in Christ; and being united with Him, we too are overcomers. We
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4. The captives freed. ". . . who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love" (Col. 1.13). Christ has overcome, and He is now overcoming. We are at this present moment in His kingdom, for we have been translated out of the power of darkness. Let us keep this fact well in mind, and trust in Him; and thus the power of darkness shall never come upon us. Always declare this position with faith and will. This is the best way to keep ourselves in that position.
5. The victory of the Christians. Christ is the Overcomer. We are in Christ; and being united with Him, we too are overcomers. We may overcome every day, for our Lord says to us: "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: . . . the spirits are subject unto you" (Luke 10.19,20); "in my name shall they cast out demons" (Mark 16.17; see also Acts 16.18; 19.15). Outside of Christ we can do nothing. We need to abide in Him and do all things in His name. Satan then will always be defeated.
Three—The Wiles of the Tempter
Though Satan is most wileful, "we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Cor. 2.11). What, then, will be the use of his trickery? Unfortunately, though we know his cunning, we are often not watchful. In Christ we should discern all things through depending on the Holy Spirit. If so, we shall be able to detect all the maneuvers of Satan, and by the Lord's power we shall make them ineffective.
1. His artifice against the unsaved. A certain class of unsaved people love to hear the word of God, but Satan steals the word away. It is written in the Scriptures: "those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved" (Luke 8.12). What the Devil is afraid of is God's word, not a dissertation on the word. In our preaching let us be careful not to speak carelessly lest