The Schemes of the Devil
January 14/15, 2023
Daniel Im

Who is the devil?

"The ‘wiles [schemes] of the devil’ take many forms, but he is at his wiliest [deceitful advantage] when he succeeds in persuading people that he does not exist. To deny his reality is to expose ourselves the more to his subtlety. Dr Lloyd-Jones expresses his conviction on this matter in the following terms: ‘I am certain that one of the main causes of the ill state of the Church today is the fact that the devil is being forgotten. All is attributed to us; we have all become so psychological in our attitude and thinking. We are ignorant of this great objective fact, the being, the existence of the devil, the adversary, the accuser, and his “fiery darts”.’ - John Stott

The devil is:
· The ruler of a host of angels (Mt 25:41)
· The controller of the world (Lk 4:6; Acts 26:18; 2 Cor 4:4), who especially governs all who are not Christians (Mk 4:15; Jn 8:44; Acts 13:10; Col 1:13)
· Opposed to God and seeks to alienate all people from God; therefore, he is an especially dangerous foe of Christians (Lk 8:33; 1 Cor 7:5; 1 Pt 5:8), who must steadfastly resist him and see through his cunning (2 Cor 2:11; Eph 6:11; Jas 4:7)

The devil works his evil will by:
· Tempting persons (Jn 13:2; Acts 5:3)
· Hindering God’s workers (1 Thes 2:18)
· Accusing Christians before God (Rv 12:10)
· Controlling evil persons who resist the gospel (2 Thes 2:9; Rv 2:9, 13; 13:2)

Where is the devil? What is his fate?
· He has now been bound and cast out of heaven through the ministry of Jesus (Lk 10:18; Rv 12)
· He can still cause physical illness when allowed by God (2 Cor 12:7), and persons can be delivered over to him for punishment (1 Cor 5:5; 1 Tm 1:20)
· He will always be under God’s control, who will eventually destroy him (Rom 16:20; Rv 20:10)
· (Adapted from the Tyndale Bible Dictionary)

When it comes to the schemes of the devil:

1. Be strong
· Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. (Ephesians 6:10 CSB)
· I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, (Ephesians 3:16 CSB)

2. Put on the full armour of God
· Put on the full armour of God…For this reason take up the full armour of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. (Ephesians 6:11a, 13 CSB)
· The Lord advances like a warrior; he stirs up his zeal like a soldier. He shouts, he roars aloud, he prevails over his enemies. (Isaiah 42:13 CSB)
· You have clothed me with strength for battle; you subdue my adversaries beneath me. (Psalm 18:39 CSB)

3. Stand against
· Put on the full armour of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. (Ephesians 6:11-12 CSB)
· The spiritual forces against us are powerful, wicked, and cunning