I Have Met The Enemy!
The only real enemy any of us have is ourselves. Regardless of what happens to us in this world ultimately it is completely our decision as to how we let it affect us.
"I have met the enemy and it is I" is a saying that takes away all our excuses if we really understand it. Which one of us can’t give some type of great excuse if we want to choose a destructive attitude? I am learning in life to take complete and total responsibility for all my choices. Regardless of what course my life has taken no one has the power choose how I handle it accept me.
I don’t believe in Satan as a separate being that has his own particular will or power. I believe Satan is nothing less then a part of our own thinking process that God allowed us to have. Satan is that part of each of us that is allowed to choose that which is destructive. The story of Eve and the serpent is nothing more then an allegory that demonstrates what I am talking about.
The coming of Jesus Christ into realm of man was to renew our minds. To restore us back to a way of thinking where there could be no possibility of ultimate destruction. Of course we can still choose destructive ways that can hurt us in the here and now but we have no power whatsoever to destroy ourselves. Once we come to believe this fact then Satan (the part of us that chooses destructive ways) has no more power over us.
The point of all this is to help people realize how very important it is to have your hearts established in grace (perfect love). Understanding the power of the free grace that we all have gives us the confidence to live this indestructible life where the only enemy we could ever have is ourselves.
Jesus clearly faced this life with his heart established in perfect love. Facing life this way did not stop all the violence and tragedies that would come upon him but it did give him the strength to endure all those things. He even faced temptation just like we do accept without sin.
Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin.
Why was Jesus able to be tempted just like us and yet he didn’t sin (miss the mark)? Could it be that regardless of what type of temptation came to him he always knew at every step of the way that he would be perfectly loved by the Father? Remember the words Jesus received from the Father right before he went out in the dessert to be tempted by Satan?
Matt 3:17-4:1 17 And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
He was told how pleasing he was to the Father even before he ever succeeded in overcoming temptation. The same is true for us now. If we really know how pleasing we are to the Father then Satan (the part of us that chooses destructive ways) has no more power over us.
We each have the power to live an indestructible life. It is the power that comes from knowing you are loved with a perfect love and nothing can destroy you.
Stop making excuses and blaming others for your state of mind. Yes, others may have the ability to do you harm in many ways, but ultimately it is your complete decision as to how you deal with it. TAKE THE CONTROL THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU, and know that HE believes in YOU!
Here are the words that ring in my heart every single day: "Cliff, you are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." It doesn’t get any better then that.
Cliff, right on!
Ultimately, God has no enemies becuase God has reconciled all things to himself. So, when we realize that we are love and beloved that perceived enmity a lot of people feel will simply melt away. God is love and recognizing that fact is so empowering and liberating. Thanks for the reminder.
Blessings,
Kevin
Two things I really liked in this writing:
1) I agree that Satan is that voice within us, not a third-person superpower of evil. Very drastic shift in my perspective over the past two years that has made a big impact on my life.
2) I love your mention of the timing of Jesus’ baptism and temptation. God was pleased with him before he was tested, and God’s approval was not in jeopardy no matter what happened in the desert.
Cliff this really spoken to my heart and mind God love and grace is always and we choose to see it or not.I watch a movie over the weekend about a boy who was born to a young lady and man who had a one night affair.
He became very talent in music and became to be able to write music at a very good university at the age of 11 and people ask him how do you know so much about music and he said that he can here it everwhere.
I thought about God’s love and grace at that moment.His love and grace is everywhere if just open your hearts and minds we can see it everwhere.
Love Dan
That was absolutely wonderful. It was so great. I don’t even know what to say. I connected to that on so many levels.
Thank you.
haha i loved that last line! I thought about this topic when I was a kid. In church they would teach us that the devil causes all bad things. But I would think, if he is the one who is responsible, why would I have to ask for forgiveness? It made absolutely no sense to me. I knew on my own that I was ultimately responsible for my own actions and that no devil had any control in this world. I truly believe that the individual can be their own worst enemy. So i consciously made the decision to be responsible and to only retain the message “JESUS LOVES ME.”
Cliff, At the supper it says satan entered Judas - how could he enter if he is already there? I just want to understand. Also, how could Eve be the mother of all living when Adam lived first? Thanks - Sue
Sue,
First: Gen 3:20
20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
KJV
It’s quite obvious that Eve simply respresents the vehicle by which God chose for all who would come after Adam and Eve and that vehicle is a woman. Even Christ was born of a woman. It’s not important whether you believe the Adam and Eve story as literal or not. It’s not for us to understand some things. If you study the book of Job you will see that God’s final answer to Job was to basically show him how limited he is as a human being (Adam) in understanding the big picture. Some have the need to understand the bilbe in a completely literal way, but I am convinced God never intended that.
Second: Luke 22:3
3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.
