Satan’s heart was in rebellion against God when he
declared his “I wills.” But in the final “I will” Satan
declared, “I will make myself like the Most High.” Satan
never ceases to try to make himself equal with God,
which puts him at odds with God. For this sin and rebellion,
God cast him down to the earth, his current domain. Lucifer
became Satan, the “adversary” to God and also to human-
kind. In Isaiah 14:12 God told Satan, “You have been cast
down to the earth.” And in Ezekiel 28:17 He said, “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.”
On earth Satan would have to live under the authority of
man. When man was created, God said to him, “rule…
over all the earth…and all the creatures.” (Genesis 1:26)
Satan had been cast down to the earth because of his sin,
to live under the authority of the man and woman. It was
God’s plan that the perfect man and woman He created
would exercise authority over Satan based on their perfect
relationship with God. Their relationship with God provided
them the authority and power to rule over Satan.
The story of the man and woman losing their authority on
earth to Satan is told in Genesis 3. Here, Satan appears to
the humans in the form of a serpent. It appears from the
text that Satan has no power or authority to force Adam
and Eve to do anything. He simply tempts them with the
same sin that caused his own fall, the temptation to be
like God. (Genesis 3:1-5)
The key element of Satan’s temptation is in the words
“and you will be like God.” Compare this to Satan’s
words in Isaiah 14:14, “I will make myself like the Most
High.” Satan knew that man was the object of God’s love.
He also knew that if man could be enticed to sin then the
God/man relationship would be broken in the same way
that Satan’s own relationship was broken by sin.
Man was created to live under the authority of God and
to exercise God’s authority over “all the earth” which
included Satan. Satan tempted them to reject God’s
authority and instead “be like God.” They believed the
lies of Satan; they sinned. The consequence of sin was
their separation from God. This separation caused man
to forfeit his authority over the earth and Satan. Subse-
quently, Satan became the god and prince of the world
(2 Corinthians 4:4). I John 5:19 declares that, “the whole
world is under the control of the evil one.”
Satan is not omnipresent like God. So, his work is mostly
carried out for him by angels who are loyal to him, called
“demons.” The Devil and his angels are determined to
keep humans separated from God by sin and blindness
to the gospel. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is
veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age
(“world” KJV) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so
that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory
of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
These forces of evil also attack believers. The Apostle
Paul warns us that our struggles on earth are “not against
flesh and blood …but against the spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Paul also tells us,
“But I am afraid just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s
cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from
your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians
11:3) Satan is a deceitful and powerful liar. Jesus called
him “a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
The only way to fight against the deceitful and lying
forces of evil is by re-establishing our relationship with
God through Jesus Christ. Separated from God by sin,
we have no authority and no power to fight the forces of
evil. However, our relationship with God can be restored
by putting our faith in the person and work of Jesus
Christ. It is in Christ that we have restored authority in our
position in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:4-6). And it is
through faith in Christ that we have the indwelling Holy
Spirit to give us power (Acts 1:8). In Christ, we have both
the authority and power to have victory over Satan and
his demons.
All spiritual warfare will be successful if the believer
recognizes and exercises his position in Christ (authority)
and his power from the Holy Spirit. “But thanks be to
God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
— Rod Henry, Asst. Pastor
Next Step Christian Church
Thornton, CO
SR
SR October 2015
7
