2 Corinthians 2:10-11 “Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, (11) lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
In order for the saints to deal effectively with the devil, it is important for them to understand the various strategies that Satan employs in his endeavour to overcome them. And so in this section we want to discuss the different devices that Satan uses in order to gain advantage over the saints. We have seen in this teaching thus far that all believers have full authority over the devil. Nevertheless we have also seen that Satan is the god of this world and that his aim is to exercise authority over all those who will let him. In an earlier passage of scripture which we quoted, the apostle Paul described our interaction with Satan and his realm as a wrestling match (Ephesians 6:12). If you have ever watched an Olympic wrestling match, you will understand the picture that the apostle Paul is trying to portray for us. In a wrestling contest the two opponents try to pin each other to the mat by gaining advantage over each other. And so that is exactly what our opponent tries to do to the saints, i.e. he tries to gain advantage over them. The way that Satan does that is by tempting the believer to commit sin, for he knows that if he is successful in that endeavour that he then is able to pin that saint to the mat, so to speak. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul reveals one of the devices that Satan uses, which is to tempt the believer to walk in unforgiveness. Clearly from this passage we can see that if the believer were to fall into that trap, that their adversary would be able to gain advantage over them. In other words Satan would pin them to the mat and they would become ineffectual in being able to exercise their authority over him.
Ephesians 4:26-27 “Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, (27) nor give place to the devil.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul reveals to us just how we can give place to the devil in our lives. Clearly it is through the avenue of sin that Satan gains advantage over believers. And so it is our responsibility to ensure that we give no place to the devil by avoiding his temptation to commit sin. For it is when we choose to resist the devils temptation to sin that we are then able to exercise our full authority over him and his demons. In other words we are able to pin the devil to the mat.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, (25) in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, (26) and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul is not describing the status of unbelievers, but rather he is describing the condition of saints that had been taken captive by Satan to do his will. This passage declares that they had become ensnared by the devil and the reason that happened was because they submitted to the devil’s temptation to walk in sin. In context, these particular disciples had begun to teach false doctrine in the church. And so it was because they were walking in sin that they needed the mercy to God to grant them repentance. Nevertheless until that happened, these disciples had been taken captive by their adversary. In other words Satan had them pinned to the mat and they had become completely ineffectual in being able to exercise their rightful authority over the devil.
1 John 5:18 “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle John teaches us how to walk so that our adversary cannot gain advantage over us. He simply teaches us to stay away from sin, for He tells us that whoever is born of God does not sin. Satan knows that sin opens the door for him and so he will always try tempting the believer to commit sin. That’s exactly what he did to Jesus, and we are no different. But this same passage teaches us that he who is born of God keeps himself. The word translated “keep” can also be translated “to guard”. In other words believers that guard themselves and stay away from temptation so that they do not walk in sin, keep the door closed on Satan. For the scripture says that the wicked one does not touch them. In other words Satan cannot put sickness on their bodies, he cannot steal from them and he cannot bring destruction into their lives.
Michael E.B. Maher
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