“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11).
The Holy Spirit through Paul is here indicating what God has provided for the soldier of Christ to stand against the devil. When one looks at the equipment, there are various things that show the importance of the word of God in battling Satan. It is no wonder that since faith comes through the word of God (cf. Rom. 10:17) that there would be “the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Eph. 6:16). Especially of note is the offensive weapon of the Christian, where it is stated, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17). Consider three aspects of significance when studying Satan and the word of God.
1. His Attack on the Word of God. The first indication of Satan’s conflict with the word of God is seen in the garden of Eden. Moses wrote, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen. 3:1). Notice here that Satan attacked what God said to man. The actual word of God is recorded by Moses. “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:16-17). The woman knew what God said, as it is written, “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Gen. 3:2-3). The serpent proceeds to deny the accuracy of the word of God. Here begins a pattern of attack upon the truth of the word of God of which all must be aware.
2. His Aim to Take Away the Word of God. Jesus points out the meaning of the way side soil with the words, “Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12). One may appear to interpret Satan’s approach of taking the word out of the heart as against the will of the hearer, but such is not the case. A Biblical illustration of Luke 8:12 is seen in Acts 13. A certain Sergius Paulus wanted to hear the word of God (cf. Acts 13:7) and it is stated, “But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith” (Acts 13:8). Paul accurately states, “O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:10). Here is Satan again working to strive to meet his aim.3. His Abuse of the Word of God. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted Psalm 91:11-12 (cf. Matt. 4:6). Jesus countered by saying, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matt. 4:7). Jesus believed Psalm 91 but not the interpretation Satan was putting on it. Satan was abusing the word to fit his purpose. Jesus knew the Bible (cf. Deut. 6:16) and used the sword of the Spirit. Twisting passages is one of Satan’s greatest tools (cf. 2 Peter 3:16-17).
Jimmy Clark