In this Scripture we consider Peter’s reference to Satan in 1 Peter 5:8-9. As Christians, we have a great Savior who is “able to save completely” (Hebrews 7:25), but we also have a very powerful adversary whose name is Satan (2 Corinthians 2:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:9).
1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
- Grammatical Usage: “sober-minded” or in the Greek, “Nēpsate” meaning, “calm; circumspect; self-controlled”; “adversary” or “antidikos” meaning, “opponent; accuser”; “devour” or “katapiein” meaning, “destroy; consume.”
- Literal Interpretation: Be self-controlled and vigilant always, for your opponent and accuser the devil is always about, prowling like a lion roaring to destroy and consume.
THE DEVIL’S METHOD WITH THE INDIVIDUAL BELIEVER.
The whole strategy of Satan in relation to the individual Christian may be summed up by three words: disturbance, disobedience, defeat.
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- God’s purpose is that every one of His children should experience perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3); peace of heart and mind (Philippians 4:7); and when such peace is the experience of His children their lives are characterized by poise, power and freedom from doubts and fear. But Satan loves to upset our peace, to disturb our poise and to rob us of power.
- Circumstances are both God’s guardrails and guiderails in our lives. Guardrails keep us spiritually aligned while guiderails show us the way forward.
- God intends circumstances for your good and His glory.
- He is the Great Tempter, and he wants to make us disobey the Lord and keep us half-hearted and undecided with regard to the will of God. Every time the Lord calls us to obey Him our adversary calls us to disobey Him, and thus we have to make the choice (Joshua 24:15).
- As Christians we no longer belong to the Devil but to the Lord by redemption rights (1 Corinthians 6:20); but Satan still seeks our downfall. He cannot rob us of Heaven when we die, but he tries to rob us of the heavenly experience that God wants us to enjoy now (Deuteronomy 11:18-21). He cannot prevent us from reaching Heaven, but he can bring such defeat into our lives that we shall suffer loss (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
These are the ways in which Satan gets to work. What must we, as Christians, do to prevent our being overcome by our great adversary? We must:
(1) Keep Calm, as the words “be self-controlled” mean in v. 8
(2) Be Alert (v. 8) – we must be on our guard! Satan’s playbook has 8 spiritual attacks:
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- Fatigue: Isaiah 40: 28, 29
- Anxiety: 1 Peter 5:6, 7
- Stress: Psalm 28:7
- Temptation: Matthew 6:13
- Fear: Hebrews 13:6
- Despair: 2 Corinthians 4:8, 9
- Lies: Ephesians 6:14
- Revenge: Romans 12:10
(3) Resist the Devil (v. 9); we must give him no place (Ephesians 4:27); we must stand against him (Ephesians 6:11)
(4) Believe – as v. 9 tells us – ‘standing firm in the faith’
(5) Remember – as v. 9 says, “because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” We must remember that other Christians are going through the same trials; but above all, we must remember that the God of all grace will enable us to overcome our great adversary (v. 10; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
- Conclusion: Will I confess and surrender my fear or anger in favor of faith and strength?
