- The Deceiver – The Liar – The Tempter
The Satan called by Jesus: the Father of liars and lies (John 8:44) is trying without ceasing to deeceive us by tempting us using his skills of lying. He did it to the first woman, Eve (Gen 3:1-5), and did it also with the holiest human ever, Jesus, the Son of God (Luke 1:35); and he is still doing the same thing to the children of God.
Tempter is not only his job title, it is who he and his soldiers are (Mat 4:3; 1Th 3:5). By the help of the Holy Spirit, the word of God shows us the way the enemy attacks us. Knowing it can help us to recognize the enemy (2Co 2:11; 2Co 11:13-15).
The temptation from the enemy, Satan, follows some pattern which is not very difficult to recognize. It starts with the flesh and its need, and goes deeper to the soul that he – the murderer (John 8:44) – can put our spirit to death. And that is just the opposite of how God works.
For God: he gives us his Spirit to re-establish the communion with God in our spirit first (Act 2:38; Rom 8:9), and then make us a new person as we are born of that Spirit, changing our mind in our soul (John 3:3-8; 2Co 5:17), that’s when we see the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) manifesting in our physical body, by using our body to accomplish the obedience of our soul ruled by the Spirit (2 Cor 10:5; 1 Pet 1:2).
We see the tactic of the Satan in action in Eden to Eve, and in the wilderness to Jesus.
The Satan called by Jesus: the Father of liars and lies (John 8:44) is trying without ceasing to deeceive us by tempting us using his skills of lying. He did it to the first woman, Eve (Gen 3:1-5), and did it also with the holiest human ever, Jesus, the Son of God (Luke 1:35); and he is still doing the same thing to the children of God.
Tempter is not only his job title, it is who he and his soldiers are (Mat 4:3; 1Th 3:5). By the help of the Holy Spirit, the word of God shows us the way the enemy attacks us. Knowing it can help us to recognize the enemy (2Co 2:11; 2Co 11:13-15).
The temptation from the enemy, Satan, follows some pattern which is not very difficult to recognize. It starts with the flesh and its need, and goes deeper to the soul that he – the murderer (John 8:44) – can put our spirit to death. And that is just the opposite of how God works.
For God: he gives us his Spirit to re-establish the communion with God in our spirit first (Act 2:38; Rom 8:9), and then make us a new person as we are born of that Spirit, changing our mind in our soul (John 3:3-8; 2Co 5:17), that’s when we see the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) manifesting in our physical body, by using our body to accomplish the obedience of our soul ruled by the Spirit (2 Cor 10:5; 1 Pet 1:2).
We see the tactic of the Satan in action in Eden to Eve, and in the wilderness to Jesus.
1- He took the attention of his target to something for the flesh: food. He got Eve by tempting her with a fruit (Has God truly said that you may not take of the fruit of any tree in the garden?), but he didn’t get Jesus by telling him to change the stone into bread (If
you are the Son of God, give the word for these stones to become bread.)
Ø He likes questioning what has been made clear by God. Does He try to ask you if you are really a Christian, or if God really told you to not sin? Do not give him a chance!
Ø Food is his first weapon. You want to overcome more? Pray and Fast!
2- Then he moves to a higher level: the soul. Unto Eve he said: For God sees that on the day when you take of its fruit, your eyes will be open, and you will be as gods, having knowledge of good and evil. By saying so, he was trying to arouse the pride in Eve. And He was trying to do the same kind of thing to Jesus, but he didn’t prevail, he said: If you are the Son of God, let yourself go down; for it is in the Writings, He will give his angels care over you; and, In their hands they will keep you up, so that your foot may not be crushed against a stone… Again, he took Jesus up to a very high mountain, and let him see all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; And he said to him, All these things will I give you, if you will go down on your face and give me worship.
Ø Is he promising you more than what God has said to give you? Like power, influence, friends? Or is he telling you that you are not where you are supposed to be, you should be higher than the others, because you deserve better? Again, don’t give him a chance!
Ø Your self is his next weapon of choice. Let your self accepts that without Christ you are literally nothing, but praise be to God, with Christ you are everything you ought to be.
3- Using his lie (Death will not certainly come to you. / All these things will I give you), he is making sure that you will die by sinning!
Ø Do not joke around with the enemy, he is not having fun, he is murdering. Sin leads to death, so go away from it. Run away from anything that will reduce your self to boast, or to not humble.
We human are made of Body, Soul and Spirit (Gen 2:7; 1Th 5:23; Heb 4:12); the body is the weakest but most visible and the spirit is the strongest but not visible, the soul is the one who sets the rule, deciding everything. We see in the sixth day of the creation, the Lord God made man from the dust of the earth (the body), breathing into him the breath of life (the spirit): and man became a living soul (or a person, the soul).
