Chapter Twenty-three
The Violent Take The Kingdom by Force
In Matthew 11:12‑15, Jesus said, And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Luke records this same discourse, The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. (verses 16:16‑17)
One of the most important principles to remember in trying to interpret scripture is that we have to treat it like a piece of real estate. When determining the value of a piece of land, there are three important factors to take into account: location, location, location. The same is true with the scripture; we must evaluate the passage in its context. The passages immediately before and after these verses about the kingdom of God deal with living under the Old Testament law. In fact, it is in this section where we find the oft quoted, It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. (Luke 16:17)
The Greek word used in Luke sixteen for “violent” is bias. It is exactly the same word that is translated “take it by force” in Matthew. When Jesus said that violent men would press into God’s kingdom, He was telling the people that a transition was coming from the period of the law to the age of grace. The dispensation of the authority of the law and the prophets came up to the time of John the Baptist who was spoken of as the final prophet to come just before the appearance of the messiah. (Matthew 11:10)
The Pharisees did everything they could to live by the law, and they reacted dramatically when they encountered anyone who did not join them in their diligence for the letter of the law. When John the Baptist came fasting, they accused him of having a demon because he didn’t eat like them. But when Jesus ate with them and even turned water into wine, they called him demon possessed, a glutton, and a winebibber. (Matthew 11:18-19) They were happy with the status quo and wanted everything to stay the same under the authority of the Old Testament law. They had worked for fifteen hundred years to set up their legal traditions and sacred cows. They had in place all their intricate interpretations that allowed them to get around the regulations of the law that they could not meet. They were content; but, all of a sudden, there appeared a man who came to introduce a new generation that would shake and even remove their world. They resisted because they didn’t want to lose their place and their authority under the law.
The word “violent” here means “by compulsion.” It is used in the Greek to speak of a conscientious objector who is compelled by his government into military service when he doesn’t want to fight and thinks that it is morally wrong to do so. The term is also used for sexual compulsion when a person loses control. Bias is also translated as “mighty” in Acts 2:2, And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. It was a wind of compulsion. The one hundred twenty believers in the Upper Room didn’t make up the languages they were speaking or select the words they were saying. Instead, there was an outside force like an invisible ocean wave that swept over them and compelled them to say things that they otherwise would not be able to vocalize.
In Matthew 12:24, we see how the Pharisees were pressing in on Jesus and accusing Him of violently taking away the kingdom of the law that they so preciously wanted to protect, But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. The violent legalists rose up to press against the kingdom of God as Jesus came to establish it. In Luke 11:17‑21, we see Jesus’ response,
But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace.
Jesus used the illustration of a strong man protecting his goods when a stronger one came in. Jesus, of course, is the stronger one. The stronger man overcame the strong man and took from him all his armor. The devil’s armor is the authority (exousia) that he exerts through his lying, deceptive words. The Bible teaches us that our activity is to be the stronger one and to rip off all the armor the devil is trusting in by destroying those thoughts which try to raise themselves above the knowledge of God. (II Corinthians 10:3-5) We rip off the devil’s armor by speaking the truth. The stronger man then takes what the devil has stolen. The Greek word used here for “strong” and “stronger” is iskuros that means “having physical strength.” Yes, the enemy has some physical strength; however, this passage says that we have more because we are stronger. As we have already learned, our strength is actually exceedingly great in comparison to his strength (Ephesians 1:19) – we are not just a tad stronger, we are immeasurably stronger than our enemy. When the devil flings his lies, we can speak words of truth and demonstrate the fact that we are stronger.
Every time the kingdom of God is preached, there will be a violent force that will rise up against the power of the gospel. The world will compulsively – beyond its own will – turn against us and the kingdom of God. The attack is not against us personally. It is against the gospel that we preach. Those who rise up against us are not working in their own will; they are being compelled to do so. That is why we must remember Paul’s warning that we wrestle not with flesh and blood. Rather than taking offense personally, we must realize that our real enemy is the deception of the devil that is compelling those who oppose us. We can bind the strong man. We are stronger than the devil. We can take the goods he has stolen.
