(8) Our dealings with the devil" (part 2)

Greetings Brethren,

Last Lord's Day we addressed the role of satan in leading Adam and Eve into their sin and then we rehearsed the results of their fall into sin. In his one sin Adam had exchanged his exalted role and position in the kingdom of God to a degraded and servile subject in the kingdom of satan, the kingdom which Adam's sin had let loose upon the world. Thankfully when people come to repent of their sin and believe on Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, the Lord recovers and restores them, even elevating them beyond what they had lost in Adam. Christians gain back more in Jesus Christ than what they lost through Adam's fall into sin. Upon conversion God the Father snatches His people out of the kingdom of darkness and translates them into the kingdom of His dear Son (cf. Col. 1:13). Nevertheless, we continue to live in this fallen world, which is the sphere of the devil's domain. We contend with him continuously as we seek to live for Christ and order our lives according to the rule of Jesus Christ our King. Now the subject which we addressed last week was largely the manner in which the devil administers his kingdom and perpetuates his ways in this world and among the Lord's people. We thought that it was appropriate for today that whereas we addressed last week how the devil deals with us, this week we would address how we are to deal with the devil--how we may best equip ourselves first to recognize him and then to withstand him.