“Be sober (nēphō: be moderate, cautious), be vigilant (grēgoreō: give strict attention), because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom HE MAY devour (not who he can devour, he may only devour us if we allow him to). RESIST HIM, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9) How can we resist the devil? Jesus said, “Behold, I give you the AUTHORITY to trample on serpents and scorpions, and OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY, and NOTHING SHALL by any means HURT YOU.” (Luke 10:19)
The name Satan means “accuser” and appears prominently in the book of Job, where Satan appears briefly before God in heaven to accuse both God and His righteous servant, Job, on earth. “So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a HEDGE (śûk: to entwine, a fence about) around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side?” (Job 1:9-10)
So, why do we have so much trouble with the devil? Paul says, “I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent DECEIVED EVE by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corin. 11:3) Remember Adam and Eve were perfectly created, intelligent and spiritual beings who regularly met with and spoke with God. “Now the serpent was MORE CUNNING (‛ârûm: crafty, shrewd) than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1) Do you really think God meant what you thought he meant? Satan said you are NOT GOING TO DIE, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be LIKE GOD, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:5) So, Eve first then Adam ate the forbidden fruit. Disobeying God they were banned from the perfect garden, had children who inherited their sinful nature and passed it on to all mankind and then they died.
Thankfully, “God so loved the world that HE GAVE His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him MIGHT BE SAVED.” (John 3:16-17)
-Bill Stockham