We bind the strong man by using the belt of truth, the gospel of peace, and the sword of the spirit as weapons against the deceptive lies of the enemy. We can refute what he says by proclaiming the truth of the Word. That will bind up everything he says and his exousia is taken away. Because we have more strength, we can take his possessions.
Mark 3:29‑30 reminds us, But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit. When the Pharisees called the work of the Holy Spirit the work of an unclean spirit, it was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. They were learned men who knew the law. They knew the scriptures of the coming of the messiah. They should have been able to recognize the power of God in their day of visitation. They were not unlearned or ignorant men who, without calculation, had thrown off Jesus; they were in danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit because they knew what they were doing and determined to do it anyway. When people have that violent compulsion to come against the kingdom of God, they are getting close to blaspheming the Holy Spirit – a most serious thing because it is unforgivable. At that point, we have to recognize that our ability to step in and bind the strong man and pull off his armor and plunder his house is the thing that will determine their eternal destiny – whether they can ever get forgiveness or whether they will face eternal damnation. We have to step in, bind the strong man, and set the captives free. If we don’t, they are very close to stepping across the line into an unforgivable situation. It is a matter of life and death – not only for our own sakes, but also for the sake of those to whom we minister and even those who oppose us – that we know how to use our armor and our weapons.
Warfare assumes tactics and implements. We don’t go out to fight unless we have the proper implements. As Christians, we have a number of strategic implements and we need to learn to use them. In Ephesians chapter six, Paul lists our armament: a belt of truth, a breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, a shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit. We have already examined these elements of protective gear and have already made the observation that the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon mentioned in this context. When Paul speaks of the sword of the spirit and then tells us to pray in the Spirit, there is obviously a connection intended between the two. It is also clear that the sword, as an offensive weapon, could be used in aggressive, offensive prayer. Our first tactic to help us in being able to move aggressively into spiritual warfare is prayer. Though we have already looked at this point previously, we need to make one simple observation before we see the full implications and impact of this concept. When Paul defines the sword of the spirit, he says that it is the Word of God, using a specific Greek term for “word.” Of the two options available to him (logos and rhema), Paul chose the Greek term rhema that means a specific word as opposed to a general idea. In essence, what Paul was trying to communicate is that we need a specific word for every individual situation. We need to know which rhema to use when we are attacked physically. We have to know which rhema to use when we are attacked spiritually. We have to know which rhema to use when we are attacked financially. We need to know the individual Word to fire back at each situation. If the enemy is attacking with missiles, we need to use antimissile ballistics specifically designed to destroy them. Ordinary rifles are good for one-on-one combat, but they cannot destroy an incoming missile. There is an individual weapon designed for each individual attack and we have to know our weapon of the Word of God to use in each situation. Paul doubly emphasizes the element of the Holy Spirit’s involvement here when he says that the sword is the sword of the spirit and that the prayers must be in the spirit. To understand exactly what he is trying to say here, we must flip back to the book of Romans and see what he said there about praying under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (verses 8:26-28)
The popular verse of Romans 8:28 about everything working together for our good cannot be separated from the verses that come before it. Verse twenty-eight begins with “and,” a conjunction which means that there is something before it which has to be hooked together with it. In reading it in context, we see that the only time we can know that things will work together for good is when we have prayed in the Holy Spirit about our situations. We all have our own weaknesses and shortcomings, but the Holy Spirit overcomes them because He prays for us according to the will of God. You and I may not know how to pray for things because we don’t know the full scope. We have a limitation to our knowledge, but the Holy Spirit isn’t limited. He prays according to the will of God, and He gives us exactly what we need to overcome the difficulty. It is at that point – and only at that point – that we can know that everything works together for good. In other words, the Holy Spirit will show us which one of the rhema truths of the Word of God applies to our immediate situation and then takes those rhema words and powerfully directs them to hit the targeted problem exactly on the bull’s eye every time.
We must know the power in the name of Jesus that will make every knee bow and every tongue confess. (Romans 14:11) And we also must know the power of the cross that is our redemptive force. Let’s reread what Paul has stated as the most significant revelation we can have in order to lead a victorious Christian life.
