4月7日 邪灵的本性（二）
邪灵的本性（二）
即使是世间最有智慧的人，若与天使的聪明相比，也如同天地之遥。
堕落的人深陷肉体之中，往往不肯相信肉眼看不见的事。若照此逻辑，我们甚至可以否认神的存在，因为祂也是肉眼看不见的。
这正是撒但的狡黠之处：牠让你以为看不见的东西就不存在。一个罪人可能整天与撒但同行，心里怀揣着它，却浑然不觉。就像一匹戴着眼罩的马，牠只感受到驱使牠奔向私欲或野心的鞭打，却从未看见挥鞭者的面孔。但无论你是否看见，撒但确实在那里。当你的情欲失控、疯狂奔向灭亡时，请确信：正是魔鬼在背后催逼。
灵的另一个特点是极其聪明。他们比其他受造物更聪明，因为按受造次序，他们的本质最接近神。人借着殷勤钻研积累了海量的知识，但即使是世间最有智慧的人，若与天使的聪明相比，也如同天地之遥。
毫无疑问，堕落天使丧失了许多属天知识的功用。确切地说，牠们丧失了作为圣洁天使时的一切真智慧。它们如今对神的认识已失去了甘甜，也无法利用这些知识使自己得益。犹大书对恶人的评语同样适用于它们：它们滥用所知的知识，使自己陷入更深的败坏（参犹10）。牠们知道神的圣洁，却不爱祂；牠们知道罪的邪恶，却不减对罪的恋慕。虽然就结局而言牠们是十足的愚昧人，但对于地上的圣徒来说，恶灵仍是极其强悍的对手。不过，有一件事改变了局势：我们有全能的神亲自为我们争战！
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：利10章，诗11-12章，
个人灵修：箴25章，帖前4章
APRIL 7, TUESDAY
THE NATURE OF EVIL SPIRITS
The wisest human being is as far from the angels’ intelligence as the earth is from the heavens.
Fallen man, helplessly immersed in the flesh, will not readily believe what he cannot see with his mortal eyes. On the same grounds, we might deny the existence of God Himself, because He is invisible.
What a clever trick on the part of Satan, to make us think that if we cannot see something, it does not exist! A sinner may carry Satan in his heart and walk all day long in his company, yet never notice him. Like a horse with blinkers, he feels the crack of the whip that drives him to selfish ambition or lustful desires, but never sees the face of the driver. But Satan is there—whether you see him or not. When your passions are on a runaway course, hell-bound for destruction, you can be sure it is the devil himself who spurs them on.
Another characteristic of spirits is that they are highly intellectual. They are smarter than other creatures because they come closest by creation to the nature of God. By diligent study, men have accumulated vast stores of scientific knowledge. Still, the wisest human being is as far from the angels’ intelligence as the earth is from the heavens.
No doubt the fallen angels lost the use of much of their celestial knowledge—all their wisdom as holy angels, in fact. What they now know of God has lost its savor, and they have no power to use it for their own good. Jude’s assessment of wicked men applies to them: They misuse the knowledge they have been given to corrupt themselves further (v. 10). They know the holiness of God, but do not love Him for it. They know the evil of sin, and do not love it the less. And though they are utter fools with regard to their own destiny, evil spirits are more than a match for all the saints on earth—except for one thing: We have Almighty God to play our game for us!