We are in a battle. Everyday, every hour, every minute. The nature of our battle is as we had already studied:
Ephesians 6:12 (NASB95) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Our chief adversary is the devil. You remember the comedian Flip Wilson? He was famous for saying, “The devil made me do it.” And we see cartoons of a little devil on one shoulder and a little angel on the other trying to lead you. In many ways, those things are not far from the truth. The devil influences us in ways we cannot imagine. If fact the Bible calls the Devil the ruler of this world:
1 John 5:19 (NASB95) We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
Even Jesus when He was tempted by the devil, when presented with entire world:
Luke 4:6–7 (NASB95) 6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 “Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”
Jesus never disputed the Devil’s right to the world, but rather Jesus quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13 said:
Luke 4:8 (NASB95) Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’ ”
Herein is the problem, the world has failed that test. Many in the world worship the devil for gain. How often do Christians fail this test? Over the next few weeks will consider as enemies of the devil, the flesh, the world, and death” which we fight against in this spiritual war. Today we will start with the Devil.
1 Peter 5:8–9
Revelation 12:7–12 (NASB95)
The Battle of Antietam in 1862 lasted for 12 hours and ranks as the bloodiest day of the Civil War, with 10,000 Confederate casualties and even more on the Union side. “At last the sun went down and the battle ended,” wrote one historian, “smoke heavy in the air, the twilight quivering with the anguished cries of thousands of wounded men.”
Though militarily a draw, the mediocre Union General George McClellan was able to end the brilliant Robert E. Lee’s thrust into Maryland, forcing him to retire across the Potomac. How was this possible? Two Union soldiers had found a copy of Lee’s battle plans and had delivered them to McClellan before the engagement.
In some respects, we are no match for our adversary, Satan, whose wiles we are told to be wary of. But as with General McClellan, our enemy’s plans have fallen into our hands. We know his usual strategies—to entice us with lies, lust, greed, and the like. With such knowledge, given us by God’s Word and God’s Spirit within, we too can resist the enemy’s advances. [1]
CS Lewis suggest two mistakes we, as Christians, make concerning the Devil – we either make jokes about the Devil, or we ignore the Devil. Peter rebukes both mistakes. Peter just finished writing:
1 Peter 5:6–7 (NASB95) 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
He tells the persecuted Christians to humble themselves to cast their cares on Jesus, but often we will stop there and go to sleep. We must read further.
1 Peter 5:8a (NASB95) Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. …
These two verbs are different but they go hand in hand. Don’t be caught sleeping, pay attention – this is important, don’t let down your guard, Because ...
1 Peter 5:8b (NASB95) Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Your adversary – your accuser – "accuser" in the Hebrew the word is “SATAN.” "The devil" – in the Greek means slanderer, false accuser.
“Your adversary” An important note here. He is not God’s adversary. He is our adversary. God’s in control. It is not God versus the devil, it is us verses the devil.
Why then does God permit the Devil to exist? Good question for another time, but for now, sufficient to say that God clearly gives us a choice. Free will would not be free will if there were no choices. The devil gives us choices right from the beginning in the garden. But here is the deal today, the Devil is real – he is not to be underestimated. We encounter him often and we do not even realize it. Peter is giving warning. No vacation for the believer. Because the devil is seeking whom he can consume. The devil wants to rob the believer of his joy, of his witness, and of any reward in heaven. Remember this battle we are fighting is not of things we can place our hands on, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood ..." (Ephesians 6:12)
Evil is not simply impersonal random occurrences in the world. It does not simply arise from within us. The Bible clearly depicts evil as having a personality and a measure of structure and organization. These battles fought in heavenly places affect us on earth.
Just who is the devil? Why should we be concerned about him if we are saved? Our reading in Revelation gives us a little insight:
Revelation 12:7–8 (NASB95) 7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
The time context of these verses is believed to be, by many Biblical scholars, the later part of the tribulation. The Bible is unclear when this war takes place but Satan and his angels (demons) lose this war and the end of it results in Satan’s expulsion. Satan lost the war with Jesus’ first coming when He overcame death on the cross, but, from our perspective, Satan’s execution of his judgment was delayed will be done in stages. But for now, we know that Satan comes and goes from the presences of God in heaven.
