Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every mans work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every mans work of what sort it is. 1 Cor. 3:12, 13 What a deadly foe is Satan to the truth of God, and what an ally has he in the human heart. Indeed, without this alliance he would be utterly powerless. If we could say what the Lord said, The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me, we should have no reason to fear any of Satans devices. But alas! he finds everything in us. This gives him his standing ground; here is the fulcrum for his long lever; this is the weak place in the fortress against which he shoots, often too effectually, his infernal artillery. In fact, all the errors which have well nigh deluged the church in all ages from without, and all the evils which have broken in upon it from all quarters within; all the long and dreary catalogue of personal, individual sins which have tarnished mens lives, ruined their characters, broken up their homes, injured their families and brought them down to the grave before they had lived half the usual term of human life, have all sprung from the inward corruption of our nature as wrought upon by the foe of God and man. The Scripture is very plain and express here. Addressing himself to the saints of God at Ephesus, the apostle thus reminds them of their former state by nature and practice: And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Eph. 2:1, 2.) How plainly do we see from this testimony that those who walk according to the course of this world are under the influence of Satan, here called the prince of the power of the air, and declared to be the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience. Similarly, speaking of those that oppose themselves, that is to Gods truth when plainly set before them, the apostle says: If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. (2 Tim. 2:25, 26.) And would he assign a reason why the gospel is hid, and why it is hid to them that are lost, he says: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Cor. 4:4.) We see then from these testimonies of the word of truth, and there are many others of similar import, that the power and influence of Satan on the minds of men, though hidden from view, are fearfully energetic and extensive.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 16:54:53 +0000
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