1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (9) Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”
In this section we want to discuss the biblical truth that Satan is the adversary of the church and what the ramifications of that truth are. We have already seen in the previous section that because Satan is the god of this world all unbelievers are therefore subject to his rule. It is important to note that because the spirit realm governs the natural realm, mankind is completely powerless to oppose the devil’s rule in any way. Nevertheless there is a group of people in the earth today over which the devil has no authority, which is the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is precisely because believers are not subject to Satan’s rule that they are the greatest threat to his reign in the earth. So why does the church pose such a threat to Satan’s reign in the earth? The reason is because the church’s mission is completely opposed to the devil’s agenda, for whereas Satan and his angels are focused on destroying mankind, the church is focused on saving mankind. Therefore by default the church is working against the devil and his angels. And so Satan does everything in his power to destroy the church, which is why the above quoted passage of scripture refers to him as our adversary. In this passage the apostle Peter reveals a number of truths to us about our adversary, i.e. how he operates and how believers can deal with him. Peter opens his statement with an admonition for the saints to be sober and vigilant because the god of this world’s agenda is the destruction of the saints. Peter goes on to teach us that Satan walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. It is important to note that this passage declares that the devil seeks whom he “may” devour, thus implying that he can only devour those who choose not to resist him steadfast in the faith. Peter goes on in this passage to equate the devil’s roaring to suffering experienced by the saints. And so we see that Satan’s mode of operation against the saints is to initiate some form of suffering in the life of the believer to determine how they will react. As this passage declares, Satan has no recourse against the believer who chooses to resist him steadfast in the faith during their hour of trial. In other words he is unable to devour them. Obviously, for the believer who chooses not to resist him during their hour of trial the outcome will be very different.
Ephesians 6:10-13 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. (11) Put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (13) 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.”
In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul gives us numerous insights into the church’s ongoing conflict with the devil as the god of this world. In this passage Paul admonishes the believer to put on the whole armour of God. And so God would not instruct His saints to put on His armour if we were not at war. Clearly believers are at war, and this passage identifies the devil as our enemy and this world in which we live as the war zone. We see in this passage that although ultimately the believer’s enemy is Satan himself, that the devil has a whole cohort of angels arrayed against us. For the scripture describes the various levels of angelic authorities that exist in Satan’s kingdom, starting at the lowest level and ending with the highest level of authority in his kingdom i.e. principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and then finally spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. It is important to note that no saint is excluded from this conflict, for this passage declares that all believers, not just a select few, are in a wrestling match against the devil and his angels. In this passage the Holy Spirit reveals two strategies that the devil uses against the believer in this conflict, for He mentions the wiles of the devil and the evil day. The wiles of the devil would be the various temptations that the devil places before the saint to try draw them aside from their walk of righteousness. And the evil day would be the sufferings that the apostle Peter spoke about earlier. In both instances the Holy Spirit counsels the saint to stand their ground and to give no place to the devil. Twice in this passage the apostle Paul admonishes the saints to put on the whole armour of God, thus emphasizing the fact that without God’s armour the saints are no match for the devil and his angels.
Revelation 12:13-17 “Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. (14) But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. (15) So, the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. (16) But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. (17) And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
The above quoted passage of scripture describes an event that will take place at the end of the age, i.e. Satan attempting to destroy the nation of Israel when he and his angels are finally cast out of heaven. The woman in this passage represents the nation of Israel and the dragon represents the devil. This passage goes on to show us that because Satan’s attempt to destroy Israel will prove to be unsuccessful at that time, that he will then turn his attention to waging war against those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ i.e. the church. And so this passage highlights two entities in the earth which the devil continually tries to destroy, i.e. Israel and the church. We have already discussed the reasons why Satan tries to destroy the church, but why does he also try to destroy the nation of Israel? Israel is unique because God has chosen that nation to fulfil His purposes in the earth. And so in an attempt to thwart God’s purposes in the earth, Satan continuously tries to destroy the nation of Israel. Unlike the church however, Israel has no ability to resist the devil’s actions and is not even aware of his actions against them. So how does Israel survive? I want you to notice that this passage declares that the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth to swallow the flood which spewed out of the dragon’s mouth. And so we see that whenever the devil attempts to destroy her, in His sovereignty, God intervenes to protect the nation of Israel. Although this passage refers to a future event, it still confirms the truth that for different reasons, Satan continuously tries to destroy both the nation of Israel and the church. And so we see that Satan remains the adversary of the church.
Michael E.B. Maher
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