Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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(Today’s Book Installment)
Living in the Kingdom of God
Chapter 11 – The Rise of Satan
The knowledge of God is no small thing. One of the reasons Satan was able to deceive Adam and Eve into sinning was their ignorance of God.
After all, they had just been created. Everything was new to them.
Recall that God had made the man and the woman to rule over His creation.
Genesis 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis:1:28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
If this was to be their role, Adam and Eve had a lot to learn.
Satan decided to take advantage of them while they were still naive – before they knew serpents weren’t supposed to talk.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
Genesis 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
Genesis 3:3 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.’”
Genesis 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
Adam and Eve chose to trust the devil rather than God on a life or death matter. They became slaves of the one they obeyed.
Romans 6:16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
By this means, Satan become the god of this world.
2 Corinthians 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
2 Corinthians 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
We can see Satan’s authority over the world in his temptation of Jesus.
Luke 4:5 And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
Luke 4:6 And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
Luke 4:7 Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.”
Luke 4:8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Satan rose by the unrighteousness of Adam. He would fall by the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
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