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 two sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew, we learn more about Satan as the evil one.

Matthew 6:13 

“And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

This request comes at the close of the Lord’s Prayer, perhaps better called the Disciples’ Prayer. Several English translations render the final phrase “deliver us from evil” rather than “deliver us from the evil one.”⁶The Greek could mean either. While it’s possible that deliverance from evil in general is Jesus’ primary meaning, protection from the author of evil is a suitable request for disciples learning to pray. 

“Do not bring us into temptation” does not imply “don’t bring us to the place of temptation,” or even “don’t allow us to be tempted.” Jesus already endured temptation at the hands of the evil one after the Holy Spirit drove him into the wilderness following his baptism (Matt. 4:1). It cannot mean “don’t tempt us,” either, for God does not tempt us with evil (Jas. 1:13).

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