This study is about the extent and effect of the power of that fallen angelic being the Bible refers to as Satan, or the devil, in the life of a true Christian. At the outset let me say that in the final analysis, the less said about this creature the better. Why then do a paper on the subject? The main reason is because what I have just said in the second sentence is just what is not happening, especially among Christians in our day. Satan is all too often being mentioned and blamed for lots of things that go on in the life of the average believer. Much of what is said about him is usually erroneous according to the teaching of the N.T. As a result, folks are only adding to the confusion and hindering their progress in the Christian life instead of marching forward conquering and to conquer as they ought! The most notable example of this can be seen in the life of the average believer when things "go wrong" or troubles enter the picture. Satan is often blamed for both sin and temptation in the life of a believer and this is exactly as that wicked imp would have it. As long as the believer thinks he must continually struggle with a being who, in many ways, is vastly superior to him, the psychological defeat alone is enough to keep him down. How can a puny man, even a regenerate one, fight against and successfully defeat the prince of the power of darkness who possesses thousands of years of "wisdom" in how to cause men to sin?! Let me fire the first missile at this by saying that, for one thing, this is diametrically opposed to the whole purpose of redemption in Jesus Christ. If you are saved let me challenge you with this question. From what have you been saved? The N.T. speaks of being delivered from our enemies. Is not Satan the greatest of enemies? Are we or are we not delivered from him? We shall see as we go along. That is what this paper is all about. The sooner Christians see that salvation slams shut the door of their lives in the face of Satan and his power AND LOCKS IT WITH AN ETERNAL DEAD BOLT the better they will be and the more impact the church will have on the world. The cause of the confusion is, I believe, a lack of knowledge of what the N.T. teaches about Satan, especially with reference to the believer. Many true Christians believe that the devil still has a lot of influence in their lives even to the point of invading their thought life by putting thoughts in the mind, reading the mind, and influencing their actions to a certain degree. Some even think he can control providence and circumstances! "The devil sent this person to mess me up"! I believe it is accurate to say that it is nothing more than a "device" of the devil to get Christians to overestimate his power and influence in our lives. I hope that this paper will put all of those unbiblical ideas to rest and encourage believers to press on in victory over their sin and the powers of darkness. Let us proceed.
In this study the reality and personality of Satan is assumed and acknowledged. This paper is not about that subject but rather it is about the power and influence that Satan has, or does not have, in the life of the believer in this day and age. Debate over Satan's existence and personality must be sought in another study. I am saying in this paper that Satan is a real creature that exists! All that the Bible says of him is true. Not only does he exist but he is responsible for the present condition of the world. It was Satan that lured the first humans into sin that resulted in the entire race of man being plummeted into the prison of sin and death. Against the popular fallacy of evolutionary thought, the world as we know it is not the result of some mega-explosion that took place sometime in the distant past and produced everything we now see. One of the greatest flaws of evolutionary thinking is that it allows no place for the existence of the spiritual realm. It accounts only for the physical universe. Thus it consigns the whole subject of Satan to the realm of fairy tale, folklore and non existence! Again, this is as the devil would have it. As long as men do not believe that Satan is real they are secure in their sins and have no need of Jesus Christ! But the Bible tells us that Satan is not only real but he is a being of great power. His power however, is not infinite or universal. He is subject to the sovereign control of a greater power that is infinite and universal; GOD ALMIGHTY! This is where we begin. We pick up a diamond from the mine of Scripture and examine it. Behold;
Ro 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, [are] all things: to whom [be] glory for ever. Amen.
