Satan's Role in the World System (1 John 5)

We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (1 John 5:19)




Despite the existence of countless political, cultural, and social entities in the world, there are in reality only two realms. It is the comforting privilege of believers, in addition to having eternal life, answered prayer, and victory over sin, to know they belong to God. Though they exist in this world, they are not part of it (John 15:19; 17:14); they are children of God (John 1:12--13), "aliens and strangers" (1 Peter 2:11; cf. 1:1, 17; 1 Chron. 29:15; Ps. 119:19; Heb. 11:13), whose true citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20).



On the other hand, the whole world—its politics, economics, education, entertainment, and, above all, its religion—lies in the power of the evil one. The evil world system is hostile to God and believers (John 15:18--19), as John noted earlier in this epistle. It takes its cue from its ruler, Satan (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; cf. Eph. 2:2; 6:12), the archenemy of God and His people. Because the world is completely under Satan's influence, believers must avoid being contaminated by it (2:15--17; cf. James 1:27).

There is no middle ground, no third option. Everyone is part of God's kingdom, or of Satan's. In the words of Jesus, "He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters" (Luke 11:23). Or as James scathingly declares, "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God" (James 4:4).

http://www.macarthurcommentaries.com/

Satan is Smarter

Satan is an enemy defeated but not yet destroyed. We think that we are pretty smart, but Satan has been around longer, seen more and seen smarter people than you, and if you puff yourself up with pride that is the path to your destruction. Pastor Mark Driscoll teaches about Satan's craftiness in this sermon clip taken from Doctrine - What Christians Should Believe. For the entire sermon, visit http://is.gd/9Sy.

The Wiles of the Devil

From Larry @ http://reformationramblings.blogspot.com

I'm currently reading The Christian, His Conflict And His Armour by Charles Simeon. Simeon lived from 1759 - 1836 and was minister of Holy Trinity Church Cambridge for 54 years. He was a contemporary of William Wilberforce and, according to the end notes of the book, was instrumental in encouraging many to give themselves to missionary service.

In chapter two of the book Simeon deals with the wiles of the devil. He says that Satan always has two purposes, to lead men to sin and to keep men from God. He expounds on those two main themes throughout the chapter.

To Lead Men to Sin

• "Satan considers the weak part of every man, and directs his artillery where he may most easily make a breach." We must therefore be aware of our weaknesses in order to know his most likely place of attack.
• "Satan is sure to embrace an opportunity when we are alone, withdrawn from those whose eye would intimidate or whose council would restrain us." We should therefore remain connected to the Body of Christ and pursure discipling relationships that will prevent us from being isolated. Christianity is to to be a lone pursuit.
• "...in leading us to the commission of sin, he will use sometimes the authority of magistrates, of masters, or of parents, and sometimes the influence of our dearest friends or relatives." We must therefore be sure that our final authority is the Word of God and that we are willing to "obey God rather than men" when the council of men conflicts with the Word of God, even if that council is from someone we respect or to whom we are close.
• "He for a time conceals his full purpose: he pleads at first for nothing more than the gratification of the eye, the ear, the imagination." We must always realize that Satan's goal is our enslavement to sin. The attractiveness of sin to our senses is only the bait. If we take that bait and indulge our sensual nature, we are also taking the consequences that go along with that sin - things which are at first hidden from us.

To Keep Men from God

• "He will begin with misrepresenting to his captives their own nature." Simeon says Satan will either try to convince us that we are not that bad and therefore do not need a savior or that we are so bad Christ's work is not sufficient for us. Either way the result is the same.
• "...he will misrepresent to his captives the character of God." Again, Simeon says Satan pursures one of two extremes. He either paints God as too merciful to punish anyone eternally or as unwilling to forgive the most grevious sinners because of the demands of His justice.

I found much wisdom in Simeon's discussion of the wiles of the devil. I also found it interesting that the enemy's tactics have not changed much in the 150 or so years since Simeon wrote this or indeed in the several thousand years or so since he first deceived our first ancestors in the Garden. We would do well to continually remind ourselves of these tactics in order to be prepared for them when they come our way.

Satanic Stratagems (2 Cor. 2.11)

By Sam Storms @ www.enjoyinggodministries.com

When it comes to the life and unity of the body of Christ, Satan is anything but a passive, innocent bystander. Although he may be invisible to the eye and undetected by physical means, you may rest assured that he is present, employing every imaginable device (and some unimaginable) to undermine the integrity of God’s people and to sow seeds of discord and confusion. Paul was himself extremely careful and deliberate in how he sought to resolve the problem in Corinth, lest they all “be outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs” (2 Cor. 5:11).

