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SATAN CANNOT ATTACK CHRISTIANS - THE ATTACKS COME FROM WITHIN OURSELVES..........

Yes, Satan exists. He is real and evil. He is temporarily free to roam the world (Rev.12:12). But he is not omnipresent - can only be in one place at a time.

Satan, or his evil spirits, cannot attack those born of God through Jesus Christ (1 John 5:18, "We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him".)  Greek=touch - bind, apply oneself to. God's hedge of protection is secure.

Satan can only get at someone if God allows it, and even then, it's on God's terms - compare Job.

 

Now, the spirit of Satan is still in the minds of new Christians after they come to Christ.... in the form of old baggage that the saved individual retains (old habits, old loves, if it feels good....etc.)

Remember, the Lord accepts us as we are. We're forgiven, but we must go through a sanctification experience as we are being conformed to Christ.

 

So,  Galatians 5:16-17, " But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (17) For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please".

I submit.......that when our old habits of the flesh, which is the world, which is the spirit of Satan, want attention.........it's like being "attacked" by him.......particularly for new Christians, who are still carrying a lot of the world into this new relationship with Christ.

Summation: Is Satan externally attacking us? No, not unless God allows it.

                        : Is he in us? Not in terms of "demon possession". But, yes in terms of residual

                           remnant of our old self......still existing as lust of the flesh...that continue to tempt

                           (attack) us.

The mind is the battleground for the heart.

 

What do you think?

 

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bhuyan on February 20, 2012 at 12:26pm

Sir you are right and i agree with you.

Permalink Reply by Leonard T on February 20, 2012 at 1:45pm

Richard,

 

In essence I agree with what you have said. I could use some clarification to help me process a couple of your points. But first, I fully agree that the mind is the battlefield and believe it is our greatest battle field. I think that it is the battle over control as to whether the flesh or the spirit will lead. It is an never ending battle as long as we are in the old flesh. I also fully agree that Satan and his hoard only have as much access to us as God allows. He has constituted authority.

 

Questiosn for clarification:

1) Do you think that literal Satan is in us in the residual remnant of our old baggage or simply evil remains?

2) Do you think the spirit of Satan, a finite and not omnipresent being can be in all of our minds?

 

Just curious ...

 

Lord Bless,

LT 

Permalink Reply by Leonard T on February 24, 2012 at 8:42am

Chip,

 

Good input.

 

Lord Bless,

LT

Permalink Reply by JB on February 20, 2012 at 2:36pm

1 John 5:18 (KJV)


18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

There must be a misunderstanding of this scripture. Or it is taken completely out of context.

In my opinion, the first part of this scripture is talking about the Spirit, the second part, is talking about the body as a whole.

Now that “whosoever” is not our body, or our flesh, because flesh and blood can not be born again, neither can it inherit the kingdom of God. So it is just our Spirit that is born of God, “born again” and true, that part of us does not; nor can it sin. Nor can the devil touch it.

The body can sin, in the flesh, but they are not even imputed against us.

Then look at the latter part of this verse, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one touches him not.

In James 1, says that we are drawn away of our own lust and enticed, and when lusts have conceived, it brings forth sin, and sin when it is finished it brings forth death.

So by us opening ourselves up to the devil, by allow our lust to gain the ascendancy over our minds or our will; allows the devil an inroad to our minds “the play ground of the devil” and this is where he will attack, where we are the most vulnerable.

Why would God put in scripture like 1st Pet.5:8-9 “Be sober; be vigilant, because the adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”

“Whom resist, (if he can‘t attack, why would we have to resist??) steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

And if you will notice in John 5:18, “who keepeth himself” What do you suppose He means by “keeping himself”?

He means to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. And not allowing our minds to run rampant. And also vv 27... To keep himself unspotted from the world. What about Eph. 6:10-16 Quenching all the firer darts of the wicked one.??

So if you are walking in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Gal.5:18,

and the wicked one can not touch you.

There is a lot more that could be said about this subject, but I don’t have the time now.

But just incase I misquoted some of the referenced scriptures, they are listed below.

Joe

1 Peter 5:8-9 (KJV)


8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (KJV)


3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the

knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

James 1:12-16 (KJV)


12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

Galatians 5:16 (KJV)


16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Ephesians 6:10-16 (KJV)


10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

　

Permalink Reply by Richard L. Broch, Sr. on February 20, 2012 at 9:01pm

O.K. my Brothers,

My thoughts to your questions, LT =

(1) When We come to Christ, we are coming from the sinful nature we are born with.......He accepts us as we are..... (Amen). We are from the world (the flesh), but we are no longer OF the world....because we are justified in the blood of our Savior.......BUT, we now go through a Sanctification, with the Holy Spirit's help, to rid our minds of the flesh

that the world promotes. And who represents the world ? That old serpent....the devil....the sinful nature that is still in us. So, Gal.5:17 describes the process of the Holy Spirit doing battle in our minds with us in the middle of the battle. The world, at this time belongs to Satan. James 4:4,"You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy with God.".

