Giving Satan No Advantage
Our ignorance of satan and his tactics, as well as how to deal with them, is sometimes costly. Second Corinthians 2:11 tells us, “In order that no advantage be taken of us by satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” The context is forgiveness - harboring unforgiveness allows satan to take advantage of us - but a general principle is also revealed in this verse. Let’s dig a little deeper.
Ignorance
The word “ignorant” is the Greek word agnoeo. It means “without knowledge or understanding of.”(1) Our English word “agnostic” is derived from it. Technically, an agnostic is not a person who is unsure if he or she believes in God, though we use the word this way. Actually, an agnostic is simply a person without knowledge or understanding of any given subject. We also get the word “ignore” from the same root. In this verse, we’re encouraged not to ignore or be an agnostic - without understanding - where satan’s actions are concerned.
Thoughts, Plans, and Schemes
“Schemes” is the Greek word noema. It literally means “thought” or “a product of the mind.”(2) The verse is essentially saying, "Don’t be without understanding of the way satan thinks.” Noema is also used for “plans, schemes, plots, devices” because these things are products of our minds and thoughts. For greater insight, let’s insert all of these definitions into the verse: “Don’t be without understanding of the way your enemy thinks and operates - of his plans, plots, schemes, and devices.” (By the way, there is more than just a warning or admonition here. There is also a hidden promise: If God tells us not to be ignorant of satan’s schemes, He is obviously willing to alert us to them.
Taking Advantage Of
The verse then reveals to us the results of being unaware of satan’s schemes: he’ll take “advantage” of us. The word is pleonekteo, a compound word meaning literally “to have or hold the greater portion.”(3) It is easy to see why this word is also translated as “covet.”
It also means “overreach.”(4) Overreach means to get the better of someone, usually through trickery or cunning. Consistent with this, pleonekteo is also translated “make a gain.” Bullinger says it means “to make a prey of, to defraud.”(5) Satan takes advantage of, preys on, and makes a lot of gains on us when we are unaware of his attacks, schemes, and ways.
The Results
Let’s put all these definitions together: “To the degree we are ignorant of the way our adversary thinks and operates - of his plans, plots, schemes and devices - to that degree he will prey on us, gain on us, defraud us of what is ours, and have or hold the greater portion.”
Not good!
The greater portion of what? Whatever! Our minds, homes, marriages, families, communities, income, government, nation, and more. Jesus said he “Comes to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).
In the 1960’s, the church in America was ignorant, without understanding regarding what satan was plotting and planning, and he obtained the greater portion of our schools. The same could be said of our government. In the 70’s, he schemed and planned through our legal system and laid the groundwork for killing 65 million babies in the womb. All of this occurred because many in the church were unaware of his plans.
We must listen and be led by Holy Spirit if we are to successfully defeat the schemes of the enemy. The Bible refers to Holy Spirit as “The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:2). He functioned in these ways for Jesus as His “Helper” (John 14:26). Jesus was “led” by Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1), and anointed by Him (Acts10:38).
Then Christ told us He would send us the same Helper He had while on earth: the Holy Spirit (John 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7). But satan has effectively worked to erode the influence of Holy Spirit in the American church. I’ve seen statistics showing that over 50% of evangelicals don’t believe in a literal Holy Spirit. They believe He is just symbolic, a way of picturing God’s presence. This is beyond ridiculous! We cannot expect to overcome satan without our heavenly Helper! If Jesus needed Him, so do we!!!
We will never be perfect in our hearing of Holy Spirit’s alerts, but we can and are growing in this regard. Even Paul failed at times, saying in 1 Thessalonians 2:18 that he was taken advantage of more than once by satan in the battle over spreading the gospel: “For we wanted to come to you - I, Paul, more than once - and yet satan thwarted us.” Thwarted comes from a word meaning “to cut off.”(6) Who hasn’t been cut off in traffic? Well, satan “cut off” Paul en route to Thessalonica. We know this great apostle won more battles than he lost, but he wasn’t perfect, and occasionally Satan succeeded in thwarting his plans.
Please notice that it doesn't say “God changed His mind” about where Paul was to go. The verse clearly says satan hindered him. Those who would have us think satan can do nothing except what God allows, and therefore we can just ignore him, should reread 2 Corinthians 2:11 and this verse in Thessalonians. God doesn’t ignore the devil, and neither should we. And satan certainly does a lot of things God doesn’t “allow” him to do.
The only sense in which it can be said that God allows everything that happens on earth is that He created the laws and principles governing the earth - sowing and reaping, cause and effect, the free will of humans, etc. We, however, implement these principles and determine much of what we reap and experience.
We are growing in our ability to hear God’s voice and walk in His ways. We are becoming increasingly led by Holy Spirit, and taking back what satan has stolen from us. The Ekklesia is becoming the overcoming church Jesus spoke of in Matthew 16, and the fruit of this is being seen in the earth. Jesus will have what He said He would have, including a glorious church.
Pray with me:
Father, it is not Your will that satan takes advantage of us. Never. We thank You for giving us Holy Spirit to help us and alert us to the attacks and schemes of the devil. Remind us that Holy Spirit is always with us to lead, guide, counsel, and give understanding. And remind us to listen.
Where satan has taken advantage of us, show us how to reverse this, both in our personal lives and for our country. Show us how to take back our health, our finances, and anything else he has stolen. Continue to lead us as we do so for our nation, reversing what his diabolical plans have caused. You are well able to heal our land, and You have said America shall be saved. We believe this - and are laying hold of it!
In this critical season, we pray for our nation’s government. Give us leaders who will honor You. Continue to awaken those who already know You, giving them a greater desire to know You more. Lead them as they war against evil in the Middle East, and cause the end result of all that is occurring in that region to be an epic revival. Work all of the evil and all that takes place for Your good. These things we pray in Yeshua’s name. Amen.
Our decree:
We are growing in our ability to be led by the Spirit, decreasing satan’s ability to take advantage of us.
Today’s post was adapted from a chapter in my book, Intercessory Prayer, published by Baker Books.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
Ethelbert W. Bullinger, A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975), p. 400.
Spiros Zodhiates, Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible–New American Standard (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1984: revised edition, 1990), p. 1797.
Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary (Iowa Falls, IA: Word Bible Publishers, 1992), p. 1173.
James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 4122.
Bullinger, A Critical Lexicon and Concordance, p. 28.
Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, ref. no. 1465.