Better the Devil you know (Part 2)

I recently interviewed Marisa – a former Wiccan Witch, now Christian missionary in Bolivia. As she shared her story, she spoke with clarity and confidence about the one the Bible calls the ‘accuser of the brethren’. Clarity, because she had experienced the power of this adversary and confidence because she now knew that the one of whom she spoke is a defeated enemy.

He disarmed the rulers and authoritiesand put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Colossians 2:15

The Accuser of the Brethren

Who is the devil? Where did he come from, this spirit-creature that seeks to oppose God and defeat His work?

The Bible teaches that in the original creation, he was “Lucifer, son of the morning” (Isa. 14:12–15) and that he was cast down because of his pride and his desire to occupy God’s throne.

This enemy has many different names.

Devil means “accuser,” because he accuses God’s people day and night before the throne of God (Rev. 12:7–11).

Satan means “adversary,” because he is the enemy of God.

He is also called the tempter (Matt. 4:3), and the murderer and the liar (John 8:44).

He is compared to a lion (1 Peter 5:8), a serpent (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9), and an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:13–15), as well as “the god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4 NIV).

Now we may hear all these things and become fearful of the devil, but we needn’t. Why? Because as, Warren Wiersbe puts it:

‘As believers, we do not fight for victory—we fight from victory!’

This is an enemy that has already been defeated by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Cross is not a symbol of defeat but of victory. It was from the cross that Jesus uttered the words ‘It is finished’.

Paul tells the church at Corinth that though the message of the cross may appear foolish to those who are perishing, to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Knowing he has been defeated, and that his time is running out the devil seeks to sow as much discord as he possibly can.

But know this – he is no match for God.

Not Equal

Have you ever met Christians who speak about the devil and God as if they are equal powers? They are not. The devil, though formidable, is no match for God.

The enemy is not omniscient, omnipotent nor omnipresent – he can only do what God allows him to do.

As the devil cannot be in all places at all times, how does he cause so much chaos throughout the world? The Bible reveals that he does this by marshalling his troops.

The Bible indicates that a third of the heavenly host, turned against the living God and pledged their allegiance to the devil.

Paul calls these forces principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

It is against these spiritual forces that we battle, not against flesh and blood. Therefore, we need to look beyond what we can see and, with the eyes of faith, perceive the spiritual battle that is all around us.

This is especially true when dealing with members of cults. The Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons on our doorsteps are not the enemy – the real enemy is the deceiver, the father of lies, the one who is able to transform himself into an angel of light. It is he and his minions that we are warring against in order to see captive souls set free.

So real are these spiritual forces that Paul tells the church at Ephesus that they need to wear armour to protect themselves.

Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)

It is my conviction, though I may be wrong, that when Paul speaks of the evil day he isn’t talking about a specific day, but rather he speaks of any day when the enemy may attack believers. We need to always be prepared and so put on the armour every day.

As the day in which Paul writes was evil, so our day is also evil. The enemy hasn’t stopped working, but rather he has intensified his efforts as his end draws near.

Let us not be fearful. The enemy is evil, but remember “if God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31). So, let’s

Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)

As we put on the whole armour of God, Paul says that believers can stand against the wiles of the devil. What does he mean by ‘wiles’? The word ‘wiles’ can equally be translated as tricks, deceits, charms or schemes. What are some of his schemes? We will consider this in the next article.

Part 1 here

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