[I] cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:16-23)
We must also know the power of our position as covenant partners with God. This was the force that made David the victor when he confronted Goliath. He looked at Goliath and saw the one thing that the others had not – that Goliath was uncircumcised and, therefore, did not have a covenant with the God of the earth. (I Samuel 17:26) On the other hand, David saw that he could not be defeated and would have God’s strength to do the job because of his own covenant rights. The sacraments that we receive in the church are confirmations of our covenant rights. When we receive communion, it is a reminder of our covenant right of healing and our redemption. This is my body that is broken for you. This is my blood which is a new covenant. (I Corinthians 11:24-25) We have spiritual authority through the communion. Through it, we are reminded, encouraged, and energized with our covenant right. There is covenant power that occurs in the communion if we know how to recognize and appropriate it. Paul said that there were many who were sick and had died prematurely because they took the communion unworthily – without understanding what it was all about. (I Corinthians 11:27) The Lord implemented baptism for us to have a covenant reality in our lives. When a new convert goes down under the water and is brought back up again, it is a confirmation that he has died to sin and is now raised to life. According to Romans chapter six, baptism is a point of reference from which we can call our covenant rights into being and we can point to as a confirmation that the old man has died and the new creation now lives. Colossians 2:12‑14 also emphasizes that we are raised with Him because of the faith that we release through that event. If we go through water baptism as a ritual without placing our faith into what God has done for us, it is just a religious exercise and has no more spiritual power than just getting wet. But if we recognize it as such, baptism can become a powerful weapon against the enemy when he tries to accuse us of still living in our old sins.
Music is one of the powerful forces that we can use as a weapon against the enemy. It has been said that the army marches by its music. I remember the story of a man who went to fight in World War II because he heard a marching band playing at the recruiting office and got so caught up in the music that he enlisted on the spot. No football team goes to the gridiron without having a fight song. There is something about patriotic music that gets inside of us and moves us to go to fight. Music also brings us into unity. On Sunday mornings when we all come in from our busy weeks, we are all moving in a multitude of different directions. But when we begin to sing, we all have our minds set on the same words, we all have our voices singing the same note, and we all have our spirits on the same truth. When we start to sing, it brings us into unity. Even though there may be a lot of division and contention among the members, in singing, the church comes into unity so that God begins to manifest.
Remember what we have learned from the story of Jehoshaphat – when the enemy heard the singers coming, they became so confused that they fought one another. When Israel came in, all they had to do was to pick up the spoils of war. We can battle with our praise. David calmed the evil spirit that was in Saul when he played his harp. (I Samuel 16:23) Paul admonishes us to sing to ourselves, Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:19) Music can set a victorious atmosphere in our homes. There is a spiritual force that rises up inside us through music.
We have the gifts of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives as strategic spiritual implements. When the king of Syria had declared war against the land of Israel, he called his cabinet together to secretly plan out his next strategy of attack. But through a word of knowledge, God would speak the enemy’s plans to the prophet Elisha who would then tell the king of Israel how to avoid the enemy’s next line of attack. (II Kings 6:8-12) Through the gifts of the Spirit, we can do exactly the same thing in our spiritual warfare. As we have learned in a previous section, everything in our lives may not naturally work out for our best. We may lose a few battles. But when we begin to pray in the Holy Spirit about our challenges, we have the same advantage that Elisha gave to the king of Israel. We have the spiritual gifts as supernatural weapons that overcome the enemy’s tactics against us.
Our tithes and our offerings can be tactics that we can use against the enemy. Haggai tells the story about the people of Israel after they came back from the Babylonian captivity. They had started building the temple, but then started building their own houses and their own businesses. The temple project was left half‑finished. God sent Haggai to ask the people why it was that even though they worked hard all day long and earned money, their money seemed to slip through their fingers and they could never get ends to meet. It was like putting their money in bags with holes in them. Take a look around, and you’ll recognize that most people live exactly like that. Every time they think that they are just about to make the ends meet, someone moves the first end! They are always a day late and a dollar short. Haggai told the people of Israel that their problem was that they had not completed the job they were sent to Jerusalem to do – to rebuild the temple. From the very minute that the people made the decision to put their own affairs aside and complete the temple, their situation turned around one hundred and eighty degrees. Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, the olive tree has not yielded their fruit: but from this day I will bless you. (Haggai 2:19) The prophet Malachi made this experience into a universal principle that will work in all our lives when he penned the promise of God that He would rebuke the devourer for our sake in the day that we decide to bring the full tithes and offerings into the storehouse. (Malachi 3:10-11) Until we use this tactic of our giving, we cannot pull ourselves out of the battlefield of finances. If we are half-hearted or untrue in our tithes and offerings, we will always be in the devil’s battlefield. However, we can push beyond his battlefield by deciding to give our full tithes and offerings. With that decisive point, we will be blessed, and the devourer will be rebuked.
