The slanderer, the devil, the serpent of old.

Devil: Greek word, “diabolos;” slanderous, accusing falsely: devil(34), malicious gossips(3).

Every time “devil” is used in English in the New Testament, it is “diabolos” in Greek.

Revelation 12:9-10.
9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil [diabolos, the slanderer] and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he [diabolos, the slanderer] who accuses them before our God day and night.

Proverbs 16:28b. “...A slanderer separates intimate friends.” When the devil stands before God, he accuses me before God. Does he lie to God? Or does he speak truth about me? God knows the truth about me, so why would the devil, the slanderer, lie? He speaks truth about me because, he wants to separate God from me. But nothing can separate me from the love of God.

Slander is not false speech, it is divisive speech. Slander drives a wedge between intimate friends. For example, between God and me, a forgiven sinner. When the slanderer talks to God about me, he speaks the truth about my sin and my falling short. When the slanderer talks to me, he speaks truth about my sin, but he lies about God.

The slanderer says things to me like, “Look at what you just did. How can God love someone like you? Did God say that He loves you even when you do things like that? What nonsense.”

If he cannot separate God from me, he will try to separate me from God.

Ephesians 4:26-27
26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger
27 and do not give the devil [diabolos, the slanderer] an opportunity [or “a place”]

If I get angry at someone, I am divided from that person. That which fills my heart comes out my mouth. If I, in my anger, talk about a person, division will come out my mouth. Slander is division in spoken form. I need to deal with my anger that day, lest it fester and turn into division and slander

Ephesians 6:11. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. [diabolos, the slanderer].

1 Timothy 3:7. [An overseer]... must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil [diabolos, the slanderer].

If an overseer has a bad reputation, it will provide a place for the slanderer to bring reproach against the overseer and against the church. The slanderer has schemes and he wants to bring about division.

2 Timothy 2:24-26.
24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,
25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil [diabolos, the slanderer], having been held captive by him to do his will [the will of diabolos, the slanderer].

Those, in the world, who are quarrelsome and “who are in opposition” have been snared by the diabolos, the slanderer. They are captives and are doing his will. However, those in the church, behaving the same way, have the same problems.

1 Peter 5:8. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil [diabolos, the slanderer], prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Lions hunt by separating one animal from the herd, and attacking it when it is by itself. The animal may be weak, old, very young, or just unlucky, turning one way then the rest of the herd turned another. In other words, it was not “on the alert.” Slander separates. When I listen to it, I am more likely to be by myself, separated from others. I may be distrustful, angry, or fearful, but I am alone. And therefore, I am in danger.

2 Corinthians 11:3. But I am afraid that, as the serpent [“the serpent of old who is called the devil,” diabolos, the slanderer] deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

The slanderer distracts me, leads me astray, by questioning God’s motives and promises. The serpent said to Eve, “Has God said...?” This slanders God by making an false accusation against God, calling Him a liar. But the “Has God said...? question also slanders God by creating division between God and me. It raises questions about whether I can trust Him about what He says. By listening to the questioning and the lies, I become double-minded. But can also get distracted by listening to the division that the slanderer speaks about my brothers and sisters, too. He slanders them as well. And it does not matter if what he says is true or false, as long what he says divides me from Him and divides me from my brothers and sisters.

Summary: The devil’s purpose is to create division. Or to aggravate existing division. (We are quite fallen enough to generate lots of division on our own.) He has schemes, he has a will, he is deceptive and crafty, and he seeks opportunities to devour us. And yes, he also tempts us to sin.

How to overcome? Simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus. This is by grace. We need God’s grace to see that we need God’s grace. We do not seek Jesus on our own, but by His leading. Therefore, we need to depend on Him to overcome the slanderer’s schemes.