We want to take our Bibles out at this time, congregation, as we come to the exposition of God's Word. And please, if you would, let's turn back to Ephesians chapter 6 as we continue in our exposition of the book of Ephesians. And I want to read in your hearing, beginning in verse 10, reading verses 10 through 13. Ephesians 6 and verse 10, Paul writes, Finally, my brethren, Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God. You may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Let's now join together in prayer before the Lord. Heavenly father, we thank you again, as we turn to your word, that as we look into your word, we find absolute inerrant and infallible truth. We place ourselves under your word and its authority. We acknowledge its inerrancy and its all-sufficiency. And we come today, Father, that we would be those who humbly and eagerly receive that word implanted, able to save our souls. We ask you, Father, that you would bless your people, that you would draw sinners to Christ the Savior, Lord, all in accordance with your sovereign purpose and will, and that you would receive all honor, praise, and glory. We ask this all in Christ's holy name. Amen. Last time, as we were looking in Ephesians, we looked at verse number 10, and we noted there that as Paul takes up the subject of spiritual warfare, he begins by declaring the source of our victory in this spiritual warfare. Paul says in verse 10, this word of exhortation, that we are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. That congregation is the true source of our victory in spiritual warfare. It is not by our strength, our power, nor our might, but it is in the strength that comes from the Lord. We said last time that it is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ who has already won this spiritual warfare. He defeated the devil. He secured the victory. And so when we think about the devil and demons, we remember that they are a defeated foe. And so we are called to rely and rest in our Redeemer as we engage in this very real warfare. Now today we want to look in verses 11 and 12 and move from the source of our victory in this spiritual warfare to consider the reality of these spiritual adversaries. We read in verses 11 and 12 that we do have indeed real spiritual adversaries. Look at verse 11 and 12. Paul writes and he says, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. So we see in verse 11 that we have this adversary of the devil. And then in verse 12 he follows up and says, not just the devil as a singular adversary, but all of the demonic hosts under his domain. So we note there in verse 11, the very last word of verse 11, it says, of the devil. It is the word diabolos, that's the literal rendering of the Greek word for devil. What does the word devil mean? Well, it means false accuser or slanderer. Who is the devil? Well, the devil is simply a fallen angel. He is a fallen angel and a leader of the other fallen angels. He led their rebellion against God. The devil is our tempter, he is the accuser of the brethren, he is a slanderer. All of the angels were originally created as holy and yet we find in the scriptures that there was this rebellion led by the devil and other angels followed the devil and they rebelled against God. so that in this present day we have holy angels, we sometimes call them the elect angels, and then we have evil angels. And the devil is simply a fallen angel who rebelled against the Lord. We read in verse 12 that there's not only the devil, singular, but there are demons, plural. And we read this language, look again at verse 12. It says, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. And what he is saying there is that our warfare is not a physical fight. It is a spiritual fight. It isn't a physical warfare. It is a spiritual reality. And then he says, we wrestle against principalities, plural. against powers, plural, against the rulers, again plural, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. So here we read that there is not only the adversary of the devil, verse 11, But there are other fallen angels, these demons, who accompanied the devil in the fall, and they also are our enemy, our adversary, and they are the ones that we are engaged in this warfare against. They followed the devil in their rebellion. Now, when you read here in verse 12, you have these different words to describe them, principalities, powers, and these various ways they are described. Let me quote to you from Dr. Curtis Vaughan. Some of you are familiar with Dr. Vaughan. He was for many decades a professor of New Testament at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and I had the privilege of sitting under him when I was in seminary. And all of his little commentaries have been published and reprinted by Founders Ministries. And if you're of a mind to get his commentaries, you can find them because Tom Askell and Founders Ministries have made sure that all of his writings are in print even to this day. And he quotes, let me quote him from his little commentary on Ephesians about these different words, principalities, powers, these different things. He says, and I quote, principalities, powers, rulers, and spiritual wickedness are terms used here of the hierarchy of the invisible powers in rebellion against God. Now, what is interesting is that this language actually has already been used in the book of Ephesians. In fact, if you'll look with me, please, turn back to chapter 1. In chapter 1, look at verse 21. Having stated that Christ is raised in the glorious reality of our Savior, and he is in this place of exaltation. And we read in chapter one, verse 21, far above all principality