This vs contains 3 main pillars that support the structure of the absolute sovereign power of God in everything. 1. Of Him; He is the origin... 2. Through Him; He is the director... 3. Unto Him; He is the ultimate end... of ALL THINGS!! That little phrase, "all things" is the "hook" in the verse that will not allow the fish to escape. You can substitute anything you want to for the words "all things" and there you have the sovereignty of God! Conversely, leave ONE THING out and you no longer have a God of absolute sovereignty. To demonstrate this we shall dispense with frivolity and go right for the jugular! In the place of "all things" let us substitute... evil. After all, is evil not part of the "all things" spoken of in the verse. Does it make you uneasy to think that I am saying that God created evil AND HOLDS SOVEREIGN SWAY OVER IT? Is this the God who saved you and who you worship? If not you will have to re-write this verse! If God did not bring evil into existence then something or someone else did. Whatever did is equally ultimate with God, for the power to create is a Divine attribute. Only that which is GOD can bring something into being out of nothing. This lands us in dualism which is a heresy! Do you see the force of such a verse? Some try to evade the force of this language by the philosophical argument that sin and/or evil is not a "thing". This idiotic notion is pure lunacy and an insult not only to the mind of God but the human intellect as well. If sin is not a thing then it is outside the control of God in Romans 8:28 and woe unto the Christian when he is struggling with it! See the study on Theodicy for further discussion. We are not trying to figure out and explain how a God of pure holiness can create a universe that contains evil. We are simply noting that the Bible teaches that He did! Now, if we apply this to our little trouble maker, Satan, we see immediately that he is no different from anything else in God's creation. He was created by God, is controlled by God and will bring glory to God, just as Romans 11:36 tells us. He may be called the god of this world but he himself is subject to the God of all creation! Therefore, he can do nothing but what God himself purposes and ordains (not "allows or permits") him to do. This alone is enough to put fire in the believers pot. Satan has a chain around his neck and He who holds the end of it is your Heavenly Father! As it has been said, he's God's devil and does only that which God wills! And God wills him to do nothing that is outside of His sovereign, eternal design. THAT is the correct usage of the term "allow". The only reason that God "allows" anything is because it accords with His sovereign decree. Did Satan mess up Job's life? He did so under the command of God. Job 1:12. And while he was doing it he was STILL under the sovereign control of God! Another example of this can be seen in the life of David. Notice the following references;
2Sa 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
1Ch 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
Here are 2 parallel passages depicting the same event. We see Satan as the IMMEDIATE agent and God as the ULTIMATE agent of this action. In other words, Satan provoked David to sin in numbering Israel but he did so under the sovereign control of God! This also demonstrates the fact that God ACTIVELY controls the evil that takes place in the world. That is, God does not just sit back and let it happen. He actually orchestrates and directs the forces of evil for His own end. Another very graphic sample passage that Satan and evil are under the sovereign control of God;
1Ki 22:19 And he said, Hear thou
therefore
the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the
host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade
Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this
manner, and another said on that manner.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and
stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
22 And the LORD said unto him,
Wherewith?
And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth
of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade [him], and
prevail
also: go forth, and do so.
23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath
put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD
hath spoken evil concerning thee.
Study this passage in context carefully. Who sent the lying spirit into the false prophets? Who spoke the evil of the king? Who was in control of this whole situation?! Passages such as these have only one explanation; GOD IS GOD!! The devil and his imps only do what God WANTS them to do in order to bring to pass His purpose and decree!
Let us understand our heading from the beginning. It is God who controls all things including sin, Satan and evil. It is God who WORKS (not "permits") all things after the council of His own will. Eph 1:11. In the light of this we want to look at four areas of Scriptural teaching concerning the power of Satan in the lives of human beings.
FIRST: SATAN DID HAVE POWER! There was a time when his power was so extensive that he could not only effect physical, bodily change but he could actually enter into the very essence of a person's being and take control. Physical change is seen for example in the case of Job. When God sent him to wreak havoc on Job he actually inflicted Job with boils all over his body. Job 2:7. As for controlling people we see this in the N.T. in the form of demonic possession. We would not use Job 1:13-22 to try to show that Satan can control providential circumstances as it would be difficult to prove that it was Satan who was in control, especially in the light of verses 20-22. But the passage IS in accord with the N.T. teaching that Satan is at work in the sons of wrath. Eph 2:2. We shall look at this more in a bit. The point I am making here is that there was a time when Satan wrought havoc in the lives of the men of this world both physically and spiritually. Two examples from the NT will suffice. We all know of our friend Judas. Notice;
Jn 13:2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's [son], to betray him;
Jn 13:27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
And also Ananias;
Ac 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan
filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back [part] of
the price of the land?
In these verses we see that Satan actually
had access to the human heart and controlled people.
This brings us to a most important and
pressing
question; DO THESE CONDITIONS STILL EXIST TODAY? This is the crucial
argument.
Many Christians believe the answer to this question is YES! The devil
can
do to me what he did to Job, Judas and Ananias! He can put thoughts in
my mind, influence my behavior and even control circumstances to a
certain
extent. Is this so? We say NO!
SECOND: SATAN'S POWER IS LIMITED OR
DIMINISHED.
