Articles
Our Adversary the Devil - 1 Peter 5
Our Adversary the Devil - 1 Peter 5
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8–9 NAS95
We have an adversary: Satan. Satan is a transliteration of the Hebrew word meaning "adversary" or "accuser). It does not always refer to the Devil, for sometimes it refers to people who are the adversaries. Other times it is used of the Devil. In Zech. 3:1-2, it speaks of Satan standing before the Lord and accusing Joshua the high priest. Then we see it some 13 times in the first two chapters of Job, where he again is the adversary of Job and accuses him before God. In the NT, we find the corresponding Greek word, satanas, used 33 times and always refers to the devil.
The NT also calls him 'diabolos', which means one who accuses or slanders another. This is usually translated 'the devil' and is found 30 times this way. Here in 1Peter 5:8, Peter calls him 'our adversary', using the word 'antidikos' meaning one who is the opponent in a lawsuit. He is also called our enemy (Matt. 13:25, 28, 39; Luke 10:19), and our accuser (Rev. 12:10). Peter warns us that Satan seeks to devour us as a lion: in modern terms - to have us as lunch. He is ever present and ready to pounce.
Having been forewarned of the danger, Peter assures us that we CAN resist him. He is NOT God. He is NOT omnipotent, but he is powerful! That which allows for us to overcome is being firm in our faith. We are not just to believe, but to believe firmly. We must trust God with every fiber of our being. We will be tested, tried, and examined.
Peter also warns us to be alert and to be sober-minded. Although the root and historical meaning of this word deals with sober in the literal sense of not being intoxicated, its NT use is uniformly figurative. Being sober-minded thus means "to be in control of one's thought processes and thus not be in danger of irrational thinking" (Louw Nida). Being under the influence will surely render one to not be sober-minded. However, just being sober does not result in being sober-minded. We are under constant assault to be deceived by Satan and tempted with that which separates us from God. We need to KNOW what the will of God is and we need to give constant attention to following it.
I am afraid in our modern culture we have made a caricature out of Satan and no longer respect him as our enemy. It is like thinking that a wild lion is just another pet house cat! Such an attitude towards such a great enemy is not only foolish but dangerous. We are called upon to resist him, firm in our faith. How firm is your faith?
Hugh DeLong
* Much of the content about Satan is adapted from Jack Cottrell's book, "The Faith Once For All Delivered", pgs. 170-171, Logos edition.