I think the battle between the Holy Spirit and THE LEFT-OVER RESIDUE (OR SPIRIT) of Satan.......which would be the world, remains (in our minds) which is what we bring into the new relationship with Jesus. This is the remnant, or spirit, not the literal Satan.

LT, I'm afraid some new Christians have  problems shedding the old snake skin............

 

Joe, my friend, I pondered that verse - 1Peter 5:8........ and have come to the conclusion, that is the literal Satan , actually roaming about in the world seeking someone to devour.

However, I believe that Eph. 6:16 still refers to building a  Christian's faith because of the battle that rages in his/her mind between the Holy Spirit and left-overs from a persons former life....before being born again. I have to admit........ I'm still working on the rest of that passage in Eph. 6.

 

And Joe, please note in Gal.5:18.....one word which makes the verse....." But IF you are led by the Spirit....."

Do all new Christians actually allow the Holy Spirit to lead them? I think that's when the "attacks" are  occurring........

 

Guys, I just can't see Satan (who is not omnipresent) personally doing all this attacking that Christians are claiming are happening to them. I don't want to give him that much credit

Thanks for your interest.

 

Grace and Peace.

 

Permalink Reply by James on February 21, 2012 at 7:24am

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

I'd say that verse speaks about the attacks satan does, as he's the author of death in our lives.  Anything that robs us or destroys should be considered an attack by him.  

Permalink Reply by Leonard T on February 21, 2012 at 11:03am

Richard,

 

I would disgree on the concept of our nature being the left over (spirit) or residue of satan. Man fell due to wilfull choice to rebel. We in turn now are born with sinful natures. When we are saved (born again) we are given a new spirit (2 Cor. 5:17) as the old is gone and the new has come. Yet, in this world we have four that war against us and it is not always Satan. These four are the fact that we live in a fallen world, with fallen people and we live in the fallen flesh, and there is an enemy named Satan with his hoard who stand against us. I think at times we give Satan way too much credit for man's failure when we do a pretty good job of that all on our own.

 

The greatest battle is in the mind and there we find the spirit and the flesh at war and there are times that the enemy engages us there as well. The battle is over control as the spirit desires to live a holy life and the flesh desires to live after the flesh and the enemy wants us to draw away from God and live in sinful actions.

 

So basically my concer is over giving Satan too much credit and also attributing to him things that we are responsible for. Anyway, this is my brief comment regarding my view on it.

 

Lord Bless,

LT

Permalink Reply by Carla on February 21, 2012 at 8:14pm

Hi Richard,

 

I agree that satan is not omnipresent.  I agree that we often cause problems for ourselves, and the battlefield is in the mind.  However, my thoughts as I read this are, why would we need to bother with the whole armour of God if satan never attacks us?

 

We are instructed to put it on, and we are told about the areas that satan attacks. Verse 10 says 'so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  Verse 12 goes on to say 'For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, powers and world forces of this darkness etc...'

 

 Therefore, we must take up the whole armor of God (verse 13).  We are told to 'be on the alert'.  That sounds to me like satan and/or his underlings attack us. 

 

Just another thought regarding this scripture:  (1 John 5:18, "We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him".)  It doesn't mean he can't try to touch us..  

satan can only operate under God's Sovereignty when it comes to the believer.  satan may persecute, tempt, test and accuse us, but God protects us and places limitations on satan's power.  (NASB study notes loosely translated)

 

However, having said all that, I do agree that we give satan too much credit...and we often cause problems for ourselves unnecessarily.  I've attached the Ephesians  scripture below for quick reference from the NASB.

 

Blessings, Carla

 

The Armor of God

 10 Finally, (A)be strong in the Lord and in (B)the strength of His might. 11 (C)Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the (D)schemes of the devil. 12 For our (E)struggle is not against [a](F)flesh and blood, but (G)against the rulers, against the powers, against the (H)world forces of this (I)darkness, against the (J)spiritual forces of wickedness in (K)the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up (L)the full armor of God, so that you will be able to (M)resist in (N)the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, (O)HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING (P)PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having (Q)shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 [b]in addition to all, taking up the (R)shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the (S)flaming arrows of (T)the evil one. 17 And take (U)THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the (V)sword of the Spirit, which is (W)the word of God.

 18 [c]With all (X)prayer and petition [d](Y)pray at all times (Z)in the Spirit, and with this in view, [e](AA)be on the alert with all (AB)perseverance and (AC)petition for all the saints,

Permalink Reply by Pastor Bob B on February 22, 2012 at 5:08am

EXPOSING THE TRAPS OF THE ENEMY

The enemy( Satan ) uses lies to create doubt, to lure us into his trap.

In the book of Genesis the Devil in the form of a serpent created doubt in Eve by saying, “Did God really say? (Genesis 3:1)

His opening move pull mankind into into sin and rebellion against God is to create doubt through lies and distortions of the truth that he is trying to get Eve to believe.