In order to have a correct understanding of
this statement we need to have a proper perspective of what God is
doing
in the world. This is not as complicated as it sounds. Let's ask a
question,
the answer to which will immediately give clear direction. What is the
central point of focus of the history of the world? Or, to put it
another
way; What is the one event around which all of history revolves?
Answer:
The Advent of Messiah! From the point at which God said "Let there be
light!"
His purpose and desire was to introduce His Son into the life and
history
of mankind. A verse;
Ga 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, etc...
Now! When Christ came into the world, did anything change? Was there anything at all about history, how mankind operates, what goes on in the spiritual realm, that became different, or are things pretty much the "same old world" as it was before His advent? We are willing to place every pair of boots we can find on the wager table and to say; You bet your boots there was change! For one thing, the entire theocratic economy under the nation of Israel went the way of all flesh. God no longer operates & communicates to man through the Jews. This was one of the biggest changes that took place with the advent of Messiah. It was one that has caused great confusion both then and now. Another important and dramatic change was that the saving grace of God was unleashed into the entire world. Up until Messiah's advent salvation was in large part confined to the Jewish nation. When Jesus came this changed. I just mention these as fuel for further study. But now, our concern in this study is, was there any change in the spiritual realm generally, and with reference to the extent of the power of darkness and the devil in particular? Let us examine the N.T. for our answer. Our first stop is Matt 4:1-11. With reference to Satan this passage can be summarized in one word; DEFEAT! The imp done met his match folks. Notice the closing comment in vs 11. The devil left Him. The power of the prophecy in Gen. 3:15 began to kick in and when it did the devil was kicked out! HIS POWER WAS INEFFECTIVE AGAINST MESSIAH! For the first time in history the kingdom of darkness was being assaulted and was succumbing. This fact is emphasized in no uncertain terms in such verses as;
Jn 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
The "casting out" of Satan was, among other things, a direct assault on his kingdom and a diminishing of his power in the world. We shall see in what area his power was diminished, if you haven't already guessed. Another reference;
Lu 10:17 And the seventy returned again
with
joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan
as lightning fall from heaven.
Here we are plainly told that Satan's lackeys had to kow-tow and it is said to be done "through thy name". Until Jesus came ol' Satan held full sway in the world. But when Jesus appeared verse 18 took effect! His power is diminished. To put it another way, he lost his clout! Another passage showing that Satan's power was limited by Christ;
Mt 12:22 Then was brought unto him one
possessed
with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the
blind
and dumb both spake and saw.
23 And all the people were amazed, and
said, Is not this the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard [it],
they said, This [fellow] doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the
prince of the devils.
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and
said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to
desolation;
and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is
divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out
devils,
by whom do your children cast [them] out? therefore they shall be your
judges.
28 But if I cast out devils by the
Spirit
of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
29 Or else how can one enter into a
strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the
strong
man? and then he will spoil his house.
The obvious context is Christ wreaking chaos with Satan's kingdom! Why was He able to do this? Because, as it says in vs 29, He was stronger than Satan and was able to bind him! When Messiah came He put a damper on the power of Satan and it is still there! A cross reference;
Lu 11:22 But when a STRONGER than he shall come upon him, and OVERCOME him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. No Comment!
I give here a summery verse that will generalize this point and give us a lead to our next question as to the area in which Satan's power is no longer effective. Notice;
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the
same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of
death,
that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear
of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Here we are told that the devil was destroyed not by the 2nd Advent of Christ!! This is the mistake many are making today. They think the devil will continue to have a field day until the conditions of 2 Thes.2:8 are met! Not according to the passages sighted above. Here in Hebrews we are told that the destruction of the devil took place through the death of Christ which happened 2000 years ago on Calvary! Further, verse 15 informs us as to why this all happened. It was in order to deliver His people! Those who were in bondage. To what? To Sin, Satan and death! That's the covenant of redemption. The area in which Satan's power is no longer effective is the area of the Kingdom of God... ON EARTH; NOW! Not at the 2nd Advent. When Christ returns Satan and his followers will be totally destroyed in the Lake of Fire but in the meantime he has no direct influence in the Kingdom of God here and now. This is our third area of consideration and the very heart of this study.
THIRD; Christians, those who comprise the
Kingdom
of God on earth, HAVE BEEN DELIVERED FROM THE POWER AND INFLUENCE OF
SATAN!
