The Enemy

C.S. Lewis famously wrote that there are two equal and opposite errors Christians fall into when it comes to the devil. One is to disbelieve in his existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in him.

We have an enemy: Satan, Lucifer or the devil. He is powerful but nowhere near as powerful as God. The first four words of the Bible are “In the beginning, God”, so we know that the devil is a created being. Isaiah shows us that he is a fallen angel (Isaiah 14:13); Colossians 2:15 tells us that Jesus disarmed the powers and authorities making a spectacle of them when He died on the cross. Revelation 20 reveals to us that he will be hurled into hell represented as a lake of burning sulphur on the last day.

These next two Scriptures help us to have a balanced view of Satan and his power.

1 Peter 5:8 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

1 John 4:4 “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
The enemy although ultimately defeated is at large in the world and is on a mission to stop people coming to know God and to hinder those that do. BUT we have a God who is greater, whose Holy Spirit dwells in us.
Roaring lions make a frightful noise, but they look to pick off the weak stragglers. Staying strong in the Lord and rooted in a local church, not isolated and alone are keys to not being devoured!

Pray: Thank God that He that is in you is greater than the devil.

Recommended extra reading

The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis)

‘The Screwtape Letters’ is an iconic classic on spiritual warfare and the power of the devil. This profound and striking narrative takes the form of a series of letters from Screwtape, a devil high in the Infernal Civil Service, to his nephew Wormwood, a junior colleague engaged in his first mission on earth trying to secure the damnation of a young man who has just become a Christian. Although the young man initially looks to be a willing victim, he changes his ways and is ‘lost’ to the young devil. Dedicated to Lewis’s friend and colleague J.R.R. Tolkien, ‘The Screwtape Letters’ is a timeless classic on spiritual conflict and the invisible realities which are part of our religious experience.

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