and power and might and dominion. And every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. So you see there in verse 21 that language of principalities and powers. Now, look with me please over in chapter 3. And notice in chapter 3 verse 10. Again, this language is used. in chapter 3 verse 10, to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. So there already we've had this language used. And so now when we turn to chapter 6 in our text, we see this language used again, referencing here these demonic hosts who are in league with the devil, who are our adversaries. Let me continue quoting from Dr. Vaughan in his commentary, speaking of these different terms in verse 12. He says, Paul is not to be understood as enumerating four different classes of demonic beings. Each term simply views the forces erased against God and his people in a different manner. Principalities, that's the first word. Principalities refers to their rank and rule. Powers, that's the second word, suggests their investment with authority. Rulers of this darkness points to their control over a world in revolt against its creator. And then that last phrase, spiritual wickedness in high places, or it's rendered sometimes a little differently, but that's the basic phrase. Dr. Vaughn says this quote depicts them as an army of wicked spirits inhabiting or at least bringing their combat to the heavenly sphere. And so that's an explanation of these various words used to describe our adversaries, the devil and demons. Well, how many angels rebelled in that original rebellion? Turn back with me in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 12. Revelation chapter 12. And here we have this record, and we're not going to read all of this chapter, but in Revelation 12 we have, of course, the familiar passage which speaks about the woman, the child, and the dragon. We know that the child here is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we read, notice please verse 3 and verse 4, as we read about this dragon. He says, And another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great fiery red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and seven dynames on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born. So in verse 3 we read about this great fiery red dragon. Who is this red dragon? Well, look back in the text, just jump down to verse 7 through 9 and we are told exactly who this dragon is. It says in verse 7, war broke out in heaven. Michael, now of course we know that Michael is one of the holy angels, he is the Archangel, the leader of the holy angels. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought. But they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, and now we are told the identity of this dragon. that serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him. Notice the language in verse 9 in describing this great red fiery dragon We discover that he is the devil. And we note here in this verse, verse 9, he is that serpent of old. Now what is that a reference to? That goes all the way back to Genesis, doesn't it? You see, when you read the book of Genesis and you read about that serpent that deceived Eve in the garden, it never says that that was Satan. It just says it was a serpent. But then when we come here to chapter 12 of Revelation, we have this confirmation that serpent of old, that ancient serpent, is no one other than the devil and Satan. He is here identified as the devil, as Satan, as, verse 9, the one who deceives the whole world. Now, what about these other angels who went with him? Well, this is how they are described in verse 9. And his angels were cast out with him. That is, those demons who fell along with Satan. But what I want you to look at is verse number 4, because in verse 4 we are told how many of these angels rebelled from their holy state. Speaking of this great red fiery dragon, it says, his tale drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Stars here represents, as it often does, it represents angels. And so we are told here that a third of the holy angels followed Satan in this rebellion. You say, well, how many angels was that? Well, we don't know. We don't know how many angels were created originally. They were all created as holy angels, and yet Satan, the devil, and a third of the other angels rebelled, and they are now evil angels serving the devil. Well, what prompted this rebellion that we read about? Turn with me in your Bibles back to 1 Timothy chapter 3. 1 Timothy chapter 3. We think about these fallen angels who rebelled against the Lord. We recognize that there was a motivating sin that led to this rebellion. Now, we find this revealed to us in a very curious place, and that is in 1 Timothy 3, where we have the various qualifications of the office of elder. And I want to look at just verse number 6. Here we read, concerning those who would be elevated to the place of elder, it says, not a novice, verse 6, that is not a new convert. You don't take someone who just converted to Christ, and they might be on fire for the Lord, and they might be excited about their faith, but you don't immediately elevate them to the place of elder. That would be a very bad thing. No, they must be mature, they must be seasoned, there must be a long process before they're elevated to that place. Not a novice, verse 6, lest being puffed up with pride, He fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Lift someone up to the place of elder immediately when they become to Christ or shortly thereafter, well, that is a very good way of them falling into pride and being puffed up. That's what Paul is saying here. But he attaches to that another