The question that is asked; "Is Satan really defeated? If he is, why then are so many Christians living defeated lives. Yes Satan is defeated, and as we explore this subject, we shall discover the one thing that keeps so many believers from enjoying the abundant life in Christ.
Isaiah gives us some insight on the fall of Satan from being Lucifer-the anointed cherub of God, to becoming Satan-the devil and adversary of God (also see Ezekiel 28: 11-19).
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ' I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of thenorth; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. ' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: ' Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners? ' "All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house; But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot "(Isaiah 14:12 -17).
This may sound shocking, but the truth is that Satan had no more power before the crossthan he has now after the cross. He is a fallen or rebellious angel who is subject to God just as all of God's creation is. However because of his sedition, Satan is positioned as an adversary against God. Even though he is in opposition to God, he can only operate within the limits which God allows. It seems as if God permits him to work for a while, but there will come a time when God will remove him permanently from the contact of man.
I don't want to spend a lot of time here, so let us get to the point; Satan does not have the power that most people think he does. He is limited and has no power in and of himself to control man apart from man cooperating with. That is why Satan had to use deception to gain control over mankind in the Garden.
"So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Rev. 12:9).
Truth: "God alone is omnipotent," and therefore any power that be is only what He allows. As it is written; "Thus saith THE LORD THE KING of Israel, and HIS Redeemer THE LORD of HOSTS: I AM The first and I AM the last; and beside ME there is no GOD" (Isaiah 44: 6 KJV). Although this fact may be a no-brainer to some, however many think that there is a great battle between good and evil with God winning sometimes, and the devil winning at other times. That is not so.
When man disobeyed God's commandment in the garden, his act of defiance was in essence choosing to act independently of God. You may ask; "what is wrong with that"? The problem with that is man was created to live totally dependent upon God.
We can see this from the scriptures below:
"for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring' (Acts 17:28). "But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God"" (Matthews 4:4). "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me" (John 6:57). "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4). "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
Man's disobedience to God did not leave him independent - hanging on his own. He by default submitted to Satan, thus giving him (Satan) power over the human race. Paul writing the church Rome tells us; "Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living" (Romans 6:16 NLT). "When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned" (Romans 5:12 NLT).
Satan is the prince of darkness and only has power over those who are in darkness, or those who live and walk independently of God. He is lord over all sinners, and reigns over those who practice sin. This means that Satan's power is limited only to those who are deceived by him. He had no power over Jesus for this reason; Jesus was without sin which is also the same reason that Jesus had authority over him. This is also the same reason that Satan has no power over Christians-our sins have been forgiven!
Throughout the gospels we see Jesus forgiving the sins of those who trusted Him i.e., the lame man, Mary Magdalene etc.. He forgave sins and healed based on His atonement (even though he had not been crucified), and thus released them from the power of Satan.
How could Jesus disciples give the authority and power over Satan and his demons in Luke 10:18 -20 before the cross? Easy, by forgiving their sins! If there is no sin, Satan has no authority or power!
"But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said," Why do you think evil in your hearts? Forwhich is easier, to say, ' Your sins are forgiven you, ' or to say, ' Arise and walk '? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins "-then He said to the paralytic," Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. " And he arose and departed to his house "(Matthews 4-9: 7).
Dear one, are your sins forgiven? If they are, you are free from the power of Satan "because of Jesus ' righteous life within you! Ah, but you may say; "I am a Christian, but I have sinned." Then confess them to God right now, for He is faithful to forgive and cleanse you from all unrighteousness! Or maybe you don't know Jesus at all. Then confess Him as Lord and receive pardon from sin.
Satan has no power over a righteous person because his/her sins are forgiven, and God declaresus righteous. "It was to demonstrate and prove at the present time (in the now season) that He Himself is righteous and that He justifies and accepts as righteous him who has [true] faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:26 also see 1 Cor. 1:30 & 2 Cor. 5:21).
Now concerning the believer in Christ's authority over Satan; it is not because Satan has lost some great power that he had over us, and we in turn have gained some great power over him. It is because Jesus has paid our sin debt on the cross, and therefore by His death and resurrection we are justified before God. So upon receiving the Holy Spirit in our hearts we are made the righteousness of God in Christ. Jesus' (eternal) life in us in effect breaks Satan's power over us as we abide in Christ. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death "(Romans 8: 2).
