“And He said unto them, ‘I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enenmy.” Luke 10:18,19
The Lord Jesus told His disciples on one occasion, that He was sending them forth as sheep among wolves. The Apostle Peter spoke of Satan being like a roaring lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour. The Apostle John in the book of Revelation calls Satan “the great Dragon,” who was cast out of heaven. He was cast out upon the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. John goes on to write that this dragon is at war with Israel, and those who are the true seed of Abraham, true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. His objective is to kill and to destroy, “…having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath a short time,” until the final battle, and judgment. So, how does a believer overcome this enemy which has such powers to deceive, oppose, hindering the testimony of God in His people? The answer begins with a knowledge of who God is, what we are, and what Satan is NOT.
As to God, Scripture tells that He IS the great I AM, Almighty God, possessing heaven and earth. With the coming of Christ to earth, and that singular moment when He cried, “It is finished,” we have revealed the Fathers’ perfect and only solution in dealing with Satan, overcoming him on earth, as he has been overcome in the world by Christ. The believer also must see, grasp, and take his stand upon the truth of the sovereignty of God, His almighty power and authority, by which He cast Satan out of heaven. This was after a war in heaven between Satan and God, his angels and those of Christ. God first reveals to us that Satan is a defeated foe in heaven, and being cast down to earth, will be revealed as a defeated foe by the cross and sacrifice of Christ.
Beyond this vision of the Almighty God, sovereign over all, we must grasp in the measure that we can by the Spirit, that He is perfect, and that He requires perfect to be accepted before Him. The presence of one small sin is enough to keep us from knowing God, for He being perfect, can only receive that which is perfect. Hence, Christ came to this earth to accomplish a perfect sacrifice of Himself, providing for man a perfect salvation in the testimony of His shed blood. God can only accept us if we are perfect in righteousness, without a flaw. In Christ, this has become a reality. However, with regard to one’s walk, can one be perfect? The climb to perfection in one’s fellowship with Christ is one that is only possible by faith in the faithfulness of God. The believer is saved by the faith that God gives to the seeking and repentant heart. That same faith is the means by which the believer appropriates the perfect life of Christ. His obective is perfection, for the heavenly Father is perfect, and commands us to be such. Sinful man is not perfect in his walk, and he still acts and speaks independently of the Father and of Christ. Though he is limited, and sometimes either falls or fails, there is great potential and possibilities. As he looks to Christ, who is his life, there is wonderful forgiveness and cleansing with confession to God, and repentance towards the Lord Jesus.
Overcoming the enemy is only possible if we deal with the matter of perfection. The saints of old overcame the accuser of the brethren by relying wholly, and only, upon the precious blood of Christ, for in it is the perfect righteousness of the believer. It is as the believer, relying wholly upon the Spirit of God for strength, takes his stand of faith in Christ alone, that he is able to overcome and reign in life by Christ, having the power to resist and overcome.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to believe. In Jesus’ name, Amen.