1Th 5:23 And may the God of peace himself make you holy in every way; and may your spirit and soul and body be free from all sin at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the tempter tempts us with the need of our body and of our soul, and making us ignore the need of the spirit, which he cannot provide, by twisting the truth from God. So according to that kind of attack, we can stand firmly to all his attack in the opposite way: by making our spirit strong enough to rule the soul which in its turn rule the body.
Let’s explain again in this way:
- How were we in our first estate (without sin, which only Adam and Eve had) and what happened?
The soul was on the throne deciding everything, and the spirit and the body had the same influence and the same obedience toward the master, the soul. And by the free will, the soul chose to make the body in a higher position than the spirit, to the extent that the body rules even the soul itself. To give us a picture: the worldly man will go to church (to care about their spirit), when they have enough for their pleasure (soul), and before anything else: the need of the body, like food, clothing, health …
- How are we now when Jesus saved us?
By accepting Jesus to be our personal Lord and Savior, the soul should put the spirit in the lordship of our life. And the spirit under the leading of the Holy Spirit of God should tell the soul how to feel, how to be humble, how to find joy in the love of Christ…and the soul will make the body obey everything. That’s how the true Christian can face dishonoring situation, hunger, or even death for the sake of God.
We left a bit our main subject about knowing our enemy, the Satan, but the point is: he attacks from the body to the soul, and for that kind of attack to not work, our soul and body should be ruled by our spirit.
If sometimes your body wants to not obey, then your soul has the right to set some rule by depriving the body what it likes the most sometimes.
- The Accuser
That is the other main function of the Demon. He is standing ‘before’ God to accuse the saints day and night! (Rev 12:10) He is making request to have us, to tempt us (Luke 22:31) all day long, as he is telling God that we believe only because of the blessings that God gives us. (Job 1:9; 2:5)
All good things came from God alone, and all bad things came from the enemy (John 3:27; Jas 1:16-17), but nothing happens without the green light from the Father (1Ki 22:20-23; Isa 63:17; Rom 9:18-20). So the devil is not happy of our happiness and accusing us day and night before God. Sometimes God let him tempt us, but most of the time not. And when God lets him tempt us He makes also sure that we can bear that temptation by giving us a way out of it (1 Cor 10:13), most of the time he just rebuke the enemy (Zec. 3:1-2). And when the Evil One can tempt us, he comes by using many kinds of spirit: spirit of infirmity (Luk 13:11), spirit of loneliness (Psa 25:15-22), spirit of anger (Mat 5:22), spirit of doubt (Heb 11:6), spirit of fear (Rom 8:15), spirit of pride (Pro 8:13) and so on.
But in all these things, we are more than conqueror in Jesus Christ. (Rom 8:37)
Sometimes the Accuser just comes to annoy us! Acts 16:18; Mar 1:23-26
- How to deal with him? (1 John 4:4)
o By the blood of the Lamb (Rev 12:10)
o By the Spirit of God, called also Finger of God (Mat 12:28; Luk 11:20)
Ø Remember you don’t cast out demons by your own, but with your word the spirit of God does it for you. That’s how we can stand in a spiritual warfare against the enemy.
o By the Name of Jesus (Mark 16:17; Luke 10:17)
Ø Command with the Name of Jesus by Faith. Just like the authorship of a book is written one or two times, or at most three times in a book, one mention of the name of Jesus has the power to destroy stronghold. The name of Jesus is not a magic formula, but it is the stamp we use to give power to our command, and it is saying also that we are not the giver of the command but Jesus himself, we are just the speaker.
o By Prayer and Fasting (Mar 9:29)
Ø Because Jesus said it, because Prayer and Fasting is taking you from the level of this physical world into the spiritual world. Allow me to make very short note on that reference we have: Matthew 17.
In the verse 29 the Lord said: “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” And ‘that kind’ was “dumb and deaf spirit” (v. 25) which won’t hear any of the word of the apostle in the physical; they got to be in the spirit to deal with it by prayer and
fasting.
And that was the very reason they didn’t need to pray and fast as long as Jesus was around (Luk 5:34) because whatever they need to be done in the spirit will be done by Jesus himself.
o By Praying in/with the Spirit (Eph 6:18)
Ø Because we are not fighting against flesh and blood but as Eph 6:12 says “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
o Bind him, Cast him out, Give him Command (Mat 12:28-30; Mark 16:17)
Ø Let your name be known in the kingdom of darkness, let fear fall upon them when your name is pronounced: Act 19:12-16.
