He Who Overcomes!

He Who Overcomes!

“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Eph. 6:12-13.

The evil days come in everyone’s life, and it seems that flesh and blood are the cause of it—but that is not the case. It is the spiritual hosts of wickedness that make use of flesh and blood. It is their will to rule over all men, and those who take up the battle against them are only the few. In order to overcome, we need to have an understanding of this battle.

A spirit of stubbornness enters a person, and he behaves stubbornly toward his neighbor. His neighbor does not realize that spirit powers are at work. He only thinks of the person as flesh and blood and repays evil with evil. He does not realize that he has thereby opened his heart to the same spirit that drove the first person to be stubborn. Consequently, he is not any better than the other person. Now Satan has laid hold of both of them. He has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy. By his spirit he drives both these people to destroy each other. Neither of them realize that Satan is driving both of them. This destruction would come to an end the moment they would close their hearts to him. This is how Satan plays games with people and destroys them. We are called to overcome him. To do this we need to understand that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, to destroy them and avenge ourselves, but that we are to overcome the power of the spiritual hosts of wickedness. I can destroy a person by being bad to him—by tormenting flesh and blood—but I have thereby not overcome the evil spirit that drove him. I can only overcome this spirit by repaying evil with good. Just as darkness has to give way to light, so the evil has to give way to the good.

“Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith.” 1 Pet. 5:8-9. When the evil day comes, it often has the effect of a roaring lion, and many people resort to lying, hypocrisy, and guile to save their lives as much as possible. Instead of relying on God and holding fast to the good, they are devoured by the evil, losing both their boldness and joy.

James writes that we shall take the prophets as an example of suffering evil, and he makes reference to the perseverance of Job. Jas. 5:10-11. Job was upright and just, and God praised him to Satan. He also gave Satan liberty to test him. Then the evil days began for Job, but it was a sign from God that He could trust him. It was not a great feat for God to overcome Satan, but it was great that Job could overcome him. Satan tried harder and harder, but Job held fast to his uprightness. He trusted in God, and the evil did not gain power over him. He said, “The name of the Lord be praised!” and Satan lost the battle.

Therefore count it all joy, brothers, when you come into various trials. They are a sign from God that He trusts you. If we hold fast to the good, the evil spirit powers will be put as a stool under our feet. Then the day of trial will be a crowning day for us. God is faithful; He will not let us be tempted above our ability if we are upright. We read that Job was upright. He would not have been upright if he had sought God for the blessings alone; then he would not have endured in the trials either. Therefore a trial will reveal whether we are upright or not. Then our true condition will be revealed, because if we are upright the temptation will not be greater than what we can bear.

Satan does not attempt to deceive God, but he does manage to deceive people! Therefore Jesus had to become a man, and it was as the Son of Man that He overcame Satan. Satan attempted to deceive Him in various ways: with enticing words, with the glories of this world, with threatenings and beatings, by means of His own disciples, the scribes, and His enemies. Jesus was tempted in all things as we are, and He overcame. As a result He became a life-giving spirit. 1 Cor. 15:45. This spirit in which He had overcome Satan (and in which He made a public spectacle of the spiritual hosts on the cross), He poured out over His disciples on the day of Pentecost, so they could also overcome all these spiritual hosts. This same spirit is also working in all of Jesus’ disciples and enables them to be overcomers. God lets Satan test them, which he has also done throughout all these years in various ways, but he has lost the battle. In the last days he will gather all his forces. Here is the patience of the saints, those who keep God’s commandments and the faith of Jesus. Rev. 14:12. Many will give in to the evil for the sake of pleasure and paltry gain. They will succumb in the battle, but the upright will persevere. The saints will be with Jesus when He consumes the Antichrist with the breath of His mouth and binds Satan for a thousand years. These are the ones who will rule the nations with a rod of iron. Rev. 2:26-27.

From all this we realize that life is not a game of chance. You are either driven by the evil, with darkness increasing more and more until it becomes eternal night—without any hope—or you are driven by the good, and it becomes brighter and brighter until the Day Star arises in your heart. Then night shall be no more.