Make Satan’s Attacks Backfire! How to Win Your Spiritual Battles

None of Satan’s strategies to destroy the Church have ever succeeded.

By studying Church history, it becomes evident very quickly that each attack the enemy has waged against the Church has ultimately helped to further the cause of Jesus Christ. Two thousand years of experience emphatically tell us that the devil has absolutely no winning strategies. He simply does not know how to win!

By having Paul imprisoned for his faith, the devil thought he could destroy Paul’s ministry. But this was not a winning strategy for the devil at all. By imprisoning Paul, the devil made the horrible mistake of placing Paul in a situation where he had nothing to do except listen to the Holy Spirit. This strategy of Satan utterly failed!

During his various confinements in prison, Paul received some of the most outstanding revelations in the entire New Testament — the books of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Second Timothy, and Philemon. All of the revelations contained in these epistles are a result of Paul’s time spent in prison! Thus, we see the reason Paul said, “Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound” (2 Timothy 2:9).

Had Paul never been bound in prison, he may not have written these vital books of the New Testament. Can you imagine how hectic his ministry outside those prison walls must have been? His ministry was perhaps more demanding than any other ministry in history!

As an apostle, Paul had been consumed with establishing new churches, discipling new leaders, and helping to correct problems in the local church. Outside those prison walls, his ministry was extremely effective and damaging to the domain of darkness. By binding Paul in chains and throwing him in jail, the devil calculated that his effectiveness would be destroyed. But the devil was wrong — Paul’s effectiveness increased!

History is full of the devil’s miscalculations. Another example is found in the story of the apostle John.

The devil inspired Domitian, the Roman emperor, to imprison John on the isle of Patmos. By putting John on this foreboding little island out in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, Satan thought he could destroy John’s effectiveness in ministry. This was yet another horrible mistake! By isolating John on the isle of Patmos, the devil helped position John to receive the Book of Revelation!

How about the miscalculation the devil made regarding Aquila and Priscilla? This is another extremely dramatic illustration of how Satan’s strategies always backfire!

The earliest Church records reveal that Aquila and Priscilla founded the church of Rome. In fact, the church in Rome actually met in their home when it was first being established. Then the massive persecution against Jews commenced during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Like many other believers who lived in the Jewish colonies of Rome, Aquila and Priscilla were driven out of the city.

Imagine how heart-rending it must have been for this couple to leave their church family behind! They had founded the church in Rome and had led many of those people to the Lord. They had helped the people get filled with the Holy Spirit and had taught them, discipled them, and watched them grow in their relationship with the Lord. The church family of Rome was precious and dear to the hearts of Aquila and Priscilla. But now, against their wills, they were being forced to leave it all behind.

You can be sure, just on the basis of human nature alone, that Aquila and Priscilla thought it was all over for them when they were expelled from Rome. Just think how devastated and crushed their hearts must have been as they packed their belongings and said farewell to their remaining church family in Rome. Surely they must have thought that they were all “washed up” in the ministry.

Yet this couple’s greatest ministry began after they left Rome! Once expelled from Rome, Aquila and Priscilla traveled eastward and settled in the city of Corinth, where they took up the trade of tent-making and later met Paul. On Paul’s subsequent trip to Ephesus, he brought Aquila and Priscilla with him. There the couple met Apollos, an extremely influential and educated Jew from Alexandria who had come to visit Ephesus. It was during Apollos’ visit to this city that Aquila and Priscilla “…expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (see Acts 18:24-26).

Apollos eventually became the pastor of the Corinthian Church. Had Aquila and Priscilla been allowed to stay in Rome, they might never have met Apollos and led him to the Lord. This attack that came to destroy their ministry actually positioned them to help further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Likewise, had Aquila and Priscilla stayed in Rome, they might never have met the apostle Paul. It was only after they were driven out of Rome that they met him and joined him as one of his associates. This apostolic team ministered to churches all over Greece and Asia Minor for years and years to come.

