As an introduction to the armor of God in Ephesians 6, the Apostle Paul says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11; ESV).

Whether you like it or not, the devil is scheming against you – if you sided with Jesus Christ. He can not snatch you out of the Savior’s hand (John 10:29), but he can try to lure you away from Him and that is why he is scheming.

Satan is not hiding out in cave somewhere hoping that God Father has forgotten about him or can’t find him. He is not hoping on remaining a fugitive from justice throughout all eternity. He knows that he is already condemned (John 16:11) and the lake of fire awaits him (Revelation 20:10).

In the meantime, Satan is scheming to do as much damage as he possibly can to those who follow Jesus Christ. He knows he can no longer get at Jesus so he is determined to prevent as many of us as possible from trusting in Jesus for eternal life. So he schemes with ways to cause us to not hear the gospel, to not obey Scripture, and to not have an urgency regarding the hour within we live.

I want you to be aware of the various schemes of the enemy as laid out in Scripture and here are 13 that I found that we should take to heart so we can understand why we need the armor of God…

1) The devil schemes to shape our character after his. John 8:44 says, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” We are either reshaping our character after Christ or allowing it to shape further after our sinful nature.

2) The devil schemes to murder. John 8:44 says, “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” Satan would love nothing more to kill all humanity now, but thank the Lord he is being held in check by the angels of a holy God.

3) The devil schemes through lies. John 8:44 says, “When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” The genuine believer has a sense of conviction when a lie passes through our lips, but the wicked resort to a lie immediately and often.

4) The devil schemes to take what we have. John 10:10 says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal.” Every good thing is a gift from our Heavenly Father and devil does not want us to express gratitude for these things so he seeks to take and steal what God has given us to enjoy and prosper with.

5) The devil schemes to hinder us from God’s work. 1 Thessalonians 2:18 says, “Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.” The devil does seek to hinder us from doing right and doing good, and does that through distractions and detours from the course of action we set for God’s work.

6) The devil schemes by blinding man’s mind from thinking. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” When you are blind, you can can’t see so blinding the mind is to not be able to think rightly, logically, and righteously. Is it any wonder that drugs are rampant in our land? 

7) The devil schemes to make us look bad before the world. 1 Timothy 3:7 says, “Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” No one wants the closed closets emptied out before others but the devil will do all he can to embarrass and get those on his side to turn against the one now living to glorify God.

8) The devil schemes through deception within the world system. Revelation 12:9 says, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” It’s hard to not keep an eye on politics and world leaders because the Bible is book rich in history of people and nations who either were on God’s side or the devil’s side.

9) The devil schemes by accusing others of the very things he can blamed for. Revelation 12:10 says, “for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” The devil loves to blame, to shame, to accuse everyone but himself in hopes that others will over there and not at him.

10) The devil schemes to tempt us into sin. Matthew 4:3 says, “when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” To think that he was bold enough to harass the Creator in the wilderness yet he did and he will do all in his power to tempt us into sin, too.

11) The devil schemes by perverting Scripture. Matthew 4:6 says, “And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” If the devil can twist the verses of the Bible he can twist its meaning and make of no affect the doctrine it presents.

12) The devil schemes by stalking us. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” He seeks those who are easy prey, those who profess a faith in Christ but are not founded on an It is Written.

13) The devil schemes by presenting himself as a righteous being. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” The devil often wears garments of religion and peace in order to gain acceptance and authority before lulling church members to sleep under apostasy.