Lesson 5–1: The Enemy—Satan

p. 225Isaiah 14:12–15 1 John 5:4–5

Our enemy is known by many titles: “the evil one” (Matt. 6:13; 1 John 2:13); “a murderer ... a liar ... the father of lies” (John 8:44); “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31); “the god of this world [“age,” NKJV]” (2 Cor. 4:4); “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2); “the great dragon ... the serpent of old ... the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9).

The world in which we live, the cosmic system, belongs to Satan. We—believers in the Lord Jesus Christ—are guerrilla soldiers placed by the Almighty God in the middle of the enemy’s territory as an offensive force.

Our enemy is bigger, meaner, quicker, smarter, and smoother than any mere human who ever lived. He is a master strategist who has had thousands and thousands of years to hone his evil skills. He stalks about this planet “like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). He can break a man or woman physically, mentally, and emotionally—as effortlessly as we might wad up and throw away a piece of paper. But he is no match for God—or for the believer who knows how to stand in the power of God.

Ignorance of the nature of our enemy and of his strategy is one of Satan’s greatest weapons in this war. God intends that we understand what is going on and who it is we are fighting. In the Word, He tells us all we need to know about Satan and his troops.

There are, in the Bible, more than 200 references to angels— spiritual beings created apparently long before man and superior to man in power and intelligence (Heb. 1:14; 2:7; 2 Pet. 2:11).

p. 226Biblical evidence points to the fact that these beings were placed by God in ranks and orders not unlike military ranks. The most common New Testament word for these beings is aggelos, which means “messenger” and is usually transliterated “angel,” but they are also referred to as thronos, “thrones”; kuriotes, “powers”; archon, “rulers”; exousia, “authorities”; and dunamis, also translated “powers.”

Only three angels are referred to by name in the Bible: Michael, who is the archangel and the defender of Israel (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9; Rev. 12:7); Gabriel, who is a special messenger to God’s servants (Dan. 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26–33); and Lucifer, the one we now know as Satan.

The word translated from Isaiah 14:12 as “Lucifer” in the King James Version and “star of the morning” in the New American Standard, is the Hebrew helel, “the shining one.” The name “Lucifer” comes through the Latin lucere, “to shine,” from lux, “light.” How did this shining angel become the ruler of a kingdom of darkness?

Ezekiel 28:11–15 tells us that Lucifer was the greatest—in power, in beauty, in rank—of all the angels God created. He “had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God … you were the anointed Cherub who covers [to protect/defend] … you were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness [iniquity] was found in you.” As “the anointed cherub who covers [guards],” it would appear that his responsibility related directly to the throne room of God. It is my conviction that he was the high priest, as it were, who was to lead the angelic realm in the worship and honor of God. But by his revolt, he was transformed from defender to a detractor of God. The Greek diabolos, from which we get “devil,” and the Hebrew satan, both mean “adversary, accuser, or slanderer.” As we shall see, the “iniquity” that was found in him was a willful rebellion and rejection of the revealed plan of God.

We must ask how/why did the most beautiful creature to come from the hand of God turn into a murderer, liar, and deceiver—the author of all evil? This monstrous transformation took place by an inner volitional and emotional revolt, expressed with two words: “I will,” and reflected his decision to act contrary to the revealed will of God.

“p. 227How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.” (Isa. 14:12–15) Satan, who like the other angels had free will, rebelled against God. He became enamored with himself and, in his pride and arrogance, he decided he wanted to be independent from and equal to his Creator. The ultimate question is “Why?” What could have generated so violent a response? While we do not have all the information we might like, we do have some compelling hints. As we consider the five “I will” statements, we find that what Satan sought to take by force, are precisely the privileges which have been given to Church Age believers by grace through faith: •

It is we who have been raised up and made to sit “in the heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6). •

We are enthroned above “the stars of God,” that is, the angels (1 Cor. 6:3). •

It is only we who have believed in Him, and who suffer with Him, who will reign with Christ (2 Tim. 2:12). •

We who have trusted in Jesus Christ are raised up together with Him (Eph. 2:6). •

And we shall one day be “conformed to His image” (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18). That Lucifer, in his rebellion, expressed just these very thoughts, suggests that he had been informed of what God intended to do through a lesser creation—mankind. A number of passages suggest that God revealed His plan to grant eternal life to man, and to raise believing members of the human race to a standing far above the angels, “before time began” (See Titus 1:2, NKJV; 2 Tim. 1:9, NKJV; 1 Pet. 1:20–21; Rev. 13:8; 17:8). Not only this, but also that God would reveal this “mystery” plan to angels through believing members of the human race (Eph. 3:9–11). It is for these p. 228reasons that I come to the conclusion that once this plan was revealed, Lucifer, the highest created being at that time, chose to revolt against the plan of God. It was his pride (Ezek. 28:17) that defeated him, which is now called “the sin of the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6). He simply could not accept that he, along with all the hosts of angels, should be “ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation.” (Heb. 1:14).

And so, we see that one of the reasons Satan hates us so much is that, in our position in Christ, we are higher than the angels (Eph. 1:3; Col. 3:1). All the things he tried to achieve through his arrogance and rebellion are given to us when we believe in Jesus Christ. If he cannot keep us from accepting eternal life, he will at least do everything he can to keep us from enjoying the riches of God’s grace while we are on Earth.

It was following his personal rebellion, and under his leading, that one-third of the entire angelic host revolted against God (Rev. 12:4). God convicted and passed sentence on Satan and the fallen angels: eternity in a “lake of fire” (Matt. 25:41). Though the sentence has been passed, it has not been carried out yet. Satan has been cast out of his original position in Heaven, but at present he holds power over this Earth (John 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4). Lucifer’s decision to reject the plan of God, and to seek to exalt himself, was the beginning of a cosmic spiritual war that now rages throughout history. But what Satan through his pride could never have anticipated is that, while he refused to be a “ministering [spirit]” to mankind, God Himself would stoop far lower, to become not only a servant to mankind, but a sacrifice on our behalf.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many … who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men … He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Mark 10:45; Phil. 2:6–8) .

The resolution of this conflict centers on the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Long before man was even created, God knew that he would fall to temptation, and so He provided a way of salvation for all men. In this, He simplified the angelic conflict by narrowing man’s options in every circumstance to two possible choices. Man could choose for the plan of God, which is to take the p. 229side of grace and truth by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, or he could choose against the plan of God, which is to take the side of evil and lies by relying on himself. As all creation watches, this great spiritual conflict plays out in the souls of men on planet Earth. God will let it run just long enough to prove absolutely that His justice and grace are perfect. In The Invisible War, Donald Barnhouse describes it this way: “War has been declared. The great, governing cherub had become the malignant enemy. Our God was neither surprised nor astonished, for, of course, He knew before it happened that it would happen, and He had His perfect plan ready to be put into effect. Although the Lord had the power to destroy Satan with a breath, He did not do so. It was as though an edict had been proclaimed in heaven: ‘We shall give this rebellion a thorough trial. We shall permit it to run its full course. The universe shall see what a creature, though he be the highest creature ever to spring from God’s Word, can do apart from Him. We shall watch this experiment, and permit the universe of creatures to watch it, during this brief interlude between eternity past and eternity future called time. In it the spirit of independence shall be allowed to expand to the utmost. And the wreck and ruin which shall result will demonstrate to the universe, and forever, that there is no life, no joy, no peace apart from a complete dependence upon the Most High God, Possessor of heaven and earth.’” (Donald Grey Barnhouse, The Invisible War, p. 51) Why then did Lucifer rebel against God? It was because God had revealed to the angels in eternity past His plan to create man, initially a lesser being but ultimately exalted above the angels (Heb. 2:7; Isa. 43:7). This man (Adam) would be created perfect (Gen. 1:26–31) but would fall away from God through sin (see Genesis 3). This plan would include redemption to provide a way for man to be restored to fellowship and have eternal life with God. “in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began …” (Titus 1:2, NKJV) When he learned that an inferior being would be raised up higher than himself, Lucifer’s envy and pride would not allow him to settle for such a plan. The five “I wills” of Lucifer in Isaiah, as previously mentioned, reveal his pride and envy.

p. 230Angels were created to prepare the way for and to be ministering servants to mankind. This was too much for the greatest of the angels to accept.