- Our Armor (1Th 5:8; Eph 6:11-12, 14)
o Breastplate/Shield of faith, love and righteousness
Ø Breastplate (or bullet proof jacket for the modern vocabulary) allows us to move forward deeper into the battle field, as we are fearless trusting the security we enjoy inside. Is there any fear that knocks at your door, send faith to open the door and it will flee. Shield has the same use as breastplate.
o Helmet of hope of the salvation, of salvation.
Ø Your mind is a battle field on its own, rebuke any doubt that is disturbing by the fact that you are saved, and Jesus will come also to save even your body to an incorruptible one. Just like without helmet a motorcycle rider won’t dare riding too fast, root yourself in the salvation of Christ for you and conquer.
o Loins of Truth
Ø Without the loin of truth you will be kept busy watching your back. Loin an old way to say belt, without which a man can’t stand firm. The truth sets free, so be free from any unrighteousness and focus on your calling: soldier of Christ.
o Feet stood: preparation of the gospel of peace.
Ø We are fighting for the peace to reign; Jesus is the Prince of Peace. We engage ourselves to a spiritual warfare for peace to reign in the physical.
o Sword of the spirit: the Word of god.
Ø No other weapon works in the spiritual world but the world of God. Be filled with it, for no soldier goes in battle without a well loaded gun. Even Jesus himself spoke the word of God against the enemy.
Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
you are the Son of God, give the word for these stones to become bread.)
Ø He likes questioning what has been made clear by God. Does He try to ask you if you are really a Christian, or if God really told you to not sin? Do not give him a chance!
Ø Food is his first weapon. You want to overcome more? Pray and Fast!
2- Then he moves to a higher level: the soul. Unto Eve he said: For God sees that on the day when you take of its fruit, your eyes will be open, and you will be as gods, having knowledge of good and evil. By saying so, he was trying to arouse the pride in Eve. And He was trying to do the same kind of thing to Jesus, but he didn’t prevail, he said: If you are the Son of God, let yourself go down; for it is in the Writings, He will give his angels care over you; and, In their hands they will keep you up, so that your foot may not be crushed against a stone… Again, he took Jesus up to a very high mountain, and let him see all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; And he said to him, All these things will I give you, if you will go down on your face and give me worship.
Ø Is he promising you more than what God has said to give you? Like power, influence, friends? Or is he telling you that you are not where you are supposed to be, you should be higher than the others, because you deserve better? Again, don’t give him a chance!
Ø Your self is his next weapon of choice. Let your self accepts that without Christ you are literally nothing, but praise be to God, with Christ you are everything you ought to be.
3- Using his lie (Death will not certainly come to you. / All these things will I give you), he is making sure that you will die by sinning!
Ø Do not joke around with the enemy, he is not having fun, he is murdering. Sin leads to death, so go away from it. Run away from anything that will reduce your self to boast, or to not humble.
We human are made of Body, Soul and Spirit (Gen 2:7; 1Th 5:23; Heb 4:12); the body is the weakest but most visible and the spirit is the strongest but not visible, the soul is the one who sets the rule, deciding everything. We see in the sixth day of the creation, the Lord God made man from the dust of the earth (the body), breathing into him the breath of life (the spirit): and man became a living soul (or a person, the soul).
1Th 5:23 And may the God of peace himself make you holy in every way; and may your spirit and soul and body be free from all sin at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the tempter tempts us with the need of our body and of our soul, and making us ignore the need of the spirit, which he cannot provide, by twisting the truth from God. So according to that kind of attack, we can stand firmly to all his attack in the opposite way: by making our spirit strong enough to rule the soul which in its turn rule the body.
Let’s explain again in this way:
- How were we in our first estate (without sin, which only Adam and Eve had) and what happened?
The soul was on the throne deciding everything, and the spirit and the body had the same influence and the same obedience toward the master, the soul. And by the free will, the soul chose to make the body in a higher position than the spirit, to the extent that the body rules even the soul itself. To give us a picture: the worldly man will go to church (to care about their spirit), when they have enough for their pleasure (soul), and before anything else: the need of the body, like food, clothing, health …
- How are we now when Jesus saved us?
By accepting Jesus to be our personal Lord and Savior, the soul should put the spirit in the lordship of our life. And the spirit under the leading of the Holy Spirit of God should tell the soul how to feel, how to be humble, how to find joy in the love of Christ…and the soul will make the body obey everything. That’s how the true Christian can face dishonoring situation, hunger, or even death for the sake of God.
