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Answer
Wiles are tricks or manipulations designed to deceive someone. The tongue-in-cheek phrase “a woman’s wiles” refers to the seductiveness of femme fatales in using charm or sex appeal to elicit a desired response from men. “Wiles of the devil” are those clever schemes used by Satan to ensnare us through temptation, threat, or intimidation. Ephesians 6:11 warns us to “put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (KJV). Other Bible versions speak of the “devil’s schemes,” “strategies,” or “evil tricks” rather than “wiles.” Scripture gives us insight into our enemy’s tactics: “We are not unaware of his schemes” «lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. », (2 Corinthians 2:11), and we are wise to heed its warnings.
Here are some of the devil’s wiles we see in Scripture:
1. Challenging God’s Word. Genesis 3 gives us a detailed look into this tactic of our enemy. It led to the first human sin, and Satan still uses it because it works so well. The first recorded words of the devil, through the serpent, were these: “Did God really say?” «Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? », (Genesis 3:1). With those words, the devil invited the woman to reconsider what she understood God to have said. By adding her human interpretation, she convinced herself that God’s Word was far too restrictive.
By suggesting that we should reexamine the clear teaching of God’s Word, Satan invites us to add our own interpretation and thereby nullify God’s stated will. Entire church denominations are falling prey to these wiles of the devil. “Did God really say that homosexuality is wrong?” he hisses, and churches crumble. “Did God really say there are only two genders?” he suggests, inviting us to put our spin on reality, making ourselves gods in place of the Lord. Ephesians 6:11 states that we need to be clothed in the whole armor of God to withstand such wiles.
2. Challenging our identity. Luke 4:1–13 provides insight into several of the devil’s wiles. Satan came against Jesus to tempt Him in the wilderness. On two different occasions, Satan began his temptations with these words: “If you are the Son of God.” Satan knew exactly who Jesus was «And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him. », (Mark 1:34). Jesus was there when Satan fell “like lightning from heaven” «And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. », (Luke 10:18). Significantly, the devil chose a time when Jesus was physically weak and hungry to attack His identity.
Satan does the same with us. To make his wiles more effective, he hits us during a crisis or a spiritual struggle and suggests, “If you were a child of God, this wouldn’t happen. If you were actually a Christian, God would help you right now.” Again, we need the “helmet of salvation” firmly in place to withstand such attacks against our identity and God’s character «And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: », (Ephesians 6:17).
3. Twisting Scripture. Another of the wiles the devil used against Jesus was to quote Scripture, but with a twist. In Luke 4:10–11, Satan quotes Psalm 91:11–12 in an effort to persuade Jesus to act in the fleshRather than following the Spirit, refer to Galatians 5:16,25. However, Satan failed to complete the thought of the psalm. The subsequent verse, Psalm 91:13, states, “You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.” These animal references serve as metaphors for fierce and dangerous enemies—and the devil is compared to both a lion and a serpent in Scripture (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 20:2; 1 Peter 5:8; cf: Romans 16:20). The true essence of the passage in Psalm 91 is that God will safeguard and empower His servants as they conquer the enemy, Satan. One of the devil’s tactics is to omit crucial parts of Scripture to distort its meaning to suit his agenda.
We witness these schemes of the devil in action today, as prosperity teachers and false prophets cite Scripture in self-serving and deceptive manners. They incorporate sufficient portions of God’s Word to appear authoritative, yet they distort it to align with their personal motives. Selectively choosing verses from the Bible that validate whatever we wish to believe or do is a prevalent issue, and most individuals are unaware that they have succumbed to one of the devil’s schemes.
Offering a tempting alternative to obedience is another tactic or scheme of the devil employed in the temptation of Jesus. Craftily, Satan refrained from proposing that Jesus abandon the entire salvation plan and return to heaven. Instead, he presented an alternative. In Luke 4:5–7, “the devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.’” This temptation was directed at the humanity of the Son of Man. Jesus now experienced what it meant to be in the flesh. He comprehended what challenges would arise.Feel like in His hands and feet. He knew what rejection and mockery would feel like when He was stripped naked and paraded before the crowds. Satan was offering Him a compromise. What if Jesus could “save the world” without having to suffer crucifixion? What if He could take a shortcut and possess all the world’s kingdoms now?
One of the most sinister wiles of the devil involves his ability to offer a religiously tainted compromise. He knows he can’t come at mature believers with a frontal attack on their values and convictions. So he slides in the back door, posing as a friend with a reasonable alternative: “Well, yes, technically it might be wrong for someone to move in with a boyfriend, but you can witness to him better as he watches you live out your faith.” Or this: “You don’t need to go to church to be spiritual. You connect better with God alone in the woods. Those people are all hypocrites anyway, and you are too righteous to associate with them.” We must beware of the devil’s wiles when he offers something other than total obedience to God’s will.
The New Testament writers often pointed out the wiles of the devil to those in the church who were falling for them, and we should take note. The presence of false prophets (1 Timothy 6:3-5), busybodies «But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. », (1 Peter 4:15), adulterers (1 Timothy 1:9-10), and seducers «Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. », (Revelation 2:20).
At 2:20) are all part of Satan’s master plan to undermine the church from within.
To combat the wiles of the devil, followers of Christ must stay clothed in the armor of God. We must stay immersed in His Word so that we recognize deception. And when we realize we have been ensnared by the devil’s wiles, we must quickly repent and seek godly accountability. Psalm 37:23–24 encourages those who desire to live godly lives: “The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.” When the Lord holds our hand, the devil’s schemes cannot harm us.