thing. He says, into the same condemnation as the devil. Now isn't that an interesting statement? Paul is alluding to the devil's original sin of pride. And what is interesting about this is that he alludes to the devil's pride as if this was common knowledge. As if this had already been revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Has this been revealed before in the Holy Scriptures, that the devil fell as a result of his pride? Well, many commentators, Matthew Poole, some of you are familiar with Matthew Poole, would point us back to the Old Testament. And they would say we need to turn back to the book of Isaiah chapter 14. So turn with me there. Isaiah chapter 14 verses 12 through 15 is this record that speaks about the king of Babylon. And yet we see here in this reference to the king of Babylon, what many, many Christian commentators have said throughout the years is a dual reference. Yes, it does refer to the king of Babylon. Everyone agrees to that. But many of the very best and brightest have affirmed it also has an allusion to Satan and his fall. It is common that there is this understanding in verses 12 through 15 of Isaiah chapter 14 that this is an antitype of the previous fall of Satan, and many would see it as a type of the future fall of Antichrist as well. Let's just read the text. Isaiah 14 and verse 12, ìHow you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weaken the nations!î For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. Yet you shall be brought down to shale to the lowest depths of the pit. this idea of it being an antitype of the fall of Satan, this was true. Listen to the words of Franz Delitzsch. Some of you are familiar with the name Delitzsch, a fine commentary on the Old Testament. He says, quote, this is a retrospective glance that is now cast at the self-deification of the king of Babylon in which he was the antitype of the devil and the type of Antichrist. Many have seen in these words an allusion to the devil, this idea of pride, which Paul refers to as if its common knowledge already has been revealed in Holy Scripture in 1 Timothy 3.6. Certain people throughout church history have identified it. Now, not every church father, not every theologian has even addressed this. But Tertullian, Origen, Gregory the Great, the church fathers, they who spoke on this subject, they said this is an allusion to the devil in this passage and his fall because of his pride. Augustine, that great theologian of the church, Augustine saw this as an allusion to the devil. Jerome, Eusebius. We think about John Gill, Jonathan Edwards, the great preacher of colonial America, many in contemporary preaching that we are more familiar with, like James Montgomery Bors, Millard Erickson, a professor that I had in seminary, who has an excellent systematic theology. John MacArthur, he sees this as a dual reference, a reference to the king of Babylon and also a reference to the devil. Now notice with you, if you will, in verse 12 in this phrase here, it says how you are fallen from heaven. Oh, Lucifer, son of the morning. That name Lucifer in verse 12 literally is the word day star son of the morning. we recognize that this idea of angels, they are called morning stars in Job 38 and verse 7. But this phrase here that I want us to note here as we think about whether this may be a reference to the devil, is that phrase, how you are fallen from heaven. Fallen from heaven. And the reason that this is significant is because Jesus quotes from this verse. And so I want you to now keep your place in Isaiah 14. Hold one finger there and turn with me with your other fingers to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. And in Luke chapter 10, I want to pick up reading with verse 17. Because here we have a reference that goes back to Isaiah 14. Luke 10 and verse 17, it says, then the 70 returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. And how did Jesus respond in verse 18? And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. He says the thing that you really need to rejoice in is not the fact that you have been given this ability by God's grace in ministry. No, you should rejoice because you've been converted, because you are a believer. But notice in verse number 18, that first phrase of the Lord Jesus, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. This is a reference to Isaiah 14, verse 12. G.K. Bill and D.A. Carson, in their commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament, describe why this reference goes back to Isaiah. And they state it as a matter of fact. They say, quote, the description of the fall of Satan, here in verse 18 of Luke 10, draws on Isaiah 14. The phrase fall from heaven in particular echoes has fallen from heaven in Isaiah 14 verse 12. The application of this verse to the fall of Satan in this context is particularly appropriate First, Isaiah 14.12 seems to have used ancient Near Eastern language in portraying the downfall of Babylon, and Jesus uses similar language to apply to Satan. You may recall the background behind Isaiah's language. That is, G.K. Bill says this suggests what's behind Isaiah's language, that Satan is behind this language in Isaiah 14. Secondly, G.K. Bill says, with D.A. Carson, secondly, Jewish interpretive traditions also apply, Isaiah 14, 12, to the fall of Satan, or Lucifer. So when you think about the Lord Jesus, he uses this language from Isaiah 14, but he says, I saw Satan fall from heaven. Now, turning back to Isaiah 14. These who are in many ways perhaps the best New Testament scholars in our present generation, they see clearly this reference back to Satan in Isaiah 14, saying Jesus is suggesting here what's behind these verses, Satan. And that would have been the common cultural understanding by the Jews in their interpretive understanding of Isaiah 14. But now I want you to look here in Isaiah 14. Again, we're still talking about that pride that prompted the devil in rebellion. And so what do we find in verses 13 through 15? Well, we have a record of great pride, don't we? We have what has been called the five I wills of the devil's pride. Five times he says, I will. For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. What an arrogant, proud statement. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most These are incredibly arrogant, proud statements. And so this very likely is in the background of what Paul is saying when he says in 1st Timothy 3.6, don't allow a novice to be elevated to the office of elder because they'll be puffed up and pried and fall into the same condemnation of the devil. And here we read, as many commentators would point us back, the five I wills of the devil's pride. And yet notice verse 15, yet you shall be brought down to shale to the lowest depths of the pit. Now, we recognize that there are some folks who do not see this as a reference to Satan, but there is very good reason, and many find the very brightest throughout church history have often, many of them, have seen that this indeed is an allusion to that pride. So what prompted the devil in this rebellion? Well, it was pride, that pride in his heart. God was exalted. And the devil saw that place and he wanted that place. He wanted that position. He couldn't be satisfied with the position he was in. He wanted to be in that place that was not his to have claim over. Now, turn with me please in your Bibles over and turn with me to Ezekiel 28. Ezekiel 28. Here we have another reference in the Old Testament to this fall of Satan and I preached on this it's been about four years ago when I preached on this subject so for some of us this is kind of review but we want to consider it again as we think about our adversary the devil we see in Ezekiel 28 Ezekiel 28 verses 11 through 19 this is another possible reference to Satan's fall Now the background here is that in Ezekiel you have these various oracles that the prophet is issuing. And he has these various nations going back even before chapter 26, these oracles of judgment on Ammon and different countries, different city states, and God is declaring a judgment on them. And then he comes to this oracle against Tyre, the city-state of Tyre, that is a city of Phoenicia, on the coastland of Phoenicia. And there is no less than three chapters where he addresses ancient Tyre. In chapter 26, there is this description of the destruction of Tyre. This was fulfilled by Babylon, We are told by historians it would have dated about 585 to 573 BC. Also, Tyre was destroyed by Alexander the Great and the Grecian armies in 332 BC. So this was fulfilled in stages. In chapter 27 of Ezekiel, we read of this lament over the city having been destroyed. And then when you come to chapter 28, we have the downfall of the leader or the prince of the city of Tyre. This Phoenician city, it was a pagan city. It was a place of pagan cults, of Baal worship, of false religion. And therefore, God judged them. Tyre rejoiced at the fall of Jerusalem. You know, the Babylonians came and they exiled God's people, Judah, and Jerusalem fell. And they rejoiced when that happened because they saw that as an opportunity for them to have a corner of the market and to be able to increase their trade and their struggle or their control over commerce in that area. So they rejoiced at that. And we have in chapter 28 this reference both to the human ruler of Tyre, but also an allusion to Satan in his fall. So how do you break up chapter 28? Well, verses 1 through 10 deal with the human ruler, and then verses 11 through 19 speak of Satan, that is, the superhuman ruler. So looking at verses 11 through 19, first of all we note Satan's additional privileges and perfection. Verses 11 through 15. Moreover, verse 11, the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre and say to him, thus says the Lord God, you were the seal of perfection. full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering. The sardius, topaz, and diamond, peryl, aberyl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers, I establish you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you. The language here goes beyond that of a human ruler and speaks of the reality of Satan. Notice in verses 16 through 19, Satan's perversion and punishment. In verse 16 it says, By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned. Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, a covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. There again is this reference in verse 17 to pride and arrogance. I cast you to the ground. I laid you before kings that they might gaze at you. You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading. Therefore, I brought fire from your midst. I devoured you and turned you to ashes upon the earth. in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you. You have become a horror and shall be no more forever." Well, the reference here in verses 11 through 19, it seems to be where again you have this dual reference. Yes, it speaks of the ruler of Tyre, But the language also seems to point to also someone else beyond that human ruler of Tyre. You say, why is that true? Well, notice in verse 12, first of all, because we see this language of him being perfect in verse 12, it says that he was perfect. You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. There at the end of verse 12. Again