”Our human nature
is so blind that we have deformed thoughts of God until with the eye of faith
we see His face in the mirror of the Word. With the exception of Jesus, all men
are atheist by nature because at the same time as they acknowledge a God they deny
His power, presence, and justice. They allow Him to be only what pleases them:
"You thoughts that I was altogether such an one as yourself" Psalm
50:14.
Even if reason
could demonstrate all that God is, it would be dangerous to dispute it with
Satan. He has sharper reasoning than you. There is more difference between you
and Satan than between the weakest idiot and the greatest theologian in the
world. But in the Word there is a strong divine authority that builds a throne
even in the conscience of the devil himself.
Although Christ
was able to baffle the devil by reason, He chose to overthrow him in the way
that we ourselves must use in skirmishes with Satan. He repelled him simply by
lifting up the shield of the Word: "It is written," said Christ,
Matthew 4:,7, 10. It is undeniable that Christ's quoted word had power to stun
Satan; the shrewd enemy had no reply to Scripture but was still at the very
mention of the Word.
If only Eve had
stood by her first answer "God has said” Genesis 3:3. She too could have
silenced Satan. Thus the Christian must stand in the heat of temptation and
place God's own Word between himself and Satan's blows: "I believe that
God is, though I cannot understand His nature; I believe the Word." When
this happens, Satan may trouble him but he cannot hurt him-- and he probably
cannot even bother him for very long. The devil hates the Word so much that he
does not want to hear it. But if you throw down the shield of the Word and try
to cut through the temptation by the force of reason, you may soon be
surrounded by your subtle enemy.”
Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete Armour Daily Readings
in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell. http://www.moodypublishers.com/pub_productDetail.aspx?id=41823&pid=53617
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