As you go to a bank to open a Savings Account, you will need to fill a detail about you called KYC (Know your Customer), this gives Bank to know more on you and your details to serve you better.
Similarly in a business when a company has to be successful, there is usually a lot of planning, Intel collected on your opponent company / market to understand better, typically a SWOT (Strength’s, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is performed frequently, all of these are done to fight opponent (Company or Market or customers) better by understanding their strength, weakness so that it can maximize the company’s business.
Likewise, in our Spiritual life, we need to understand Satan in deep, to defend his plans and how to overcome it and be close to God to fulfill his plans for us.
For Christians, Satan is the enemy, who creates Sin, and his main goal is to separate us from God. He makes ways to remove the closeness to God when we have it, he robs peace and brings all things which is against God. To understand this deeper, we need to know the following
Genealogy of Satan – Where did Satan start and come from? What does Bible tell us on Satan?
Characters of Satan – What are the key characters Satan?
Armor of God – How do we defend Satan with the Armor of God?
Call for Actions - What is the actions that’s expected from us as God’s children?
Genealogy of Satan
Satan with Adam & Eve
As we start reading the Bible in Genesis, we read Satan as a Serpent
'Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 'Genesis 3:1-4
If you read the chapter further in Verse 13 Eve says,
'Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” ' Genesis 3:13
If you read further, you may know God cursed Adam / Eve and the Serpent and he drives man out from Garden of Eden and protects the Tree of life by separating and protecting it. Read the word of God
'After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.'Genesis 3:24
Satan’s Origin to World
Let’s turn to Ezekiel where the lord speaks thru a prophet on the roots of Satan, he starts from Eden (just relate to what we read in Genesis 3 and last verse of how God separated the Tree of Life to protect that with his angles),
Read the word
'You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. Ezekiel 28:13-17
The angles guarded Cherub. Also the word goes to describe the qualities of Angles and how Satan found a way to get the wickedness (as it did in Eve) by getting Pride in the Angle (“Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor”), so God threw this Angle out of the Cherub to world, that’s how Satan has entered the world
From this you will know he is the root of Sin, He is the more wicked than any of us can think or imagine
Characters of Satan
1. Root of Sin and Death
Our sins are produced by our acts in our flesh, our own self desires that we try to live in. God has created us in the world and given us the freedom to live and follow him and also live by our own (human) desires. This freedom is taken advantage by Satan to make us commit sin, its explained by Paul as act on our flesh which produces Sin and warns these sins will not allow us to inherit the kingdom of God
'The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 'Galatians 5:19-21
The word of God says on Sin
'For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.' Romans 6:23
But thru our lord Christ Jesus we have an enteral life, a life beyond the life of the world.
2. Master of Deception
Satan is a master of deception; The act of faking out to make us believe it to be true turning as deception. You can call it lying, Cheating, crafty, hoax, duping etc.. We saw in genesis how Satan deceived Eve to commit Sin,
'Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” ' Genesis 3:13
The word of God describes these six things that come from Deception
'There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. ' Proverbs 6:16-19
3. Instils Fears and Anxiety
As Satan makes us commit sin, he creates a sense of panic within us which kicks fear and anxiety. During this time, he takes control of us and promotes us to do things on our human desires. But in contrary Jesus tells “Fear Not” 365 times in Bible. The very first word in when the Angel said to Mary was “do not be afraid”
'But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ' Luke 1:30
We read on Fear when Joshua as he is ready to lead Israel after he took over from Moses
'Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” ' Joshua 1:9
Similarly he commands to Moses
'Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” ' Deuteronomy 31:6
When we are anxious, we start to worry about what will happen next and many times we worry about the future,
God gives a fitting word for this “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
'But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:33-34
4. Pride / Self Worship
Pride originates from Satan, if you refer back in genealogy, Satan brought pride to the angel to be kicked out of Cherub, similarly in this world God gives us many material blessings (house, car, job positions, money etc..) and non-material blessings (many talents we have, health etc..), Satan deceives us to make us believe that all what we have is the work of our self-effort not from God. Immediately pride comes and we start self-boasting ourselves. This character triggers many other sins in us to do more. God hates pride, the word says on this
'When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. ' Proverbs 11:2
The word of God shows how we should fight against pride
'But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ' James 4:6-7
5. Darkness
Anyone who does evil (read as sinful ways) if full of darkness and the root of Sin, but God’s light removes the darkness and gets us out from it. Read it in John on this
'Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. ' John 3:20-21
Similarly Jesus spoke how darkness is formed in us
' “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 'Matthew 6:22-23
The opposite of darkness is Light, if we follow Jesus the darkness in us will be removed and light will shine from God
'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ' John 8:12
Armor of God
While Satan has so many characters but we as Gods Children, been given many ‘Armor of God.’
