wiles
Ephesians 6:11
6:11 wiles. The word “wiles” is equivalent to “strategy.” The devil is “the god of this world,” the one that “deceiveth the whole world” (II Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:9). He can appear as “an angel of light” and yet is “a roaring lion…seeking whom he may devour” (II Corinthians 11:14; I Peter 5:8). In our own strength, we are no match for him at all. Not even the archangel Michael could rebuke him on his own (Jude 9). We can only stand against him if we are “strong in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:10) and wear “the whole armour of God.” We need not be “ignorant of his devices” (II Corinthians 2:11), the very first of which (and still the most effective) is to cause us to doubt God’s Word (Genesis 3:1, 4) and then to disobey it (Genesis 3:5-6). That he has been extremely successful with this device is evident, considering especially the modern widespread distortion of its foundation in the Genesis record of creation and earth history, followed by wholesale rebellion against all God’s commandments and finally by the rejection of His great love in the sacrifice of His Son.