The early Christians were not unaware of our role in augmenting Satan’s power in the world. Chrysostom, for example, argued that the Devil “gained strength, not owing to his own power but from that of man’s slothfulness and carelessness.” The Devil “is even profitable to us, if we use him aright”; in 1 Cor. 5: 5 he is even “a cause of salvation, but not because of his own disposition, but because of the skill of the apostle” (Hom. on I Cor., 2: “Against those who object because the Devil has not been put out of the world,” in NPNF 9: 187). “Did [Paul] not oft times command the devil as a captive slave? Did he not carry him about as an executioner?” (Hom. on Phil., 7, NPNF 13: 216); “If we are fierce toward [the devil], he shall never be fierce towards us. If we are compliant, then he will be fierce” (Hom. on Eph., 22, NPNF 13: 163). See also Apoc. Ab. 23.*
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*Wink, Walter.
Unmasking the Powers: The Invisible Forces That Determine Human Existence: 2 (Powers, Vol 2) (Kindle Locations 5466-5473 | Footnote 74). Fortress Press. Kindle Edition.
