spiritual battle: Pray without Ceasing
Vosso adversario ruge como leao
Pray without ceasing- Spiritual battle
VER. 8. Be sober, be vigilant.—That freedom from care must not degenerate into apathy, for we are still in the Church militant, not yet in the Church triumphant. To the care which troubles from within must be added the temptations which come from the kingdom of darkness. Hence the Apostle exhorts them anew to sobriety and vigilance, ch. 4:8, 1:13. “Let this be your care.” Bengel.—νήψατε, γρηγορήσατε, go inseparably together, hence no copulative. γρηγοσήσατε cf. Lke. 21:34, 36. This watching consists, says Calov, in the prudence by which we avoid the lying in wait of Satan, in the shunning of false security and of sins and in the throwing out of sentinels, Eph. 6:11; Matt. 24:42; 25:13; 1 Cor. 16:13. The exhortation based upon the words of our Lord, springs simultaneously from the Apostle’s own experience, Matt. 26:40, 41; Luke 22:45; cf. 1 Thess. 5:6. [Augustine: “Corde vigila, fide vigila, spe vigila, caritate vigila, operibus vigila.”—M.]
Your adversary.—The exposition which sees in “adversary” human slanderers, (Hensler and others) needs no refutation. Satan is called absolutely the adversary of believers, who stands up as the champion of law when he opposes them, their enemy, Matt. 13:39; John 8:44; Rev. 12:10; the prince of this world, Eph. 2:2; 2 Cor. 4:4; John 16:11; 12:31; 14:30; Acts 26:18; 2 Thess. 2:9; 1 John 3:8. He is the declared opponent, both of Christ and of His members. He is the accuser of the brethren, Rev. 12:10; cf. Job 1:6, etc.
Walketh about.—As in Job 1:7, he is said to go to and fro in the earth, so here he is said to walk about, which applies not to visible appearings, but to his operations by his instruments. Scripture indeed teaches that the evil spirits are confined in hell, 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Luke 8:31; but they are bound only in respect of their visible appearing, while they rule invisibly in the regions of the air, Eph. 2:2; 6:12; in darkness, they roam over desert places, Matt. 12:43, 44; Luke 11:24; and influence man mediately and immediately, Luke 22:23; John 13:27.
As a roaring lion.—The lion, according to Pliny, roars most violently, when he is hungry. Elsewhere Satan is compared with a serpent, on account of his cunning, 2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 12:9; 20:2; here, with a lion on account of his cruelty and boldness, his power and strength, and his lust of injury. “When furious Jews and mad heathens began a persecution of the Christians, or attacked individual Christians, or simply threatened them, it was the devil’s work, who then showed himself as a roaring lion. But since such things happened here and there, he is described as a roaring lion who walketh about. His object is to terrify and to tear, but especially to tear. His terrifying consisted of old in menacings, threatening edicts and anathemas, his tearing in executions.”—Roos. [Gerhard: “Comparatur diabolus leoni famelico et præ impatientia famis rugienti, quia perniciem nostram inexplebiliter appetit, nec ulla præda ei sufficit.”—M.]
Seeking whom he may devour.—Cf. Matt. 23:34; 1 Cor. 15:32; Heb. 11:36. The comparison relates to both.—καταπίνειν, to drink greedily, to gulp or swallow down. He cannot devour every body, move them to fall away from Christ into sin, but only those who are not sober and vigilant. “The enemy and opponent of the Church despises those who are already in his power, whom he has estranged from the Church and led away captive and conquered. He passes them over, and continues to tempt those of whom he knows that Christ dwells in them.”—Cyprian.
VER. 9. Whom resist firm in the faith.—How shall we offer resistance to this powerful enemy? 1. In firm faith. 2. In the thought that such suffering is not peculiar, but the universal lot of Christians.—ἀντίστητε. James 4:7, cites the same passage; Prov. 3:34, has the same exhortation, “Submit yourselves therefore to God;” cf. ver. 10, and the charge: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” This circumstance renders the reference of the one Epistle to the other very probable.—”Resist him, in order to drive him back when he attacks us. The Lion of the tribe of Judah is more mighty by far than the lion of hell. His victory and His might become our own through faith.” Calov. Eph. 3:16; John 15:4; 1 Cor. 6:17.—“Unbelievers fear the devil as a lion, the strong in faith despise him as a worm.” Isidor. “Victory over Satan lies in faith, because faith unites us to Christ, the victor. By faith the devil is driven to flight as is the lion by fire.” Gerhard.—στερεοί, firm, immovable in faith, in faithful cleaving to Christ and His word; cf. Acts 16:5; Rom. 4:20; Col. 2:5, 7; Eph. 6:16; 4:14.
