The Spiritual World
The question that many, many, people have asked throughout the ages is, “Are we alone. in the universe?” That is a great question and that has puzzled people through the ages. The bible is very clear that we are not alone in the universe. Let me read to you a. passage from. Ephesians 6:10 where Paul says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” So what Paul is telling us in this passage and in the rest of the bible is that we are not alone in this universe. That there is the creator God, the Lord. And that he has angels and ark angels at his disposal.
The bible is quite clear that we who are believers who trust in Christ are actually involved in cosmic warfare.
But there’s also a real devil, a Satan. And that Satan. is the leader of the pack and he has evil spirits at his command. So the bible is quite clear that we who are believers who trust in Christ are actually involved in cosmic warfare. And not only do we belong to God and we are ethe children of God, and we have total protection in being the children of God, but we have an enemy who is trying to break down the work of God. And who is trying to destroy the kingdom of God.
Who is the devil?
The bible is quite clear that there’s a real Satan. Satan is actually a Hebrew word and it refers to a real person, to a creature. He’s a spirit. He’s pure spirit but he’s a creature. And being a person, he can communicate, he can use his intellect and he has purposes and plans. And we know that not only from the book of Job where Satan presents himself into the presence of God. And though he has power, God has. ultimate power of Satan. We see that also in the gospels. You’ll remember in Mark chapter five where Jesus. came across this man who was demon possessed. And we read in Mark 5:7, and the demon cries and says “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
The Names Of Satan
So what does that tell us? It tells us that there is a real person, a creature, a spirit called Satan. He has different names he’s called Beelzebub. And when you look at his names it tells you of some of his methods. He’s called the prince of the ruler of the air. He’s called the ruler of the world. He’s called the liar and the father of lies, a murderer. Revelation tells us that the ancient serpent from Genesis 3 is the devil, is Satan. So we need to understand that if we are believers we are involved in cosmic warfare. And there is a real person with real power who’s the leader of the pack. And he has evil spirits at his command to break down the work of God and to bring division and chaos and decay and death. And that is the purpose of the evil one: to destroy God’s creation to destroy God’s creatures and to destroy God’s children.
The purpose of the evil one is to break down the work of God and to bring division, chaos, decay and death. To destroy God’s creation.
Where The Devil Comes From
Now we’re not told in detail where the devil comes from. We know that God did not create sin or evil. It is quite possible that when we look at 2 Peter 4 and Jude 6 that Satan could well have been an angel who reached for the throne of God in pride and God thrust him out of the heavenlies, And he fell onto earth. We read in Isaiah which is quite possible a description of what happened with this fallen angel. Isaiah chapter 14 and reading from verse 12. It’s a description here of the king of Babylon and God’s judgment on the king of Babylon. But when you listen to the terminology and the words you will realize that it’s describing something more than a human being. We read in Isaiah 14, “How are you fallen from heaven o day star son of dawn? How are you cut down to the ground you who laid the nations low. You said in your heart I will ascend to heaven above the stars of god I will set my throne on high. I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the most high. But you are brought down to Sheol to the far reaches of the pit. Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you is this the man who made the earth tremble who shook the kingdoms?” Now that’s a description of the king of Babylon and God’s judgment upon him but you will notice the terminology is so expansive that it could well be a description of a fallen angel reaching up for the throne of heaven and God throwing him down in judgment.
Christians Don’t Need To Fear The Devil
Let me say a few things as we close concerning you and Satan. Where do we stand as Christians when it comes to Satan? To the devil? And to evil spirits? The first thing that we need to know is that the devil and evil spirits have real power. We see that in Ephesians 6. We hear that in the words of Paul who said that Satan hindered him from visiting a certain church in Asia Minor. We see that in the early church how Satan tries to break down and stop the expansion of the gospel. The devil has power. He has real power and as individuals as human beings we do not have power over him. He has power but it’s limited power.
Our defence Against Satan
So the second thing we know is that God is greater and the only defence you and I have against the devil and evil spirits is if we are children of God. If we are children of God, If we are in Christ, we do not have to fear the devil. He is active, he will tempt us, he will try to deceive us, he will try to divide the church, he will try to discourage us, but we are safe in Christ. We do not need to fear the devil.
A Christian Can’t Be Possessed By An Evil Spirit
The third thing is that if you are a Christian you have the Holy Spirit within you. And if you have the holy spirit within you, you can never be possessed by an evil spirit. That is a contradiction in terms.
If you are a christian you have the Holy Spirit within you, if you have the holy spirit within you, you can never be possessed by an evil spirit.
That body is already inhabited by the spirit of God. And therefore if you are a Christian you may be tempted, he may try to discourage you, he may try to dissuade you from following Christ, he may try to oppress you in one way or the other, but you cannot, you cannot be possessed by the evil spirits because you belong to Christ and you have the holy spirit within you.