We left a bit our main subject about knowing our enemy, the Satan, but the point is: he attacks from the body to the soul, and for that kind of attack to not work, our soul and body should be ruled by our spirit.
If sometimes your body wants to not obey, then your soul has the right to set some rule by depriving the body what it likes the most sometimes.
- The Accuser
That is the other main function of the Demon. He is standing ‘before’ God to accuse the saints day and night! (Rev 12:10) He is making request to have us, to tempt us (Luke 22:31) all day long, as he is telling God that we believe only because of the blessings that God gives us. (Job 1:9; 2:5)
All good things came from God alone, and all bad things came from the enemy (John 3:27; Jas 1:16-17), but nothing happens without the green light from the Father (1Ki 22:20-23; Isa 63:17; Rom 9:18-20). So the devil is not happy of our happiness and accusing us day and night before God. Sometimes God let him tempt us, but most of the time not. And when God lets him tempt us He makes also sure that we can bear that temptation by giving us a way out of it (1 Cor 10:13), most of the time he just rebuke the enemy (Zec. 3:1-2). And when the Evil One can tempt us, he comes by using many kinds of spirit: spirit of infirmity (Luk 13:11), spirit of loneliness (Psa 25:15-22), spirit of anger (Mat 5:22), spirit of doubt (Heb 11:6), spirit of fear (Rom 8:15), spirit of pride (Pro 8:13) and so on.
But in all these things, we are more than conqueror in Jesus Christ. (Rom 8:37)
Sometimes the Accuser just comes to annoy us! Acts 16:18; Mar 1:23-26
- How to deal with him? (1 John 4:4)
o By the blood of the Lamb (Rev 12:10)
o By the Spirit of God, called also Finger of God (Mat 12:28; Luk 11:20)
Ø Remember you don’t cast out demons by your own, but with your word the spirit of God does it for you. That’s how we can stand in a spiritual warfare against the enemy.
o By the Name of Jesus (Mark 16:17; Luke 10:17)
Ø Command with the Name of Jesus by Faith. Just like the authorship of a book is written one or two times, or at most three times in a book, one mention of the name of Jesus has the power to destroy stronghold. The name of Jesus is not a magic formula, but it is the stamp we use to give power to our command, and it is saying also that we are not the giver of the command but Jesus himself, we are just the speaker.
o By Prayer and Fasting (Mar 9:29)
Ø Because Jesus said it, because Prayer and Fasting is taking you from the level of this physical world into the spiritual world. Allow me to make very short note on that reference we have: Matthew 17.
In the verse 29 the Lord said: “This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” And ‘that kind’ was “dumb and deaf spirit” (v. 25) which won’t hear any of the word of the apostle in the physical; they got to be in the spirit to deal with it by prayer and
fasting.
And that was the very reason they didn’t need to pray and fast as long as Jesus was around (Luk 5:34) because whatever they need to be done in the spirit will be done by Jesus himself.
o By Praying in/with the Spirit (Eph 6:18)
Ø Because we are not fighting against flesh and blood but as Eph 6:12 says “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
o Bind him, Cast him out, Give him Command (Mat 12:28-30; Mark 16:17)
Ø Let your name be known in the kingdom of darkness, let fear fall upon them when your name is pronounced: Act 19:12-16.
- Our Armor (1Th 5:8; Eph 6:11-12, 14)
o Breastplate/Shield of faith, love and righteousness
Ø Breastplate (or bullet proof jacket for the modern vocabulary) allows us to move forward deeper into the battle field, as we are fearless trusting the security we enjoy inside. Is there any fear that knocks at your door, send faith to open the door and it will flee. Shield has the same use as breastplate.
o Helmet of hope of the salvation, of salvation.
Ø Your mind is a battle field on its own, rebuke any doubt that is disturbing by the fact that you are saved, and Jesus will come also to save even your body to an incorruptible one. Just like without helmet a motorcycle rider won’t dare riding too fast, root yourself in the salvation of Christ for you and conquer.
o Loins of Truth
Ø Without the loin of truth you will be kept busy watching your back. Loin an old way to say belt, without which a man can’t stand firm. The truth sets free, so be free from any unrighteousness and focus on your calling: soldier of Christ.
o Feet stood: preparation of the gospel of peace.
Ø We are fighting for the peace to reign; Jesus is the Prince of Peace. We engage ourselves to a spiritual warfare for peace to reign in the physical.
o Sword of the spirit: the Word of god.
Ø No other weapon works in the spiritual world but the world of God. Be filled with it, for no soldier goes in battle without a well loaded gun. Even Jesus himself spoke the word of God against the enemy.
Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: