Ephesians 6:10 – “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” NKJV

Picking up where we paused yesterday talking about the Infinite Victory of Christ and the strangeness of this Spiritual War we are engaged I suggest we consider Ephesians 2.  Paul addressed the prince of the power of the air, the god of this world and the children of disobedience among whom this spirit works.  In our modern world, we too often, refuse to accept the reality of an unseen spirit realm.  We are far too sophisticated and educated to believe in superstition, as it is often called.  If you were to go around many of the primitive tribes of this world you would find they understand a universe of spirits or a spirit realm.  They are wrong in what they believe but they realize the existence of a spirit realm.  Life is far more than what you can see, feel or taste and that realization makes them ten steps closer to the truth than the professor of humanism who only sees what he sees and believes what he can touch or taste.

The being identified as the devil or Satan is not a minor figure in the Bible.  I have been around Christians who seem to believe in dual gods, one good and one evil.  The devil is not God with a capital “G”.  There was a time when the devil was not!  God is the ONLY true and living God and He is eternal.  There was a time when that being we call Satan came into being.  Something happened in him causing him to fall and be cast out of heaven.  There is much we do not know about the devil.  The Bible refers to him as “The Great Dragon” or “The Serpent of Old” who is called “The devil and Satan.”  He, according to Revelation 12, is the deceiver of the whole world.  (That should explain some of what is happening in our present world on every front.)

Jesus said that the devil was a “murderer from the beginning”.  He said of the devil that there is no truth in him and whenever he speaks he speaks a lie because he speaks of his own and is a liar and the father of lies.  He is a master deceiver!  Do you know what “The Satan” means?  It means “the gossip”.  He is the accuser seeking to do murder and the original liar.  He seeks to usurp and destroy all that God created.

Man made in God’s Image and Likeness was placed as lord over all the earth and has become the particular hatred of the devil.  If you do not understand just how much the devil loathes man you will miss much of what the Bible teaches.  He seeks man’s destruction and it is not a passing fancy or idle threat, it is a full-time job.  You catch a glimpse of this in the Book of Job.  The devil poses a real problem because he is a liar and mankind doesn’t seem to realize just who he is.  He comes across as the benefactor of the human race and his suggestions appeal to the carnal nature of man.

Sin virtually never looks bad.  I do not believe that most people sin knowing exactly what they are doing.  Remember what Jesus said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”  Satan never comes in looking like a murderer and never sounds like a liar but he is.  There is a truth that too often we seem to overlook or completely miss that is vital to our understanding of the Infinite Victory of Jesus and the Triumph in which we can and should walk.

When the man “disobeyed” God in the Garden of Eden he “obeyed” the devil.  His “disobedience” to God caused his relationship with God to be severed.  The fellowship with God was broken but not neutral.  If he “disobeyed” God and is severed in his fellowship with God that means he is “united” with the devil and that is the picture of the human race coming out of the Garden of Eden.  This is now a race that is united with the devil.  It is important to remember that God made Adam Lord of the Earth and since man has united with the devil, Satan becomes “legally” the administrator of the planet.  God allowed that because He had placed lordship of the earth in Adam and Eve’s hands and they broke fellowship in disobedience and thereby obeyed the devil relinquishing their lordship into his hands.  It was a LEGAL ACTION.

Likewise, the devil became the legal administrator of the curse of death.  The man who was made to be Lord of the planet is now a whimpering slave of the devil.  To verify what I’m saying I ask you to consider Luke 4 where the devil said to Jesus, “All the kingdoms of this word… I will give you this domain and its glory for it has been HANDED OVER TO ME, and I give it to whomever I will.”  Some will argue this but I challenge you with this thought – If it were not true Jesus would never have let it stand.  Satan said, “It has been handed over to me…”  That’s the key!  It was not his originally.  The man was the Lord of the Earth.  Therefore, the first Adam handed it over to the devil through disobedience.  1 John 5:10, “The whole world lies in the power of the wicked one.”  Terrifying!  That means that the entire world system lies in the power or domain of the evil one.  There is a real spirit of disobedience working in the children of disobedience!

I’m painting a grim picture but need to do so to show you the Infinite Victory of Christ and our Triumph.   We will put this on hold until tomorrow but until then may you walk in the fullness of Christ’s victory, power and love.  Blessings abundantly!