Job 1:6–7 (NASB95) 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”
But as the result of this battle in heaven, Satan is cast out along with 1/3 of all the angels.
Revelation 12:9 (NASB95) And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
It is here that the serpent in Genesis is identified as Satan. And Satan deceives the whole world.
2 Corinthians 11:13–15 (NASB95) 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
What does Satan look like? We don’t know because he is a master deceiver. A serpent? A roaring lion? An angel of light? - No wonder Peter tells us to be on the alert!
Revelation 12:10 (NASB95) Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
All the influences of Satan will be taken out of heaven. And what does Satan do in heaven now? He accuses us before God, day and night. That is what Satan was doing in the book of Job.
Job 1:9 (NASB95) Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
The good news is that we have an advocate:
1 John 2:1–2 (NASB95) 1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
However, like Job, Christians are not immune to the Devil’s attacks. Throughout scripture we are warned. For the Devil looks for an entry. The devil can get a foothold in our anger.
Ephesians 4:26–27 (NASB95) 26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
The devil can blind people to the truth.
2 Corinthians 4:3–4 (NASB95) 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
The devil can fill our hearts with evil intent:
Acts 5:3 (NASB95) But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?
Satan can snatch away the Word which is sown in our heart if we do not guard against it. In the parable of the sower Jesus explains:
Matthew 13:19 (NASB95) “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
The devil has some limitations. He does not have God’s knowledge or power – despite his attempt to tell us otherwise. He cannot be everywhere at once (omnipresent). He does not have all knowledge (omniscient). He is not all powerful (omnipotent). Satan must receive permission from God for his activities:
Luke 22:31 (NASB95) “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;
But more importantly, Satan can be overcome.
Revelation 12:11 (NASB95) “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. Jesus defeated Satan at the cross. We overcome because of the blood of Jesus and our testimony is to that fact.
Our testimony is critical in this spiritual warfare. We overcome with our testament about how the blood of the Lamb saves us. The question may be, “Will we hold to our testimony even in the face of death?”
John 12:25 (NASB95) “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
The devil can be resisted.
James 4:7 (NASB95) Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
So how do we resist the devil? By our testimony.
1 Peter 5:9a (NASB95) But resist him, firm in your faith, ...
Be firm in your faith. Know what you believe and be firm in it.
Matthew 10:16 (NASB95) “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.
We must be in the Word!
Hosea 4:6a (NASB95) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
A wishy-washy faith and the devil will have you for lunch. That is why many Christians get caught in things they should not. They do not know the word. And it is going to get worse.
Revelation 12:12 (NASB95) “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
The devil will take his wrath out on all who are here. But, we are not alone. there are those suffering around the world for being firm in their testimony:
1 Peter 5:9 (NASB95) But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
But if you know Jesus – the devil cannot touch you. The devil may Influence you, tempt you, affect the conditions around you, but not touch you.
1 John 5:18–19 (NASB95) 18 We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
The devil is real. The devil will tempt me. The devil will tempt you. The devil will try to take you and me down and destroy our witness. But one thing I do know:
1 John 4:4b (NASB95) … because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
We are not to look at the devil. We are to keep our eyes on Jesus. If you do not know Jesus, you are defenseless against the devil. The devil is mightier than you. You will be fooled/deceived. You may not be able to uphold under the temptation.
Jesus is truly the answer. Putting our eyes on Jesus, will see us through whatever we may need to face – even physical death. And there are worse things than our physical death. That is to spend a Christless eternity in the place where God had prepared for the devil.
It is all about Jesus. We overcome by His Blood and hold tight to our testimony of that fact.
[1] Citation: Mark Galli, managing editor of Christianity Today; source: Thomas Bailey and David Kennedy, The American Pageant, ninth edition (D.C. Heath, 1991), pp. 456–457. Taken from: PreachingToday.com, More Perfect Illustrations: For Every Topic and Occasion (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2003), 269.