Knowing that the self-same sufferings—in the world.—εἰδότες, cf. ch. 1:18; 3:9.—τὰ αὐτὰ, the same kind of sufferings of trial. The thought that these sufferings are common to all the brethren, is designed to warn against the conceit that they are rejected by God and man, that they are either extraordinary sinners or uncommon saints; cf. 1 Cor. 10:13.—ἀδελφότητι, ch. 2:13.—ἐν κόσμῳ, to indicate the reason of their sufferings. You live in an imperfect world, among transitory things, and with the children of unbelief, John 9:5.—ἐπιτελεῖσθαι, used of the payment and discharge of taxes and debts; of the discharge and completion of some business or combat. The ideas of payment of debt and completion may be combined; they are endured by your brethren with a view to their completion (perfecting, so German) by the appointment of God.—τῇ ἀδελφότητι. for ὑπὸ τῆς ἀδελφότητος. De Wette and others take it as the Dative of the more remote object [i. e., the Dative of reference.—M.] as in γίνεσθαι ὑμῖν, ch. 4:12; so Wiesinger. “They not only are partakers of our sufferings, but our confederates in prayer and in combating the enemy.”—Calov.
Verses 8–9
Here the apostle does three things:—
I. He shows them their danger from an enemy more cruel and restless than even the worst of men, whom he describes,
1. By his characters and names. (1.) He is an adversary: “That adversary of yours; not a common adversary, but an enemy that impleads you, and litigates against you in your grand depending cause, and aims at your very souls.” (2.) The devil, the grand accuser of all the brethren; this title is derived from a word which signifies to strike through, or to stab. He would strike malignity into our natures and poison into our souls. If he could have struck these people with passion and murmuring in their sufferings, perhaps he might have drawn them to apostasy and ruin. (3.) He is a roaring lion, hungry, fierce, strong, and cruel, the fierce and greedy pursuer of souls.
2. By his business: He walks about, seeking whom he may devour; his whole design is to devour and destroy souls. To this end he is unwearied and restless in his malicious endeavours; for he always, night and day, goes about studying and contriving whom he may ensnare to their eternal ruin.
II. Hence he infers that it is their duty, 1. To be sober, and to govern both the outward and the inward man by the rules of temperance, modesty, and mortification. 2. To be vigilant; not secure or careless, but rather suspicious of constant danger from this spiritual enemy, and, under that apprehension, to be watchful and diligent to prevent his designs and save our souls. 3. To resist him stedfast in the faith. It was the faith of these people that Satan aimed at; if he could overturn their faith, and draw them into apostasy, then he knew he should gain his point, and ruin their souls; therefore, to destroy their faith, he raises bitter persecutions, and sets the grand potentates of the world against them. This strong trial and temptation they must resist, by being well-grounded, resolute, and stedfast in the faith: to encourage them to this,
III. He tells them that their care was not singular, for they knew that the like afflictions befel their brethren in all parts of the world, and that all the people of God were their fellow-soldiers in this warfare. Learn, 1. All the great persecutions that ever were in the world were raised, spirited up, and conducted, by the devil; he is the grand persecutor, as well as the deceiver and accuser, of the brethren; men are his willing spiteful instruments, but he is the chief adversary that wars against Christ and his people, Gen. 3:15; Rev. 12:12. 2. The design of Satan in raising persecutions against the faithful servants of God is to bring them to apostasy, by reason of their sufferings, and so to destroy their souls. 3. Sobriety and watchfulness are necessary virtues at all times, but especially in times of suffering and persecution. “You must moderate your affection to worldly things, or else Satan will soon overcome you.” 4. “If you would overcome Satan, as a tempter, an accuser, or a persecutor, you must resist him stedfast in the faith; if your faith give way, you are gone; therefore, above all, take the shield of faith,” Eph. 6:16. 5. The consideration of what others suffer is proper to encourage us to bear our own share in any affliction: The same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren.