The Mind Is the Battlefield
IN THIS MESSAGE I DO NOT PRETEND TO BE TELLING YOU SOMETHING you do not already know. Any thinking person knows the truth in the statement, “The mind is the battlefield.” Even when the body is attacked by cancer, it is ultimately in the mind that the final battle is waged, and although, as in the case of Gene Dove, the body eventually lost the battle, the mind can gain the final victory through faith in Jesus Christ…
THE MIND IS THE BATTLEFIELD.
WHAT IS A BATTLEFIELD? My computer English dictionary says a battlefield is: “1. the field or ground upon which a battle is fought. 2. and area of contention, conflict, or hostile opposition.” A battlefield is a place of hostile opposition. A battlefield is a place where battles are won and lost. Everyday – every moment – there is a battle going on in our minds between right and wrong, good and bad, God’s way or Satan’s way, the Spirit or the flesh. It is our wills that determine who wins control of our minds, and because actions follow thoughts, ultimately who wins control of our very lives…
NAS Galatians 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
NAS Romans 8:5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
SATAN AND THE WORLD SAY GO THIS WAY, GOD SAYS GO THAT WAY. We determine who we will follow. The means by which we determine our decision is the mind. As I said, I’m not telling you anything you do not well know; I’m just reminding you as an introduction to this discussion.
I ONCE HEARD SOMEONE SPEAK ABOUT THE BATTLE IN OUR MINDS THIS WAY. There is the lure of the world and the lust of our human natures. They are like two of the same polarities of a magnet. They attract each other like a magnet and a nail. But if they do not come together, nothing happens; there is no connection. It is in the mind that determination is made whether or not there is a connection with the world or a connection with God…
KJV 1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
MANY PEOPLE THINK THEY CAN LOVE THE WORLD SYSTEM AND LOVE GOD at the same time. They think they can be “double-minded.” The Bible warns against this…
KJV James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
KJV James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
THE KEY TO VICTORY IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS YEILDING CONTROL to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to control your mind through the Word of God.
THE BIBLE IS ESSENTIAL. One cannot intelligently expect to effectively control the mind apart from the Word of God.
THE KEY TO CONTROLLING YOUR LIFE IS TO CONTROL THE MIND.
THE MIND IS THE BATTLEFIELD, upon which we fight the battle of life. This is true for both believer and unbeliever alike…
νοος (noos) is one the Greek words for mind. The word doesn’t refer to the physical brain, but rather the intellect or the understanding. “Understanding” is another word for “mind.” Think of our message this way: “Your Understanding is the Battlefield.”
δεανοια (dee-a-noi-a) is another Greek word for mind. It also means mind, intellect, and understanding. It can also mean feelings and affections. It is our faculty of thinking…
KJV Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him (a Pharisee trying to test Jesus), Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (δεανοια).
CONSIDER THAT! God wants you to love Him with all of your understanding, all of your ability to think. The terms “heart,” “soul,” and “mind” all are very similar. Rather than striving to see distinctions in these words, it is usually best to see them as all components parts of man’s inner nature. God wants us to love Him with our entire being.
FIRST THE BLUEPRINTS, THEN THE BUILDING. Before a building is built, blueprints are drawn up. A sanctuary, fellowship hall, classrooms, offices, and restrooms all are the results of blueprints. Plumbers, electricians, and carpenters will together raise the building. But back before any of this can happen a set of blueprints must be drawn. The building is the behavior; the blueprints are the mind. First the blueprints, then the building; first the mind, then the behavior.
BEHAVIOR FOLLOWS MINDSET. The key to controlling the mind is the Word of God as applied by the Holy Spirit.
THE KEY TO CONTROLLING YOUR MIND IS TO WALK BY THE SPIRIT (not “in” – the Holy Spirit is the Agent)…
NAS Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
OUR FLESH FOLLOWS OUR MIND. That being true, it stands to reason, if the mind is centered on the commands of the Word of God (the “blueprints”), the mind will tend to be controlled and the obedient life (the “building”) that results will tend to be a solid fortress from which to wage warfare against satanic attack.