Make no mistake: Satan has a plan. Although sinful, he is not stupid. He does not act haphazardly or without a goal in view. He had “designs” for the church at Corinth and he most surely does for your congregation today as well. In Ephesians 6:11 Paul referred to the “schemes” (lit., methodia, from which we derive our word “method”) of the Devil. He has cunning and wily stratagems not only for the individual believer but also for the corporate body of Christ. It is essential, therefore, that we be aware of them and fully prepared to respond.

Here in 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 we are made aware of his determination to incite disunity and division. This appears to be an instance in which Satan seeks to exploit the otherwise good intentions of the church. Certain people in Corinth, ostensibly to maintain the purity of the church, were reluctant to forgive and restore the wayward, but now repentant, brother. This harshness would give Satan an opportunity to crush the spirit of the repentant sinner and drive him to despair, most likely resulting in his being forever cut off from the church.

What are some of Satan’s other “designs” and “schemes” and activities in both the church and the world? Here are a few.

1. He works in active opposition to the gospel, blinding the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the truth about Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). There are at least two factors in spiritual blindness: fleshly, sinful, self-resistance to the truth, on the one hand, and satanic/demonic hardening or blinding on the other. Before we ever arrive on the scene with the gospel, Satan is exerting a stupefying influence on the mind of the unbeliever. In other words, we face more than merely intellectual obstacles. We face supernatural opposition. How does Satan do it? There is any number of possibilities. For example:

He distracts them when an opportunity to hear the gospel is at hand: interruptions, day-dreaming, the phone rings, an emergency of some sort, the sudden remembrance of a job or other responsibility that needs immediate attention, the intrusion of a friend (cf. Acts 13:7b-8), etc.

He stirs up hostility and suspicion in the person's mind concerning the competency and integrity of the person presenting the gospel. The unbeliever suddenly imputes sinister motives to the Christian: "He's in it for the money," or "She only wants to gain control over me," or "He's just looking for another notch on his Bible so he can boast to others of one more convert," etc. Sometimes the unbeliever will excuse his/her unbelief by questioning the intellectual and academic credentials of the believer ("he/she is so uneducated; what does he/she know anyway").

Satan also stirs up the non-Christian to distort what is being said into something the speaker never intended (cf. John 2:19-21; 6:48-52; 7:33-36; 8:51-53). He prompts them to draw false conclusions or implications from the gospel that make it seem absurd. He inclines their minds to link the believer with people who've disgraced Christianity in the past, giving him an excuse to reject what is being said (i.e., guilt by association). "All you Christians are just like those hucksters on TV! You're in it for the gold and the glory!"

He puts in their minds all sorts of questions and convinces them that if they can't get completely satisfying answers, Christianity can't be true. Right in the middle of witnessing to someone, he/she suddenly blurts out questions like: "What about evil?" "What about all the hypocrites in the church?" "What about the heathen in Africa?" "Why is there only one way? It seems egotistical." "Why are there so many denominations?"

Just as the gospel is beginning to make sense, Satan stirs up pride or produces feelings of independence and self-sufficiency: "I don't need a religious crutch. I'm my own man!" Before serious consideration is given, Satan snatches the seed of the gospel (Mt. 13:4,18-19) from their mind: on the way home from church the car breaks down, or the conversation turns to politics or sports, or a sexy billboard diverts attention, or something on the radio captivates his mind.

Satan might suddenly prompt him/her to place a higher value on things he/she might lose if one were to become a Christian: friends, fame, money, fleshly pleasures, approval of others. Satan stirs up feelings of hopelessness: "Not even this will work. There's no hope. My life is a lost cause. Not even Jesus can help."

Satan will do all he can to oppose and disrupt missionary endeavors (1 Thess. 2:18), by disrupting travel plans, influencing the minds of state officials to delay or deny the issuing of visas, inflicting illness, provoking military conflict, etc.

2. He is often (but not always) the source of sickness (cf. Acts 10:38; Mt. 8:16; Mark 9:17-18; Luke 13:10-17).

3. He can inflict death as well as provoke the paralyzing fear of it (Heb. 2:14; see Job 1:13-19; John 10:10).

4. He plants sinful plans and purposes in the minds of men (Acts 5:3; John 13:2; Mt. 16:21-23). It is instructive to observe that in the case of Acts 5 "it is not through some act of terrible depravity, but through an act of religious devotion, that Satan brings about the downfall of Ananias and Sapphira. . . . It is sobering to think that the very good that God's people attempt to do can be their undoing" (Sydney Page, 132).

