The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

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In previous posts (#1, #2), we were introduced to Satan as the destroyer, and we examined the words of Jesus in the Gospel of John. Here, we explore what Peter has to say about the destructive nature of the evil one.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world (1 Pet. 5:6-9).

Peter is no stranger to the wiles of the devil. As he concludes his first epistle, Peter urges believers suffering persecution to humble themselves (5:6). Peter knows, as does the apostle Paul, that pride, especially among leaders, plays into the hands of the evil one (cf. 1 Tim. 3:6-7). In addition, Peter encourages his readers to cast their cares on God, fully confident the Lord understands their trials and cares deeply for them. As they humble themselves before God and trust him to take vengeance on their persecutors, the Lord exalts them when the time is right – perhaps in this life, and most certainly when they stand before him at the judgment seat of Christ (cf. Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10).

Peter then exhorts his fellow believers to be sober-minded and alert because their common adversary – the devil – prowls around like a lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Peter writes out of painful personal experience. Let’s briefly recount two such occasions.

Matthew 16

Jesus has taken his disciples to Caesarea Philippi. There, in the foothills of Mount Hermon, at a place historically known for its paganism – even the very gates of hades – Jesus asks his disciples who people say he is. The disciples offer several replies: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. But then Jesus asks directly, “But you [plural] … who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15).

Peter steps forward and boldly proclaims, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (v. 16).

Jesus acknowledges Peter’s truthful declaration, which is not Peter’s own but the Father’s revelation from heaven. Jesus goes on: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (v. 18). While there is much debate about the identity of the rock upon which Christ builds his church, it is clear that Peter’s truthful revelation about Jesus is the heart of the gospel message. 

This is a high point in the apostle’s ministry, yet his boldness soon gives way to arrogance: 

From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns” (Matt. 16:21-23, emphasis added).

The very reason Jesus comes to earth as Messiah is to lay down his life. Now that Peter has properly identified Jesus, the Lord sets his sights on Jerusalem, where he must exchange his sinless life for our redemption. Thinking the Messiah’s immediate mission is to assume King David’s throne, Peter puffs up with pride and presumes to scold the Son of God. 

Jesus quickly turns from commendation to condemnation, referring to Peter as “Satan” (Greek Satanas). Whether Jesus is simply calling Peter an adversary, or identifying him with the evil one, it is a stinging rebuke. And, as Peter crafts the closing lines of his first epistle, there’s little doubt he remembers how quickly he dropped his guard and switched from an advocate to an adversary of the Lord.

Matthew 26 / Luke 22

Perhaps Peter also recalls the night before Jesus is crucified. The apostles have celebrated the Passover with Jesus, who sadly relays to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee” (Matt. 26:31-32).

Characteristically impulsive, Peter tells Jesus, “Even if everyone falls away because of you, I will never fall away” (v. 33). 

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus says to Peter, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times” (v. 34).

“Even if I have to die with you,” Peter boasts, “I will never deny you.” All the disciples say the same thing (v. 35). 

Luke records an additional comment in his Gospel. Jesus tells Peter, “Simon, Simon, look out. Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32). 

Peter does indeed deny three times that he knows Jesus (Luke 22:54-62). Evidently, God has granted Satan permission to savage Peter with temptation, and to scatter the disciples (the “you” in “sift you like wheat” is plural in the Greek). For a moment after Peter’s third denial, Jesus and Peter briefly lock eyes. Peter is deeply convicted and rushes outside, weeping. 

But Peter rebounds. Jesus prays for him, and Peter is a humbler and more teachable servant when he encounters Jesus on the beach after the resurrection (John 21:15-21). Just as Peter has denied Jesus three times, he now humbly affirms his love for the Lord three times, even refusing to use the word agapao – God’s kind of love – in expressing his love of Jesus; instead, he uses phileo, more commonly applied as friendly affection.

All this is to say that Peter knows first-hand the perils of dropping one’s guard in the presence of the evil one. So, in 1 Peter 5:8, he strongly urges his readers to be sober-minded and alert. Just as a prowling lion often pounces on the weak, the straggler, the wanderer, and the inattentive, Satan most easily devours those who are lifted up with pride, or who wage spiritual battles in fleshly strength, or who drift into apathy. 

In 1 Peter 5:5, the apostle quotes from the Septuagint version of Proverbs 3:34, urging his readers to clothe themselves with humility toward one another. That’s because “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” He immediately follows with the exhortation, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you” (vv. 6-7). The idea of clothing ourselves with humility may be a reference to Jesus in the upper room on the night of Passover, when the Lord wraps a towel around his waist and washes the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17).

Peter understands that worry is a form of pride. When anxiety fills our minds, we are convinced we must solve our own problems in our own strength. This gives Satan a foothold in our thoughts, where he leverages pride into a pantheon of idols: distrust, fear, judgmentalism, and greed, to name a few. But when we cast our worries on God, we acknowledge his sovereignty. In addition, we trustingly carry out our roles as adopted children of the King. Peter’s anxiety about Jesus’ imminent death was a form of pride that led him to scold the Son of God and to arrogantly insist he would never let Jesus down. As a result, Satan grinds him to powder. 

So, Peter exhorts his readers with two imperatives: be sober-minded, and be alert. “Sober-minded” comes from the Greek nepho and may be rendered “calm and collected in spirit.” Peter uses the same verb in 1 Peter 1:13 and 4:7. In both contexts, he addresses the need for clear thinking since the return of Christ is imminent. 

“Alert” translates the Greek verb gregoreo and means “to watch,” “give strict attention to,” or “be vigilant.” This word also is used in eschatological contexts (e.g., Matt. 24:42-43; 25:13). As Thomas Schreiner notes, “Believers must remain vigilant and alert until the very end because the devil seeks to destroy their faith. The devil inflicts persecution on believers so that they will deny Christ and lose their eschatological reward.” 

When Peter describes the evil one as “your adversary,” he uses the Greek antidikos. This is the only time this term is used in Scripture to portray Satan. The Greek anti means “against,” and diko means “lawsuit.” Strictly speaking, the evil one is a prosecuting attorney, which harkens back to the adversary (Heb. satan) in Zechariah 3:1-2. Many scholars believe this accuser to be Satan, who stands in the heavenly assembly and makes his case against Joshua the high priest. Of course, the Lord rebukes Satan in that heavenly exchange. Peter may have this Old Testament encounter in mind as he warns us about Satan’s trash-talking skills. 

Next: Satan the Destroyer (Part 4)