NIV
Here again we are faced with something difficult for our minds to understand. I personally think that Satan only represents a dark “Thought” that entered Judas’s mind and he chose to believe the dark thought rather the the truth. As we know later he realized how foolish he had been and felt such remorse that he took his own life. Even today we are constantly faced with dark thoughts (lies) that we are tempted to follow. Is it Satan? I guess we must each choose what we want to call it but regardless we will all face the darkness calling to us. The good news is that Christ has shown us that complete and utter defeat over darkness (Satan) and it has no power. Life is much more peaceful when you know who really is in charge.
Matt 28:18
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
NIV
Eph 1:18-21
18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
The verses in Eph clearly tell us his authority and how that authority brings great power to those who believe it. But let me make one thing clear: Our believing it doesn’t give him the authority. He has ALL authority whether we believe it or not, but if we believe we are greatly blessed in knowing the TRUTH.
Cliff, I,m part way there - but - So when Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil it was the knowing of evil that was a part of him doing the tempting? There is a verse that says don.t be afraid of the one that can destroy the body but be afraid of the one that can destroy both the body and the soul (not verbatim as I could not locate verse) - two entities? In Isaiah 45:6,7 it says God created evil and all things - I came across these verses by reading THE PROBLEM OF EVIL from Tentmaker.org (I keep this writing with me wherever I go and read it often.) When God destroyed all flesh except Noah and family and some animals he said it grieved him at his heart that he had created man. If God knew before he created man that they would be so evil why was he grieved? Are all those people dead both body and soul? When I was a child it scared me so much because I cold not understand why all the babies and children were destroyed as well. It seems one needs to be a language major to understand. I get GRACE, I just don’t understand how to separate it from all the confusion. Thank you for listening - Sue
Dear Sue,
Ultimately everything will be turned to good to those who love God, including all those terrible things you raise in your comment. But we need to change our way of thinking to find out how to love him to bring this about. It is called ‘metanoia’. Read Brian of NZ on Our Father - he explains this so well and he points to Jane’s discovery - you’ll find she has written a practical example of this way of thinking. Way back when I was in the charismatic type of christianity I became very concerned about those very same things that are unsettling you. So much so that I determined I was not going to eat until I found out. Now, that was a pretty stupid dumb thing to do seeing I had 5 small children to care for, but you can see how desperate I was to find the truth. Well, within 2 weeks I found out big-time, and it is so logical and simple. And you don’t have to do any fasting and praying either. It is all within you, the trick is to change the way we use our minds, and instead ‘listen’ to what our heart is saying and speak from there. There is no confusion there.
Apologies Cliff - my heart was touched by Sue’s plea. She was asking you - sorry for butting in!
Audrey, Please always feel free to speak up as much as you want. I’m sure Sue didn’t mind and I certainly don’t.
I would also agree with much of what you said. Remember the in the garden the tree we were not supose to partake of was the tree of the knowledge of GOOD & EVIL. The reason is simple, we are just not capable of truly knowing what is good and what is evil. And as you pointed out God our Father is capable of turning EVERYTHING into good. We will probably never understand that while in this body of clay but the time will come and we will see.
Hi Cliff, just read your article ‘I have met the enemy’ and we have come to the same conclusion. Satanas (satan) - ‘the accuser’, and diabolos (devil) - ‘the traducer’ also means ‘the accuser’. What accuses a person??
The Law! The Law continually tells us we are not good enough. The Law working through unredeemed thinking accuses a person. The Law is ‘The Accuser of the Brethren’. Anything that suggests you are not who Father says you are ’satans’ you. We see too that there is no spiritual identity called ‘Lucifer’. In fact, if you look at the only reference to Lucifer in the Bible, Isaiah 14:12, it kind of sounds like it was Adam!! Look at verse 16, ‘is this the MAN that made the earth to tremble?’ Also Ezekiel 28:13-19 - that REALLY sounds like Adam. Both those scriptures have been taught as evidence for ‘the person’ of satan. THANK YOU FATHER WE ARE FREEEEEEE FROM ALL THAT NOW!!!! It gives a whole new meaning to ‘taking every THOUGHT captive’ doesn’t it? It brings all the responsibility back to each of us individually for our own thoughts and actions and messes, and through it all You are God’s beloved son in whom he is WELL PLEASED. You are Christ in a body, just as Jesus was Christ in a body, and the only difference between him and us is that HE FULLY KNEW WHO HE WAS! Jeff and I are so excited right now because TRUE IDENTITY is ‘dawning’ on soooooo many people, and that’s the power of God. The gospel that tells us we are ‘righteous’ is the power of God, and it is that same ‘view and opinion of God’ (doxa - glory) that covers the earth as the waters the sea. We are just awakening to who we really are. I CAN FEEEEEL THE LOVE!!! We are so glad to have found this site. You are such a blessing. Love you all.
