Ephesians 6:10-12 (ESV) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”[1] ~ C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Our Three Enemies: the devil, the flesh, the world
John 8:43-45 (ESV) Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
Jesus’s teaching on the devil:
- He is a real, immaterial, but intelligent being.
- His end goal is to spread ruin in our souls and society.
- His primary means is lies.
“The devil” — “diabolos”, “the accuser.”
the satan, the evil one, the tempter, the destroyer, the deceiver, the prince of demons, the lord of flies, the prince of the power of the air, the great dragon…who deceives the whole world, the ancient serpent…who leads the whole world astray.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
“The devil’s strategy: deceitful ideas that play to disordered desires that are normalized in a sinful society.”[2] ~ John Mark Comer
Colossians 2:13-15 (ESV) And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
John 8:44 (ESV) You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
“There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan.”[3] ~ C. S. Lewis
John 8:31-32 (ESV) So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
[1] C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: Macmillan, 1982), 3.
[2] John Mark Comer, Live No Lies
[3] C.S. Lewis, Christian Reflections, ed. Walter Hooper (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1967), 41.