Satan

“For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the Devil who had the power of death.”                                                                                                                           Hebrews 2:14 NLT

There are three errors we need to avoid when thinking about Satan. First we must not think of him as a comic creature: someone in a red union suit with horns and a tail. Second, we must not give him too much attention; Jesus has defeated him, and as Jesus’ followers Satan must not dominate our thinking. But third, we must not forget him. He still has power in this world; he still wants to rule every human being whom God has made for love; he still means to turn us aside from following Jesus in every way he can. “He is the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God” (Eph 2:2). So we must “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8). This is the reason we must be fully armored at all times: “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand against all the strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and unseen authorities of the unseen world,…” (Eph 6:11-12).

There are several things to remind ourselves about Satan: he is a creature, that means he is not present everywhere; he has to work through those spirits that are subject to him. It also means he does not know everything about you and your resources. Finally, it means he does not have inifinite power; he cannot do anything he wants. Jesus has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness (the Devil’s kingdom) to the kingdom of light (Jesus’s kingdom) (Col 1:13). All this is good news, but it ought not to delude us into thinking that our problems are in the realm of the physical and the material. They are not, they are in the spiritual realm. To be sure, he uses the physical, but that’s not where the threat lies. We Have an Enemy who, Though He Cannot be Seen, is Real! Don’t Forget Him and Don’t Give Him an Inch!