Nov 23 2008
Understanding the Enemy of the Christian (1) - The Beginning
Every Christian has an enemy. His number one goal is to make you think that he does not exist. It is the one whom we call the devil or lucifer. We are beginning a new series concerning “Understanding the Enemy of the Christian,” where foundational information will be presented concerning the devil, demons, and demonic activity. The next series of posts are designed to cause Christians to live victoriously in this life.
The devil is real. His number one deception is to cause man not to believe in his existence. The Bible tells us otherwise. As believers, we must understand that we have an adversary. Because God is love, debates have been ongoing as to how He could create such an evil being who has wreaked havoc on the world. God created Lucifer in all righteousness, but he chose to become corrupt. If we are to overcome the enemy, we must know him.
Anyone in the military will tell you that the best weapon against an enemy is knowledge, not just force. By knowing their enemy, they can fully prepare themselves against their opponent’s strength and exploit their weaknesses.
In this series, we will look at his beginning, blunder, and banishment. Let us now consider his beginning briefly.
THE BEGINNING The devil’s God-given name at his creation was Lucifer. Lucifer means “shining star or son of the morning.” God created him as one of His archangels. The book of Ezekiel describes the beauty and honor bestowed upon Lucifer.
You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created, they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God and you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created… (Ezekiel 28:12-15a NIV)
God made Lucifer perfect. He was anointed to stand by God and walk around the throne of God. He was a guardian cherub around the throne. He was full of wisdom and the perfection of beauty. He was one of God’s chief angels and creation. No other angels in the scripture are given such an awesome description, not even Michael or Gabriel.
God’s anointing rested upon Lucifer and God had ordained it so. Lucifer was also present at creation for the text says he was in Eden, not as a serpent, but as the anointed cherub of God.When we consider all that God had bestowed upon him, it is hard to believe that this is the one whom we now call our adversary. In the next post, we will explore the following questions: What led to his fall? What caused the perfect, beautiful, and wise angel to become a fool? What led to his disaster and ruin? How did he go from a wonder to a blunder? We will explore his Blunder.