in verse 15, a reference to being perfect. You were perfect in your ways. Well we ask the question, was the king of Tyre ever perfect? No, we're all fallen sinners, and certainly the ruler of Tyre would have been fallen, could not have been described as perfect, but Satan was originally perfect before he fell. Secondly, notice in verse 13, the reference to Satan seems to be in this language about Eden. Verse 13, you were in Eden, the garden of God. So we ask the question, was the human king of Tyre ever in Eden, the garden of God? I don't think he ever was. Again, a reference leading us to the conclusion this also refers to Satan. And then verse 14 and verse 16, we are told of this person here that he is a cherub, which of course is a reference to being an angelic figure. Verse 14, you were the anointed cherub who covers. Again, notice in verse 16, towards the end of the verse, and I destroyed you, O covering cherub. So again, we ask the question, was the human king of Tyre a cherub? No, a clear reference to an angel. So this seems very clear to be another reference to the fall of Satan. Jonathan Edwards in his Miscellany 980 says this, and he spends quite a bit on this work on connecting this with Satan. He says, quote, "'Tis exceedingly manifest that the king of Tyre is here spoken of as a type of the devil, prince of angels that fell." And so here we see, again, a reference to Satan. Before he fell, he was perfect. He was a cherub. And yet, we read again of the reality of that cause of his fall. Verse 17, his heart was lifted up with that pride. Just like those five I wills of Isaiah 14, We see here this idea of pride and arrogance that filled his heart. So, again, congregation, there are some who would question the connections here in these Old Testament passages, but many have seen that these do point in a dual reference, both Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, both to a human figure, but beyond that human figure, as a type or anti-type of Satan and his fall. Well, the next question that we would want to ask this morning is, well, when did Satan and the fallen angels actually fall? A third of the angels went with Satan in this rebellion. There are three different views as to the timing chronologically of their fall. Some have said that Satan led his rebellion pre creation, that they were created, the angels, all of them, in eternity past as holy angels, and this rebellion by Satan and the devil and his demons, this happened before the creation in Genesis 1.1. Now, it is possible that it's true, and many have held that view. There is a second view, and that is that this fall of Satan took place in the gap theory. How many of you have heard of the gap theory? In Genesis chapter 1, there is the original statement, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth, of course, was void. In verse 2, we are told that. And there are many who have suggested there is a gap, a gap of time between verse 1 and verse 2. And this was popularized by the Schofield Reference Bible, if you're familiar with that reference Bible. And they would say that it was after verse 1, but before what is described in verse 2, that the angels fell. That is, the devil and demons. And then thirdly, and I reject that second view out of hand, thirdly there is the view that says that all of the angels were created during that creation week. God created all things during that creation week. And then during that creation week, towards the end of it, but obviously before the fall in Genesis 3, this one-third of the angels fell, that is the devil, and his demons. And so whether you hold the first view or the third view, good people differ, but whichever view you hold way back before that ancient serpent recorded in Genesis 3 came on the scene was the fall of these wicked, evil, fallen angels, the devil and demons. Now, the final thing I want to talk about today as we consider our adversaries is the names and titles of the devil and demons. And I just want to cover this real quickly, and then next week we will consider the strategies. We're talking about the reality of the devil and demons today. Next week we're going to talk about the strategies, the wiles of the devil, that is, that which we need to be aware of. But what are the names and titles of the devil and demons? Well, demons are called many things. They are called evil spirits. They are called unclean spirits. They are called rulers of darkness. They are called the devil's angels. They are called lying spirits, among the various ways in which they are described. All of those different ways, these fallen angels, demons, are called all of those things. What about the devil? Well, the devil is called Satan, which means the adversary. He is called the devil, which means the accuser or slanderer. That's, of course, the term that is used in our passage in Ephesians 6, in verse 11, the wiles of the devil. He is referred to as Lucifer or the morning star, Isaiah 14, 12. He is called the wicked one, Matthew 13, 19. He is called Beelzebul, 2 Kings 1, verses 1-6. He is called Beelzebub, which is found in 2 Kings 1, and it's the idea of Baal, the lord of the flies, speaking of a Canaanite god. He is called the god of this age, 2 Corinthians 4, 4. He is called the ruler of demons, Matthew 12, 24. He is called the prince of the power of the air, Ephesians 2, verse 2. He is called the adversary, 1 Peter 5 and verse 8. He is called Apollyon, which means the destroyer, Revelation 9 and verse 11. And then, as we noted in Revelation 12, verses 9 and 10, he is called the dragon, that ancient serpent, the accuser of the brethren, and deceiver. That's not all of the titles and names, but