5. On occasion, Satan will himself indwell a person (John 13:27). By speaking of Satan as "entering" Judas, John uses language reminiscent of demonization (cf. Lk. 8:30-33). It is important to note, however, that Judas's motive was also greed and nowhere is he exonerated from his action simply because he was indwelt by the devil.

6. He sets a snare or trap for people, perhaps with a view to exploiting and intensifying their sinful inclinations. According to 1 Timothy 3:6-7, Satan is able to exploit any blemish on the reputation of a Christian leader. In 2 Timothy 2:25-26, Paul appears to speak of believers who have been led astray through false teaching. Satan thus strives to hold people captive to do his will by deceiving them to believe what is false and misleading. If nothing else, this text emphasizes how crucial sound doctrine is.

7. He infiltrates the church and plants within it his own people (Mt. 13:37-39).

8. He tests or tries Christians, the malicious “sifting” “like wheat” of Peter’s faith being an excellent example (Luke 22:31). Clearly, Satan is unable to act outside the parameters established by the will of God but must first ask permission. He wanted to destroy Peter by inciting him to deny Jesus. But God's intent in permitting Satan to do it was altogether different. God's purposes with Peter were to instruct him, humble him, perhaps discipline him, and certainly to use him as an example to others of both human arrogance and the possibility of forgiveness and restoration. This points to the fact that often we cannot easily say "Satan did it" or "God did it". In cases such as this, both are true (with the understanding that God's will is sovereign, supreme, and overriding), but their respective goals are clearly opposite. Sydney Page's comments concerning this incident are important:

"Luke 22:31-32 reveals that Satan can subject the loyalty of the followers of Jesus to severe tests that are designed to produce failure. So intense are the pressures to which Satan is able to subject believers that the faith of even the most courageous may be found wanting. Satan is, however, limited in what he can do by what God permits and by the intercession of Jesus on behalf of his own [cf. Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 1 John 2:1]. Furthermore, those who temporarily falter can be restored and, like Peter, can even resume positions of leadership. It is implied that Satan cannot gain ultimate victory over those for whom Jesus intercedes" (124).

9. He incites persecution, imprisonment, and the political oppression of believers (1 Pt. 5:8-9; Rev. 2:10).

10. He is the accuser of the Christian (Rev. 12:10).

11. He performs signs and wonders to deceive the nations (Exodus; 2 Thess. 2:9-11).

12. He seeks to silence the witness of the church (Rev. 12:10-12).

13. He promotes false doctrine (1 Tim. 4:1-3; Rev. 2:24; 2 Cor. 11:1ff.).

14. He can manipulate the weather (but not by virtue of his own inherent power; it is only to the degree that God permits, as is clear from Job 1:18-19; cf. Mk. 4:37-39).

15. He influences the thoughts and actions of unbelievers (Eph. 2:1-2). It is a stunning thought, similar to that in 1 John 5:18, that Satan is at work in and energizes the disobedience of all unbelievers. This does not mean that all non-Christians are demonized, but it does imply that their unbelief and unrighteous behavior are stimulated and sustained by the enemy. Yet, they remain morally culpable for their actions.

16. He attacks married believers in regard to their sexual relationship (1 Cor. 7:5). Paul approves of the decision by married couples to refrain from sexual relations to devote themselves to prayer, but only for a season. To abstain entirely for a prolonged period of time exposes oneself to unnecessary temptation (i.e., lust and the satisfaction of one's sexual desires outside the bonds of marriage). Again, we see here an example of how the enemy takes an otherwise godly intention and exploits it for his own nefarious purposes.

17. He exploits our sinful decisions, most likely by intensifying the course of action we have already chosen (Eph. 4:26-27). Note that Satan is not credited with or blamed for creating the anger in the first place. We are responsible for it. Satan's response is to use this and other such sins to gain access to our lives and to expand and intensify our chosen course of behavior.

18. He confronts us with various temptations (1 Chron. 21:1; Mt. 6:13; 1 Thess. 3:5).

Yes, Satan has “designs” and “schemes” all of which, in one way or another, are intended to undermine our enjoyment of all that God is for us in Jesus. May God grant us both the wisdom to discern his stratagems and the strength and resolve to resist him at all times.