“We are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Cor. 2:11). We are not ignorant of his devices. Satan’s game plan is spelled out throughout Scripture, detailing his maneuvers, schemes, and wiles to deceive and ensnare, including Scripture-based spiritual warfare verses that prepare believers for the battle.
His devices. We know his maneuvers, his designs, his schemings, his wiles, and how resourceful he is. (Those are all different ways the Greek for “devices” is translated in various versions; see Core truths of spiritual warfare.)
Look at it this way. Satan is no fool. He has been studying human nature from the early days of the human race. He knows human psychology to a degree that any university in the land can only imagine. If they gave doctorates to serpents, he would have degrees out the wazoo. He is one smart dude.
He knows you.
The question before us today, class, is this: Do you know him? Do you pay attention to how he works?
There are two extremes to avoid: Going to seed on Satan and seeing him in everything, everywhere is one extreme; and completely ignoring him is the other. There’s a balance somewhere in the middle where God’s people should take our stand.
If you are trying to do right, to live for God, to resist the encroaching infiltration of the world, then you are in his crosshairs. He has targeted you.
You’d better learn how he works and how to resist him.
Please note that I am not recommending that any of us specialize on the Devil.
I’ve known a few ministers and a larger number of laypeople who seemed to focus on this archenemy. Every sermon they preached, every conversation they held, they talked about the Devil far more than the Lord Jesus. Not a good thing. The Bible tells us to resist him (James 4:7), not to specialize on him.
We do far better by concentrating on the Lord Jesus Christ and obeying Him. However, if we do that effectively, we will soon encounter the adversary. From that moment on, we’ll be learning lessons about Satan whether we like it or not.
Here are some of the wicked works Scripture teaches that the Devil is always engaged in:
1. Blinding the Mind (2 Cor. 4:3–4)
Someone says to you, “I just don’t get it. I don’t understand the Scriptures when I read them.”
Nothing unusual about that. Paul says the natural man does not “get it” (1 Cor. 2:14).
We remember how Peter asked the official from Ethiopia whether he understood what he was reading from the Scriptures. He answered, “How can I, unless someone teach me?” (Acts 8:31).
So, then, the work of the Devil—blinding the minds of those who receive God’s word—turns into an opportunity for God’s children.
The next time you encounter someone who has been coming to church or reading Scripture or listening to preachers on television but who has not yet committed his/her life to Christ, ask, “Do you understand?” If they don’t, there is your opening. See if you can talk with them about it, or if they would like to attend a Bible study with you.
Their spiritual blindness is your opportunity.
2. Contending With the Saints (Eph. 6:12)
This is a warfare we are engaged in with the Devil. It’s not a scrimmage, not maneuvers, not a rehearsal for anything, and definitely not practice. The Enemy is dead serious and we ought to be also. Too many of the Lord’s children approach spiritual warfare as though it were a video game.
I don’t know about other cultures, but in America, we play so many games that we end up blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. In New Orleans, the Saints play football, the Pelicans play basketball, the Zephyrs play baseball, and all kinds of college and lesser sports go on throughout the year. Add to that, people play fantasy football and fantasy baseball nonstop.
As though the actual games themselves were not fantasy enough.
The warfare with Satan is the real thing. It’s not for statues or chips or awards or plaques or honors. It’s for eternity. The souls of men and women hang in the balance.
This is for keeps. It’s a wise person who knows what is real and what is make-believe and orders his life accordingly.