Of course, the most important tactic of our warfare is our right thinking. In Romans 12:2, Paul taught us to renew our minds. In Philippians 4:8, he gave us some sound advice on how to go about that renewal process by telling us to meditate only on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy.
But one significant element still remains to be considered. All these tactics are like arrows, but we need a bow to make them effective. The bow that the Lord places in our hand is faith. We can’t just give; we must give in faith. We can’t just sing; we have to sing in faith. We can’t just quote scriptures; we have to do it in faith. Faith is like the bow that we can pull back to propel those arrows.
Warfare also assumes the presence of a soldier. Second Timothy 2:3 calls us good soldiers. We have to be soldiers in uniform. Ephesians 4:22-24 and Colossians 3:8-14 tell us about getting properly attired for our Christian life by putting off the old man and putting on the new man – putting on our spiritual cloak so that we are then able to put on the armor of God on top of it. (Ephesians 6:11, 13) We could further this study by examining Colossians 3:8-17, Romans 13:12, James 1:21, and Hebrews 12:1 to get a better understanding of some of the things that we must put off in order to put on our uniform; however, a simple parallel from the natural area should serve the purpose. Just like it is impossible for a soldier to put his uniform on top of his jeans and sweatshirt or on top of his business suit, it is impossible for a Christian warrior to try to dress in the armor of God until he first removes the things that have identified him with his former life in this world.
We have to be in formation in the Body of Christ. (I Corinthians 12:14) We have to recognize what our individual position is in the Body. Some are hands, some are feet, some are eyes, some are ears. In a physical army, each soldier has to recognize his specific position and fill that unique spot. There are those people who are on the frontline shooting the artillery. There are people behind the lines bringing up the supplies. There are the medics who take care of the injured along the way. Every person has his own position. Every person cannot be a supply officer or a frontline soldier or a medic. But it takes a certain number of each one – and if any one of those integral elements is lacking, we won’t have a full army functioning properly. In the Body of Christ, we have to know our positions, get in them, and fulfill our specific functions. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. (Ephesians 4:7)
An army is no good unless there is communication. Remember the constant theme that used to appear in the old war movies – the dead batteries in the radio when the frontline soldiers were trying to contact the command post. This scenario was always a major catastrophe and turning point in the movie! In our spiritual lives, we have to be in communication so we can hear from and speak to the command post. There must be communication going on in the battlefield. If we don’t hear our commanding officer through the leading of the Spirit, we are not in proper relationship and won’t be able to fight. The ability to communicate is definitely a turning point in our victory or defeat.
