1 John 3:8 (AMP)
The one who practices sin [separating himself from God, and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion] is of the devil [and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God]; for the devil has sinned and violated God’s law from the beginning.
The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
So, dear readers, our next question is, what exactly are the works of the devil?
Well, the answer to this question is quite simple: to destroy anything and everything that God has created!
Let’s confirm this with scripture.
1 Peter 5:8 (AMP)
Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.
John 10:10 (NIV)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 8:44 (NIV)
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The devil or Satan as he is often referred to, has always been the enemy of man since the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden. He lied to Eve, and this led to both her and Adam falling into sin – they disobeyed God because they listened to the lie of Satan! Sin in all its forms is thus considered to be “the works of the devil.” And whoever sins follows the way of the devil!
Unredeemed man, because of sin, is separated from God, which is spiritual death, eternal separation from God. Man can only be redeemed from sin by accepting Jesus as his Lord and Saviour! So, the work of the devil is to destroy all of God’s creation, and in particular to destroy man who is described as being the “apple of God’s eye.” The devil hates man with a passion and will never let up trying to destroy him until he is finally bound in Hell along with all who follow his ways!
Zechariah 2:8 (NIV)
For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—
So, that’s enough about Satan’s failed mission, let’s now move on to how Jesus has destroyed the work of Satan and how He empowers us, His Church, to do the same!
Let’s do this by examining the scriptures in an orderly fashion and by taking our victory stance in our Christian walk by following our saviour’s example!
We are often tempted to commit sin in the various life situations we find ourselves. How did Jesus overcome temptation? Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil, this shows us that although he was God, he was also fully human and would face temptation just as we are, and his actions show us how we can overcome temptation!
Luke 4:1-12 (NIV)
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
One of the many names that the devil has in the bible is the ‘tempter’, temptation is one of his favourite ways to lead man into sin! In the above verses, he tries this tactic with Jesus but to no avail. What I notice in the above verses is that Jesus shows us by practical example how temptation is resisted:
1. Be filled with the Holy Spirit and be led by Him alone – verse 1.
2. Fasting can bring us spiritual strength – verse 2
3. The devil will try and get you to doubt who you are in Christ Jesus, “…if you..” – verses 3 and 9. You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.
4. Knowledge of the Bible is the “food” that feeds our spiritual growth – verse 4.
5. The devil will show you things that appeal to the flesh, not the spirit – verse 5.
6. The devil will appeal to your social vanity to get you to sin – verse 6.
7. The devil will tempt you to worship him by you worshiping worldly things – verse 7.
8. We must worship and serve God alone! – verse 8.
9. Don’t do anything just to test God. Keep your motives pure. – verses 9-12.
10. When you resist the devil, he will leave you but be on your guard because he will come back! – verse 13.
The lesson we can learn from this passage is: Know who you are in Christ Jesus, know the Bible, worship God only, be completely submissive to the Father’s will and resist the devil so that he will flee. This is the lifestyle that enables us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to lead victorious lifestyles and be overcomers of the devil as Jesus is!
James 4:7 (NIV)
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Romans 8:37-39 (NIV)
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we are in Christ Jesus (born-again) we reside in God’s perfect love and perfect love drives out all fear. We no longer need to fear anything that we face, not even death! For death for those in Christ Jesus has lost its sting.
1 John 4:18 (AMP)
18 There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love].
1 Corinthians 15:54-58 (NIV)
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[Isaiah 25:8]
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”[Hosea 13:14]
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
In Christ Jesus we have total victory over the works of the devil. The devil’s ultimate aim is to murder us by enticing us to deny Jesus and thus causing us to live our lives in sin without the hope of redemption that Jesus provides mankind. This is death – eternal separation from God in Hell!
But thanks be to God, Jesus overcame death on the cross at calvary. He took the sin of mankind upon himself – He died for me and you! But by the power of the Holy Spirit, God resurrected Jesus on the third day and because of this, those of us that are born again and have repented of our sin and have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour are also able to partake in the resurrection and have victory over death and receive eternal life!
1 Corinthians 15:42-48 (NIV)
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
Romans 6:5-7 (NIV)
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
And last but by no means least, Jesus has given us of his authority to also destroy the works of the devil, all we need to do is appropriate His authority and use it by faith in Him to resist the devil.
Luke 10:19 (NIV)
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
“Jesus has destroyed the works of the devil!”
Prayer
Dear Father in Heaven
In the Name of Jesus, I pray that you would protect me from the works of the devil and that you, by your Holy Spirit, would help me to overcome temptation as Jesus did and not offer myself up to sin in any way. Let me not continue to sin as Jesus has saved me from death and help me to exercise the authority I have in Jesus to overcome the devil! Amen.
To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!
Jesus the Name above all names!
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