“But to which of the angels has He ever said: ‘SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET’? Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb 1:13–14)

As Paul states in Ephesians 3:9–11 (NKJV), it was also God’s intent that “the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (see also Col. 1:26–27; 2:10, 15).

“God’s manifold wisdom is to be displayed to the angelic beings by the members of the church. God’s ways are not only “mysterious,” but also varied. Angels are also learning about God’s wisdom as they watch His grace working in us.” (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W., 1997, The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Eph 3:10). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)

Now as the enemy of God, Satan, of course, was vitally interested in what choices would be made by the first two human beings God placed under his nose. Master strategist that he is, he stayed away from Adam, but he heartily encouraged Eve to do something with her life, to develop her full potential as a human being. The fact that the first words out of his mouth were designed to destroy her confidence in the Word of God seemed to escape her notice. At any rate, she ate the forbidden fruit. And, as Satan must have believed he would, Adam followed the woman. Satan became the ruler of this world (John 14:30).

At this point Satan surely assumed he had won the conflict, but his glee was short-lived. God invaded Satan's earthly domain with the promise of the Savior who would come from the Seed of woman (Gen. 3:15) and a demonstration—by sacrificing an animal to clothe them—of His substitutionary death (Gen. 3:21). What panic this must have created in the mind of Satan. The very God he wished to be equal to was willing to condescend far beyond the submission and servitude that he himself had rejected!

p. 231From the instant God’s promise was given, Satan made every effort to nullify it by preventing the birth of Christ in an attempt to prove that God could not keep His word. He tried by inciting Cain to murder his brother Abel (Genesis 4), the first man born with an old sin nature to believe in the Savior. He tried by sending fallen angels to infiltrate the human race (Genesis 6), knowing that if mankind could be totally corrupted, the Christ could not come as a man. He tried by repeated attacks on the nation of Israel, knowing that if Israel were destroyed, there could be no promised seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:16). But he did not succeed, and Christ was born. God had come in the flesh. Satan’s attempt to have the baby Jesus killed by way of Herod’s decree failed as miserably as everything else he had tried up to this point (Matthew 2; Rev. 12:1–5).

Now all of Satan’s opposition, all of his attacks could be focused on one Person—the Lord Jesus Christ. Every step of the way, from the cradle to the cross, our Lord was opposed by the enemy in every conceivable way. Not only was the Lord tempted in all points as we are (Heb. 4:15), but He was also opposed in ways we will never understand. Still, Jesus accomplished His task. He fixed His face like flint and went to the cross in our place.

At the crucifixion, Satan thought for a second time that victory was his. After all, the Savior of mankind was dead. But then came the resurrection! When the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and was seated at the right hand of the throne of God according to the prophecy of Psalm 110:1–4, it was clear He was the victor in the angelic conflict (Col. 2:4–5).

The statement made here by God the Father, and repeated in Hebrews 1:13, is crucial to our understanding of the work of God the Holy Spirit. The Father, fully accepting the work that Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross, declared that He would be seated until His enemies were made a footstool for His feet. At the seating of Christ, a new age was introduced—the Church Age, which would become a reality at the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2.

