We don’t face an imaginary foe. Jesus battled with the evil one in his 40 days of temptation (Mark 1:9-13). Luke reminds us, however, that this was not the end of the battle, that when the right moment came again, the foe of righteousness and grace would return: “When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time” (Luke 9:13). This deceptive foe, who sometimes disguises himself as an angel of light and even using “pretend” miracles (2 Corinthians 11:14; 2 Thessalonians 2:9), put it into the heart of Judas to betray the Lord Jesus (John 13:2). The apostle Paul called this foe “the prince of the power of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the hearts of those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2). Jesus acknowledged that in his battle with the devil, that devil was actually “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31). Far from being imaginary, he is real and powerful!

    This deceptive foe, whose desire is to have us, is often “crouching at our door” ready to spring his tempting traps on us (Genesis 4:7). He is the father of lies and deception; untruth is his native language (John 8:44). He is the source of sin and has been a sinner, doing his evil work and leading others to do evil since the beginning (1 John 3:8-10). His goal is our destruction and death (see the life of the demonic before Jesus’ liberation in Mark 5:1-20). He uses illness to oppress us (Acts 10:38). He uses death to defeat and wound God’s people (Hebrews 2:15). This is why Jesus counts death as his enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26) and says our foe was a “murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44).

    Our wicked enemy opposes the gospel, trying to steal it from the hearts of those who are considering the message of salvation and grace (Luke 8:5, 12). He also opposes the ministry and mission efforts of God’s servants (1 Thessalonians 2:18). He uses our own desires to lure and entice us to sin (James 1:13-15). He tempts us to sin (1 Corinthians 7:5), using all sorts of crafty and deceptive plans to bring us down (2 Corinthians 2:11). He even entices faithful Christians to stray after him so he can revile God’s people (1 Timothy 5:5). He desires to gain a foothold in our hearts (Ephesians 4:26-27). He even tries to snare the hearts of leaders in God’s church, capturing them to do his vile and evil will (2 Timothy 2:26), to bring reproach on themselves and the Kingdom of God (1 Timothy 3:6-7). This evil foe is behind the torture, persecution, arrest, and death of God’s servants (Revelation 2:10). He goes around like a roaring lion, trying to devour as many human hearts as he can reach (1 Peter 5:8).

    Paul summarizes our battle against our evil foe this way:

We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. (Ephesians 6:12)

So can we win the battle over the evil one? Yes!

    So can we win the battle over the evil one? Are there answers for his attacks? With such a powerful, deceptive, and evil foe, and with such vulnerability to temptation, can we ever defeat our enemy?

    Yes! Yes we can be victorious. God doesn’t allow temptation to be thrown at us that we cannot overcome and for which we cannot find a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). God will rescue us from temptation if we seek him (2 Peter 2:9). This doesn’t mean that it will be easy, but we do have the assurance that the One in us is greater than our evil foe who controls the world of sin and death (1 John 4:4). With this holy presence, can win the battle of sin and put to death its evil desires and deeds in us (Romans 8:13). To win the battle over Satan, we need to humble ourselves before God, draw near to him, and submit to his will and resist the devil (James 4:7). We can put on our spiritual armor to battle the wicked one and defeat him, intentionally laying aside wickedness and sin (Romans 13:13-14; Ephesians 6:10-19).

    Jesus’ won the battle over Satan at the Cross, and also accomplished victory for us and gave us power to defeat the devil in our personal lives (John 12:31). That power becomes ours when we confess Christ as Lord, die to our sin, and are raised by the power of God to a new life (Romans 6:1-14; Colossians 2:12-3:4). In the Cross, Jesus took what Satan had intended to use to defeat God and turned it into a time when evil, in all of its forms and with all of its power, was humiliated (Colossians 2:15). Now, by the power of the Spirit and through the grace of God that is ours in Jesus, we are set free from the power of the evil one to use sin to destroy us and law to condemn us (Romans 7:24-8:4). We are given the victory in Jesus Christ through the power our Lord’s resurrection, with the assurance that our lives are not lived in vain (1 Corinthians 15:57-58).

    Yes, our foe is real and his powers are great. But in Christ, we have the victory. Let’s resist the evil one. Let’s not give the devil a foothold in our lives. Let’s submit to God humbly, seeking his power and submitting to his will. Let’s live confidently that salvation is ours in Jesus. And as we finish, let’s close with two great passages from God’s Word; the first is a promise the second is a prayer of praise, both of which remind us of our victory over our ancient foe.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (Romans 16:20)

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 24-25)

Title: "No Imaginary Foe!"
Author: Phil Ware
Publication Date: October 29, 2001

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