Your Adversary

This issue of the FGB is about Your Adversary, since every Christian needs to know who we are facing in this spiritual battle. Arthur Pink’s first article asks a question: Is the devil just a figment of our imagination? Pink answers that the Word of God gives conclusive evidence that the devil is real. David Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives us a biblical survey of the Bible’s teaching about our adversary the devil. In a second article, Arthur Pink gives us a clear and helpful biblical exposition of the personal characteristics and acts that prove the devil to be a real person. Thomas Manton reveals that Scripture tells the story of the raging war between Satan and God’s people down through the ages. Charles Spurgeon warns believers and urges them to realize that Satan watches and considers the weaknesses of believers; based on those weaknesses, he plans his temptations and attacks. Thankfully, Thomas Brooks then gives us ten helps against Satan’s devices and schemes. This is a wonderful list of stratagems against the adversary’s cunning tricks and traps. We also see how to resist the devil in William Perkins’ fictional dialogue between Satan and a Christian. Jonathan Edwards unfolds the extraordinary wisdom of God in the way He outwitted and overthrew our adversary. In his second article, Spurgeon gives us the ultimate weapon for overcoming Satan—the blood of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God. What a feast and encouragement for the beleaguered soul! And once again, Jonathan Edwards cheers and strengthens our hearts with knowledge that the days of our suffering physically and spiritually by the schemes and attacks of Satan will end with the adversary cast into the lake of fire for eternity. The last article in this issue leaves us with a warning about Satan’s devious, unrelenting warfare against the unity of Christ’s blood-bought people. O children of God, let us love one another as Christ loved us (Joh 15:12): let us not “bite and devour one another” (Gal 5:15), which is our adversary’s work; but let us exalt Christ and defeat our adversary by keeping “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:1-3).