Has the Devil got you?

Jesus taught that all evil comes from within, out of the heart of man (Mark 7:20-23).

Temptation does not come from the devil (ie the popular misconception of a supernatural evil being); it comes from a person submitting to his own lust, his own desires (James 1:14,15).

“It is not in man that walks to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).  We need to be shown the way.

We have to deal with the problem of sin within ourselves, but our Saviour can help us.

 

Don’t fear a supernatural devil, a fallen angel!

Angels can’t fall.  They are immortal and cannot die.

They do not marry – so it was not the angels that married the daughters in Genesis chapter 6.  Jesus says so (Luke 20:35-36).

 

Jesus uses the terms of devil and satan to apply to ordinary people with wrong desires.

He calls Peter “satan” (Matthew16:23), because on this occasion, Peter contradicted his Lord.  He was “an adversary” to Jesus.  Satan means ‘adversary, opponent’.

 

The word “devil” was saved for Judas, who betrayed him.  (John 6:70).  The word ‘devil’ is from the Greek word “diabolos”; it means ‘slanderer, false accuser’. When we say someone is diabolical, we mean they are evil, false.

 

Don’t fear. Jesus possessed our nature, but he never succumbed to it, for he never sinned. By overcoming the desires of his own nature, Jesus never allowed temptation to lead to sin. In his death as a sacrifice he destroyed the power of sin, the Biblical devil, as far as he was concerned. Not long after his burial, his Father raised him to immortal life. So he became the living Saviour and Mediator for all who turn to God for the forgiveness of their sins. When he returns from heaven, he will change their bodies to immortal bodies like his own glorious body (Philippians 3:20-21). In this way the triumph of Christ over sin and death will be complete.

 

The power of death is called sin (Romans 8:3), or the devil (Hebrews 2:14). The following references shows how the term “devil” is equated with “sin”.  

 

“The devil has the power of death (Heb 2:14)

parallel with

“Sin brings forth death” (James 1:15)

“That through death he might destroy the devil” (Heb 2:14)

parallel with

“He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Heb 9:26)

“Why has Satan filled thine heart” (Acts 5:3)

parallel with

“Why have you conceived this in thine heart” (Acts 5:4)

“According to the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2)

parallel with

“According to the course of this world” (Ephesians 2:2)

“The spirit that now works in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2)

parallel with

“The desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Ephesians 2:3)

“Taken captive by the devil at his will” (2 Timothy 2:26)

parallel with

“Every man tempted is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:14)

“The children of the devil” (1 John 3:10)

parallel with

“The children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2)

“Stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11)

parallel with

“Put off the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22)

“The god of this world hath blinded their minds” (2 Cor 4:4)

parallel with

“Loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10)

“Deliver us from the evil one” (Matt 6:13)

parallel with

“Deliver us from this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4)

“The children of the wicked one” (Matt 13:38

parallel with

“The children of this world” (Luke 20:34)

“Overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:14)

parallel with

“Overcome the world” (1 John 5:5)

“Keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15)

parallel with

“Keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27)

“He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan” (Revelation 20:2)

parallel with

“The lamb shall overcome them (the ten kings)” (Revelation 17:14)

  

 

 (Table extracted from a Christadelphian Bible Finger Post)