The Enemy
Genesis 1
31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!
And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
Genesis 2
1 So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed.
2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.
3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.
4 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 2.15
The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.
16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—
17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
19 So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one.
20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening.
22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
The Man and Woman Sin
Genesis 3
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
So, how do we have a talking snake giving evil ideas to humans - all these creatures made by God are questioning the goodness of God who made everything and this Satan voiced serpent who has absolute disdain for the image bearers of God and God Himself?
At the end of 1.31, God sees and says that Creation is “very good”.
- We get a summary of creation and the lay of the land and the fulfilling of the image of God in the creation of the woman to complete or make whole God’s creation of humanity.
- We see the joy of the created in the Creator’s completion of humanity, we see the plan that God desired community between the man and the woman in community and Himself and we see even to the end of ch. 2 that the ‘very good’ of creation in 1.31 is still in place and there is an absence of shame in all that God had created.
- An absence of shame is a theological, spiritual, philosophical, and emotional condition that I believe it’s nearly impossible for us to even imagine.
It was our God intended and provided reality from God’s goodness.
Then, at 3.1, we meet the serpent. Or, better said, we meet Satan voicing the serpent. What’s Satan’s origin story, then?
- We don’t have any books of the Bible or even chapters in the Bible with the heading “This Is How Satan Came To Be”.
- Since Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms and is according to Hebrews 1.1-4 The Perfect Expression of all that God is:
Hebrews 1
Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.
2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.
3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.
4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.
- So before we begin looking at what the Bible says, implies or hints at about Satan, we must first address The Word (The Living Word) Jesus.
- He will tell us EXACTLY what to think about the Satan.
John 8
42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me.
43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me!
44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 10.10
“The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy…”
John 12.31
The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out.
John 14.30-31
“I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me,
31 but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father.
- Satan is powerful and frightening.
- Apart from Christ, we are hopeless victims of his murderous intent.
- Apart from Christ, helpless. In Christ, though, what is our state?
1 John 4.18
“… perfect love expels all fear.”
Luke 10
17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!
19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.
20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
- See also Psalm 91, referenced at Luke 10.19, a powerful promise of God’s provision for us over all the power of evil.
- There are remarkable points where Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness and Satan’s actions there are a (failed) assault on the Word of God.
- Let me show you some Scripture that has been recognized as describing his origin story.
Most are from the OT, but we must be sure that we understand that Jesus and the NT identify Satan, Jesus interacts with Satan, and the Bible clearly warns us that He is our mortal enemy and the Enemy of all that is good and godly.
Isaiah 14 is seen as a direct taunt to the King of Babylon and a description of Satan’s being cast out of God’s Kingdom:
Isaiah 14
12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning!
You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world.
13 For you said to yourself,
‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.
I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north.
14 I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’
15 Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead,
down to its lowest depths.
16 Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth
and made the kingdoms of the world tremble?
17 Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wasteland?
Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?’
Ezekiel 28
12 “Son of man, sing this funeral song for the king of Tyre. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord:
“You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God.
Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone — red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper, blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald— all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold.
They were given to you on the day you were created.
14 I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian.
You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire.
15 “You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created
until the day evil was found in you.
16 Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned.
So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God.
I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty.
Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor.
So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings.
18 You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade.
So I brought fire out from within you, and it consumed you.
I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.
19 All who knew you are appalled at your fate.
You have come to a terrible end, and you will exist no more.”
- So, what happened in between Genesis 1.31 and Genesis 3.1?
- Did the Satan see the choice of being who God created His creation to be and simply choose ‘not God’?
- It seems there’s more than just an innocent exploration of ‘other possibilities’.
Galatians 2.20
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Romans 8.10
“Christ lives within you.”
Colossians 1.27
“Christ lives in you.”
John 17
20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.
21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me.
Luke 4
Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,
2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’”
5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please.
I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off!
10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11 And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
Luke 10
18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!
19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.
20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
1 John 3.8
the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
Hebrews 2.14
Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.
15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
Revelation 12.1-10
10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,
“It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters
has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them
before our God day and night.
11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony.
And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice!
But terror will come on the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you in great anger,
knowing that he has little time.”
Revelation 20.10
The devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.
12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.
13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds.
14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death.
15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Matthew 25.41
“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
1 Peter 5
7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
Jude 1
8 In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings.
9 But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body.)
Romans 16.20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
1 Corinthians 15.57
Thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Revelation 12.11
And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb ……and by their testimony.
And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