In Matthew chapter four Jesus is being tempted in the same way. “If you are the son of God?'

First the Devil raises doubt, then he sends the temptation to try to lead us astray, and his tactics have not changed.

The enemy tries to make us believe that being a follower of Jesus is to restrictive.

Who lavishly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.( 1 Timothy 6:17 NAS )

He seeks to get us to ignores the great blessing that comes from a relationship with God,
or the riches of Christian marriage and family, the security of a Christian home, the level of friendship that we can enjoy as Christians, and countless other things that God offers to those who know and love the Lord.

He seeks to entrap us into thinking and concentrating on a tiny unimaginable list of prohibitions of what Christians are not allowed to do.

There are very few things that God does not allow us to do, and there are very good reasons why He prohibits them.

In the case of Eve, the Devil said to her that God was keeping them from something that was very desirable. In this case it was being like God knowing good and evil. ( Genesis 3:5 )

Satan tries makes God out to be a spoiled sport and that he does not want what's best for our lives. He tries to make us think we are really missing out on life by obeying God.

The Devil tries to tell us there will not be a penalty for disobedience

He tries to entrap us is to get us to believe that there will not be a penalty for our disobedience.

Like Eve in Genesis 3:4 he says to us, “You will not surely die,”
He says in affect that it won't hurt you, or do you any harm if you disobey God, but the truth is disobedience causes us to miss out on so much that God intends for us.

The Devil's favorite entrapment

It was just brought to my attention that God gave Adam and Eve a chance to repent. God said to them in Genesis 3:11, "Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?"

Instead of repenting they blamed;

Did you eat fruit from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?" The man answered, "That woman, the one you gave me, gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."Then the LORD God asked the woman, "What have you done?""The snake deceived me, and I ate," the woman answered. ( Genesis 3:11-13 )

We can't blame each other, or even the devil when we sin.

James 1:13-15
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

In conclusion
The Devil uses lies to lead us to doubt, then he tells us we are missing out because Gods boundaries of conduct are to restrictive and that we are missing out. Then the Devil cons us into believing that there will be no consequences for our disobedience, then he tries to get us to blame others for our sin.

1John 1:9 says that if we just admit that we have sinned, then God will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God want us to know that even if we fall into one of the traps of the enemy that he will always be a very present help in our time of need. He also does not want us to be ignorant of the Devil's devices that he uses to seek to entrap us.

1John 4:4 says; “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

1John 2:1 says; “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;”

Permalink Reply by JB on February 22, 2012 at 7:48am

The day you eat of this tree you will surly die, A promise of God to Adam and Eve.

If I am missing something here, please forgive me, but I can’t see where Adam and Eve had a chance to repent, because Jesus hadn’t come to earth and die for the remission of their sins, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. And therefore the wages of sin was death and they had no way out. They sinned!! I guess a period would be more appropriate here.

I know this is a very simple response to this, but you can divide every sentence and insert a paragraph explaining it in more detail.

Joe

Sorry for the brief, but must go.

Permalink Reply by Lina on February 22, 2012 at 4:17pm

James 1:14-16 says; Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to evil actions and evil actions lead to death. So don't be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.

The above verses clearly indicate to me that though satan attacks the christian, he only succeeds when given the chance.  There is no doubt that he has his sly ways of luring the christian to his side with his empty promises.  For as long us we cling to material or worldly wealth and lose sight of the spiritual, we'll always fall prey to his ways. When that happens we'll  have no one to blame but ourselves.

This discussion is more inciteful for me than can be imagined.  To me, it's like a warning sign to be alert at all times through prayers and the Word of God for strength.

God bless

Permalink Reply by Richard L. Broch, Sr. on February 22, 2012 at 8:41pm

Excellent discussion - Brothers and Sisters,

 

Thank you, Pastor Bob, for your contribution of how much warfare goes on in our minds pertaining to DOUBT in our walk with the Lord.

However, I don't understand how you say "We can't blame each other, or even the devil when we sin".

My question would be, Sir..........who should we blame for sin?

And, I'm like Joe........... I'm missing the part about God giving Adam and Eve a chance to repent.

 

LT, I agree.... 2 Corinthians 5:17 is encouraging. And I also agree with your statement that we live in the fallen flesh. My point is - a Christian has both entities in the same earthly body. Galatians 5:17, " For the flesh sets its desire  against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.............".

 

Carla and Joe, That is a beautiful passage - Ephesians 6:10-18.

I still think all of the armour is spiritual defense against our fallen bodies, except for the Sword of The Spirit. That would be an offensive weapon.

But........... I can't  reconcile the scripure to match my thoughts....a work in progress.......and Carla, the NASB is my translation of choice.

 

I'm encouraged there are other brothers and sisters who also think that Satan receives too much credit for people's problems.............when they are brought on by themselves.

 

Thank you all for your comments.

Grace and Peace.

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