Ⅴ
Faith is rooted in God's great, eternal, and divine facts covenanted to us in His holy Word; the believers' subjective faith is in their spirit, which makes their mingled spirit a spirit of faith—2 Cor. 4:13 and footnote 2:
A
We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that God is love—1 John 4:8.
B
We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that God's grace is sufficient—2 Cor. 12:9.
C
We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that Christ is able to save us to the uttermost—Heb. 7:25.
D
We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that we are in Christ, that Christ is in us, and that we and Christ are one—1 Cor. 1:30; Col. 1:27; John 14:20; 15:5.
E
We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that we are God's children and heirs—Rom. 8:16-17.
F
We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that we have been made full in Christ—Col. 2:10.
G
We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe in the fact that we are the temple of the living God and that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within us—1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16.
H
We withstand the devil by being firm in our subjective faith in God's protecting power and loving concern—1 Pet. 5:8-9:
１
We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the Lord was manifested for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil—1 John 3:8.
２
We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the Lord's death has destroyed him who has the might of death, the devil—Heb. 2:14.
３
We must exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the Lord's resurrection has put Satan to shame; the resurrection life is a life that cannot be touched by death, that transcends death, that is beyond the boundary of death, that comes out of death, and that death cannot hold—Acts 2:23-24; Phil. 3:10; Col. 2:12-15, 20; 3:1; John 14:30.
Morning Nourishment
Col. 2:10 And you have been made full in Him, who is the Head of all rule and authority.1 Pet. 5:8-9 Be sober; watch. Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking someone to devour. Him withstand, being firm in your faith…
Here is a beautiful painting. How do you know that it is beautiful? You know it because you have seen it. How do you know about all the riches in Christ? You know because you have seen them. Colossians says that we are made full in Christ… We know because we have seen Him… The Lord has given us all the fullness and given us grace upon grace. Do we have them yet? It is not a question of whether we have them in our head but whether or not we have such a faith in our heart. (CWWN, vol. 24, “The Overcoming Life,” p. 118)
Today’s Reading
God’s Word shows us clearly that the way to withstand Satan is by faith [1 Pet. 5:8-9]… What should our faith rest on? How should we exercise our faith to withstand him? First, we must believe that the Lord was manifested for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). The Son of God has come to the earth; He was manifested. When He was on earth, He destroyed the work of the devil wherever He went. Often Satan’s work was not obvious; he hid behind natural phenomena. However, the Lord rebuked him every time. It is clear that He was rebuking Satan when He rebuked Peter’s speaking (Matt. 16:22-23), when He rebuked the fever of Peter’s mother-in-law (Luke 4:39), and when He rebuked the winds and the waves… Wherever the Lord went, the power of the devil was shattered. This is why He said, “But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28). In other words, wherever the Lord went, Satan was cast out, and the kingdom of God was manifested. Satan could not remain where the Lord was.We should also believe that in manifesting Himself on the earth, the Lord not only destroyed the works of the devil, but also gave authority to His disciples to cast out demons in His name… (cf. Luke 10:19). He gave His name to the church so that His church might continue His work on earth after His ascension. The Lord used His authority on earth to cast out demons. He also gave this authority to the church. No matter how great Satan’s power is, the Lord’s authority is able to overcome him. We must believe that God has given this authority to the church. The church can cast out demons and withstand the devil in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Second, we must believe that through death the Lord Jesus has destroyed him who has the might of death, the devil (Heb. 2:14). Third, we must believe that the Lord’s resurrection has put Satan to shame. Satan no longer has any way to attack us. To withstand Satan, every child of God must declare with a strong faith, “Thank God, I have resurrected! Satan,… what you can do goes only so far as death. But the life that I have today… has been tested by you already… You are powerless! This life has transcended over you! Satan, get away from me!”
We must not be afraid of Satan. If we are afraid of Satan, he will laugh at us. He will say, “What a fool there is on earth. How can this one be so foolish?” Anyone who is afraid of Satan is foolish, because he has forgotten his position in Christ. We have no reason to fear him. We have transcended over his power. We can stand before him and say, “You cannot touch me! No matter how strong and resourceful you are, you are still one step behind!” On the day of the Lord’s resurrection, He led the enemy captive and openly shamed him. Today we are standing on the ground of resurrection, and we triumph through the cross! (CWWN, vol. 50, “Messages for Building Up New Believers (3),” pp. 734-737, 739-740)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 50, “Messages for Building Up New Believers (3),” ch. 43; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The God-man Living,” chs. 10, 16