8.
Know God’s Word
This principle is of the upmost importance. We must learn and know the Bible well. We must know the “Whole Counsel of God” not just a few verses here and there taken out of context. Our brains function similarly to a computer. In fact computers were designed with our minds as the basis for the engineering design of a central processing unit of a computer. One factor of computer technology is its ability to process information regardless of its quality. Our minds will do the same thing. If we bring garbage in it will put garbage out but affect our soul while it is residing in our mind and being processed by it. We may bring information into our minds and it will be stored away for future use unbeknownst to us. While we may not be conscious to the “hidden” data it will surface at a later time reminding us of what we took in. This is like a Trojan horse virus in a computer. If it contains pure information we can use for proper purposes. If it is bad it will harm us when it resurfaces and has probably been infecting through its influence on our thoughts all along. This is one more reason to prevent the evil from entering. The only way to do that is to first be fortified with a complete knowledge of Gods Word and secondly to avoid the pollution Satan wants to instill within us. It will make us pure.
Psalm 119:9 tells us this in the form of a question and answer:
[Beth] How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word (ESV).
Consider what the apostle is telling us in Romans 12:2:
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (KJV).
We must constantly feed on the Word of God through memorization, Bible study and fellowship with other believers that are growing in the Word of God. Satan wants to take us away from serious Bible study and from other believers who are growing daily in the Word. Genuine Bible study is not an emotional centered mindless experience. It is a logical practical and rational understanding of what God has for us. When experience is elevated above the rational doctrine expressed in the infallible Word of God we are setting ourselves up for any wind of false doctrine that will come our way. God’s Word is the sword of the Spirit that will send Satan and his demons away from us. If we rely on the subjective imprecise emotionalism that accompanies experience we are ignoring logic and objective truth for the subjective.
