The Adversary

David slaying Goliath

THE PURPOSE OF OPPOSITION

In the face of opposition is presented an opportunity for a man to be built or a man to be broken. There is nothing in this universe, from microbes to stars, from football teams to businesses, that can evolve or devolve without being opposed; there is nothing that can evolve or devolve without an adversary.

As we explained in the previous post, the hebrew word 'Shatan' simply means 'adversary', 'opponent', 'enemy'. It is not limited to any definite thing or person, but takes on a form that 'corresponds' to our very own desires. In the Hebrew language, a noun is not only a noun but also an adjective that describes many nouns.

For example, the name 'Moses' (noun), which means 'drawn out of water' (adjective), does not only speak of a man who existed 4,000+ years ago but of anyone who is 'cleansed' by the baptismal waters of the Holy Spirit; one who has come out spiritual slavery, symbolized as 'Egypt'.

At a later time we shall delve deeper into this but for now however, it is good to know that this concept is applied throughout the Bible. That is why, for example, we see 'Jezebel' being mentioned in the book of Revelation; someone who is supposed to have died many years before the Apostle John wrote that book. So, this same 'poetic' concept applies to the hebrew concept of Satan, adversity, enemy.

When there is no adversary, when there is no opponent, when there is no competition, everything becomes frozen and growth does not happen; change does not happen. When there is nothing to challenge us to improve and act, we waste away and become atrophied.

What is Barcelona without Real Madrid? What is Marvel without DC? What is Apple without Microsoft? Pepsi without Coke? Indeed, an entity is only as powerful as the opposition it faces. Opposition, when harnessed, provides the opportunity to cultivate strength and improve. It is well know in economics that a market grows rapidly when there is viable competition; adversity; satan.

Satan, the adversary, is a catalyst. To those who are defeated by him and become his prey, he is a dreadful curse. To those who bruise the head of the serpent, who overcome him and put him under subjection, he becomes a springboard to success; a blessing in disguise.

It is impossible for one to ascend or descend without facing the enemy, adversary, opponent, Satan. Anything can become an adversity, opposition, Satan. Sometimes he is Goliath, sometimes Pharaoh, sometimes Nebuchadnazzar, sometimes Delilah, sometimes the serpent, sometimes Herod.

These however are all beautiful symbols which express the various internal and external challenges a person must face and conquer in order to be made whole.

If we fail the challenge, the trial, the temptation, in whatever form it may take, we 'descend'; we 'fall'; we 'break'. If we dominate the challenge however, if we dominate the serpent, we rise, we become better and stronger than we were before it; we ascend. A student must defeat his tests and examinations to stretch his intelligence and be promoted.

From the last post (please read it if you haven't) we showed how in the Bible, many 'different' things and people were called Satan, including angels and even God himself. This begs us to reinvestigate the idea of satan being someone who is always frustrating the plans of God; always outwitting God at every turn.

Such a concept renders the almighty God a fool and impotent. Such concept, though there is some truth in it, is actually very unbiblical and a wrong interpretation. The time has come to really investigate this matter and truly see that Satan, as represented in The Bible, was 'created' by God for a very definite and specific purpose which we shall 'logically' and 'Biblically' explain as we proceed.

WHO MADE THE DEVIL?

The Beast

'Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, Genesis 2:19

'Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God HAD MADE. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”' Genesis 3:1

The serpent was created a beast, the serpent was created cunning, the serpent was created a liar and was always so from the very beginning. I know we've all been taught of satan being a beautiful angel from heaven that rebelled, a concept that was built on verses from Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14. We shall investigate those scriptures later and see. For now however, let us see Jesus Christ's verbal testimony of Satan:

'You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer FROM THE BEGINNING and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. ' John 8:44

again:

'He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from THE BEGINNING. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. ' I John 3:8

My my, investigating the phrase there is no truth in him will unveil a great deal to us; something we will pay closer attention to later. It is however good to say that FROM THE BEGINNING Satan was not only a liar but a lie itself. He was designed to be defeated; to be conquered. He was designed to oppose.

Satan is nothing but an 'illusion' that only becomes 'substance' as a result of the 'sinful' nature that exists in man. Sin can be defined 'anything that goes against the natural harmony and order of a thing'. Sin is anything that is not 'necessary'; useful. There are some things that are 'necessary' today that may not be necessary tomorrow and vice versa. Too much food can be sinful to our bodies, so also can too little food.

Evil comes into activity when a 'good' thing is used the wrong way. Evil does not have independent existence; "sin" does not have an independent identity or existence but takes a form unique to each situation. Sometimes it can be sinful to speak, sometimes it can be sinful to keep quiet. Anything that disturbs the natural harmony and flow of life within ourselves and in our environment is sinful.

Satan does not have independent existence. It can be likened unto a 'program' created by God that only 'exists' when 'sin' exists. So even though on one hand we say God created Satan, we can also say that we did as well. It is a paradox.

An opponent needs something to oppose for it to be an 'opposer'. When there is 'nothing to oppose', the opposer ceases to exist. This is why Satan can only 'tempt' us by what we desire. For this reason it is written:

'Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ' James 1:13-14

Satan is simply a 'mirror' of our own frailties, he brings to light what is already inside us. He does not make anyone do anything. Satan does not put anything inside of anyone but draws out what is ALREADY THERE. Satan does not have an identity independent of man because he is only but a reflection of us. Satan simply reflected to Adam and Eve what was already inside of their hearts.

If Adam & Eve did not have the possibility of sin inside of them, they could not have been 'tempted' by Satan. If Jesus did not have the possibility of sin inside of him, he would not have been 'tempted' in the wilderness. I know it might sound surprising and almost sacrilegious to imagine that Jesus was 'capable' of sin.

Truthfully, there is nothing great about being incapable of sin. A person who has incapabilities cannot have all the power now can he? True power is not in our ability to do something but in the ability to have what we can do under our control; to be a king over own desires and not a slave to them.

A harmless man cannot be peaceful, seeing as he is 'incapable' of causing harm. Only a dangerous man can be peaceful, it's good to understand this. Meekness is not powerlessness but power under control.

Jesus could have rejected that bitter cup, he could have let it pass over him but he didn't. No one took his life from him, he laid it down. God didn't force him to do anything. The temptation in the wilderness shows that he was 'capable' of disobeying his Father; he had free will. He however aligned his will with that of his inner father and triumphed over temptation.

In the triumph he became stronger, and that was THE PURPOSE of the trial. It was to make him better, not to destroy him. That was why God sent him to face Satan, to face his inner Goliath; to face his own desires; his own self.

He was the one who desired food after fasting, he desired to be crowned King, he desired to showcase his sonship to the world. That is why those things were a temptation to him. It is good to say that desire is not evil, evil is slavery to desire. Evil is desire out of control, desire that controls and spurs us to do things that harm ourselves and others.

Satan has never been a rogue agent who does whatever he likes; this is very evident in the book of Job but many choose to ignore it. It's unfortunate that many try to absolve God of something he himself takes responsibility for. It is better we ask why instead, and seek to understand. Let us look at what Jesus said in revelation:

'Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.' Revelation 2:10

A question to ask ourselves: "is God so powerless that he cannot save these people from Satan?" Surely, whenever there is a test from God, Satan, opposition, adversity, is never far away. Indeed, in the place of testing and trial, if one is faithful, an old nature dies and passes away and a new and improved quality rises to takes its place.

Let us investigate some few scriptures and see:

'Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life...' James 1:12

'For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.' Psalms 66:10

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold Job 23:10

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts. Proverbs 17:3

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver Malachi 3:3

Indeed, the 'test', 'trial' or 'fire' of the Lord is likened unto the REFINING of gold. This is something undeniable. Guess who the Lord uses to do this testing?

Continued in the next post...