THE KEY TO WALKING BY THE SPIRIT IS BEING FILLED BY THE SPIRIT…
NET Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be filled by the Spirit,
BEING FILLED IS BEING CONTROLLED. Just as the analogy of drunkenness the verse gives us, to be “drunk with wine” is to be controlled by alcohol. To be filled with anger is to be controlled by anger. To be filled by the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit…
THE KEY TO BEING FILLED BY THE SPIRIT IS TO BE IN GOD’S WORD…
NET Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.
AS THE WORD SATURATES YOUR LIFE, the Spirit then controls you and you walk victoriously in that control.
“DWELL” MEANS TO PERMANENTLY RESIDE. This is talking about more than an occasional brief “devotion,” as many call Bible study today. This is talking about disciplined time spent daily in God’s Word. This is talking about memorization of verses from God’s Word…
NAS Psalm 119:11 Thy word I have treasured (“hid” – KJV) in my heart, That I may not sin against Thee.
The Hebrew word for “treasured” is צָפַן, which means, hide, treasure, store up. “It means to conceal something with a definite purpose, either for protection or sinister reasons. The word also connotes storing up or treasuring things on account of their value” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). In this context the word speaks of all its positive connotations.
MEMORIZING, APPREHENDING, AND APPLYING SCRIPTURE in our daily lives allows the Word to dwell within us richly, which yields control to the Holy Spirit of God so that He is able to fill us; thereby we are able to walk in Him. All these wonderful realizations are connected and work together to enable the Christian to live a successful and satisfying life.
BOTTOM LINE: (Although the Holy Spirit permanently indwells all believers, for all practical purposes…) Without the Word we really do not have the Spirit. Without consistent Bible study and application we cut ourselves off from the power of the Holy Spirit and live our lives in our own strength. Without the Word we will never know consistent victory in our Christian lives…
“THERE IS SOMETHING EXCEEDINGLY IMPROVING TO THE MIND in a contemplation of the divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep that our pride is drowned in its infinity. No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind than thoughts of God. But while the subject humbles the mind, it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity.” – Charles Spurgeon
“AS YOU GO THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE you are really gazing at Christ’s glory.” – John MacArthur
ANY TALK OF CONTROLLING THE MIND APART FROM SCRIPTURE is empty talk. It is God’s Word that controls our minds and strengthens our minds to enable us to win the battles of the Christian life in a pagan culture.
THE MIND IS THE BATTLEFIELD… Your Understanding is the Battlefield…
NAS Ephesians 6:10-17 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles (“fiery darts” – KJV) of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
THIS IS THE FAMILIAR “FULL ARMOR OF GOD” PASSAGE. It is the image of a soldier preparing himself for battle. But that is a really a metaphor, a picture. In actuality it is a passage dealing with the mind and the battles we fight with the mind. “Standing firm” is the image of a soldier standing firm against the enemy. It is not telling us to physically fight a battle. It is telling us, rather, to fight a mental battle. “Standing firm” is a mental attitude.
THE ENTIRE PASSAGE IS ABOUT THE MIND AND THE BATTLE IT FACES.
“FIERY DARTS,” AS THE KING JAMES BIBLE CALLS THIS SPECIFIC ATTACK….
KJV Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts (“flaming missiles” – NAS; “flaming arrows” – NET) of the wicked.
“FIERY DARTS” COULD NOT PENETRATE the large (2 ½ x 4 ft.), fireproof shields of the ancient Roman soldier, nor can the assaults of Satan penetrate to the believer who places his trust in God… Scholars are not in agreement as to what exactly the “flaming missiles” or “arrows” refer. I read this week one said they refer to temptations. Others think they picture the verbal attacks Christians may receive from people outside the church.
THE GREEK WORD FOR “DARTS” OR “ARROWS” is found only here in Ephesians 6:16. βελος (be-los) could refer to darts dipped in pitch or “tow,” set on fire and shot at the soldiers behind the shields. The word could also refer to javelins. Scholars point out that in the event a shield caught a number of darts, arrows, or javelins, there was the tendency for the soldiers to drop the shield and fend for themselves. This was a mistake; they increased their vulnerability. I think the picture here to be gained is that the believer is vulnerable to satanic attacks whenever he lays down his shield of resolute faith. We must always stand behind the shield of faith.