Jeff & Kate,
I am so pleased you stopped by and added your wisdom to this site. As Audrey says ” We NEED each other “.
In NZ we have high country runs. My father was head shepherd on one called Molesworth when he was single, so I have a love for those places. Sheep known for their ability to withstand the freezing winters and harsh conditions are chosen to stock these regions. Once a year the shepherds go by horse and by foot, climbing the steep snowy slopes for days at a time, hunting out those precious sheep in their ones and twos. It is called the annual muster. The musterers use specially trained dogs to encourage these hardy sheep down from their rocky niches. Each one is a joy to find and slowly these small groups that have spent the year foraging for sparse sustenance and feeding off the tough mountain tussock, join each other in a main flock in the valley, there to be taken together as one flock to the home pasture where they are cared for, made to rest and fattened on the lush valley growth.
I watched a TV programme the other night about such a muster and as I watched , the camera panned around the vast area from where you could see the many white streams of sheep, all being brought together into one flock. My thoughts turned to our Father and his love for us, prizing us out of our lonely niches, bringing us together from the far-flung corners of the globe in our ones and twos to feed together on the REAL food. And I could feel his love.
Now we have Jeff and Kate, drawn by love, the Father bringing us together. I wanted to relate the above story, but as well to say this.
There is nothing wrong with the law. It is perfect . If we are ‘in the light’ or in the Genesis analogy ‘in the garden’ then we fulfill it completely. Yes, every bit. And that is how Father sees us, totally fulfilling the law. As his perfect sons. It’s only when we listen to the snake whispering about the tree of knowledge (our mind in world-mode desiring something to better us) that we fall short and come under judgement through our conscience. And we start believing all the imaginings that our minds in this blind state dream up. In this state we are just living souls under sentence of death, striving to better ourselves to impress. We separate ourselves from our hearts, and the only way back is to turn our minds away from that tree , rebelling against the lies we’ve conjured up that’s caused us to become bound up like prisoners and instead seek the tree of life. How do we do that? Turn to our hearts, follow those deep feelings, the love will well up as Father draws us, then we speak out what we feel in our own words, we begin to take baby steps,. What joy. Suddenly the vista widens and we begin to take hold of a new land,
Audrey, Thank you for your compassionate message! I try to learn something from everyone I meet. I learned this phrase when I was young which taught me we are all teachers of each other “but for the Grace of God go I”. My husband and I were in NZ for a day many years ago and we loved it. Because he first loved us - Sue
Cliff, When you get a moment could you comment on my questions in my previous post ? I want to make sure I understand about Jesus and his temptation. Because he first loved us - Sue
Seeing new comments has just totally made my day. Their are so many of us out there and I am so happy! Isn’t it crazy to think we are alone in this journey? We are not alone
God said man had become like them (God & The Word Jesus & whoever else) knowing good and evil so access to the tree of life was taken away so they would not live forever. (God created evil (Isaiah 45).) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit to the desert to be tempted by the devil - who was created separate from Jesus. I do not believe Jesus went to the desert to think about which route he would take. It says TO BE TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL. Because he first loved us - Sue
Sue, I can only gues that the “living forever” was talking about living in a state of mind that was filled with the illusion of fear. Their minds had been corrupted with the fruit of religion (good & evil) and God knew that mankind would need to work through that illusion. At just the right time God interjected Himself into the world of man to show him the way out of that mind of illusion. In the desert of temptation Jesus (God) shows us a better way of handling this world”s (religion) temptation to prove oneself. If you remember in the 3rd chapter of Mathew at the end right before He went into the desert God spoke to Jesus from the clouds. He said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” He said those words even before Jesus had his first victory over temptation. Jesus approached that desert with the belief that he was pleasing to God without doing a thing. Religion still teaches (temps) us with the idea that we are only pleasing if we are faithful, but Jesus tells us we are pleasing regardless. He came to remind us of who we are (the light of the world). Religion (Satan) has no power over those who know who they are. The reality is that we are ALL his children but unfortunately many still live in the mind of illusion.
Cliff, The word religion means - to go back to (I read this in another book) which makes sense when thinking of the LAW. Adam and Eve did not have a religion to go back to and Jesus came to fulfill the LAW. Religion is only one of many things that can blind mankind so how can it be Satan? I’m still not getting the use of “illusion” as Jesus never used this word that I know about. I do believe God is Love and love casts out fear and Grace is his gift to us. I still wonder why mankind was tempted at all, not having any say in being created. Because he first loved us - Sue
Sue, have you had time to listen to any of Mike William’s teachings? The audio section of this website has some good ones taped at the gathering we had a couple years ago. Check out Grace Gathering #2 especially for more on this subject. Click the “audio” page in the links at the top of this page. Blessings!