Introduction
Greeting to everyone and welcome to another segment of My Thoughts. I would like everyone to open their Bibles, either paper or digital, to Ephesians 6:12:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
There is an enemy that we cannot see in the physical sense but attempts to control us in any manner possible. Our enemy since the beginning of the creation of the heavens and earth. He goes by many names describing who he is and how others perceived him. The most common name given to our enemy is Satan but goes by other names such as the devil, tempter, and accuser.
As our enemy’s existence is to prevent people, groups, and nations from knowing, worshipping, and serving the one and only true God. To know and understand our enemy better, we will expose his origin, personality, and goals that he has for all of humanity. By knowing our enemy, we can resist what he tries to deceive us with. Remember, the only power that Satan has is by our consent and cooperation.
The Origin of Satan
Satan’s origin starts as a creature created by God. He does not possess the same attributes belonging to God such as omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, and omnibenevolent. He is not everywhere, not all-powerful, not all-knowing, and not all-loving. Though a mighty being, but limited in power. As a creature, God will hold him accountable for his actions.
Satan is a spirit once called the anointed, covering cherub who enjoyed the position of highest honor before God. Full of wisdom, beauty, and perfection, God gave him the name Lucifer. Known as the morning star and the greatest angel in heaven. Then came the moment of rebellion and five times voiced his will in opposition to God. The five I will come from Isaiah 14:13-14:
- Ascend into heaven.
- Exalt my throne above the stars of God.
- Sit on the mount of the congregation.
- Ascend above the heights of the clouds.
- Be like the Most High.
Therefore, Satan thought he was equal to God, wanting to rule over all angels, heaven, earth, and the universe. He wanted equal standing like God and to receive all the glory, and power. Due to his pure arrogance, God removed him from heaven.
The Personality of Satan
Just like angels, he possesses the personality to make any attempts to thwart God from our lives. The Bible speaks of his personality such as:
- Possessing strong intelligence. Knows every scripture in the Bible and attempts, using his powers of deception, to manipulate others into believing false teachings.
- Embraces strong emotions, and his two favorites are anger and desire.
- Desires to keep others away from knowing God and why Christ died on the cross.
- Gets angry when one of his lost souls accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Satan is a noted liar, the foundation of his kingdom is built on lies and deceit. Some of the many lies he will tell you:
- God does not love anyone who sins.
- Christ did not die on the cross for the sins of humanity.
- To how acceptable immorality is in our society today.
He will use just enough of the truth to trick us into falling for his lies to make sure that we fall or never find what grace is all about. John 8:44, “For he is a liar and the father of it.”
The Goals of Satan
Satan’s goals are to create a system that rivals or is opposite God’s kingdom. What he is creating is counterfeit. This order promotes lying, cheating, stealing, immorality, and complete hostility toward God.
To achieve those goals, he feeds on the three common human weaknesses found in 1 John 2:16:
- Lust of the flesh.
- Lust of the eyes.
- Pride in life.
Once Satan gets control of those human weaknesses, he continues to achieve additional goals:
- Make people give top priority to themselves.
- The here and now.
Furthermore, Satan attempts to convince us that self, not God, should be first in our lives, and the here and now is more important than trying to achieve eternal life through Christ Jesus.
Statement Clarification Between God and Satan
The statement, if Satan is such a dreadful enemy, then why does God allow him to continue to be a force in the world? Allow me to clarify this statement. Satan, for now, rules the world (John 14:30). He possesses no power over born-again Christians, so he is not running amuck as others might think. We, as born-again Christians have the power and authority over Satan thanks to Jesus’ atoning death on the cross.
As mentioned previously, the only power that Satan has is through our consent and cooperation. It was Satan who brought sin into this world, and Jesus will remove all sin and Satan from this world once and for all (Revelation 20:7-10).
God is a good God and does not promote evil in any way, shape, or form. He is in control and the one that is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). God knows exactly what Satan has planned and does spoil his attacks. He consistently attacked Jesus’ bloodline and tried to get Him killed many times by the religious leaders and failed every time. Why? Because it is in the will and plan of God and if it is in God’s will and plan, it will happen.
Conclusion
As Christians in the world that we live in today, we are to take the time to know who our enemy really is. To be better-equipped disciples for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:
- We should have the desire to know Satan’s origin, who he is, and why did he fall from grace.
- Knowing his personality, allows us to fight off those constant attacks, and to evangelize to others about his constant lies to keep them from Christ.
- We can impede on his goals by simply refusing not to be a part of his world. We can do this by keeping our eyes totally focused on God through Christ, and not getting caught up in the cares of this world.
Finally, the world hates us, but better than losing eternal life, which is what Satan is trying to convince Christians to give up. 1 Peter 5:8-9, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” Amen!
I am Dale Van De Bogart and I approve this message!
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