Once a person makes an intentional decision to accept Christ as their Savior and chooses to prioritize their relationship with the Lord, to follow Him closely, grow in their faith, and to make an eternal impact in this dark world, there will be opposition.
Not only will the world and your own selfish sin nature oppose this, but you will become a target in the spiritual realm - from the devil and his demons. They will do whatever they can to hinder you from hearing the Word and walking with Jesus (1 Thessalonians 2:18, Galatians 5:7).
From the time of Satan’s rebellion against the Lord God in heaven, there has been an unseen ongoing war between them.
Even though this battle is not between two equals and the outcome is never in doubt, the ongoing battle for people’s hearts and minds is very real.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”
The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings (Genesis 3:1-7, NASB 2020).
In Genesis 3, we see:
Satan’s Tactics
Mankind’s Tragedy
God’s Triumph
Satan’s Tactics
They lived in a perfect paradise and didn’t have a worry or care in the world. They experienced inexpressible joy and contentment in perfect fellowship with the Lord God, their Creator.
But then the serpent appears on the scene. The traditional understanding by Jewish and Christian interpreters is that the serpent was originally created good by God as was the rest of creation, so Eve had no reason to suspect the creature’s deceit.
How did the serpent deceive Eve? If we look at Genesis 3, we see how the serpent:
distorted God’s words,
diminished God’s name,
caused doubt about God’s character, and
disarmed her fear of the consequences.
What were the serpent’s very first words to Eve? He said, “Is it really a fact that God has prohibited you from eating from any of the trees of the garden?” The serpent wasn’t asking an innocent question, he was deliberately distorting a fact.
His subtle innuendos distorted the truth of God’s word and very character of God, portraying God as very harsh and restrictive. What is seen in the original Hebrew text but not seen in the English translation is that while the serpent distorted the Word he also diminished the name of the Lord God. Satan only calls Him “God” - not the Lord God, changing the living personal covenant God into an abstract impersonal divine being.
There was a subtle change in Eve’s view of God as well, she diminished the name of God just like the serpent did.
He was more impersonal, distant. In the next verse, v. 3, her perception of the tree changes, she says, “but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”
Notice she does not define the tree for what it truly is, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” but also adds to God’s command “you must not touch it.” Lastly, she weakens the certainty of God’s judgment for disobedience by changing His words from “for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die” to “you will die.” Eve failed to capture the urgency of certain death.
So first Satan distorts God’s words. Second, he diminishes God’s name. Third, he causes Eve to doubt His character, and then his next strategy is to disarm her.
Here, the serpent blatantly contradicts God’s words in order to take away any fear of the consequence for disobedience. He said, “God is not restricting you from this tree because it will kill you but because He knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like a divine being, knowing the difference between good and evil.
He subtly implies that God is not good and gracious but is actually selfish and deceptive. “He is holding you and Adam back from reaching your full potential - from becoming like God himself.” It is so interesting to think that in reality, God wants His children to become more like Himself, more like Christ,
and that He also promises us that if we ask for wisdom He will not withhold it from us, in fact he will not withhold anything good from us but give it freely.
This was the final deception - the serpent spoke only about what she would immediately gain to gratify her appetite and desire but didn’t reveal what she would ultimately lose.
Mankind’s Tragedy
The work of the tempter was complete - mankind believed the lie, they fell into sin, and all of creation fell with them. Through his cunning tactics, Satan masterfully deceived Adam and Eve into entering into rebellion against God, just as he had convinced ⅓ of the angels to do.
Falling into temptation was mankind’s tragedy but, thankfully, this is not the end of the story.
“Satan won this battle but he would not win the war. ”
God’s Triumph
In the very midst of mankind’s tragedy and the resulting certain death, God declared the certainty of His triumph over sin through His incredible plan of redemption through the woman’s seed (or offspring). It would be through the coming of His own Son, Jesus Christ. God provided a way for them to come back to Himself, giving us all a future hope.
Why is it so important to know what God has said in His infallible, inerrant Word? Because no single human being is exempt from Satan’s tactics and temptations.
Satan takes God’s Word and puts a spin on it, makes us wonder what His Word really says and even offers to help us interpret God’s Word anyway that fits our fancy.
Then because he comes as an angel of light, he disarms us, takes us off guard and then gets us to rationalize the consequences so that we take the bait. Even though he offers us the good stuff, His goal is to make sure we stay far from God, to rob us of the best stuff God has for us, keep us spiritually unfruitful, and ultimately destroy us.
Don’t be fooled, when what you hear causes you to question the truthfulness and accuracy of God’s words and causes you to doubt the character of God then you know that message and the messenger is not from Him.
Paul wrote that we should not be outwitted by Satan because of ignorance of his strategies (2 Corinthians 2:11). We can see his chief tactics will always be to distort God’s word, diminish God’s name, cause doubt in God’s character and disarm us from a healthy fear of the consequences.
In 1 Peter 5:8 Peter reminds us to always be sober and alert for the Devil is always looking for an opportunity to devour, consume and overwhelm the unaware.
This is why our absolute priority and necessity is to know what God’s Word says precisely in that area where you are struggling. Knowing God and His words brings light, destroys the work of the Devil, removes doubt, gives us discernment and equips us for battle.
So how should we respond to Satan’s strategy when faced with temptation?
Our perfect example is how Jesus who was filled with the Spirit responded to Satan when tempted by him after 40 days of fasting.
He then took something that was pleasing to the eye, playing on the universal human desire for power, wealth, and wisdom and promised Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, all their authority and splendor, if He would only bow down and worship him. And finally, as he did in the Garden, Satan misinterpreted God’s Word, and tempted Jesus to put His Father to the test to see if He would protect Him.
How was Jesus victorious over temptation? He was filled with the power of the Spirit and the word, He was in constant communion with His Father.
“What do we do when we face temptation?”
Do we speak specific Scriptures to the temptation, trust and yield ourselves to God, and stand firm? In order to have victory over temptation, we need to discern the source of the temptation, the force of the temptation, and to fear the course of the temptation which always leads to death.
God promises us 1 Corinthians:
No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance];
but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy] (1 Corinthians 10:13, AMP).
Will we be tempted? Absolutely! Is temptation sin? No, it only becomes sin when we act on it (1 John 2:16).
We all have areas of weakness and if you are honest, you know what they are. If you want victory in a recurring sin or weakness stop and:
Discern the source of the temptation.
Stop and think about where this temptation is coming from, the lust of flesh, the eyes, the pride of life? Think about what God’s Word specifically says about this suggestion or temptation.
Understand the force of the temptation.
Temptation has a lot of power, we need to ask the Lord for His strength and Spirit-filling. We are enabled to resist the temptation and sometimes resisting means running from it. Instead of yielding to the temptation, choose to yield yourself to God.
Fear the course of the temptation because you know it will end in death.
Satan has been developing his tactics and strategies for warfare for thousands of years. But as we focus on following the Lord, studying His Word we will hear the Lord's voice and learn to discern the tempter's tactics.
