What does it mean to be an enemy of God?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

To be an enemy of God means to live in active opposition to His character, His truth, and His purposes. This includes Satan and his forces but also sinful humanity apart from Christ—those who reject God’s authority, resist His Spirit, and follow the ways of the world. Scripture reveals that all people start out in this state of hostility, separated from God by sin and deserving of judgment. Yet even while we were His enemies, God showed His love by sending Jesus to reconcile us through His death and resurrection. Being an enemy of God is not a permanent sentence—through faith in Christ, anyone can move from rebellion to relationship and become part of God’s redeemed family.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Adam and Eve became enemies of God when they rebelled (Genesis 3:6). Their disobedience broke fellowship with God and introduced sin, placing them—and all humanity—at odds with His holiness.
• God declared all men evil and enemies against Him (Genesis 6:5). Humanity’s continual wickedness grieved God, showing that all had turned against Him, leading to the judgment of the flood.
• Saul became God’s enemy after his disobedience (1 Samuel 28:16). His repeated defiance led God to reject him as king; Samuel declared that God had become his enemy.
• Israel was God’s enemy after they grieved His Spirit (Isaiah 63:10). Israel’s rebellion caused God to turn against them, not by desire, but as a response to their rejection of His Spirit.
• The LORD is described as becoming like an enemy to Israel after the fall of Judah (Lamentations 2:5), not because His character changed but because He acted in judgment against their persistent rebellion. In their unfaithfulness, Israel experienced God’s discipline as if He were their foe, showing how serious sin is and how deeply God desires His people to return to Him.
• God is loving and merciful, making the way of reconciliation with Him possible and extending the offer of salvation to all, yet God is also just and will not let the wickedness of this world go unpunished: "The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies" (Nahum 1:2
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FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Often the first being that comes to mind when we think of an enemy of God is Satan. And this is true; Satan and his minions are opposed to God, His work, and His people (John 8:44; Ephesians 6:11–18; 1 Peter 5:8).
• Sin and its resultant death are also enemies of God, since they are things from which He saves us in Jesus Christ and which He will destroy in the end (1 Corinthians 15:54–58; Revelation 20:14–15).
• People can also be enemies of God. Ephesians 2:3 tells us that we are all born children of wrath and enemies of God, and Romans 1:18–32 gives a thorough description of people who are enemies of God.
• Humans’ natural sinful state is in opposition to God, making them natural enemies of God. The Bible uses the word "enemy" to describe a person's relationship with God before they give their lives to Christ. While this is true, Christ demonstrated His love for us in that "while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" (Romans 5:9-10).
• Colossians 1:21 also describes people before salvation as "alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds." Before a person is saved, he is living in opposition to God—as an enemy of God—because he rejects or denies God's existence and His character as revealed in Scripture. The person's actions and goals directly oppose God's, making him an enemy of God.
• God loves the world and sent His Son, Jesus, to offer joy and hope and eternal life to anyone willing to have faith in Him (John 3:16–18). Those who reject Jesus Christ remain under God's wrath (John 3:36).
• Friends of this world are described as enemies of God (James 4:4).
• Ultimately, God will have victory over His enemies: "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:25–26).
• In the end, Satan, the demons, people who chose to live in rebellion to God, and even death will be defeated by God (Revelation 20:13–15). The enemies of God are no match for Him. After God defeats His enemies, His people will live free of pain and sorrow: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4)

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

You don’t have to remain an enemy of God. Though all of us begin life separated from Him—driven by pride, self-will, and sin—God has never abandoned us to that fate. His desire is not destruction but redemption. He longs for everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), yet in His justice, He honors our choices. If we choose to reject Him, He allows it—but that’s not what He wants for us.

From the very beginning, humanity turned away from God. Yet even while we were still His enemies, God made the first move to restore the relationship. Romans 5:10 says that while we were enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son. God’s love reached us when we had nothing to offer—when we were dead in sin and powerless to save ourselves. Ephesians 2 reminds us that we were following the ways of the world and under the influence of evil, but God, rich in mercy, intervened. He made us alive with Christ. By grace—unearned, undeserved, unstoppable—we are saved.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

You don’t have to clean yourself up to come to Him. You simply need to believe and receive the gift. In Christ, the doors of heaven are open wide, not just to forgive your past but to make you part of God’s family. He wants to raise you up with Christ, seat you in heavenly places, and pour out the riches of His grace upon you for all eternity. We don’t need to stay where we are. We don’t need to remain an enemy.

UNDERSTAND

• To be an enemy of God means being in opposition to His will and character, and this applies to Satan, sin, death, and people who reject Jesus.
• All humans begin life as an enemy of God because of sin.
• God offers reconciliation through Jesus to make enemies into His children.

REFLECT

• How do you recognize areas in your life where you might be opposing God’s will or resisting His Spirit?
• How has understanding that you once were an enemy of God but now can be reconciled through Jesus changed how you view your relationship with Him?
• What fears or doubts do you have about fully accepting God’s offer of grace and moving from rebellion to relationship?

ENGAGE

• How do we see the tension between God’s justice and mercy reflected in the reality of being enemies of God and yet offered reconciliation?
• What practical steps can we take as believers to help those who feel alienated or hostile toward God to experience His love and forgiveness?
• How does knowing that Satan, sin, and death are ultimately defeated by God affect the way we live and interact with the world today?