LET ME END WITH ANOTHER FAMILIAR PASSAGE…
NAS Romans 12:1-2 urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
VERSE 2 AGAIN IN THE NEW LIVING TRANSLATION…
NLT Romans 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
THE “RENEWING OF THE MIND”…
PAUL CAUTIONS THE BELIEVER NOT TO BE CONFORMED TO the present world system. The world system is the media-driven swirl of persons, places, and pleasures that leaves God out. “The world system is entirely hostile to the God of the Bible. It is dominated by carnal ambition, pride, selfishness, greed, lust, and desire for evil. Its opinions are wrong. Its whims are selfish. Its pleasures are sinful. Its influence is destructive. Its politics are corrupt. Its smiles are phony. Its love is fickle” – John MacArthur
NAS Galatians 1:4 (Jesus) gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
WHEN WE ARE SAVED WE BECOME NEW CREATURES OR CREATIONS…
NKJ 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
WE ARE, THEREFORE, NOT TO HAVE OUR LIVES GOVERNED BY the thought patterns and dictates of this evil world system…
BUT HOW CAN WE KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING?…
NAS Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
THE ONLY POSSIBLE WAY FOR US NOT TO get caught up in this godless world is to transform our minds. The tense (present) of the verb used in this command tells us that this transforming is to be continuous. Note I said “command.” This is a command from God Almighty. The word “transformed” (μεταμορφαο met-a-mor-fa-o) reaches far deeper than conformity to the world. To illustrate this deeper meaning of the word, let’s look at…
NAS Matthew 17:2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.
THE GREEK WORD SPEAKS OF A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE, A TRANSFORMATION of the believer’s inner nature, this transformation to be followed by changed behavior. There must be a radical change in the inner man for one to live rightly in the present evil age. If this change is not consistently manifested, in other words, if it is not easily and consistently seen by others, we have a right to question whether or not that person is really saved.
PAUL SAYS IN ROMANS 12:2 that this transformation is effected “by the renewing of your mind.” “We lost our ability to truly understand when the human race fell into sin in the Garden of Eden. We regain true understanding by the renewal of our mind when God creates within us anew at our new birth the life of the Spirit.” – Donald Grey Barnhouse
OUR MINDS ARE RENEWED WHEN WE ARE SAVED, and then we are to continually renew our minds in order to avoid being conformed to this ungodly world and in order to understand and do the will of God.
SATAN, THE ENEMY OF GOD AND THE BELIEVER, DOESN’T WANT US to have renewed minds. He does everything he can to disrupt the process. His biggest weapon is deception. Satan is a deceiver. And where do you think the field of battle is? It is, of course, the mind…
NAS 2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
THREE ESSENTIAL FACTS FOR EVERY BELIEVER TO KNOW: (1) the devil is a deceiver, (2) believers may be deceived, and (3) the battlefield is the mind…
“IT IS SPECIFICALLY IN THE AREA OF SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING that Satan attacks. While Satan may, indeed, attack us physically, his attacks are primarily mental. The devil attacks the mind; he plays the weakness in our minds. These weaknesses may be any number of things: wrong thinking, built up over years of false teaching or warped perceptions; prejudices we may have harbored for many years; maybe we are overly influenced by the world and consequently have little room in our minds for the things of God.” – Garland Shinn
NAS Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
“WE DO REAP WHAT WE SOW.” You have surely heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” That is very true in many cases, though exercise and metabolism are major factors. But the principle is biblical: “Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” Fill you mind with the vain philosophy of the world, ignore the Bible, and you will reap the disappointing results. “Garbage in, garbage out.”
SO, WITH ALL THIS SAID, WHAT ARE WE TO DO?
THE BIBLE SAYS TO PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD?
THE BIBLE SAYS TO FILL YOUR MIND WITH GOOD THOUGHTS…
KJV Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
KJV Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him (a Pharisee trying to test Jesus), Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
LOVING GOD WITH OUR ALL OUR MINDS WILL WIN EVERY BATTLE!
– Professor Thomas A. Rohm
