Kept from the Evil One

Lesson #284

We need to finish up the verse we started in the last lesson, which was: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15 ESV). Jesus did not ask his Father to take Christians out of the world, but to leave us here because there was the need for us to grow spiritually and we are needed to search the domain of darkness, looking for loss sheep and when found we need to encourage them along the path of growth to the point of being born again. After that comes the work of discipleship to prepare them to keep the work Jesus started going until the last loss sheep is found and the work of Christians on earth will be done.

This work we are left to do, that was assigned to us before the foundation of the world, will meet with continuous opposition from the powers of darkness. The head of these powers of darkness is the evil one, which Jesus prays that we be kept or protected from. To help us understand what our attitude should be and what we are to be kept from we will look at 1 Peter 5:8 (ESV): “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” This verse identifies two parties: Those under attack who are to be sober-minded and watchful and our enemy who is intent on hindering or even removing us from advancing the kingdom of God.

Searching the Scriptures for verses containing sober-minded we can gain some insight on the meaning of being sober-minded. We find words or expressions like: sound-mind, aware, minds prepared for action, alert, self-controlled, dignified, and focused. Being at war is to be taken seriously, requires proper preparation and continual training. Any engagement with an opponent requires an understanding of that opponent and his ways of engagement. James tells us in James 4:7 that we are to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you because greater is he who dwells in us than he who is in the world.

In 1 Peter 5:8, consider the three descriptors of our enemy: adversary, devil, and roaring lion. What do these descriptors tell us about the evil one that Jesus is praying that we be kept from? An adversary is an opponent in a court of justice; he contends against you as a plaintiff; an accuser. The devil means slanderer, tempter, one who maligns or demeans one’s character. A roaring lion presents a challenge because prowling and roaring don’t go together. You can’t sneak up on your enemy if you are announcing that you are coming; your roar would scare them away.

We know the evil one sets snares to trap us. Consider the possibility of a group of believers who hears the roar of the enemy under persecution and do not stand and resist him, but scatter and as they do they get ensnared by his various traps. Consider Jesus and his disciples at the garden of Gethsemane, located at the edge of the Kidron Valley, when Judas comes with the soldiers and identifies Jesus with a kiss. Here the roar of the lion might be when they bound Jesus. At that point the disciples left him and fled except Peter and another disciple, thought to be John. “Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in” (John 18:15 – 16 ESV). The lion had set his trap and use the servants to ask Peter questions about his relationship to Jesus. Peter, unlike the other disciple, denied he knew Jesus three times and the roster crowed. The lion had his prey. Have we not heard the roar of the enemy and fled only to be snared by his traps? We need to learn to stand, even if it costs us our life, as it did Jesus, because God has the final word and the victory is his.

Prayer

Father, this lesson is rather long, but it contains an important concept. We must not fear what the evil one can do or say because Jesus has prayed that we be kept from the evil one. He may destroy our flesh, but he has no claim on us spiritually. I pray that the Holy Spirit will empower us to stand in the face of evil and not deny Jesus because we have the final victory in Jesus. How we stand determines the power of our witness for Jesus to others. Father, help us not forget that.