Luke 22:31-32 “And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. (32) But I have prayed for you; that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
In this section we want to discuss what it means to resist the devil. We saw earlier, that the apostles Paul, Peter and James all said the same thing when it came to dealing with the devil; they all said that we were to resist him. So what does it mean to resist the devil? From time to time Satan will bring adversity into the lives of the saints in order to test their faith. The sole purpose of the adversity is to persuade the saint to draw back from appropriating the promises of God, and if possible to even persuade the saint to draw back completely from following Christ. In the above quoted passage of scripture our Lord Jesus revealed to us what transpires in the spirit realm when Satan brings adversity into the lives of the saints, for in this account our Lord revealed to Peter that Satan had asked for permission to sift him as wheat. And so in effect Satan had asked to test Peter’s faith, for our Lord said that He had prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail in his test. This account reveals to us that Satan cannot do as he pleases in the lives of believers, for he has to ask permission from God before he can test the saints. Nevertheless, even if God does allow the devil to test our faith, we know that God is faithful, who will not allow us to be tested beyond that which we are able (1 Corinthians 10:13). We all know what transpired in the incident of Peter’s test; he denied the Lord Jesus three times. And so on the surface it seems as if Peter failed his test; but that is not the case at all, for our Lord Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him and told him ahead of time that he would. What our Lord was more interested in was what Peter would do after he had denied the Lord, for that would be his real test of faith. We know that Peter wept bitterly when he realised what he had done; and so it would have been at that time that Satan would have done his utmost to persuade Peter to walk away from following Christ, by condemning him and accusing him of not being worthy to call himself a disciple of Christ. Nevertheless our Lord’s prayer was heard and Peter’s faith did not fail him, for he repented and returned to follow the Lord Jesus with an even greater zeal than he had before. In other words Peter resisted the devil and the devil was forced to depart from him. Our Lord Jesus has no favourites. And so when Satan asks the Father for permission to test our faith, our Lord Jesus still prays for each one of us that our faith will not fail, for He always lives to make intercession for each one of His saints (Hebrews 7:25). And so we can see from this account that resisting the devil means standing in faith in the midst of adversity.
1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Peter teaches us a number of truths about trials that saints incur in this life. Firstly, He teaches us that trials last for a period of time. In other words some trials can be of short duration while others can be of longer duration. Nevertheless in all instances heaven refers to the period of a trial as a ‘little while’. And so even when trials last for a number of years, such as Paul’s four years of imprisonment for example, in comparison to eternity they are still for a little while. The second thing that Peter teaches us about trials is that, in the natural, we will be grieved by our trials. In other words going through trials is not a pleasant experience. Nevertheless the saint that focuses on the end result of their trial can rejoice through it all, knowing that the outcome will ultimately glorify the Lord Jesus. And then finally Peter teaches us that in all instances the trial we are going through has come about with the sole purpose of testing our faith. And so we see that the saint that resists the devil by enduring their trial steadfast in their faith will eventually see the devil depart from them and the trial will come to an end.
James 1:2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. (4) But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle James teaches us similar truths about the various trials that saints encounter in life. In this passage He tells us what attitude we should have when we encounter trials in life, for He tells us to be joyful in our trial. In the previous passage we saw that, in the natural, a trial is anything but a joyful experience. Nevertheless James teaches us that the reason believers are to consider their trial a joyful experience is because they know that the trial is working to their benefit, for it is only through trials that the fruit of patience can be developed. In other words the spirits of the saints become more fruitful through the trial, for one of the fruits of the spirit is patience (Galatians 5:22). Nevertheless James also teaches us in this passage that it is ultimately our faith that is being tested in the trial. And so we see that the saint that resists the devil by standing firm in their faith will eventually see the devil give up and depart from them.
Michael E.B. Maher
Comments