Usually attention is drawn to the three main enemies the church must fight against during her pilgrimage here on earth. The devil, the world and the flesh are the three great obstacles to holiness in this fallen world. If we are not fighting enemies without (i.e. the devil and the world) then we are inevitably wrestling with the enemy within (i.e. the flesh). The apostle John focuses on, and most clearly articulates, a theology of temptation in regard to these three enemies. In the course of his epistle he explains that there are three ways of overcoming. First, John notes in 1 John 2:14 that it is the written word of God that enables us to overcome the devil, “…I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” The written word is the means by which we overcome the evil one because it leads us to the Living Word–Jesus Christ. In 1 John 3:8 John writes, “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” The devil was the one who “sinned from the beginning” and who tempted our first parents to sin against God. Everyone who sins is “of the devil.” The answer to this two-fold problem is the cross of Christ. Jesus came to bear our sins in His body on the tree and to disarm the devil. Finally, in 1 John 5:4 we are told that our faith is that which overcomes the world: “…this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith.” So these three, the word, faith and the Son of God are what overcome the world the flesh and the devil. The first two are really the means of victory that enable us to lay hold of Jesus Christ, the object and grounds of victory. It is as we read the word and believe the word that the work of the Son comes to bear in our lives. All of our enemies are conquered by the Christ crucified, risen and ascended. We need to be reminded of this constantly.
It is interesting that the word is the exclusive tangible means (non-existential, like faith) to spiritual victory. It is the God ordained means of making us “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Our Lord Jesus Christ constantly bore we witness to the necessity and sufficiency of the written word. But He also constantly bore witness to our need to believe the word. It was these two things, namely, the word and faith, that formed the substance of the parable of the sower and the seed. In this well know parable–in which only one of four soils receives the word in an effective, life-giving way–the three ingredients for overcoming that John mentions in his epistle are present in relation to the three enemies of the church. The first set of people are the wayside hearers. These are those “who have heard [the word of God]. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts , so that they may not believe and be saved (Luke 8:12).” The second set of people are the rocky ground hearers. These were people “who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away (Luke 8:13).” The third group mentioned in the parable are the thorny ground hearers. These are people “who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life , and their fruit does not mature.” You will notice that the particular things that keep the word from bearing fruit can be classified as the devil, the flesh and the world. So what exactly is the difference between the first three kinds of hearers and the fourth. Well, our Lord says that the good soil represents those who “hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” I believe that the answer must be understood in light of the three factors that John mentions above. The word of God that is sown through preaching is meant to bring people to saving faith in Jesus Christ. You cannot separate the ultimate fruitfulness of the fourth group in the parable from the One who is speaking the parable. He is on His way to the cross to make atonement for the sins of His people. He is going to Calvary to defeat the one who defeated man–the devil. And He is going to the Father to send the lif-giving Spirit to renew the hearts of men and women, giving them faith in Him so that they will persevere. This is the point of the parable of the sower and the seed. The word is central because it is what reveals the Son, in whom we are to believe.Our three enemies (the world, the flesh and the devil) will only be overcome by our three most precious means (the word, faith and the Son).
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve. (Romans 16:17-18)