We belong to God!
He purchased us for His own possession!

Application #1: Jesus bought us with His own blood.

When we became a Christian, we were rescued out of the realm of Satan and transplanted into the people of God. Where once we were slaves to our sin, were cursed by its consequences and were the property of the ruler of this world, He bought us back with a great price! We are no longer slaves, not even slaves of God.

Just like Hosea bought back his wayward wife (Hosea 3), He bought us so He could bring us into His home. He placed us into His family as both, 1) adopted children of God and, 2) as the bride of Christ, which is the church. He did this so He could experience the intimacy of those relationships with us.

Application #2: God’s ownership means that Satan cannot do anything directly to one of His children without His permission.

Satan’s greatest weapon is causing things to happen around us to tempt us to stop trusting God. Satan can cause external events which will discourage us. He exploits our own sin natures, knowing our weaknesses. He can manipulate events concerning our weaknesses knowing they could cause us to turn our backs on God. He can even sit in your bedroom as an invisible angel and watch you. But He cannot touch you without God’s permission. He cannot read minds. He cannot control your thoughts. But he is a careful observer of our weaknesses and our propensity to sin and doubt God. For sure, he is trying to undo us. But directly, he has no power over us to touch us.

Side Note: Christians often say, “the devil made me do it.” Poppycock! Psychologically, I know it feels better to shift the blame onto someone else which is very typical of this generation; it’s always someone else’s fault. No one wants to accept accountability for their own sinfulness or that there are consequences to unwise choices.

But the devil isn’t planting those thoughts into the minds of believers; he can’t read minds and he can’t plant thoughts! But he and his minions are certainly watching us to see where they can take advantage of us. Simply, we are sinners with sin natures, and we will have sinful thoughts and do sinful things all on our own! But I am sure he is happy to use the sins we commit to his own advantage to wreak havoc and probably sits back and cheers!

I wish that Christians would stop blaming Satan anytime something bad happens by saying, “the devil is attacking me” or “that is an attack of the devil.” The devil is certainly a scheming lion on the prowl who is well aware of our sin which so easily besets us and he is constantly looking for a roundabout way to bring us down, but the book of Job also reminds us he is a limited being.

While there is certainly more going on in the spiritual realm than we will ever realize, like battles between angelic and demonic beings and conversations between God and Satan, and while we will still encounter sinful believers as well as people who do not belong to God (who are still under the control of the devil), the fact remains that we live in a sinful world and bad things, even destructive events of nature, will happen in our not-yet-perfected world which the devil did not necessarily instigate.

There are also things that God purposefully allows to test our faith and grow us in spiritual maturity (an accident, an illness, a job loss, sinful people who do hurtful things, a lawsuit, a relational difficulty, etc.) which may have nothing to do with Satan, even though he may enjoy watching it happen. He will certainly attempt to control any situations which he believes will cause us to lose faith or to turn our backs on God.

What we need to remember is that though Satan is powerful, God is infinitely more powerful than Satan and God’s authority can limit his reach at any point.

Application #3: God has given us the armor of God, so that our faith would not fail–to resist and stand firm!

It was not given to us to fight Satan! That is God’s job! One day, God will deliver the final blow and Satan will be thrown into the deepest pit, and shortly thereafter into the lake of fire! But for now, plant your feet firmly, cling to the truths God has shown us in His Word, cling to the righteousness of Christ on your behalf, be prepared to share the good news of the gospel and correct false gospels, know the Word of God so that you can resist any lies and remember that you belong to God because of your salvation.

Resist! Stand firm!

Even the sword, which is our offensive weapon, the Word of God in the analogy, is to help us stand firm and not lose faith! That is the resisting that 1st Peter is talking about! RESIST! Not fight! Not shout at him! Not give him credit for things he might not have even been given permission to do! Believe God! Trust God! Have faith that God is still in control! You are no longer Satan’s victim! If you are going to claim anything, claim that!

Verses to Meditate On

John 10:27–30 (NIV): “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My Hand.  My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” 
1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NIV): “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”
2 Corinthians 1:21–22 (NIV): “Now it is God Who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
Galatians 4:4–5 (NASB): “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
Ephesians 6:13–16 (NASB): “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to RESIST in the evil day, and having done everything, to STAND FIRM. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
Also see: Romans 8:13-17.

FT14 We belong to God! He purchased us for His own possession! We are His child as well as the bride of Christ. God’s ownership means that Satan cannot do anything directly to one of His children without His permission.