Jesus said in John 10:10 to: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. " Even though the devil is a killer, he is not some loose cannon with the power to do as he pleases
The disciples of Jesus were not born-again Christians are today because as Jesus had not yet died. However Jesus gave them authority over the power of darkness based on His coming the atonement. Now that Christ is in us the hope of glory, should we have less victory than the disciples who only had Jesus with them? I say not! "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is inthe world "(1 John 4: 4). The "He" Christ in you is greater than the "he" Satan who is in the world.
The apostle John tells us: "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). This maybe true, but a greater TRUTH is that Jesus has overcome the world for us, and deprived it of power to harm us. So then we are in the world but not of the world, and as a result we are not subject to Satan or any of his devices.
John also tell us; "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust ofit; but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15-16).
There is no separation between the flesh, the world, and Satan's power. The world and the flesh are of the same source, they are both under Satan's control. Now the word "flesh" spoken by Paul in Romans 6-8 is not the physical body. The translators of the Amplified Bible define the flesh in Romans 8:3 as, "the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit." However this definition leaves out an important element. It leaves out the fact that a Christian who has the Holy Spirit can walk after the flesh (see Romans 8).
Now let us look at another definition the flesh: The flesh is "man living or acting independently of the Holy Spirit." Now this definition takes in account for sinners who are separated from God, and thus lives and act independently of Him, i.e. under the control of Satan. It also takes in account for the Christian who is in union with Christ who through ignorance (or intentionally) lives and act independently of the Holy Spirit. This in essence is a Christian who sees him/herself as the center of life, and thus they are self-sufficient, instead of seeing Christ as their sufficiency, and He being the center.
Even though born-again believers have Christ living within them, as long as they see themselves as being self-sufficient (self-centered, living and acting independently of the Holy Spirit) they are to some degree under Satan's control or power. This is walking after the flesh.
Thank God; "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1).
So is essence "the flesh" is the state of man operating independently of God whether man is saved or not." However keep in mind that the unsaved person lives in that state of independence or separation. While the Christian is in Christ - In union with Him, and thus can only walk after the flesh, i.e. self-centered, and thus acts independently of the Holy Spirit in him/her. Hence all flesh is from the same source - Satan, and thus under his power.
Paul gives us a list of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21, but more importantly he prefaces the list in verse 16 by telling us how to avoid fulfilling the desires of the flesh.
"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh ... ... ... ...Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, Bible prohibiting, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God "(Gal .19 5:16 -21).
Walking in the Spirit is the result of us seeing Christ as the center and foundation of our being, and simply submitting to Him in total dependence to be all, and to work all in us. Thus our lives are under God's power or control, which by default means that Satan has no place in us, or power over us. I know by this you can see that Satan,demons, or his power should not be the focus of the Christian, but rather Jesus only. I am not saying that we should not know about these things, but rather realize if anything other than Jesus Himself is our focus they are vain (empty) things that will control our lives.
Questions:
Since Jesus has overcome the world for us and have deprived it of power to harm us, then why do so many Christians not have [perfect] peace and confidence?
Since Jesus has defeated the devil, why are so many Christians still fighting him (and losing)?
Jesus took on our humanity, and through death God condemned sin in the flesh, and thus deprived it (sin) of its power over all who accept Him. Why are so many believer still struggling with the works of the flesh (see Galatians 5:19 -21)?
Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:17 (Amp); "For Christ (the Messiah) sent me out not to baptize but [to evangelize by] preaching the glad tidings (the Gospel), and that not with verbal eloquence, lest the cross of Christ should be deprived of force and emptied of its power and rendered vain (fruitless, void of value, and of no effect)."
The deprivation of force and emptiness of power concerning the cross in 1 Corinthians 1:17 mean that if one distorts the gospel message with the trappings of man's words, it robs the message of its effectiveness. It does not suggest that man, angel or devil can do anything to change the efficacious work of Jesus on the cross, but rather a tainted gospel will produce contaminated results. So it is important for us to see that there isnothing that we can add to what God done or given.
Excuse the redundancy, but I am laboring on some points because they are extremely important to know. By this I don't mean to know as facts, but to know by experience the liberating life of Christ.
