We cannot defeat the devil by human intellect, cleverness, or force of personality. Defeating the devil is the work of Jesus Christ alone, and that work has been accomplished on the cross.

The Scripture never tells us to go out and take on the devil—to seek him out and pick a fight with him. The truth of God’s Word is that the war has already been won.

Rather, God’s Word urges us to resist the devil. We are to stand firm and withstand his clever tricks that are aimed to entice us and get us off balance, interrupt our stride, and move us to partake of things and experiences that are contrary to God’s plan and purpose for our lives.

God’s Word also admonishes us to live in God’s loving arms, not Satan’s grip. We must place our focus on living in Christ and experiencing the power of Christ in us.

We are never to become so consumed with fighting the devil or engaging in spiritual warfare that we lose sight of the fact that we belong to God almighty—He is our Source, He is our Victor, He is our Ally at all times, He is our Strength and Supply, and He is our Protector and Deliverer.

Our stance must always be, “I cannot defeat the devil. But I can resist him and trust Jesus Christ to defeat him.” We must declare as the apostle Paul declared, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).

The wonderful message of the New Testament is this: “Christ in me and I in Christ.” We must never lose sight of that glorious, empowering truth. Our enemy is strong. But he pales in comparison to the awesome power and majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Charles F. Stanley, When the Enemy Strikes: The Keys to Winning Your Spiritual Battles (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004), 1–2.

We have just released a new Bible Study based on the book: When The Enemy Strikes, by Charles Stanley

These lessons are available on Amazon, as well as a part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking Subscription Service. Like Netflix for Bible Lessons, one low subscription gives you access to all our lessons–thousands of them. For a medium-sized church, lessons are as little as $10 per teacher per year.

 

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