Use a nearby verse, a close chapter, another book, a similar genre, the same Testament, or another part of the Bible. It’s all God’s word. If “location, location, location” is key in real estate, “context, context, context” is key for the real use of Scripture. Context preaches God’s promises, God’s goodness, the Spirit’s help, and the gospel victory and assurances Christ gives us.

The father of lies is always working. He doesn’t get tired, sleep, or experience any level of fatigue. When we are worn down, the devil is at his best. When our minds are groggy, his is crisp. We fill our minds with Scripture—the sword of truth—to fight against the schemes of Satan. And it’s shocking that he uses Scripture too.

Satan Wields Scripture

When the Lord Jesus was in the wilderness and tempted by the devil, Christ responded each time with Scripture: “It is written.” What’s interesting is that after Christ’s first response, the accuser quoted Scripture too. He even used it to tempt Jesus.

Matthew 4:6: “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

A direct quotation from Psalm 91:11–12. The devil using Scripture is illuminating.

Satan Avoids Context

While doing my regular Bible reading, I came to Psalm 91. Verses 11–12 brought the wilderness temptation to mind. And the next verse, one the devil didn’t quote, brought something else to mind.

Psalm 91:13: You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

The devil took Psalm 91:11–12, applied it to Jesus, and left out the context. And here’s why: verse 13 is an allusion, reminder, and reinforcement of the promise God made in Genesis 3:15. There in the garden of Eden, as sin rippled through the universe, the devil heard his doom—someone would be born who would crush his head. And his name is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. He didn’t want to think about Jesus and verse 13.

You can see why the devil left out Psalm 91’s context. Verse 13 preaches his demise. It reveals Christ’s victory over him. I’m sure the devil hates context. So, in our spiritual warfare, in wielding the sword of the Spirit, use the whole weapon—the whole canon—context and all.

Trample with Context

Our Lord told his disciples, and us, that we can now trample on the devil: “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you” (Luke 10:19). One way we do this is by not being “ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:10). And since one of his schemes is contextless temptation and twisting of reality, we use context against him. Gospel reality is ours.

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