1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
John Piper asks, in a sermon “The Dominion Belongs to the God of All Grace”
So can true, born again, Christians possibly be devoured by the devil? No they can’t, because true born again Christians resist the devil firm in their faith. That’s the meaning of being true born again Christians; they have the Holy Spirit inside moving them to fight the fight of faith.
If God says—which he does say in 1 Peter 1:5—that he will keep us eternally secure by his power through faith, then it is foolish and presumptuous to say, I am eternally secure without a life of faith. The promise stands sure in many wonderful passages of Scripture (Philippians 1:6; 1 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; Hebrews 13:20f., Romans 8:30): God will bring us safely through the jungle of this world and keep us from being devoured by the devil; and he will do it by his power through faith. Therefore the person who says, I believe I am eternally secure, and so I don’t need to resist the devil firm in my faith is contradicting God and throwing away the warrant of his assurance. Those who are called by God do not do that. They fight to the end. And that is their badge of being born of God.
Where Is Our Assurance Found?
Verse 10 shows us where our assurance is really found.
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
What this verse promises is this: if God called you to his glory, he’s going to get you to his glory. A little suffering in between is not going to stop him.
The meaning of being a Christian is that we have been effectually called to eternal glory (cf. 1:15; 2:9). This is Peter’s way of saying what Paul said in Romans 8:30: Whom God calls he also justifies, and whom he justifies he also glorifies. Peter simply says, The One who called you to his glory will get you to his glory: he will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. It’s a promise. You can take it for yourself if you will have it and believe it and bank on it this morning.
And I urge you to take it. When Peter says that “the God of all grace” makes this promise, he wants to help you believe that it’s for you. You may say. It can’t be for me. I’m not qualified. I’m not spiritual. Peter says, you don’t start with being qualified. You start with the God of all grace. Grace precedes qualification. You may have this promise freely, if you will believe in this God of all grace.
And he gives one last encouragement to believe it in verse 11: “To Him—to the God of all grace—be dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Dominion means superior strength. God has dominion over the devil. He is stronger than Satan. Therefore when he promises to successfully get us through the jungle of this world and bring us to glory, he can do it and will do it. Dominion belongs to the Lord.
Resist the Devil Firm in Your Faith
So when Satan roars with his suffering in your face and threatens to devour you, don’t say, “O, I’m eternally secure, this is no real threat.” Rather say, “The God of all grace has called me to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, and after I have suffered a little while from your claws and fangs, he will perfect and confirm and strengthen and establish me. He is a God of all grace. He is a God of absolute dominion. You can maul me. And you can even kill me. But you cannot devour me. He has called me to glory and he will get me to glory.”
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 
Can True Christians Be Devoured by the Devil?
Well, if one is in conflict with Christ’s teachings, then certainly he or she has been devoured, no matter how true a Christian they may think of themselves. Didn’t Jesus say:
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”
“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Mathew 7:22-23
So we see VERY CLEARLY that Jesus disowns some who claim affiliation with him i.e. consider themselves as Christians.
One should ask whether he or she accepts or goes against the words of Jesus, who when asked as to which was THE GREATEST of all, said:
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Mathew 12:29 NKJV
1. Jesus said that God is “one”.
2. Notice he didn’t say that there are “three” that bear record in heaven, father son and holy ghost, but referred only to one God.
3. So is God one as Jesus taught, or is He three in one as someone else said? Whose side are you on?
4. If one breaks away from the greatest commandment of unity of God and instead accepts the trinity, then hasn’t he or she parted ways with Jesus?
Kashif Shahzada
http://kashifshahzada.wordpress.com
Kashif,
You are correct in saying that “Jesus disowns some who claim affiliation with him i.e. consider themselves as Christians.” Sadly, there are many professing Christians who are not TRUE Christians, and that is the point Dr. Piper was making. TRUE Christians are not “devoured.”
However, you do not understand the concept of the Trinity, God is ONE in three persons. Jesus said in John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.” and there are numerous other Scriptures to which I could point you. In John 14:9 “Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
I’m very glad that you stopped by to read this post, and I would love some ongoing dialogue. My prayer is that you would trust in Jesus as your Savior, for as He said in John 14:6-7 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Simply being in conflict with Christ’s teachings does not mean one has been devoured.
