At first glance, dealing with such a topic is certainly not edifying. Nevertheless, the Bible presents the devil to us as a real, existing being who is always opposed to what has to do with Christ. Therefore, we must not simply ignore such a topic.
The devil is the one who sins from the beginning (1 Jn. 3:8). He is the prince of this world and the god of this age (Jn. 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4). He is powerful, even if not omnipotent. By nature, i.e., from birth, every person is in Satan’s domain. People who have accepted the Lord Jesus have been taken out of the power of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18). They have left the dominion of Satan—characterized by violence and darkness—and are now in the dominion of Christ—characterized by love and light. This change is enormous and a daily reason for deep gratitude and joy for everyone who is now on the side of Christ.
Even if the devil is no longer the ruler (prince) over the believers, it is still true that he is and remains our enemy. He is the great adversary and opponent of Christ, and he does everything he can to harm everyone who has received Christ into their lives. The flesh (the old nature) in us and the world around us are welcome allies for him.
We note: the devil is no longer the ruler of believers. We have been torn from his sphere of power. Nevertheless, he opposes us to harm us. He is our adversary (1 Pet. 5:8). Job’s story makes this very clear to us. But other passages in the Bible also speak of his activities that are directed against believers (compare, for example, Zech. 3:1 and 1 Chr. 21:1). In extreme cases, Satan can even fill the heart of a believer (compare Acts 5:3). His cunning is great, and it is not for nothing that we are called upon to resist these very wiles (Eph. 6:11). It will certainly help us if we know the character of these tactics. In the following, we will therefore look at some of the clues that God gives us in His Word about how Satan appears:
- Lies
The devil is the greatest liar of all. He is called the father of lies (Jn. 8:44). This becomes very clear to us from his first appearance in Genesis 3 in the Garden of Eden. We must always assume that all of the devil’s activities are connected with lies, i.e., that they do not correspond to the real situation. - Deception
Closely connected with the lie is the fact that Satan will always try to deceive people. He disguises himself as an angel of light and sends out his messengers disguised as ministers of righteousness (2 Cor. 11:14-15). Satan’s greatest deception is yet to come (2 Th. 2:9) but the principle already applies today and must make us cautious. - Distortion
This is also closely related to the lie. Satan is a master at twisting the Word of God to suit his plans and then making us believe that God meant it that way. This is what he did in the Garden of Eden when Eve fell for his distortion (Gen. 3:1). He even used this trick in the temptation of the Lord Jesus in the desert when he tried to achieve his goal by quoting from the Old Testament—but without success (Lk. 4:10-11). - Imitation
Augustine rightly called Satan “simius dei,” i.e., an imitator of God. He imitates the divine to irritate us. He caused the magicians in Egypt to imitate the miracles of Moses, and it was also he who sowed a weed in the field similar to the good seed to spoil the harvest (Ex. 7:22; Mt. 13:25, 39). It takes spiritual discernment to recognize the imitation. - Seduction
Satan will always try to seduce believers into evil and independence. It was he who sought to sift the disciples like wheat (Lk. 22:31). He knows our weak points and knows very well which buttons to push (e.g., moral seduction as in 1 Cor. 7:5). The devil has often been successful because we have not been vigilant enough. - Destruction
One of Satan’s goals is to take away the effects of the Word of God. He does not want there to be fruit for God in our lives. If we are not vigilant and do not receive the Word of God in the right way, he snatches away the seed that is planted in our hearts by hearing and reading the Word of God (Mt. 13:19). - Hindrance
Paul and his coworkers had to experience on one occasion how God allowed Satan not only to hinder the work of the Lord but even to prevent it (1 Th. 2:18). Although the missionaries’ intentions were good and their motives pure, Satan prevented them from traveling to Thessalonica. So we, too, must reckon with the fact that Satan is still doing everything he can today to hinder the Lord’s work in one way or another. - Persecution
The Bible shows us the devil not only as the one who attacks covertly and subtly but is also presented to us as a roaring lion who seeks to devour (1 Pet. 5:8). It was in this character that the believers in Smyrna had come to know him, where he had put some in prison (Rev. 2:10). The large number of martyrs reported in church history also speaks for itself in this respect. - Suffering
The story of Job shows us how Satan directly attacks a believer and causes him great physical suffering. Paul was also familiar with such direct attacks by the devil, for an angel of Satan had struck him with a thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7). Nevertheless, the devil can do nothing if God does not allow him to. He is above everything. This also becomes very clear in Job’s story. God determines the measure and also the time.
Conclusion
Paul writes to the Corinthians that Satan’s thoughts are not unknown to us (2 Cor. 2:11). We know what kind of enemy we are dealing with, his intentions and methods, and we should not underestimate him.
To conclude this negative but necessary topic, let us be encouraged by two thoughts:
- Satan is a defeated enemy. The Son of God was revealed so that He could destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn. 3:8). The Lord Jesus has taken away the power of death through death (Heb. 2:14). This happened on the cross of Golgotha. His work there was a triumph over Satan and all the powers of wickedness (Col. 2:15).
- The victory over Satan that has already been won on the cross will soon become visible. Paul writes to the Romans: “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20). He will soon be bound and thrown into the abyss (Rev. 20:3). After that, he will be loosed again for a short time before his eternal fate will be in the lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. 20:7, 10). Satan’s work will then have come to an end for all eternity. What a glorious time that will be!