We have already seen something of this in
the Luke 10 passage. Now we want to look at a few more verses that
bring
this out more clearly. Notice;
Lu 1:71 That we should *be saved* from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
Lu 1:74 That he would grant unto us, that we *being delivered* out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
The full passage is Lk 1:67-79. The context is talking about the fulfillment of prophecy through the covenant of redemption. The verses noted above point out that one of the benefits derived from the blessing of redemption is that of being saved from our enemies or being delivered out of the hand of our enemies. This is in harmony with Heb 2:14,15 and is the point of this paper. Are you or are you NOT delivered from Satan and his power? Go back to the Luke 10 passage and notice vs 19;
Lu 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and *nothing* shall by any means hurt you! And again;
Mt 10:1 And when he had called unto [him] his twelve disciples, he gave them power [against] unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Could words be any plainer that Satan was POWERLESS against the disciples of Jesus?! If this does not convince you read on. Our next 2 passages are sledge hammers that will shatter the idea that the devil's power can reach the Christian. Acts 26 vss 13ff. Here Paul is giving his testimony to king Agrippa. As he tells of HOW God saved him he also informs him as to WHY God saved him in vss 16-18. It was in order that he would preach to the Gentiles. And what exactly was it that would happen to those Gentiles to whom he preached? Behold;
Ac 26:18 To open their eyes, [and] to turn [them] from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Observe that it does not say that they should be turned from Satan, but rather, that they should be turned from the POWER of Satan! Simply stated, when ever ANYBODY gets saved, he is DELIVERED FROM THE POWER OF SATAN! The imp of hell no longer has any right of access to the believer because the believer has been rescued (snatched!) from the clutches of Satan and his kingdom ! Hallelujah ! The believer is now TWICE the property of God. Once by creation and once by redemption. More evidence;
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Here we see again that believers have been translated into the Kingdom of God because they have been delivered, not just from darkness, but from the... POWER !! of darkness! Even though we still hob-nob with the citizens of the devil's kingdom here on earth we are no longer subject to its influences because we are OUTSIDE of the effective power of that kingdom. We are beyond the scope of the devil's power. He cannot touch us. This is what John has told us in his epistle. Notice;
1Jn 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
Must I needs labor the point? WE ARE DELIVERED! WE ARE FREE! Rom 8:2. Satan CANNOT touch us. All N.T. activity of the devil with respect to Christians must be subject to this basic principle. The devil has NO POWER in the life of a Christian! He cannot mess with the mind or heart. He cannot "work IN us". This must be remembered when we come to exhortations in the N.T. to "resist the devil". These exhortations in no way imply that the devil can "get to us" or work directly in us. You would be hard pressed to try to prove that from these passages. We shall look closer at some of these passages in a bit. For now, catch the point I am bringing out here. Salvation, to be saved, means among other things, to be removed from the influence of the power of darkness. This is so because, when God saves a person He gives to him DIVINE POWER... which is greater than the power of the devil. That's why a Christian is called an overcomer. Satan cannot mess with us simply because WE ARE MORE POWERFUL THAN HE IS!! That's right. Not only does Satan not have power over us, but the exact OPPOSITE is true. WE HAVE POWER OVER HIM!! (Show me!!) O.K.
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].
In this verse, the word for "able" is the same word used for "power" in the N.T. In essence the verse is saying that God will not allow anything into your life that is MORE POWERFUL than you. That's because, as a Christian you are now indwelt by the very Holy Spirit of God and now possess the power of God that enables you to live the Christian life, and to have power over sin and the devil. You are an overcomer. I insert a few more verses here for the readers consideration and study.
Ro 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
2Co 1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver [us];
Ro 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
1Co 4:20 For the kingdom of God [is] not in word, but in power.
2Co 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us!!
Col 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Notice the last verse mentions the fact that we now possess the spirit of power and a sound mind. Yes! Powerful and sound enough to keep Satan out!
1Jo 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because
ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I write unto you, young
men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little
children, because ye have known the Father.
14 I have written unto you, fathers,
because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I have written
unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth
in you, and
ye have overcome the wicked one.
But now look at this verse;
1Jo 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Yea! GREATER is He that is in us! Satan and all his goons cannot do a thing to us. We are MORE POWERFUL than they! We are MORE THAN CONQUERORS! We are OVERCOMERS! We are NOT 'failures'. I heard one 'pastor' say from the pulpit that Christians are failures... and I left that 'church' in a hurry!
