How to Deal with the Devil
See Him for What He Is
The devil never was and never will be an evil counterpart of God. Satan is a created being just like the angels Michael and Gabriel. He has power, but he is way below God in the scheme of things. God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. The devil is none of these. If you are a Christian, he has no right whatsoever to exercise any of his power against you unless you open your mouth and give him the opportunity to do it by speaking things about yourself that contradict God’s Word.
Satan is not omnipotent. If he were, he would have overthrown God and taken over heaven a long time ago. His ability in your life is limited to what you allow Him to do. He will be tormented day and night forever in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). He if were omnipotent, he would be able to get out.
Satan is not omniscient. He cannot read your mind. He only knows what you’re thinking when you’re foolish enough to sit there listening to his thoughts, or when you speak your thoughts. If he had any idea what he was doing, he would never have incited the mob to demand Jesus’ crucifixion. Look where that got him! Satan is a fallen angel, and angels do not know when Jesus is coming back (Matthew 24:36). 1 Peter 1:12 says that angels long to look into the gospel, so you have a better understanding of it than they do. So you have more insight into the Word than the devil does, even if he might be able to quote more of it. Ephesians 3:10 says that the church will make the manifold wisdom of God known to the principalities and powers. That means that they don’t know all of the manifold wisdom of God yet. So obviously, there is plenty that Satan doesn’t know. Even his cohorts the psychics can only know what he tells them, and then many of these future events will only happen if you submit yourself to him by believing his psychics. Satan does not know everything about the future. He has the advantage of being in the spirit realm and being able to see some things coming. But your choices determine your future for you, at least to a large extent, and Satan can’t control your choices. He can only pressure you to make wrong choices.
Satan is not omnipresent. He walks to and fro on the earth (Job 1:7, Job 2:2). He cannot be in more than one place at one time any more than Michael or Gabriel can be at more than one place at one time. He will never “fill all things” as Jesus does (Ephesians 4:9-10). For all eternity Satan will be physically confined to the lake of fire and will not be anywhere else.
When we “resist the devil,” we are actually resisting his wicked spirits because Satan himself will most likely not have time to pay you a personal visit. He’s sort of like the mythical Santa Claus. He can’t be at all the shopping malls at the same time. So when a kid asks how this can be, his parents often explain, “Santa has a lot of helpers.” That is how it is with Satan and his helpers. He isn’t everywhere, but he has helpers who do his bidding on the earth. (I am not recommending that you lie to your children about Santa Claus, by the way. If you do, they may wonder how old they have to be before you tell them that there is no Jesus either.)
Deal with Him as a Defeated Enemy
Jesus defeated Satan for you. He stripped him and his principalities of their power, triumphing over them openly (Colossians 2:15). All angels and powers are subject to Christ (1 Peter 3:22). Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18). Do the math. If Jesus has all authority, how much is left over for the devil? You have been delivered from Satan’s power (Colossians 1:12-14). Jesus, not the devil, holds the keys of hell and death (Revelation 1:18). His atoning death has judged Satan already (John 12:31). The Greater One lives in you, so you have already overcome the antichrist spirits that are in the world (1 John 4:1-4). You have overcome the devil (1 John 2:13-14).
Ephesians 1:15-23:
Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
You sit with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), far above all principality, power, might, dominion, and every name that is named. God has put all things under His feet. Jesus is the head. Where are His feet? On the earth, of course. Jesus, the head, is in heaven, and His Body (the Church) is on the earth. Feet are part of someone’s body, not part of his head. You don’t have feet growing out of your head, do you? So guess what? If all things are under His feet, they are under your feet because you are part of Christ’s body. Do you see that? Satan and all his principalities are under your feet. They have no right to rule over you or affect you in any way. They cannot “stop revival” because they are powerless to do so when the Church rises up and acts on the Word. They do not have to be defeated in prayer because they are already defeated!
Don’t fight Satan! The fight is over. Jesus fought him and won, and you have the victory with Him. You are called to enforce Jesus’ victory over the devil, not to win the victory. Don’t fight for a victory that’s already yours!
Ephesians 4:27 says not to give the devil an opportunity. That shows that it’s up to you to stop him. God promises that if you resist him, he will flee (James 4:7). God commands you to resist the devil, so it is your responsibility, not God’s, to do so. Your faith can overcome all the attacks of the wicked one (Ephesians 6:16). Your faith is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4).
The Name of Jesus
God gave Jesus the name that is above every name. All things everywhere must bow at that name (Philippians 2:9-11). This passage is widely misinterpreted to be talking about some day in the sweet by and by when every knee will bow to Jesus. That isn’t at all what this passage says! This passage is talking about the sweet now and now, and it does not say that anything will bow before Jesus anyway! Read it carefully. Paul said that everything must bow at the name of Jesus!
Who uses the name of Jesus? One thing is for sure, Jesus Himself doesn’t use His name. Jesus bought your victory for you and sat down at the right hand of God. He is not visiting the earth and using His name. Believers use His name. Jesus said that in His name we would do many things, including casting out demons and laying hands on the sick (Mark 16:17-18). Peter told the lame man at the gate Beautiful to rise and walk in the name of Jesus. Then he said that His name, through faith in His name, had healed him. (See Acts 3:1-16.) See The Power in the Name of Jesus for more about this topic.