that's a good summary of many of them found in the Scriptures. All of these various names reflect and tell us something about his nature, his character, and his activities. So, congregation, as we conclude this morning, let me just conclude with a few quick words of application. We've kind of covered a lot of things and we've looked at a lot of passages, but what is our takeaway today? First of all, we have considered the names and titles of the devil and demons. I just read through all of those names. The devil is a slanderer and he is an accuser of the brethren. And this reminds us of the wickedness of slander and accusing the brethren. Turn with me please in your Bibles over to James chapter 4. James chapter 4. James 4 verses 11 and 12. James 4 verse 11. James writes and he says, Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? Here we see in verse 11 this idea of speaking evil of someone else. It's the idea of slandering. It's the idea of accusing them. The idea of backbiting and speaking words of criticism and evil slander against them. Congregation, whenever you speak evil of someone else, you are being like the devil. Amen? He is the slanderer. He is an accuser. And so we must guard our tongue when we speak of others. We must be on guard that we are not criticizing and murmuring and speaking words of slander and backbiting against others because when we're doing that, we're being devilish. We're acting like the devil. Let us be on guard with our tongues that we don't become little devils slandering others and whispering out backbiting against others. He says here in this verse, if you do this, you're a judge. Basically what he is saying here in this passage is, who do you think you are? It's like the old statement, there is a God and it ain't you. Quit acting like you're the God who is able to be the one who arbitrates all what is right and wrong. You're not God, and you're not the law, and you're not a judge. Stop acting like one with your slandering words of criticism. Secondly, we not only see here in the names of the devil and demons sins that we must avoid as it relates to slander, We think about the motivating sin of Satan as it relates to his fall. His fall was prompted by pride. Turn with me please in your Bibles back to Proverbs. And let's just read from Proverbs 16. Proverbs 16, verses 18 and 19. These things so often go together, don't they? People get filled with pride. They believe that they are the ones who set the judgment upon others and they are the barometer of right and wrong and what is to be the norm. And here we read about this pride, verse 18, pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud. Here we see that it was pride that prompted the devil. Whenever we are slandering others, what are we doing? We are showing how proud we are. We are saying, we're so much better than them, and we are holier than them. And we can judge them and slander them and accuse them of their sins while not seeing all of the sin in our own lives. This pride is the pride that led the devil to rebel against God. God was in this place and the devil wanted that place. He wanted to be exalted to that place and so he rebelled and a third of the angels followed him. Let us guard our hearts against the sin of pride and arrogance and thinking that we know better and we know best and we have the corner on the truth because that only leads to all kinds of sins that ripple from that in that pride. Let us consider the sin of the devil. He was proud. Let us consider the very name of the devil. He is a slanderer and speaks against others. Let us remember that we who are in Jesus Christ have an advocate before the Father. Amen? The devil will continue to slander the brethren. He will continue to be the accuser of the brethren. And those who come alongside the devil, whether it is other demons or those who've had their tongues tickled by demons to join in with the slandering, they will do their slandering. But praise be to God, we have an advocate with the Father, and that is Jesus Christ. And whatever accusations they bring, whatever slanders and criticisms and whatever wicked statements are made, We have Christ, and His blood covers all our sin. My friend, are you in Christ today? Have you received Christ as your Savior and Lord? There is only one way to be in a good standing before God, and that is through Jesus Christ. Trust in Him. Rest in Him. And you will have an advocate before the Father, even as you have an adversary in this world. Let's bow together in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much that as we look at the record of the devil and demons, we do see practical words of caution, practical words of exhortation for us as fallen creatures. Help us that we would not be engaged in that pride that thinks that we are better, that arrogance and that snobbery and that pride that wants to judge others and become the judge over others. Help us, Lord, that we would not have the pride where we would want to exalt ourselves. Oh, that wickedness of slander, which is the mark of the devil accusing the brothers. Help us to see our own sin. in its true light. And help us to be humbled with that reality, with a spirit of lowliness, not pride. Help us, Father, that we would all be found in Christ. And Lord, those who do not have Christ, may you draw them to your Son in accordance with your purpose and will, that they would receive Christ and find in Christ the one who can deliver them from their sin, from the devil, and find true forgiveness, salvation, and an advocate before your throne. O God, grant this in accordance with your will and pleasure. We pray this all in Christ's holy name. Amen. Amen.