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Understanding the Nature of the Devil: Find Out If You Share It By Gboyega Adedeji May 05, 2015
The likely thought in your heart as you are reading this article now is, "why are we trying to understand the devil? Have we understood God enough to be wasting our precious time on the devil?". If am correct about your thought, do not feel bad about it; I also share in your perception. However, I have come to realize that knowing God is the best thing that can happen to anyone; while knowing who the devil is a smart step to identifying his roots in the lives, marriages and organizations of men. The Scripture shows us the fruit of the Spirit; and we were shown the works of the flesh. What the Scripture shows us as the works of the flesh is the truth; but we would like to follow the Scripture to the origin of the works of the flesh by understanding the nature of the devil - whom the Scripture describes as the father of lies and all liars.
Every creature of God has a nature, even as God has His divine nature. I have realized that everything comes true to its nature - everything responds by and to its nature. Nothing behaves contrary to its nature and nothing thinks contrary to its nature. Everything and everyone is a perfect representation of its nature. The nature of the sun is shining; hence, the sun shines continuously and consistently. The nature of sheep is to eat grasses; and they do it continuously. It is natural for lion to rule the jungle by roaring - and they do it daily! Nature is the description of the life and essence of a thing.
When God created the devil, he was called Lucifer, the son of the morning. According to the book of Ezekiel 28:11-19, he was the seal of perfection; full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. He was made of precious substances and was specially created for glorious service for God. But soon enough, his heart was lifted up because of his beauty and he corrupted his wisdom for the sake of his own splendor. Therefore, God cast him to the ground - the earth.
When the devil (former Lucifer) came to the earth, he was stripped of his glory and he became envious of man - the creature that God had given dominion over the earth to. Please note, just as man was created by God, even the devil was created by God. However, while man was originally created for dominion on the earth under the authority of God; the devil was originally created as a cherub in heaven - in fact, he was a covering cherub. Because of his pride, ambition, envy, greed, bitterness, covetousness and many other sins; he was thrown down to the earth.
And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the hole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Revelations 12:7-9
When the devil came down to the earth; he could no longer wrestle for authority and influence in heaven; he then began to plot a coup on the instituted authority of God on the earth. Remember, the Scripture says in the book of Romans 6:16 that you are a slave to whom you obey. After the creation and formation of man, God put him in the garden and gave him instructions for effective living and effective leadership; but as soon as God leaves, the serpent (devil) came to deceive man - thus, making him his subject through man's obedience.
"Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil". Genesis 3:4-5
God had warned them of death if they eat from the forbidden tree; but the devil told them that they will not die. One thing man failed to realize was the nature and magnitude of that death. When they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, they did not did physically - their natural features were still there; however, the Spirit of God left them and when He left them, He left with the nature of God that was given to them at creation. What happened was, as soon as the Spirit of God departed from them, since nature forbids vacuum; the spirit of the devil enter into them. Hence, the devil began from that moment to rule the earth through Adam and his wife Eve.
One serious nature of the devil which Adam and his wife exhibited after becoming a new creature was a lack of sense of responsibility and accountability. When God came to them to know how they are doing, they both ran away from God and when they eventually spoke up; none of them was willing to accept responsibility for his or her fall; neither was there anyone among the that sought for forgiveness from God - all of them just kept on shifting the blames. It is therefore clear that shifting blames and being unwilling to seek for forgiveness is a major nature of the devil.
if you also take a careful look at the account of Cain and Abel, how Cain decided to kill his brother, just because God did not accept his own offering; you would see how man changed from possessing the nature of God at creation to possessing the nature of the devil at the fall. When God asked Cain about his brother whom he has killed he told God very swiftly "Am I my brother's keeper?" The truth is, the nature of the devil is the nature of independence - the nature of Me, Mine and I. It is nature that seeks only its own. When the interest of Cain was not satisfied; his only option was to eliminate his brother (his perceived competitor) - that indeed the nature of the devil. Usually, when people are caught stealing or committing any crime - they quickly say, "It is the work of the devil". Actually, it is not just the work of the devil, it the nature of the devil in them that produces the work or works of the devil.
But the Scripture says in 1 John 3:8, "....For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." The devil is having great time in the world today because not everyone has allowed the Son of God - Jesus Christ to destroy the nature of the devil in him or her. The truth is, if a Pastor has this nature of the devil in him, he will be covetous, bitter, lie and he will commit adultery. Only a complete destruction of the nature of the evil in each person can position a man for a new life in Christ Jesus by the returning of the Holy Spirit in each person's life. Any man that lacks the Holy Spirit is a victim of the nature of the devil - For the nature is "Adamic" - we all got it from Adam. However, in Christ Jesus, we all have access to a new life in dominion over sin and the devil. A life of relevance and dignity on the earth. Whenever you see a desire to satisfy self and to glorify self - just know that thee devil still has his nature in such people or places. Me, Mine, My and I are the best words in the nature of the devil and the Holy Spirit is our only hope for a new life in Christ Jesus.
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