You will not find a single verse in the entire N.T. that speaks of the devil either putting thoughts in the mind of the believer or controlling his mind or life. Nor will you find a believer entering into direct confrontation or dialogue with the devil. That is simply because the Christian is off limits to the devil. Well then, if all this is so why then does the N.T. have warnings and exhortations to believers to beware of demonic activity? Our next point will answer this.
FOURTH: HE DOES HAVE POWER. Though all that I have said in this paper is true concerning the power of Satan to be ineffective in the life of a believer, yet he still does have power in this world. Furthermore, he continues to exercise that power and Christians must be continually on guard so as not to fall into the many traps that entice us to sin. This CAN happen to a believer. But before we examine how or in what way the forces of darkness can affect and influence a believer while he is still in the world, we need to establish one very important point concerning sin and guilt and it is this. When a Christian sins HE HAS NOBODY TO BLAME BUT HIMSELF. HE AND HE ALONE MUST BEAR THE FULL WEIGHT OF GUILT AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS ACTIONS! Herein is the great fly in the ointment that the devil does not want to be removed. Satan does not mind one bit if he gets the blame for sin as long as WE get the results! Though many may try, no one can escape with the excuse "the devil made me do it". Eve tried it to no avail. Gen. 3:13. Though it was true that the serpent did beguile her, yet she, and Adam, and the whole human race suffered the consequences! The truth of the matter is that the devil does not and cannot MAKE anyone (including unbelievers) do anything. If he could then there goes human responsibility out the window. James speaks to this point in his epistle.
Jas. 1:13 Let no man say when he is
tempted,
I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither
tempteth
he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he
is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it
bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
This passage hardly needs comment. While it teaches who is fully responsible for sin it says nothing about the devil. When a person sins he does so out of a response to his OWN lust. Nothing or no one can FORCE a person to sin! We also need to understand that when it comes to the human mind, the source of evil thoughts is not Satan, but rather, the person himself. I will not elaborate on this point too much as there are plenty of verses in the Bible that teach this. I will just point out a few and let the reader study them for himself.
Ge 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.
Ge 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart [is] evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
No devil in these verses. How about the N.T.?
Mr. 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mr. 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
For an unbeliever Satan can put those things in the heart. But a Christian has been given a NEW heart which is inaccessible to Satan!
Lu 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
It would do well to look at these verses in
context. We move on. We ask the following question; How does Satan yet
wield power in the world? Answer; He does so by working in the
citizens
of his kingdom, the children of disobedience. That is, his power to
work
IN people is LIMITED TO UNBELIEVERS! We find in the N.T. 2 categories
of
folk who do Satan's bidding in the world. 1st his ministers! 2COR
11:12-15
All those who traipse about preaching a false gospel are ministers
of...
SATAN! Hear me JWs WWCOGs 7th Day Adventists... ARMINIANS, and all
other
cults who reject the N.T. doctrine of salvation by grace. You preach
DEMONIC
DOCTRINES that will DAMN!
2nd category. His lackeys or cohorts which
are the great mass of unbelievers throughout the entire world. EPH 2.
The
marvel of this passage is that WE were once under that power
"even
as the rest!". Let's look at 2Cor.11 first;
2Co 11:12 But what I do, that I will do,
that
I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein
they
glory, they may be found even as we.
13 For such [are] false apostles,
deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself
is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore [it is] no great thing
if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness;
whose end shall be according to their works.
Those who go around preaching any other gospel than the one found in the N.T. are nothing less that ministers of Satan! Do not listen to them! To do so is to give place to the devil! To receive a false teaching is to allow the powers of darkness to influence you. This is one way it is done. This is why we have a passage like Eph 6:10-16. A "fiery dart" is NOT Satan trying to put a thought in your mind. Rather, its his MINISTERS trying to get you to believe something that is unbiblical!
The second area of operation by Satan is in the hearts of all unbelievers in general. Here is the passage;
Eph 2:1 And you [hath he quickened], who
were
dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked
according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the
air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our
conversation
in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even
as
others.
Here we are plainly told that Satan actually works in the children of disobedience. All unbelievers are under his power and influence. That's why the occult is so rampant today! Folks are only acting out the forces of the kingdom to which they belong. FROM THIS THE CHRISTIAN HAS BEEN DELIVERED! Ah, there I go again. We're FREE brethren! The wonder of it is that we WERE counted among the children of disobedience in whom Satan works but God took pity on us and we have been delivered!