With the onset of the Church Age, the most amazing plan began to unfold. It was something Satan could never have anticipated or prepared for, something he absolutely could not defeat. Before the cross, Satan had to square off with the one Person on Earth in whom was the omnipotence of God—Jesus Christ. But now, every person who placed his faith in the Savior would carry within him that same omnipotence by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

p. 232Suddenly, instead of one man to contend with, Satan had 11; soon the 11 become 120, and before he knew it, there were 3,000, and then a million, and all of a sudden, everywhere all over the world, every believer in Jesus Christ is walking around with the same power that God in the flesh had, in the Person of Jesus Christ. Within 70 years of Christ’s resurrection, the written Word of God was completed. Imagine how Satan felt when he realized that the truth of the Word of God and the grace of the Spirit of God would be available, without measure, to every believer on Earth!

p. 233This is why the Lord could say in Matthew 16, “upon this rock I will build My church and the gates of Hades [hell] will not overpower it.” Notice that the Lord’s idea was not that the Church would hopefully hold out a few faithful and brave souls against the onslaught of Satan. Instead, He envisioned the Church on the offensive, constantly pounding the gates of Hell. In the ancient world, the gate of the city was where all major decisions were made; it was the place of power and authority. Jesus was saying that the power and the authority of Hell would never prevail against the onslaught of the Church. That was the plan of God and it remains the plan of God to this day.

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4–5)

As finite beings with all kinds of human limitations, we are pitted against an enemy superior to us in wisdom, in strength, in power, and in number. We have to understand, that on the cross, Jesus Christ won the strategic victory. This means that the tide of war has turned. When God sent His Son into the world, He paid the penalty for our sins; He broke the back of the devil; He broke open the gates of his P.O.W. camp called the world.

But the war is not over, and we are still on the battlefield. Whether we as individuals win the tactical victory will depend on whether we can apply to our lives the things gained through Christ’s strategic victory. If we want to win day-by-day, we have to utilize the assets that God has provided for us and follow the game plan that He lays out for us in the Word. Without a clear and accurate understanding of the Word, it is impossible for any believer to stand up to the strategy of Satan.

When the Apostle John talks about those who are “overcomers,” he uses a military term. Nikao refers to peace achieved by military victory. What does it mean to “overcome the world” (1 John 5:5)? It means to have peace through victory. John is talking about the spiritual peace that comes through spiritual victory.

In verse 4, the apostle makes a declaration of fact. The neuter “whatever” states a principle: “whatever is born of God” is victorious over the world. Period. The realm of flesh is always conquered by the realm of the Spirit.

“p. 234Overcomes” is the present, active, indicative of nikao; it pictures continuous victory in an ongoing struggle. The key to this victory is “our faith,” which John says has overcome the world. This time, nikao is an aorist participle. In Greek, the aorist tense refers to something that takes place at a point of time. The aorist participle in Greek always precedes the action of the main verb.

What that means in this sentence is that the momentary victory of faith in Christ (for salvation) provides the basis for the ongoing victory in the life of faith. Salvation is the once-for-all victory; spirituality is the ongoing victory. To be overcomers means that we live in a realm of peace—not an external, but an internal realm. John’s two-fold development here is much like Christ’s invitation in Matthew 11.

When the Lord, in Matthew 11:28–30, offered peace as a birthright to the disciples and to us as believers, He was not offering a tranquil, physical environment; He was offering peace with God and personal rest of soul. In this passage, He talks about two different kinds of rest. One is the rest that Jesus gives: “Come to Me ... and I will give you rest.” The other is a rest that we find: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me ... and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.”

The rest that He gives to all who come to Him and the rest that we find through study are two different things. One is a rest of position; the other is a rest of practice. One is a rest that is eternal; the other is a rest that is moment-by-moment.

We can overcome the enemy by sharing in Christ’s victory over Satan day-by-day and remembering His triumph. Our daily victory is grounded in our faith in the finished work of Christ (1 John 5:5). From a practical standpoint, we overcome as we “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7), and as we “do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4).

Faith, exercised moment-by-moment, brings spiritual victory, which brings peace to the soul. But that faith must always be in the Person and work of Christ. If we lose sight today of the victory of Jesus Christ on the cross, if we do not apply today the meaning of the cross to our lives, then we will not have inner peace and the enemy will have won another round in the tactical war. All victory is found in Jesus Christ (John 16:33; Rom. 8:37; 1 Cor. 15:56–58; 2 Cor. 2:14).