If this were the case, most of the New Testament would never have been written. With the exception of the Gospels and the Book of Revelation, the entire New Testament was written to Christians who were in “conflict” with Christ’s teachings.
Throughout the New Testament, Christians were exhorted and taught the way they ought to live – they were encouraged and taught to examine their lives. II Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith ….” If we don’t do that, then we are in danger of self deception – believing we are true followers of Christ when we really aren’t. This is one reason Jesus asks his followers to celebrate communion regularly (I Corinthians 11:26), in order that we may examine our lives.
To believe that one has been devoured simply because he/she has failed to live up to a list of religious rules is simply not Biblical.
Yes, Matthew Chapter 7 describes a departure for those who claim to have known Christ.
And – yes – Jesus will disown some who claim affiliation with him. Key word being “some.” The parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-8 teaches us that the seed of God’s Word and the message of Salvation is cast upon four types of soil. Only one kind of soil manifests the fruit of true salvation. There are many deceived Christians.
As Pam points out, this is Dr. Piper’s point: That TRUE Christians are not devoured. True Christians are most certainly tempted and most certainly fall. But a TRUE Christian has the assurance of his/her faith because the “Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16). It’s a terrible difficult thing to explain – better experienced!!
If you look at the Scriptures listed in the post above (Philippians 1:6; 1 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; Hebrews 13:20., Romans 8:30), you’ll find that none of them address being (or not being) in conflict with Christ’s teachings, but rather an assurance of our standing before Christ.
Sadly, There are many Christian teachers today who believe that the main mission field today, as far as America is concerned, is the church membership itself. Churches in America are full of people who say empty words and this is precisely what Matthew 7:21-22 addresses: “Not every one that SAITH unto me, Lord, Lord. . . .”
My prayer too is that everyone who questions and studies the Bible would come to trust in Jesus as Savior.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through me. -John 14:6
Satan, the adversary of every Christian, will one day be bound and utterly defeated. At that point he will no longer have the ability to harass and torment the children of God. Today, however, he is tirelessly at work doing all he can to rob God of glory, and to destroy the creatures that God loves. Dr. Frank M. Kepner, the Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Long Beach, California, from 1956-1979, once wrote: “Yes, when we have been brought close to Christ by some high spiritual experience or by some noble decision, we may always expect great temptation to follow. For Satan never surrenders a life to God without a desperate struggle.”
Of course, the faithful Christian who studies his Bible is not ignorant of Satan’s devices, weapons, schemes, or persistence. When he is tripped by Satan, and stumbles into sin, he need not fret or wallow in defeat. In fact, Christians have access to a great promise concerning God’s compassion on His children even when they have shamefully stumbled. “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32) When you have been “born again” – that is, born into the family of God – your past sins are forgiven, your current sins are forgiven, and even your future sins are forgiven. The “tense” of your sins is not the important thing. The tense of God’s forgiveness is. The sins of believers were dealt with on the Cross of Christ and they “hath” been (past tense) forgiven.
A believer who is dealt a blow by Satan, and who gives in to sin, grieves the Holy Spirit of God. “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30) This would have been the perfect place for God to tell us that our sins can cause the Spirit to be grieved to the point that He leaves us, and that we lose our eternal salvation. But He does not. Instead, He reminds us that, though we may grieve the Holy Spirit, He still seals Christians unto the day of redemption. Satan is strong. Some men are strong. But no one can break the seal of God.
Thanks so much for your comments and prayers! This website project has blessed me in so many ways, and I’m learning SO much!
@ pamlarson: You said: “…you do not understand the concept of the Trinity, God is ONE in three persons. …”
Pam,
Before coming to the conclusion that Jesus is divine by only reading the four words in John 10:30 “I and my father are one.”, please read the complete passage, starting with John 10:23:
John 10:23-30 (King James Version)
23And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.
24Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
25Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
30I and my Father are one.
You can see that in the above Jesus is *one* not in divinity or trinity but one in purpose. This oneness of purpose is also mentioned in John 17:20-22
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.”
Please note carefully:
“That they ALL may be ONE; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee…”
“..that THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US…”
“…that they may be ONE, even as we are ONE…”
Pam, if by mentioning some as one with God makes them divine, then are the people that Jesus speaks of in above also divine or same as God??
http://www.KashifShahzada.Wordpress.com