Casting Down Imaginations

A Ten-Part Study Series

by Arthur J Licursi

Have you recognized the battle in your mind? Often the thought we have are not our own.

This is because we as Christians in fact have an enemy, Satan, (fallen Lucifer) whose immediate purpose is to defile and destroy us with his lies; by shooting his thoughts into our minds. These are often the disquieting thoughts that Paul calls “imaginations,” also meaning ‘thoughts.’ These thoughts are to tempt us and rob us of the joy and peace that is ours by our secure, unshakable, unconditional, loving union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us [Greek. pleonekteo, defraud or cheat us]: for we are not ignorant of his devices (Greek., noema, meaning, ‘thoughts’)” (II Cor. 2:11).

The Devil’s desire is to place a wedge between believers and the truth of the Lord and His purposes for them. The Devil does this by tempting believers with his evil and debilitating thoughts as though those thoughts were something of ourselves. He does this to confuse our understanding of our true righteous new ‘identity in Christ.’ These are often harmful thoughts of ourself being a failure as a Christian... and then he falsely accuses us of being the source of the problem. He is also called “the accuser of the brethren” (Rev. 12:10). The wedge he tries to implant is "the Devil’s condemnation” that he would lay upon us, intending to bring us to the ‘self-condemnation’ that typically follows failure, then leading to more inner turmoil. The Devil would have us then to throw in the towel, quit God and faith in Him.

Thankfully, the Biblically intelligized believer knows the truth; that God our Father, in His love, has provided a total victory program for believers through the Jesus’ shed blood and resurrection… to free us from the Power of the Sin-nature still resident in our flesh body, and from the condemnation of the Devil, as well as from ‘the penalty for sin.’ So, we are able reject the Devil's condemnation by knowing the truth as seen in the verse below.

“There is therefore Now No Condemnation to those who are In Christ” (Rom 8:1a)

Jesus Christ’s death is in FACT the believer’s death, and Jesus’ resurrection life is in FACT the believer’s new indwelling life (Rom. 6:3-4, Col. 1:27, Gal. 2:20) … freeing us from the penalty of all sins… from the penalty for past sins, present sins and future sins. (Rom. 4:8), and also from the power of the Sin-nature in our flesh (Rom. 8:3b).

“For the law (the super-natural operative nature) of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law [the fleshly operative nature] of sin and of death.” (Romans 8:2 AMP)

So, it become clear that our victory over “the wiles of the Devil,” 1) foremost depends upon all that Christ HAS DONE for us by His life death, burial, and resurrection and, 2) that we know, trust, and stand upon the TRUTH of all that Christ has done for us.

This verse summarizes the truth of our new life “in Christ” as our new life and identity.

²⁰ I [as to my old self] am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God [Jesus Christ], who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (KJV) 

This Study series defines the issues of Satan’s temptations upon our minds, and the way of victory over such Satan inspired thoughts. The Apostle Paul offers us the way of victory over Satan’s sometimes condemning and fearful thoughts and all manner of sinful temptations.