How to Resist the Devil
The devil never shows up with a red suit, horns and a tail, eating deviled eggs, deviled ham and devil’s food cake and saying, “Hi, I’m the devil. I’m here to steal, kill and destroy.” Instead, the devil and his cohorts use lying thoughts to try to get you out of God’s will and into sin. The battleground is your mind, and you decide who wins. As far as God’s concerned, you have the tools to win right now, but you have to use them. Your mind, not the stratosphere, is the arena where you “wrestle” against wicked spirits.
Do not argue with the devil. Speak the Word to him. Jesus told Satan what was written and Satan didn’t hang around long. He won’t hang around you long if you do the same thing.
Your own thoughts, apart from God’s, will be ineffective. The devil’s realm is reason. He’s been defeated in the spirit realm; that is why he can’t take you on there. He has to try to win his victory in the mental realm. That is why you MUST “renew your mind” (Romans 12:2) with God’s Word. God’s Word is your defensive armor against the devil’s mind games.
God’s Weapons
Ephesians 6:10-18:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Your “weapons” all concern the Word of God – in particular, who you are in Christ. You use the Word to run the devil off just as Jesus did (Luke 4:3-12). Confess who you are in Christ, not what the devil says. Notice especially that Paul did not tell you to “pray against the devil.” He told you to “pray for all saints.” There is a difference! The silly idea of trying to make ruling spirits leave cities using these weapons (5 out of 6 of which are defensive) is covered under How NOT to Deal with the Devil.
There are many other absurd ideas based on this passage. One is that you must “spiritually dress” yourself every morning with the full armor of God. Well, I suppose you need to if you took it off the night before. Actually, this is not talking about any kind of mystical spiritual force field around you. To put on God’s armor is to renew your mind with His Word concerning your salvation. It is not some strange spiritual ritual that you must practice in prayer so that the devil won’t get you. You don’t have to try to "see" a belt of truth around your waist – you know the truth, and the truth makes you free (John 8:32). You don’t have to “see” a breastplate of righteousness on you – you have to know that you are the “righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21) when Satan tries to condemn you and make you feel like an unworthy little worm.
The point Paul made was that instead of natural weapons, you use spiritual weapons against the devil. In modern-day terms, he said, “Take the bulletproof vest of righteousness and the automatic assault rifle of the Word of God (and so on).” There is no deep spiritual significance to the placement and meaning of each piece, so don’t get too carried away. In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, you are told to “put on the breastplate of faith and love.” Oops. Guess the hyper-spiritual folks will have to “put on” and wear two breastplates every morning, because the Ephesians 6 model is “righteousness,” and the 1 Thessalonians 5 model is “faith and love.” For the rest of you, realize that Paul is speaking allegorically!
2 Corinthians 10:3-5:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Here we see that God’s weapons cast down imaginations and bring thoughts into captivity. That is because thoughts are the devil’s weapons. These thoughts can become strongholds in people’s minds. (That is the kind of stronghold Paul is talking about, not demonic strongholds in the air over cities.) It is the gospel, which is “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16), that has the power to destroy the mind games of the devil in people’s lives. The things we destroy by sharing the gospel are those thoughts (propagated by evil spirits) that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.
I am not saying that there are no demonic powers over cities. I am saying that they are already defeated and powerless as far as the Church is concerned. Their strongholds are not in the air over cities but in people’s minds. Because they are defeated, they cannot stop revival or any part of the work of God with brute force. Their only strategy is deception. If they can deceive the minds of men on the earth, they can get those men to cooperate with them to resist the gospel. The Word of God is alive and active and destroys the strongholds in people’s minds that these evil principalities plant. They have no effective counter-weapon to God’s Word when it is preached. God’s Word is unstoppable. Paul said that the Word of God is not bound (2 Timothy 2:9)! It runs very swiftly (Psalm 147:15).
It is unnecessary to make these defeated principalities and powers leave an area to have God move there. It is also unnecessary to “defeat” them. Jesus Christ already did that! You can walk in His victory over them. You can go ahead and have revival right under their noses because they are powerless to stop it! If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that we, not the defeated demonic powers, are the real hindrances to revival! If we sow the Word of God, that Word will produce a harvest!
Turn On the Light!
If you’re in a dark room, you can “come against” the present darkness for a while to try to light things up, or you can turn on a light. Which makes more sense? It’s the same in “dark” areas. You don’t bring light to a dark area by “coming against” darkness; you bring the light, which in this case is the Word. Darkness in and of itself is not a spiritual force or a substance; it’s merely the absence of light. There is no such thing as an unlight from which darkness can unshine (the unbrightness of the unlight being expressed in the unlight’s uncandlepower). Satan’s kingdom thrives on darkness, but the light of the Word undoes Satan’s attempts to keep people in the dark.
Respect Him
What? Respect the enemy of your soul? Yes! I’m not saying to make friends with him, but you must give him respect, since he has a right to be here. Do not use railing accusations against him. There is no point in talking to him anyway, unless you are going to do what Jesus did and speak the Word of God to him when he tempts you. According to Jude 8-9 and 2 Peter 2:10-11, it is wrong to insult and rail at the devil and his principalities.
See also: