the darkness in an individual as if the light that is in you is darkness, referring to darkness as a type of light.

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Let us deal first with the spiritual condition of the eyes for they have a direct effect on the body, be it positive or negative.

 

1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”

 

There are three major unclean spirits that work together to bring the entire person into spiritual darkness, these three spirits work in tandem in order to suppress and/or to pervert the higher calling of God for man.

 

Since we are all descendants of Adam whose flesh was corrupted by the spirit of the lust of the flesh, all of us humans are born with the spirit of lust within us, also known as selfish-ambition, so that the propensity for sin is already in us. But thankfully God has blessed us with cognition, we are born with the natural ability to understand right and wrong, so that when we are tempted by our selfish desires, we have built in discernment that allows us to weigh out the possible consequences of our actions.

 

The lust of the eyes is an external spirit, always operating from the outside trying to get in, in order to do so it has to connect with its kindred spirit, the spirit of the lust of the flesh that dwells in the inside and who is able to open the door to the external spirit that wants to come in.

 

A bad spiritual eye, or an eye that is evil, is in no condition to recognize the spirit that lurks behind the temptation that its being tempted with, so that it cannot fully weigh the consequences of its indulging in the lust that its being offered. A good eye will always caution the person as to what is really at stake if it proceeds to indulge in the temptation.

 

A good example would be that of a person being offered drugs for the first time; the temptation is the experience of a very personal internal high that is attained through the intake of external things, like the ingesting of drugs that alter a body’s normal functions. The effects of the drugs eventually wear out, but the spirit behind it stays in, and it becomes the force that eventually compels that person to continuously seek another, and another external fix to which it becomes addicted.

 

A person with good spiritual eyes has the ability to weigh properly the consequences of its actions. Spiritual vision is the ability to foresee that which at the present is invisible. Let me use the same example, let’s say that a person is offered drugs for the first time, who is aware of the ruinous consequences that drugs can have in a person’s life, no matter how alluring that temporary high may sound, a person in the right frame of mind would immediately say; it is not worth it!

 

Matthew 6:22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good (clear or healthy), your whole body will be full of light (full of a clear and healthy understanding).”

 

Our inabilities to understand the spiritual consequences of our actions is what plunges us into the realm of spiritual darkness. The lust of the eyes is always hard at work to deny the reality of the truth so that it can join forces with the spirit of the lust of the flesh.

 

But there is a third spirit whose work keeps in bondage those who fell into the original deception. So that those who were originally deceived are now kept in the chains of darkness by its power, this spirit has to be defeated if they want to be made free again.

 

Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

Now we are dealing with the third and most deadly of the three, the spirit of the pride of life and it resides deep within the heart of man. It is the folly of a man that ensnares him, but it takes his pride to keep him bound. When a man replaces the light of sound judgment with the darkness that he calls light, because he is too proud to admit that he did wrong deep in his heart, that type of blindness is what is called spiritual darkness.

 

I've been using common illustrations to portray spiritual realities here, but it is not sins or addictions that we are dealing with in this lesson, but rather, the issues here are, light which represents God’s enlightenment, and darkness which is represented by the pride of the wisdom of man.

 

We are in the midst of spiritual warfare, there is an ensuing battle that has raged on for thousands of years, this war is being fought by the forces of darkness against the forces of light. It is not fought with carnal weapons, it is a fight between truth and lies, our mightiest of weapons is the truth of the Word of God which always defeats the lies of the enemy.

 

Those who walk in spiritual darkness are prisoners of war who have been taken captive by the devil to do his will. Those who walk in the spiritual enlightenment of the Word of God are like mighty warriors who conquer the strongholds of the enemy and set the captives free.

 

Who are the captives?

 

Ephesians 4:17-18 “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their (spiritual eyes) heart.”

 

In times of war there should be no room for pride for it is pride, the pride of man, that blinds the human heart to the wisdom of God’s Word.

 

The pride of a religious mindset can blind its followers to the truth of God’s Word.

 

The pride of religious traditions can blind the minds of its followers to the truth of God’s Word.

 

The pride of religious status, commonly known as the praise of man, can blind the minds of its recipients to the truth of God’s Word.

 

Anything that has been corrupted, of which we are a part of somehow, if we fail to recognize the corruption and do not make every effort to alienate ourselves from it, will surely cause our minds to be blinded to the truth of the Word of God, and we do not want that.

 

Ephesians 5:6-8 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now your are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”

 

Here is what I am trying to say, stay away from compromise; spiritual darkness makes its bed in compromise, and once in it your sleep will be nothing but nightmares of darkness and gloom.

 

Is there compromise between light and darkness? How about between truth and lies? When is it okay to discard the wisdom of God for the counsel of man? But yet people do it everyday, I have to believe that it is because they have no clue as to what the will of God is for their lives.

 

Ephesians 5:17 “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

 

If we walk in the light as He is in the light then we have fellowship with one another, according to 1 John 1:7 But how can we have fellowship with those who walk in spiritual darkness? You see the predicament that walking in spiritual darkness puts the body of Christ in. But the promise is that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from that foul spirit of the pride of life that keeps so many in bondage.

 

2 Corinthians 7:1 “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

 

We cannot cast out the spirit of the lust of the flesh that is attached to our natural selfish desires, so that we will always face temptations while in our mortal bodies. But if we are fully aware of the consequences of giving into the spirit of the lust of the eyes, it makes it easier for us to reject the temptations knowing that we do not want to be in spiritual darkness.

 

Remember that the focus of this teaching is not about our everyday struggles with the flesh, This is a lesson about the spiritual warfare that we are engaged in. In this lesson we are exposing the spirits that want to contaminate your faith by making this a carnal fight. Our bodies already died with Christ on the cross, this is a battle for truth, the truth of the Word of God. It is the enlightenment that comes from the truth that makes the captives free.

 

If you have fallen prey to any of the many facets of the demonic doctrines of man’s wisdom, do not walk in pride, admit that you were deceived and refuse to walk in darkness anymore. Reject compromise and stand in the truth of the Word of God and the truth of God’s Word will be your vindication. Nail the spirit of the pride of life to the cross and it will never bother you again as long as you keep your eyes on Jesus.

 

1 John 2:5 “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.”