The will of God is God coming so that man may contact, touch, Him. Because God is so great, we cannot contact all that He is. Whenever we contact God, we contact only the portion emanating from Him, which we call the will of God. First John 2:17 says, “The world is passing away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever.” Just as the world is against God the Father, so the things in the world, which are its lust, are against the will of God. On the positive side, we have the Father and His will. On the negative side, we have the world and all the things in the world. The world and its lust are passing away, but he who does the will of God abides forever. To practice the will of God means to do the will of God habitually and continually, not merely occasionally. God, His will, and those who do His will abide forever.
In Romans 12:2 Paul charges the believers not to be “fashioned according to this age.” This means that we should not be conformed to this age. The Greek word translated “age” can be rendered “modern.” The age is the present, practical part of the world that we contact. To be conformed to this age means to adopt modern fashions outwardly. The combination of all people, activities, and things outside of God is called the world. The age designates the part of the world that we contact. The world is the entire organization used by Satan to usurp man, whereas an age is a section, an aspect, the present and modern appearance of the world, which is used by Satan to usurp and occupy people and to keep them away from God and His purpose. Therefore, Ephesians 2:2 refers to “the age of this world.” We can contact only the age, a part, but not the world, the whole. Usually, we say that the world possesses us. In reality, only the age possesses us, not the whole world.
Everything, everyone, and every matter have been systematized by Satan and made a part of his world system. Where can we go in such a situation? The answer is that we need to go to the Triune God for His dispensing. Only the Triune God has not been systematized by Satan. Along with going to the Triune God, we also need to go to the Word of God. Therefore, since everything, everyone, and every matter have been systematized by Satan, we should not live according to the modern fashions of this age. Instead, we need to flee to the Triune God and His Word.
Through the dispensing of the processed Triune God the believers can overcome Satan, the devil. Satan in Greek means “adversary.” Satan is not only God’s enemy outside of God’s kingdom but also the adversary within God’s kingdom, rebelling against God. The devil, who is Satan, accuses us before God and slanders us before men. If we still love the world, we will have no way to overcome Satan. But if we do not love the world, we will have the position to overcome him.
According to Revelation 12:11, the believers can overcome Satan first “because of the blood of the Lamb.” To overcome Satan because of the blood of the Lamb means to apply the blood of the Lord Jesus as our covering and to take the Lord’s blood to counter Satan’s accusations and attacks. We are still on earth and in a body of flesh; hence, we cannot help but have some defilement, corruption, weakness, shortcoming, and other undesirable conditions. When we fight with Satan, the first thing he does is to point out all our weaknesses and shortcomings in our conscience, and then he accuses and attacks us. Therefore, whenever we sense the accusation of the devil, we need to take the power and effectiveness of the blood of the Lamb by applying the blood to answer all of Satan’s accusations. In this way, we can be strong and of good courage before the enemy and fight against him.
As we wage war against Satan, we must see the blood of the Lamb and declare that we are under its covering. This blood is the prevailing blood, and it speaks and implies a great deal. Only God and, to some extent, the devil know how much the blood implies. Whether or not we know all that the blood implies, as long as we apply it, we will have all that it implies. Therefore, we can overcome Satan because of the blood of the Lamb.
Second, the believers can overcome Satan because of the word of their testimony, which is the word testifying that the devil has been judged by the Lord. Whenever we sense the devil’s accusation, we should verbally testify how the Lord has already dealt with him. We must declare with the uttered word the Lord’s victory over him. We must declare what the Lord has accomplished, the victory of the cross, the attainment of resurrection, and the position of ascension. This is not a matter of preaching but of testifying.
The blood is the fact, and the word is our testimony. The blood implies the fact that our sins have been forgiven and taken away, that we have been crucified, that Satan has been judged, and that his head has been bruised. When we apply the blood, we apply these facts. After applying the blood, we must declare the facts to Satan. This is the way to overcome the enemy.