Satan Hates the Word
By Nathan
Article originally published in The Southern Cross, official magazine of the Diocese of Savannah, GA. Reprinted with permission.
“The truth hurts,” the saying goes. Apparently, if you’re a demon, that’s literally true. When I assisted in an exorcism, God revealed the power of the Holy Scriptures in a rather dramatic way.
As part of the ritual, the exorcist proclaimed the first verses of the Gospel of John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…” The demons went bananas – groaning, howling, writhing as though boiling oil was being poured on them. It took the concerted effort of four strong men to restrain the person. I was one of two men holding the legs. The person roared harsh, inhuman sounds like an animal being tortured.
When the exorcist finished the passage, the demons stopped acting up. Silence filled the church. I couldn’t help but see that the Word of God, the Truth of the Gospel, caused the demons to suffer.
St. Paul says the Word of God is “living and effective, sharper than any two edge sword, able to pierce between soul and spirit”. It never occurred to me that he might mean that it can sever the connection between a human soul and an evil spirit, yet I saw the Word of God torturing those demons.
So, if the Word of God is like a sword, how do I use it in spiritual combat? What do I do when confronted by the devil?
First, I must know my enemy. Jesus describes the devil as a strongman who holds me captive. In the parable, He describes taking away the strongman’s armor so I can be set free. What is the devil’s armor? His armor is my ignorance of his existence and tricks. If I don’t believe that the devil exists or know how he works, he can act freely to keep me in bondage.
Jesus came to undo the works of the devil and He does so by teaching me to fight. He wields the scriptures like a katana during His temptation in the desert. The devil’s three temptations represent three broad categories of sin which contain all sin. The story shows me how the devil operates and how to use the scripture against each type of temptation so I can learn to do the same.
In the first temptation, the devil says, “Use Your power, if you have any, to satisfy Your hunger.” This points to sins linked with my appetites. My appetites are not inherently evil but have become disordered due to original and personal sin. My hunger for physical goods like food and sex, or abstract goods like power and prestige, can become all-consuming. The devil does everything in his power to stoke the fire.
Jesus uses scripture to parry this attack by pointing to my deeper spiritual appetites. I’m not just a smart monkey, ruled by biology or social status. I’m created for communion with God, for eternity. The scriptures reveal my identity as a child of God and can protect me from disordered desires.
In the second temptation, the devil tries the same trick he pulled on Eve in the garden. He twists the Word of God and tries to convince Jesus to do something self-destructive. “Throw yourself off the temple and God will protect you.” The scriptures are a two-edged sword, even in the hands of my enemy. This temptation represents sins of unbelief. Do I believe God, or do I believe the world, the flesh, and the devil?
Jesus again uses the scriptures to defend Himself from temptation. To put the Lord to the test is to act from a place of doubt rather than one of faith. Jesus teaches here that I need to believe and trust the Word of God, but I also need to know and understand it deeply. If I know and believe the scriptures and the perennial interpretations of the scriptures given by the Church, the devil won’t be able to sow doubt and unbelief.
In the final temptation, the devil tries to entice Jesus to worship him. This temptation represents idolatry and all sins contrary to the first and greatest commandment. If I love and pursue anything more than I love and pursue God, I make it an idol.
Jesus sends the devil on his way by quoting the scripture that sums up all the rest, “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” The entire Bible seeks to teach me this core message. Worship God alone. The devil flees from this central truth because his purpose was to worship God, too. He rejected the Light and now lives in the outer darkness, where he has nothing but sorrow and hatred.
So, what does this battle look like in my daily life? While most Christians and even non-Christians will never need the services of an exorcist if they avoid dabbling in the occult, smaller temptations do arise. Like when the AC compressor on my truck cuts through the radiator hose for the third time in as many months. A strong temptation might arise to use the kind of words that aren’t allowed at my house.
But then scripture comes to my defense. I recall Romans 8:28, which tells me that “all things work together for good for those who love God and a called according to His purposes.” I might not know God’s purpose in that moment of frustration, but the truth of that scripture helps drive away doubt and anger the devil tries to sow in my heart.
Instead of succumbing to frustration, I can thank God that my truck didn’t overheat in 97-degree traffic and leave me stranded. I can praise God that He allowed me to find the problem before I drove to work the next morning without any coolant. I can rejoice that I didn’t blow the head gasket, which would force me to rebuild the engine. With my heart at peace, I can hop into my wife’s van and head to AutoZone for a new hose and a gallon of coolant. The devil howls, humiliated and defeated again.
The Word of God gives me a rich arsenal to defend against the devil’s attacks. The scriptures armor me with hope that helps me master my appetites for the sake of an eternal kingdom. They equip me with the shield of faith to deflect the devil’s lies. And most importantly, they arm me with Love, which is God Himself. The gates of hell will not prevail against Him.
Jesus snatched me out of the darkness and saved me from complete madness. If you want to hear more of that story, check out Demoniac, now available on Amazon.