Again I say that Satan's only power is in the kingdom of darkness over sinners, and/or believers who are not following the leading of the Holy Spirit, i.e. walking after the flesh (self-centered - acting independently of God).
Again let me speak concerning Christians and the flesh; self-centered Christians see and view life through their understanding instead of the Holy Spirit. So in ignorance they resist the Holy Spirit and thus by default give place to the devil in their lives.
This may not be so obvious to a Christian in this position. That is the reason that there are so many problems in Christian homes, and as well as our churches. Most of these problems are rooted in selfish self-centered living.
When was the last tine that you got angry, sad or depressed when things did not go your way, or someone offended you? Do you make excuses for your behavior when you act in ways unbecoming a Christian? Most of us try to do the right thing but find ourselves doing the opposite. These things are only the tip of the iceberg through which Satan takes advantage of Christians even though we are totally free of his power.
My friend most of us are self-centered to some degree and don't realize it. But the good news is that God know us perfectly, and loves us unconditionally. So He is constantly at work in us revealing Himself to us, so that we will allow Him to conformed us into the image of His Son, then His life is expressed through us.
Remember that Christians are free from Satan's power and authority because we have been redeem from sin, and made the very righteousness of God by Christ Jesus.
"giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Colossians 1:12-13).
Jesus' atonement totally put an end to Satan's rule over mankind. However everyone has not accepted what Jesus' death and resurrection has accomplished, and so they remain under the power of darkness. The only thing that hinders a person from experiencing the freedom from slavery to sin/Satan, and enjoying the abundant life of Christ is refusing to submit to the Lord-ship of Christ. Ah, but you may say "I am a Christian, and yet I do not experience Christ's abundant life." Then I say to you the words of Jesus; "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).
God called Paul to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, so that through the glorious light of the gospel message, mankind would see Christ the savior and turn to Him. This by default is turning from the power of Satan which is sin.
Matthew 6:13 (Amplified Bible) And lead (bring) us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
The evil one and his power are one. So when we believed on the Lord Jesus and received Christ into our hearts, we were delivered from the evil one as well as his power.
Notice that "deliver us from the evil one" in Matthew 6:13, was prayed before Jesus went to the cross. This is before He ascended to the Father, as well as before the coming of the Holy Spirit. So at this time "man was still in sin, and under Satan's dominion."
While Jesus was with His disciples He kept them just as God has kept all who have trusted in Him throughout the centuries before the cross. The foundation of God's faithfulness towards the Old Testament saints was Jesus Himself. God planned that through the death and resurrection of his Son Jesus, He would break the power of Satan over the human race. Then upon ascending to the Father He would send the Holy Spirit, and thus making the believer in Christ the righteousness of God through faith. This friend is the victory and freedom over sin, the flesh, the world, and the devil for they are all as one.
Let me conclude by answering the questions that I asked earlier:
Since Jesus has overcome the world for us, and have deprived it of power to harm us, then why do so many Christians not have [perfect] peace and confidence?
Jesus is the one who overcame the world and not us. So our ability to overcome is by always looking to Jesus and not ourselves, the devil, or his power. Get this; the devil is defeated and Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth I know look to Him. "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith "(1 John 5: 4). This is not faith in our faith, but rather "Faith in Jesus.
Since Jesus has defeated the devil, why are so many Christians still fighting him (and losing)?
I believe that many sincere believers see themselves sufficient within them-selves. They think They have power and ability under their control to exercise at their discretion. Instead of recognizing their weakness, inabilities, and thus looking to Christ who is within them-who is their strength, ability, and life, they look to themselves or some self-help method or formula to solve theproblems that only Jesus can solve. To be blunt, the devil or his power is not the real issue that determines our victory, but rather an unwavering expectant look to Jesus.
Since Jesus took on our humanity, and through death God condemned sin in the flesh, and thus depriving it of its power over all who accepts Him, why are so many believer still struggling with the works of the flesh (see Galatians 5:19-21)?
Many struggle with the works of the flesh because they ignore the admonishment of the apostle Paul when he said in Galatians 5:16; "I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." This simply means to look to the Lord, and let Him guide and control your life. Let Him lead and direct your path, and he will guide you into all truths.
"Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him endured the cross, despising and ignoring the, shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God "(Strongs 12: 2)
No comments:
Post a Comment