Satan’s Power and Limitations
.... Let’s carefully consider some of the Scriptures that talk about the standing of a Christian vs. the devil:
..... "We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him."(1 John 5:18)
.... "But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one."(2 Thes 3:3)
.... "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself."(2 Tim 2:13)
.... "giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love."(Col 1:12-13)
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.... In Colossians 1:13, we see that God has delivered us from the very power of darkness. This is called ‘the inheritance of the saints in the light’, and the same passage tells us that we have been qualified to stand in this inheritance.
.... In other words, a complete liberty from Satan's power has been imputed to us, just as righteousness is imputed to a believer apart from any consideration of our own, personal worthiness (Rom 4:24). In fact, this standing is maintained through God’s own faithfulness (2 Thes 3:3), even if we are not always faithful in return (2 Tim 2:13). If we do sin, it may effect us in some other ways, but not in this particular way.
.... Because we have been delivered from the very power of darkness, there is nothing Satan can do against Christians in a ‘power’ sort of way such as demon possession, murder, illness, or any other form of physical harm. He can only work against us in non-power ways such as deception, temptation or irritation.
.... However, the devil is cunning and he does not give so easily:
.... In other words, a complete liberty from Satan's power has been imputed to us, just as righteousness is imputed to a believer apart from any consideration of our own, personal worthiness (Rom 4:24). In fact, this standing is maintained through God’s own faithfulness (2 Thes 3:3), even if we are not always faithful in return (2 Tim 2:13). If we do sin, it may effect us in some other ways, but not in this particular way.
.... Because we have been delivered from the very power of darkness, there is nothing Satan can do against Christians in a ‘power’ sort of way such as demon possession, murder, illness, or any other form of physical harm. He can only work against us in non-power ways such as deception, temptation or irritation.
.... However, the devil is cunning and he does not give so easily:
.... Since Satan can not touch a believer directly, he has learned to use the indirect principle of the stumbling block. Through this, he throws us up against something else that is powerful, which actually does have the power to harm us. This is something we may call a 'powerful proxy'..... "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
(1 Pet 5:8)
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posted by loren @ 6:29 PM
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