Get Behind Me Satan

 

"But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”" (Matthew 16:23, NKJV)

Peter had just been used by God in a powerful way to declare that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God”. Jesus’ assessment was that this knowledge did not have a human origin, but came directly from the Father. This Divine inspiration and word of knowledge shows that Peter was capable of hearing from God and acting in harmony with the Divine will.  I do not know if we can judge whether or not Peter was “saved” at this point, but he is certainly a believer in the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One and Messiah. There is no doubt that he was on Jesus’ side and even his advice to Jesus to avoid the cross was out of a genuine concern to save Jesus from suffering.

Peter was called by the Lord, inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak prophetically, a friend of Jesus and looking out for the best interest of his Teacher. In spite of all this, the very next moment, he is rebuked by Jesus as though he was Satan himself. What was happening here? I do not believe he was demon possessed or even wrong in his desires from a human perspective. Yet he gets this very harsh reprimand from his beloved Master.

The problem was that he was operating in the flesh and thus became a tool in the hands of the Devil. Please understand me: Peter’s motives were pure but this did not prevent him from being used by the enemy to oppose the work of God. So also, many well-intentioned Christians become tools in the hand of the Devil. Yes, they are saved and may even be used by God to speak His word and do His work, but when they act in human strength and from a human position, they often align themselves with the Devil against the Lord.

Jesus recognizes the spiritual battle for what it is and goes straight to the source of the trouble – Satan. A lesser man may have pitied Peter’s ignorance and tried to reason with Peter, but Jesus knew exactly what was going down. I do not think that the majority of Christians have an idea as to how intense the battle is and how easily and often they open themselves to be used by the devil to slow down or even derail the work of God. Sometimes I think that the Devil uses Christians more successfully than he does the world. When the world opposes the work of God we recognize it immediately because we know exactly what the source is. But when he uses believers, we mostly do not recognize the attack for what it is, and so, we are more vulnerable.

In the world of spies an enemy agent is sometimes uncovered. The friendly forces can then do one of three things. Either expose him and throw him in prison, feed him misinformation so he becomes a tool against his own masters or “turn” him so his original masters think he is working for them, while he actually works against them. Confusing? Well, that’s exactly what it is supposed to be. In many cases, no-one ever really knows who these double-crossing agents are actually loyal to.

This murky world of switching loyalties and uncertain allegiances among spies and counter-spies is a small version of what happens in the spiritual war. The church is filled with people who one moment work for the Lord and the very next work against Him.  Some act out of misguided sincerity, while others seem to sell out to the highest bidder. There is no doubt that there are many enemy agents in the church – Jesus referred to them as “tares” and “wolves in sheep’s clothing”.  But there are even more who are on the Lord’s side but who, from time-to-time, become tools in the hands of an evil and devious foe.

How can you be sure you are not being used by the Devil? As we have seen, good intentions and motives are not enough. The text gives us the answer. We should not be afraid of the cross and the death that comes with it. It was Peter’s revulsion of the cross and his abhorrence of the fact that his beloved Leader should suffer and die that made him open to Satan’s purposes. This is why Jesus proceeds to teach on the need for taking up our cross daily and following Him (even to Calvary). When we are not willing to die to self and identify fully with the cross, we cannot do the will of the Father and we become instruments against Him. Peter wanted the glory and the resurrection for him and his Lord, but he would do every thing possible to avoid the cross. If you are not willing to embrace death to your self-life, you will never be able to be truly used by the Lord and you will always be open to manipulation and thus will easily be “turned” to work against the Kingdom. But those who have come to terms with the death of their soul-life and who are “dead men walking”, cannot be bought, used or manipulated.

Jesus said to Peter: You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23, NKJV). It is when we are not crucified to the world, that we are earthly minded and see things from a human perspective. This view is the complete opposite of God’s outlook and will result in us always trying to maneuver things in such a way as to reflect our perspective and it is in this that we align ourselves with Satan’s work and not God’s. When we have died to the world, the flesh and self, we cannot be manipulated because we fear nothing in this world and we also do not seek the favor of men. We will be fully set free to do His will and His will alone.

I get exhausted watching believers trying to serve two masters, holding onto the body of death, being torn apart as they cling to the earth, while reaching for heaven. Choose today who you will serve and if you choose to serve the True God, put to death your desires for and loyalties to this world. That is the only way you will be sure not to be a double agent.

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26, NKJV)

 

 

 

Anton Bosch
anton@abcd.co.za

www.abcd.co.za/offi
www.abcd.co.za/plumbline
Tel 818 846 5520
Fax 818 846 4357
3310 West Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, California
91505-2907
USA