God gives us below Top 5 for us (There are many, but I have chosen these as top 5)
God’s Word – Bible
Prayer
Faith
God’s Wisdom
Blood of Christ & Grace
1. God’s Word – Bible
Early Christians did not have Bible, they had only commands from Moses to follow, but we are blessed today to have the Word of God as Bible. Its relevant today, tomorrow or any time we live, it’s thru the word God speaks to us.
We have to make it a practice to read the word and meditate the word daily. self-discipline is the key to knowing the Bible deeper, it has solutions to any problem in life we may have. Once we know God’s word (truth) it will set us free from all Satan’s lies and plans.
Jesus speaks on this
'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 'John 8:31-32
The word of God says,
'For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ' Hebrews 4:12
2. Prayer
Prayer is a means to talk to God, it’s the oxygen for a Christian life. God longs our fellowship of Prayer and he hears patiently whatever we ask (our asks, grief’s, feelings and our Wishlist, etc..) and helps us. Once you read the word and pray, it helps us get solutions to many of our challenges in world.
So make it a habit to read Bible and Pray first thing in morning. Prayer brings victory. It’s one of the important tools in dealing with Satan.
'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ' Philippians 4:6
If your troubles are more, Fast and Pray. It’s even more powerful.
Remember even Jesus Prayed daily, when you read his gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) you can understand this better.
3. Faith
We often say when we go thru troubles as “I hope you get better”, that is hoping it will get better in human dependence. There is no assurance it will get better or turn worse.
Faith is contrary to world’s definition of hope. Faith is total dependence on God and saying God will make that work with a firm belief and saying, “I trust you God from my heart, you make it work”. Even though the things that you see with your eyes may be fully against what you believe.
Bible gives the definition of Faith as like this
'Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ' Hebrews 11:1
It also says it’s impossible to please God without trusting him
'And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 'Hebrews 11:6
4. Gods Wisdom
When we read the Bible and start following what’s written in it , then God gives us the wisdom to know Satan’s plans and deception and start living a Godly life that’s upright and clean in Gods eyes. Gods wisdom comes only when we fear God and revere God
'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. ' Proverbs 9:10-11
The fear of God doesn’t mean to be scared of God but rather to be in awe of his greatness.
Gods wisdom is no match to man’s wisdom or Satan’s plans or his wisdom, see the word of God
'For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. ' 1 Corinthians 1:25
So don’t trust yourself, depend on God to lead you in anything you do, and the result will be complete freedom. Depending on oneself will only lead to frustration.
5. Blood of Christ & Grace
There is no other God in the world who has given his own life for our Sins. We worship an awesome God, who paid his life for our Sins.
We as Christians, have the biggest gift from Jesus Christ. who died for us on Cross and conquered death for us to save us from the Sin
Also God has given us the free will in the word to choose to live a Godly life vs. Un-Godly life filled with Sins.
Blood of Christ saves us from Sin. All it takes is to come and confess the Sins in your prayer and repent from that Sin from your heart. Always remember the blood of Jesus is not so cheap.
'This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ' Matthew 26:28
As we read the Bible and pray and try to practice the word of God, we often fall short of God’s expectations, that’s where Grace comes in and God gives us some more chance to get better, remember Jesus lived in the world and knows our challenges we go thru, and he can help us get better
The word of God Says like this
'The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.'Romans 5:20-21
Call for Actions
As we understand the devil and his plans, we need to do some actions to fight the devil, do these two things to make God work his plan in you
Read the Bible daily first thing in the morning and meditate on what God is trying to teach you. Don’t do it as ritual, read the Bible with a spirit of seeking God. He will speak to you
Pray and then try to listen to his still voice. When you pray, seek him with sincere heart and be open to tell what you feel and show your emotions for God to speak to you back with his holy sprit
With these two actions God will work his ways to bring a big change to fight devil and bless you. Stay blessed !!
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