John Calvin Commentary 2 Timothy 2:26

"and they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will." — 2 Timothy 2:26 (ASV)

And deliverance from the snare of the devil—Illumination is followed by deliverance from the bondage of the devil, for unbelievers are so intoxicated by Satan that, being asleep, they do not perceive their distresses. On the other hand, when the Lord shines upon us by the light of his truth, he wakens us from that deadly sleep, breaks apart the snares by which we were bound, and, having removed all obstacles, trains us to obedience to him.

By whom they are held captive—This describes a truly shocking condition: the devil has such great power over us that he drags us, as captive slaves, here and there at his pleasure. Yet such is the condition of all those whose pride of heart draws them away from subjection to God. And this tyrannical dominion of Satan we see plainly every day in the reprobate; for they would not rush with such fury and brutal violence into every kind of base and disgraceful crimes if they were not drawn by the unseen power of Satan. This is what we saw in Ephesians 2:2: that Satan exerts his energy in unbelievers.

Such examples admonish us to keep ourselves carefully under the yoke of Christ and to yield ourselves to be governed by his Holy Spirit. And yet, a captivity of this nature does not excuse wicked people, as if to render their actions sinless, simply because they sin at Satan's instigation. For although their being carried along so irresistibly to what is evil proceeds from the dominion of Satan, they do nothing under compulsion but are instead inclined with their whole heart to what Satan drives them to do. The result is that their captivity is voluntary.