Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
Once we are born-again we are no longer under the sway of the wicked one, and once again we can exercise our free will as God intended. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul teaches us that we have been delivered from Satan’s kingdom, and that he no longer has any power over us. In fact the exact opposite occurs when we become sons of God, for we now have full authority over Satan and his entire kingdom (Luke 10:19).
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.”
Although the believer is no longer in the kingdom of darkness and is no longer under the sway of the wicked one, Satan as our adversary will continue to try and bring the believer under his control. The way that he attempts to accomplish this is to get the believer to commit sin of their own free will. He uses the exact same method that we looked at earlier, i.e. through their thought life. His demons whisper suggestions into the ears of believers. This is one of the reasons why scripture teaches believers to control their thoughts (Philippians 4:8). When believers do not control their thoughts however and allow their thoughts to be influenced by Satan’s demons, then they become vulnerable to giving in to sin. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul teaches us not to sin so that we do not give any place to the devil in our lives. Therefore it is very clear that when believers do commit sin that they give place to the devil in their lives.
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.”
Once believers commit sin they have now given Satan place in their lives to influence their lives to a greater or lesser degree. The way that Satan influences believers’ lives is by taking them captive to do his will. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit gives us a picture of believers who have become ensnared in sin. I want you to notice that because they are sinning that they have been taken captive by Satan to do his will. And so they are no longer thinking in line with the word of God, for the Holy Spirit tells us that God needs to grant them repentance from their sin so that they may come to their senses. This picture is very similar to David refusing sound advice from Joab.
Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
At any time however the believer can as an act of their free will, repent of their sin and ask the Lord’s forgiveness and He will forgive them. The moment the Lord does that, all the chords of sin that have previously ensnared the believer are cut, and they can once again walk free and in the light. Quite often the believer who is taken captive by Satan to do his will is not even aware of this fact, because they have become blinded to the sin they are committing. This is why the above quoted passage of scripture teaches us to look out for each other in order to help those who have become ensnared by sin. We do this by speaking truth into their lives and by praying for them.
Michael E.B. Maher
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