Satan’s Limitations: Know Your Adversary

 

 

Studying to know Him more and more and more!

 

Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. (Sun Tzu’s The Art of War see Ch.3 verse 18)

 

Beloved, as I was in prayer concerning this writing as well as study as well as in praise and worship to the Lord God of heaven and earth, I know this writing is blessed by God Himself, and I invite you to receive this blessing, look up every verse cited here and know that every verse can be clicked on in which will take you to biblegateway.com, in which is a helpful tool for studying and researching God’s Word, and in fully utilizing it and personally investigating and researching the holy scriptures, you may come to be built up more and more to stand firm when your adversary advances on you, because you know Whom you belong to and who your enemy the devil is. One suggestion I have for you, for this writing as well as with all past and future writings: use biblegateway.com and if possible have a print out of all verses cited in order as they are cited, so you can read along and gain the greatest of understanding and experience the richest of its blessing before you. With that said, I now invite you into my HEART...

 

Satan’s Character And Limitations

Job 1 & Luke 4 inspires!

Satan cannot read your mind (Job 1–2). He does not know the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10). However, he can inflict pain (Job 1:12-19; Job 2:6-8), suggest tempting things (Luke 4:3,5-7,9-11) and even manifest himself before you (2 Corinthians 11:14; Luke 4:1-13). However, Satan is limited and can only inflict pain (Job 1:12, 2:6) and tempt but for a time (Luke 4:13; James 4:7), if indeed we all remain faithful to the Lord (Job 1:20-22, Job 2:9-10).

This to my understanding has never been taught on or had a light shined into it from this perspective.

In the wilderness when the Lord Jesus was tempted, we see Satan utilizing what he possesses to tempt and by temptation overthrow the purpose of Jesus as Savior, Redeemer and Sinless Man (The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; John 1:29). 

Never not even once did Satan read Jesus’ mind or he would have not even bothered to tempt Him as he would’ve seen and known of his imminent loss in that moment (Luke 4:13-15). Not once did Jesus elude to Satan playing tricks with His mind, reading His thoughts or placing any sort of demonic thought or control in or on His mind.

All that Satan did or could do, was tempt and bribe Jesus and distort God’s Word to no avail! Praise the Lord.

 

• Tempt: The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” (Luke 4:3)

• Bribe: The devil lead Him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:5-7).

• Distort: The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” (Luke 4:9-11; Psalm 91:11-12)

 

In the Book of Job, Satan (though hard to comprehend for many) is given limited access to Job’s body, for testing the genuineness of his faith in the Lord his God, yet could not touch his soul or kill him.

God knew the outcome yet Satan did not! Satan is known as one who walks the earth back and forth  [that is limited by time as we are] (Job 1:7) and in his limitedness he could only inflict pain in this time. This account reveals Satan’s limitedness— he is not all powerful (could not kill or touch Job’s soul; Luke 12:5, Matthew 10:28), does not have an ability to know everything and be everywhere at one time. 
 

All-in-all, Satan is measured up to be like a strong man (Matthew 12:22-30), our adversary and a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), yet nonetheless having weaknesses (limitations).

 

In order to gain victory over your adversary, you must know your adversary. Therefore, know that Satan though strong is still very much limited, and in Christ, you can rest assured that God is not limited, He is Sovereign (in total control) and He the Lord God of heaven and earth is the all knowing (Omniscient: Romans 11:33-36; Psalm 139:1-6; Psalm 94:7-10; Proverbs 3:19-20; Proverbs 8:22-36), all powerful (Omnipotent: Revelation 19:6; Psalm 62:11; Psalm 103:19; 2 Chronicles 20:6), everywhere at one time (Omnipresent: Psalm 139:7-11; Amos 9:2-4) God. Halleluyah!

I want to thank my brother James Oyola (click on his name to go to his instagram account and get to know his business platform) for taking on such a case study of Satan from the Book of Job back in 2013 and for introducing to me and teaching me the insight of Satan not being able to read minds as many tend to perceive and give undue power to Satan by increasing their fear in him due to ignorance. 

Click here to go to my instagram account where I have many more insights and writings.
 

I rejoice, I thank, and I praise the Lord for my brother James’ life. Without God’s wisdom and insight into this topic I too would be ignorant towards the person Satan the devil. 

 

James, the Lord bless you, keep you and exponentially increase you in all His ways. Amen and amen.