What then shall we do? Don't say now that we should bind the strong man; that is the wrong weapon. Rather, keep yourself on the cross. Whenever you keep yourself on the cross, you will see that Satan is destroyed. By death Christ destroyed him that has the power of death (Heb. 2:14). As the subtle one, Satan is not afraid of our binding, but he is afraid of the cross. If we remain on the cross, Satan will be terrified.
In this short portion of the Word, we have two descriptions of Satan: the gates of Hades and the self in the mind with the soul-life. Don't think that only the gates of Hades is Satan. You must realize that the self also is Satan incarnated. Peter became occupied by Satan because he forgot his spirit and exercised his mind, expressing his dissenting thought. Every dissenting thought is the incarnation of Satan. Don't listen to any dissenting thoughts. The best way to kill Satan is to put your dissenting thoughts on the cross.
May we all receive a clear vision! Christ is here and the church is here, but that subtle one, Satan, is also here. Your dissenting thoughts, like Peter's, may spring from a good intention, but you are nevertheless possessed by Satan. As long as you cling to your dissenting opinions, you will either be obsessed or possessed. In the local churches we all must be alert against any dissenting thought.
The Lord Jesus told the disciples that He was going to Jerusalem to be killed and to be raised on the third day. However, Peter's dissenting mind stopped at the word "killed." Dissenting ones seldom listen to other people to the end, so they seldom understand others to the full extent. Because he was dissenting, he was shortsighted and missed the mark. He heard the word "killed," but he missed the main point of resurrection. Without crucifixion, there can never be resurrection.
All the saints in the church life must be very careful about dissenting. Never dissent. Dissenting is just the awful exercise of the mind. Regardless of your intention, as long as you are dissenting, you have been snared by the subtle one. Don't think that you are so holy and so spiritual. Within a very short period of time the Lord called Peter "a stone" and "Satan." The stone became Satan. You may say that you love the church, and I have no doubt that you do. You may feel that whatever you say is spoken with a good intention. Many dear saints have damaged the church and yet claim that they had a good intention, that they loved the church. It is not a matter of a good or bad intention. You must ask yourself whether or not you are dissenting. Are you one with the church? Only oneness keeps you alive, and only oneness kills the enemy. Tell the enemy: "Satan, I don't care for these reasonings. I only care for the oneness of the Body. I don't care about anything else. For the sake of the Body I will not exercise my dissenting mind. I will go to my spirit and stay there." This is what it means to take the cross.