So although the devil thought he was shutting down forever the powerful ministry of Aquila and Priscilla by expelling them from Rome, he was actually positioning them to move up to a higher level of ministry than they had ever experienced! Had the devil never attacked them and expelled them from their work in Rome, they might never have left Rome and entered into this greater mission field.

A Closed Door Does Not Mean Failure

Regardless of what the devil tries to do to you, your family, your church, or your ministry, you must continue to stand in faith. As you do, God will turn around the enemy’s attack so that it works for the advancement of His Kingdom!

Even if your finances are assaulted and the plan of God appears to come under siege in your life, God is able to take these wicked devices and turn them to work for your good. As Paul said, “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” (Romans 8:28).

A closed door does not mean failure! If a door slams shut in your face and it looks like everything is over, hold tight and refrain from making a judgment call about the situation. What the devil did to hurt you, God will use to bless you! God may be preparing to open the largest, most effectual door of opportunity that has ever been made available to you!

Paul had suffered many blows from the enemy that, naturally speaking, should have mortally wounded him. Yet when it was all said and done, he was still alive and well and thriving in the ministry. Having seen God’s faithfulness on so many occasions, Paul confidently looked trouble in the face and declared, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37)!

Notice that Paul calls us “more than conquerors.” The phrase “more than conquerors” is taken from the Greek word hupernikos, which is a compound of two words: huper and nikos. It appears that this is the first time the word hupernikos was ever used in Greek literature; it was coined by Paul himself.

Why is it important to know this? It tells us that there were no words strong enough in the Greek language to express what Paul wanted to say. Therefore, he made up his own word! By joining the words huper and nikos together into one word, Paul made one fabulous, jam-packed, power-filled statement!

The phrase “more than” (huper) literally means over, above, and beyond. It depicts something that is way beyond measure. We derive the word “super” from the word huper. As used in this passage, it conveys the idea of superiority. It means greater; superior; higher; better; more than a match for; utmost; paramount; or foremost. It also means to be first-rate, first-class, top-notch, unsurpassed, unequaled, and unrivaled by any person or thing!

Now Paul uses this word to denote what kind of conquerors we are in Jesus Christ. We are huper-conquerors! The word huper dramatizes our victory. It means that we are greater conquerors, superior conquerors, higher and better conquerors. We are more than a match for any adversary or foe. We are utmost conquerors, paramount conquerors, foremost conquerors, first-rate conquerors, first-class conquerors, top-notch conquerors, unsurpassed conquerors, unequaled and unrivaled conquerors! All of this is what the phrase “more than” means!

The word “conqueror” is from the word nikos. It describes an overcomer, conqueror, champion, victor, or master. It is the picture of an overwhelming, prevailing force. The word nikos is a dramatic word that depicts one who is altogether victorious. However, nikos alone wasn’t strong enough to make Paul’s point, so he joined the words huper and nikos together to make his point even stronger!

By calling us “more than conquerors,” Paul tells us that in Christ Jesus, we are overwhelming conquerors, victors paramount, or enormous overcomers. This word is so power-packed that one could translate it “a phenomenal, walloping conquering force”!

In light of this, we can better see what Paul means when he says, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” He is not referring to a small victory; instead, he declares that we are mighty victors! We are “a phenomenal, walloping conquering force”!

With the power of Jesus Christ at our disposal, we can be certain 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 8:38,39).

Regardless of what the devil has attempted to do to you in the past — regardless of the attacks that have come against you, your family, your business, or your ministry — in the end these attacks will utterly fail! Although the devil may try to abort the plan of God for your life, the Bible promises that “no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper…” (Isaiah 54:17). Each attack that comes your way will ultimately work for your good, because you love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Over the centuries, Satan’s plan has not changed. He still hates the Church of Jesus Christ; he still despises the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. He is still trying to prevent the Church from demonstrating Jesus’ victory over him and from executing the judgment that the Word of God has declared over him.

Satan still actively seeks to destroy us. The Church is still a menace to his domain that he seeks to oppose with all of his might.