Eph 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
But now, as we are still in the world we must continue to rub shoulders with the citizens of Satan's kingdom every day and therefore we must be on our guard. You see, even though Satan cannot DIRECTLY touch us he can try to get to us INDIRECTLY, through his subjects, the children of disobedience. Our "wrestling" against principalities and powers takes place when we are confronted with false teachers and unbelievers who try to get us to sin and deny our blessed Saviour. The whole cesspool of evolutionary thought is one good example. That's why I mentioned it. Did you ever try to argue with an evolutionist, or the Arminian who says Christ died for everybody including Judas and all those in hell? Or just witness to any unbeliever who scoffs at Christ. Do you feel the tension in the pit of your gut? It's because THAT'S when you are confronted with the powers of darkness. The following are some other ways in which the devil is able to use his power in the world. Note these verses in context.
HE SOWS TARES IN THE CHURCH.
Mt 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the
devil;
HE SNATCHES THE WORD FROM THE HEART.
Mt 13:19 When any one heareth the word of
the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one],
and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which
received
seed by the way side.
HE BLINDS THE MINDS OF UNBELIEVERS.
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the
glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
HE MOVES HIS "MINISTERS" TO SPREAD FALSE
DOCTRINE.
1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,
that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed
to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
These are things that are happening now as a result of the present activity of the devil in the world today. These verses are speaking of unbelievers!
Now let us look at some of the verses that folks often use to show that the devil can still wreak havoc in a Christians life by exerting a direct influence on him. By this is meant actually inserting wicked thoughts directly into the mind of a believer (yikes!) or actually inflicting some form of bodily harm; mental, physical and emotional chaos, etc. Notice;
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Three questions about this vs; 1 What does it mean to devour? 2 Is it possible for the devil to actually devour a true believer? 3 If so, how is this done? The basic meaning of the word for devour in this verse is to "drink" or "swallow". Jesus spoke of those who strain at a gnat and "swallow" the camel. This is the same word used in 1Peter 4:8. Now, what happens to something when you drink it? The body assimilates it and it actually becomes a part of you. A good illustration of the meaning of this word is seen in the following vs. Notice;
Heb 11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry [land]: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
Here the word for "drowned" is the same as "devour" in 1Peter 5:8! Can the devil be our "Red Sea" who is able to swallow us up so that we "drown" and perish like the Egyptians? Can he "swallow " us up so that we are somehow absorbed or consumed into his being? Of course not. Is it possible for the devil to swallow up or drink in a true believer? No! Why not? Because the next verse exhorts Christians to... RESIST, which they have the POWER to DO! See also James 4:7. Why then are such exhortations found in the NT? For the very same reason that exhortations against apostasy are there even though we know it is IMPOSSIBLE for a true believer ever to fall away. These are all warnings against laziness and presumption. As noted in this paper, temptations can come from the devil only indirectly by means of unbelievers and ungodly activities in the world. The devil cannot directly assault us because we have been delivered from him and have the protection of the Spirit of God. We cannot say that the devil can destroy a true believer to the extent that he loses his salvation and ultimately perishes in hell. Romans 8:31ff is quite clear on this point. The NT is full of exhortations against apostasy and yet at the same time we know that a true believer can never fall away and lose his salvation. So too in this matter of Satan, we have many exhortations to be on the lookout lest he trap us into sin and we be "devoured" while at the same time we know and believe that this is not possible for a true believer in the light of the NT teaching.
Now someone is sure to find 2Cor 11:3 and use it to show that the devil can put thoughts in the mind of a believer. Notice;
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
How is it that the mind is corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Why the very next verse tells us and it is NOT by Satan putting funny stuff in the mind of a believer.
4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [him].
These verses are part of the passage that speaks of false apostles being ministers of Satan. Again it is by INDIRECT influence through human beings under Satan's rule that we are attacked. A good example of this is what happened to Peter and the Galatian believers. They were 'bewitched' by the Judiaziers who were preaching a false gospel and ended up giving ear to believing in the false gospel of justification by works of the law to the point where the Apostle Paul had to write a whole letter calling them to repent.
I have now finished my task and close with some select verses that may be categorized as "food for thought". I'm sure the reader will discover more of the same for himself.
MINISTERS OF SATAN
Mt 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs,
and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch
that,
if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Ac 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Eph 4:14 That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Col 2:4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Brethren, let us press on! In His Name.
2Cor 4:4
FIN.
Please notify me of any typos, errors etc.