How to Stand Against Satan
By Dr. J. Vernon McGee
One of the most remarkable passages in the Word of God is found in the sixth chapter of Ephesians:
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." (Ephesians 6:10-18)
You and I are engaged in a staggering struggle in which angels and demons are involved. We are participants in a battle for survival, light and darkness, right and wrong, justice and injustice, liberty and slavery. God and Satan have clashed in a duel that has eternal consequences. It’s greater than any world war. In fact, a world war is very small compared to it. The armies of heaven and of hell are in a death grip. And even if we had a world ruler who could bring war to an end and could conclude in victory the war against poverty, may I say to you, this universal and titanic struggle between God and Satan would continue because even he could not stop that. The Christian today is told in unmistakable terms that he is drafted into the army of the Lord and that war is declared, the enemy is identified, the armies are drawn up in battle array and there will be no truce. God has said He will never accept the white flag of surrender from sin. He intends to drive it from His universe. He intends to completely eliminate sin out of this world in which we live. Therefore, we want to look at this struggle as it relates to you and me, for we are involved in it and any of us can say, “It’s my struggle.”
Paul begins here by saying, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” This is a battle in which your physical strength and your human best are not enough. In fact, if that’s all you’re bringing into the battle, you have too little too late and it will mean defeat for you. You and I need the power of the Lord, and it’s only in the power of His might that there is any possibility of victory.
We’re told to “put on the whole armor of God.” Why? That we might “be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Paul is playing upon two Greek words which we miss in our English translations. Let me spell it out like this: He says, “Put on the whole panoplia of God, that you may be able to stand against the methodia of the devil.” He is putting those two words in apposition. The armor of God is the panoplia you and I need in order to overcome the methodia or, as our translation has it, “the wiles of the devil.” And the Word of God gives us a detailed description of this armor in this passage in Ephesians. Now this is the same struggle that Paul wrote about over in Romans:
And that, knowing the timech, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11, 12)
We need this armor because of the fact that we are living in the last days and because we have advanced far into the night — I do not think anyone would dispute the point that at this time in history we are far along toward a crisis, a crisis that evidently God is going to enter into directly. There are many today who believe that God is going to take some specific action as it relates to this earth. As far as we can tell, for nineteen hundred years He’s had a hands-off policy, but there is coming a day when He will intervene.
Because of the present darkness Paul says we are to “put on the armor of light.” And it’s because of the methodia, the wiles, of the devil. The devil will not fight fair. He will use every subtle weapon at his disposal. To begin with, his power and wisdom are far above ours — we’re no match for him. And added to that, of course, is the fact that he will not fight fair. The Lord Jesus Himself said Satan is a liar and a murderer from the beginning, and he’ll use those two methods against God’s children. He tried to get at Job,
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand…. (Job 1:12)
And when Job withstood the initial assaults, finally Satan said in effect, “I gotta get to him.” So God said, “You can bring him down but you cannot take his life.” This enemy of ours, I’m confident, would eliminate every child of God if God permitted him to do it.
Recognize Satan’s Methodia...
Complete Study:
www.blueletterbible.org
By Dr. J. Vernon McGee
One of the most remarkable passages in the Word of God is found in the sixth chapter of Ephesians:
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, with which ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." (Ephesians 6:10-18)
You and I are engaged in a staggering struggle in which angels and demons are involved. We are participants in a battle for survival, light and darkness, right and wrong, justice and injustice, liberty and slavery. God and Satan have clashed in a duel that has eternal consequences. It’s greater than any world war. In fact, a world war is very small compared to it. The armies of heaven and of hell are in a death grip. And even if we had a world ruler who could bring war to an end and could conclude in victory the war against poverty, may I say to you, this universal and titanic struggle between God and Satan would continue because even he could not stop that. The Christian today is told in unmistakable terms that he is drafted into the army of the Lord and that war is declared, the enemy is identified, the armies are drawn up in battle array and there will be no truce. God has said He will never accept the white flag of surrender from sin. He intends to drive it from His universe. He intends to completely eliminate sin out of this world in which we live. Therefore, we want to look at this struggle as it relates to you and me, for we are involved in it and any of us can say, “It’s my struggle.”
Paul begins here by saying, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” This is a battle in which your physical strength and your human best are not enough. In fact, if that’s all you’re bringing into the battle, you have too little too late and it will mean defeat for you. You and I need the power of the Lord, and it’s only in the power of His might that there is any possibility of victory.
We’re told to “put on the whole armor of God.” Why? That we might “be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Paul is playing upon two Greek words which we miss in our English translations. Let me spell it out like this: He says, “Put on the whole panoplia of God, that you may be able to stand against the methodia of the devil.” He is putting those two words in apposition. The armor of God is the panoplia you and I need in order to overcome the methodia or, as our translation has it, “the wiles of the devil.” And the Word of God gives us a detailed description of this armor in this passage in Ephesians. Now this is the same struggle that Paul wrote about over in Romans:
And that, knowing the timech, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11, 12)
We need this armor because of the fact that we are living in the last days and because we have advanced far into the night — I do not think anyone would dispute the point that at this time in history we are far along toward a crisis, a crisis that evidently God is going to enter into directly. There are many today who believe that God is going to take some specific action as it relates to this earth. As far as we can tell, for nineteen hundred years He’s had a hands-off policy, but there is coming a day when He will intervene.
Because of the present darkness Paul says we are to “put on the armor of light.” And it’s because of the methodia, the wiles, of the devil. The devil will not fight fair. He will use every subtle weapon at his disposal. To begin with, his power and wisdom are far above ours — we’re no match for him. And added to that, of course, is the fact that he will not fight fair. The Lord Jesus Himself said Satan is a liar and a murderer from the beginning, and he’ll use those two methods against God’s children. He tried to get at Job,
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand…. (Job 1:12)
And when Job withstood the initial assaults, finally Satan said in effect, “I gotta get to him.” So God said, “You can bring him down but you cannot take his life.” This enemy of ours, I’m confident, would eliminate every child of God if God permitted him to do it.
Recognize Satan’s Methodia...
Complete Study:
How to Stand Against Satan by Dr. J. Vernon McGee
Dr. J. Vernon McGee :: How to Stand Against Satan
www.blueletterbible.org
