The devil must be for real, for Martin Luther threw an inkwell at him! They say that the ink stain can still be seen on the wall of Luther’s room in Wartburg Castle in Germany where his friends had hidden him to save him from his enemies. But the devil was apparently there with him, disturbing his efforts to translate the Bible into German. The stain on the wall doesn’t necessarily mean that the reformer missed the devil, but perhaps only that the inkwell went through him. Or maybe the devil appeared as a shadow on the wall! The devil, meaning hater or slanderer, is, after all, a spirit being and invisible to human eyes, And yet he has the power to "transform himself into an angel of light" (2 Cor. 11:14). In the Bible he also takes the form of a serpent, a dragon, and as a lion, symbols of destructive power.

We are not to make Luther out to be some kind of nut. Who knows, the reformer may have been translating that very verse – "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (Jas. 4:7) – when the tempter appeared, disturbing his work. Luther reached for the nearest thing to him, and threw it at him. Perhaps it worked. It is a dramatic moment in the history of the reformation of the church. We don’t have to be a Lutheran to recall the ink stain on the wall when we ourselves have such a diabolic visitation.

Jesus may not have thrown objects at Satan – the Hebrew word for devil, a synonym -- but he was something of a Lutheran in the way he resisted him. He used words instead of missiles. In the Temptation narrative (Mt. 4:1-11) he quoted Scripture to him, and at last rebuffed him with "Away with you, Satan!" In responding to Peter on one occasion the Lord spoke to his disciple as if to the devil himself, "Get thee behind me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of man" (Mk. 8:33). Here Jesus makes it clear when we seek the "things of men," meaning the values of the world, that we yield to Satan.

While the Temptation story is bewilderingly mysterious, one thing comes through resoundingly clear – the devil had a prominent role in the ministry of Jesus, especially at the outset. Matthew tells us it was part of the script: "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil (Mt. 4:1). When it was all over Matthew tells us, "Then the devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him" (Mt. 4: 11). It was a moment of victory for the Messiah, with heaven celebrating. The devil’s departure was not once for all. He makes other appearances, but never again in so prominent a role. One incident is especially interesting. When "the Seventy" were exultant over driving out demons in the name of Jesus, the Lord told them that while they were doing this, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven (Lk. 10:18). Jesus appears all along to be conscious of an ongoing crucible with Satan and his demons. The apostles came to see it that way: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 Jn. 3:8). Paul saw Jesus’ ministry not only as a "disarming" of Satan but of all the spirit world – "the principalities and the powers" (Col. 2:15).

Jesus’ crucible with the devil was not only a real experience for him, but it informs us in reference to our own "wrestling" with the Evil One. The Temptation event likely took place in Jesus’ mind. This is evident in such language as "Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world." There was not, is not, and cannot be a mountain from which one can see all the kingdoms of the world. But Jesus experienced it in his own mind, and it was for real. The tempter somehow penetrated his psyche, and was testing him.

Jesus did not have to " see" the devil in order to sense his presence. We may think of them in that desolate wilderness as caught up in a spirit world. It was a brutal, agonizing confrontation. Jesus had to decide on his methodology as he began his ministry. Would he use Satan’s worldly wisdom and methods, and thus avoid the Cross? Or would he use lowly methods that "make foolish the wisdom of the world?" The Temptation – following his baptism – was part of the humiliation he had to face in becoming obedient "even unto death on the Cross" (Philip. 2:8). From that moment on Jesus steadfastly moved toward Gethsemane and the Cross, and the salvation of the world, the very thing Satan sought to avert in the Temptation.

Satan was to make one more effort, even if a lame one, in the person of Peter, referred to above. Peter and two other apostles had just seen Jesus in his glory on the mount of Transfiguration. In this context Jesus tells them that the Son of Man must suffer, be crucified, and on the third day rise again. Peter takes him aside and rebukes him for talking about suffering and death. It was the Temptation plot all over again. Again, Jesus silences Satan – now present in the form of one of his apostles. Satan would yet "enter into Judas" – another apostle – and set in motion the passion of Christ.

I venture that we all – at one time or another, and perhaps often – have our own encounter with Satan, not all that different from what our Lord encountered. It may come in subtle ways. Paul urges believers to put on the armor of God – faith, righteousness, hope, salvation, peace, the Spirit – so as to "stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph. 6:13-17). The devil’s wiles are his tricks, his deceptive tactics. He slips into our thinking unawares. He deceives us into believing that the ways of the world lead to wealth, health, success, and the approval of men, while the way of Christ will lead to failure, defeat, and disappointment. A favorite trick of the tempter is to allow for religion and even faith in Christ, but not to take it seriously. We too, like our Lord, have to decide between the "ways of men" and the "ways of God." One way may well lead to suffering, rejection, and death, but in the end victory and resurrection.

If we listen to Scripture there is no question about the reality of Satan. The language is sometimes grim – "the whole world is in the power of the Evil One" (1 Jn. 5:19).It is sometimes a somber warning – "lest Satan should take advantage of you, for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Cor. 2:11). And sometimes downright scary – "Be sober, be diligent; for your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8).

We are urged to "give no place to the devil" (Eph. 4:27). It is even inferred that he dwells in the very air we breath (Eph. 2:2), and that he is the "prince of this world" (Jn. 12:31), and even "the god of this age" (2 Cor. 4:4). Paul traced his thorn in the flesh to "a messenger of Satan" (2 Cor. 12:7). If that were not enough, Rev. 2:13 tells us that "Satan’s throne" may well be in some churches!

I am not saying in all this that we are to rise each morning thinking about what the devil might do to us that day. There are two extremes. One is to be so preoccupied with the devil that we live in mortal fear, and conjure up visions of a toothy red imp with tail and trident. Such ones rarely envision the Evil One as an "angel of light" possibly in the pulpit or the classroom.

The other extreme is to treat the devil as a broken-down myth, and to banish him from any serious relevance to life as we know it today. There are of course evil influences in our society, but to relate this to the biblical claims of a real devil is ignorance and superstition.

A balanced view is to accept the biblical evidence, and to recognize that we are in a war of cosmic proportions. And in every war we need not only to know who the enemy is, but something of his methods. If it is true that the best defense is a good offence, then we "stand against the wiles of the devil" by putting on the likeness of Christ – his righteousness, goodness, kindness, and humility. With these we are able "to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one" (Eph. 6:16).

I will speak on "Our Heritage in Churches of Christ" this Wednesday, June 7, at 7 p.m. at the South MacArthur Church of Christ, 1401 S. MacArthur, Irving, Tx. If you live in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex Ouida and I would be honored to see you.

The First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in my hometown of Denton, Texas, is celebrating Pentecost Sunday this Lord’s day, along with all churches that follow the church year. Their bulletin gives this invitation: "Come celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of Christ’s church as recorded in the second chapter of Acts. This Sunday, as we gather for worship, we will recall this event, and the continuing presence of the Spirit in the life of the church." It goes to say that the color to wear is red.

It is likely that at my own Churches of Christ in Denton nothing will be said about Pentecost Sunday, and probably little about the Holy Spirit. Pentecost Sunday? Birthday of the church? Holy Spirit? These "liberals" will be the death of us yet! But I think I’ll wear my red shirt this Lord’s day, and I am going to tell at least five people that it is Pentecost Sunday! Eccelesia semper reformanda – the church always reforming.

You will notice from above date that I almost did a 6-6-6. It is just as well in writing about the devil that we are three days short of being apocalyptic!