We have to be soldiers on readiness. Matthew chapter seventeen tells the story about a father who brought his child to the disciples to be healed of epilepsy, but the disciples could not cast the demon out. When Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, the father ran to Jesus and told Him the whole story of how the disciples had not been able to cast the spirit out of the boy. We would anticipate our kind, loving, gentle, patient Jesus to be gracious with His disciples and coach them through the deliverance process again. But instead, He turned around and rebuked them for their unbelief and disobedience. I guess that He must have left His WWJD bracelet on the dresser that morning and didn’t have it to remind Him how to be kind and sweet. Actually, He had a reason for scolding His disciples. In chapter ten, He had given them the power over all demons, but somewhere between chapters ten and seventeen, they had lost their authority. Jesus was scolding them, not because they couldn’t cast out the spirit, but because they had lost the authority that He had already given them. He then added that the spirit would only come out through prayer and fasting. Apparently, the disciples had stopped praying and fasting between chapters ten and seventeen; therefore, they were not ready to deal with a demonic problem when it arose. A dramatic example of this lack of readiness in modern history can be found in the early Sunday morning attack on Pearl Harbor when the men on the naval base weren’t ready. Only a minimal number of men were on duty. Many of the sailors had partied the night before and were still asleep. When they weren’t ready, destruction came. Likewise, we as soldiers in the army of God many times get too lackadaisical and let down our guard, leaving ourselves unready when spiritual conflicts arise. We must learn to be ready because we can lose battles if we are attacked when we aren’t being vigilant. (I Peter 5:8)
Warfare assumes choosing up sides. Remember choosing up sides to make up the ball teams when you were a kid. Joshua commanded the people of Israel that they would have to choose whose side they were going to be on – the gods of the Egyptians, the gods of the Amorites, or Jehovah God. (Joshua 24:15) In the church today, some have become traitors; they wear the coat of one side but talk the talk of the other side. There are those who wear the robes of the church, but they are talking the talk and having the mindset of the enemy. If we are going to be in the warfare, we have to choose to be on one side or the other. We can’t be conformed to the present world; rather, we must be transformed to the kingdom of God. (Romans 12:2)
Warfare assumes territories. There are territories that have been set with literal boundaries and principalities in place over them. We must decide which territory is whose, and we have to go in and take territory that God wants us to have. When we take a territory, we go in and pull down the flag and raise our flag in its place. We, as Christians, need to come into every area of our lives and the lives of those around us and tear down the enemy’s stronghold and raise our flag.
Warfare assumes a purpose. The warfare we are talking about is not just a rivalry between the Hatfields and McCoys who carried on a family feud for many years without even understanding why it was that the two families were at odds. Our warfare has a real purpose. Reclaiming territory the devil is trying to take away from us is our purpose. Maintaining our covenant possessions is our purpose. We have an offensive purpose in reclaiming territory and a defensive purpose in maintaining what is ours.
Warfare assumes total involvement. Our spirits, our souls, and our bodies all have to be involved if we are going to win. We have already learned from James 4:7-8, Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. We observed that our physical man was involved when we heeded the command to cleanse our hands, our soulical man was implicated when we purified our hearts, and our spiritual man was drawn in when we drew nigh to God and submitted ourselves to Him.
Chapter Twenty-four
A Snake in the Grass Or, at Least, in the Tree
Before we conclude our study, let’s take one quick look at the first encounter that the human race had with our diabolical enemy. It’s the familiar story of Satan’s visit with Adam and Eve in the form of a serpent. (Genesis 3:1-6) When Paul analyzed the event in his epistles, he made a couple very revealing observations: in II Corinthians 11:3, he observed that Eve was beguiled through the serpent’s subtlety; in I Timothy 2:14, he added that although Eve was deceived, Adam was not deceived by the serpent’s smooth talk. Apparently, Adam recognized what was going down and went along with the program even though he knew better. Because he willingly surrendered the dominion that God had originally placed in his care (Genesis 1:26, 28), Satan was able to begin exerting authority on our planet. It stands to reason that if it was Adam, a human being, who gave the devil power or authority to work in the earth, then Adam, the human, has the responsibility of retracting that authority. Jesus Christ – as a human and the last Adam (I Corinthians 15:45) – did just that; He undid what the first Adam messed up! But that’s not the end of the story. He then left the continuing authority in the hands of other humans – you and me! Let’s go forth and occupy until He returns and inflicts the final blow on Satan and all his fiendish subjects!! (Luke 19:13)
Epilogue
A Primer of Verses to Help Establish Your Place of Victory
A friend of mine had suffered from serious depression that totally immobilized him. He could not function at work, at home, or in any level of society. Spiritually, emotionally, physically – his life had almost totally shut down. He had not only come to a standstill, he was rapidly losing ground through the loss of his marriage, his employment, and his finances. Soon, the downward spiral became a headlong plunge toward the abyss. When he called me for prayer, I typed out the following verses and asked him to read and repeat them until he was able to recite them by heart – not just by heart, but from the heart. A few weeks later he called back with the victorious testimony that he had been miraculously set free. As I close this study, I’d like to leave these scriptures with you to help prime the pump for any spiritual conflict you may encounter.
II Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
I John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Ephesians 1:19-21, 2:6 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.
Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
I John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.