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7.11.21 Genesis 3:1 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

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  Good morning, church. We are so thankful that you could join us this morning online for Worship in Time and the Word. If you have your Bibles, you can open to Genesis chapter 3. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1, just one verse in our text this morning. This morning is titled, The Origin of Satan. And as you know, we have this summer been going through an origins series, how it all began, beginning with the origin of species. Where did we all come from? A study of the first six days of creation.
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  Followed by the origins of sexuality. Where did genders come from? What is God's design for us as male and female? Last week, Pastor Sam did a great job with the origin of Sabbath. And what is rest? What did God do when he rested, communing with his creation and enjoying it? And why should we follow that example? And now this morning, the origin of Satan, that ancient serpent. Chapter 3 and verse 1. Allow me to read our one verse. If you're able to stand in honor of God's word as I read, I would ask you to do that now.
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  Chapter 3 and verse 1 says, Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. And Lord, I pray, again, a blessing over the preaching of your word. Give us insight into its truths. May your Holy Spirit illumine our minds and our hearts to receive it. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, church. Well, many years ago, I purchased tickets to see the San Diego Chargers play the San Francisco...
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  49ers at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. I'd never been to an NFL game before. I was surprised to find the tickets in the very front row and at the 50 yard line were so cheap. The baseball equivalent in my mind was front row seats right behind home plate. And so I bought those tickets. I'm like, man, 50 yard line, right front row. Why would I not go? I made the drive only to discover why the seats were so inexpensive at Qualcomm Stadium where the San Diego Chargers used to play.
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  uh those front seats were so low to the field really almost right on the field which you think would be a very cool thing except that the entire bench for the san diego chargers stands and watches the game right in front of you and so as i sat there in my seats and my friends were all there with me all of these massively tall football players were literally standing right in front of us blocking our view church i couldn't see the game at all and in fact as the ball would move up and down on the
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  field so would all of these massive guys standing in front of me every now and then the ball would be punted and for a moment in time it would come into view i'd see the ball come up like oh there it is right and then it would disappear again into that ocean that sea of humanity and i would think hey look there there might be a football game happening just on the other side of these guys if you ever wonder church if there are christians who live that way
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  completely clueless, only catching occasional glimpses of the realization that there may be something else much bigger than them going on. They're living their lives, they're doing their things, they're married, they're going to work every day, they're raising their kids with no concept that there is a greater reality raging around them.
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  In my introduction to our Origins series, I mentioned that the origin of war itself can be found in the first pages of Genesis, and indeed that is the case. One single verse, the first verse of chapter 3, introduces the greatest and longest lasting war in human history. We may think erroneously that our war in Afghanistan
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  has been long since it's stretched nearly 20 years. We may think that our American Civil War had a great number of casualties numbering over 600,000 American men, but the longevity and severity of each of these pale in comparison to the war which began with, now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field. This
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  opening salvo has laid waste to men, women, and children. It has ruined strongholds. It has laid waste to nations. It has dissolved families, destroyed marriages, sunk businesses. It has cost
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  an untold number of earthly lives and it continues to be fought in the hearts and minds of every person on earth but the most frightening thing about this war which began in chapter 3 and verse 1 is that most people don't even believe it's happening most either refuse to believe
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  Or they bury their heads in the sand and pretend like what they can see with their eyes is the only thing that exists. But that's not even the greatest tragedy for me, church. The most tragic reality for me as a pastor is how many Christians are so clueless about the war raging around them that could cost their very souls. And so, there are those who go by the name of Christ, they call themselves Christians, living day after day.
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  unblissfully unaware. Wayne Grudem, in reference to humanity's failure to recognize the spiritual battle going on around them says, and I quote,
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  our failure to perceive demonic involvement with our five senses simply tells us that we have some deficiencies in our ability to understand the world not that demons don't exist he says the fact that you can't necessarily sense the spiritual war raging around you with your five senses does not mean that it's not real it just means that we can't perceive it he continues the unwillingness of modern society to recognize the presence of demonic activity today is
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  from a biblical perspective, simply due to people's blindness to the true nature of reality. The reality is, church, most people, even Christians, are blind to the reality of spiritual warfare. And like me, sitting in that front row of that NFL game, who couldn't see a thing, had no idea what was going on, and just occasionally catching glimpses of the football as it would rise and fall,
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  People live in terms of spiritual war Listen to Ephesians chapter 6 verses 11 to 13 Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil
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  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in that evil day and having done all to stand firm. And whether you sense it or not, and whether you believe it or not, scripture is clear that you and I are at war.
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  And you may ask, well, who am I at war with? I mean, I don't feel like I'm at war. And so who am I at war with? The scriptures say that the war in which we are engaged is a spiritual one, and it is being fought on three fronts. First, scripture says you are at war with the world. And make sure you hear that, church. The world is not our friend. The world does not want us to succeed. We're at war.
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  the world John chapter 13 verse 33 Jesus said in the world you will have trouble you will have tribulation John chapter 15 18 again Jesus speaking if the world hates you know that it hated me before it hated you he says the world is going to hate you why because they hate Jesus and because they hate Jesus they hate his followers too that's you and I but second we are also at war not only with the world but with our own flesh even your very body wants you to fail
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  1 Peter 2 and verse 11, Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. James chapter 4 and verse 1, Your passions are at war within you. Romans 7, 22, For I delight in the law of God and my inner being, but I see in my members, in my body, he says, another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law.
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  of sin we are at war with our own flesh and then finally the scriptures say that we are at war not only with the world and with our own flesh but with the devil first peter chapter 5 and verse 8 be sober-minded be watchful your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour resist him
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  Firm in your faith knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brothers throughout the world Church scripture is clear that this third enemy the devil is not some nameless Faceless void or force, but he is an actual being
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  And the truly terrifying thing is that the Bible describes him as a roaring, hungry, devouring lion. That's how the Bible describes him. He is a lion, lion seeking someone to devour. And what's scary is the Bible describes us as sheep, edible. I mean, that's what it says. He is an eater, a devourer, and the Bible describes us as edible. And so 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 9 says, resist him.
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  Resist him, fight him. It's been said that one's preparation prior to war is as important as one's decisions during the war. And so let us not be hasty or careless in our waging of war. I believe it would behoove us and be to our advantage to understand our enemy, to understand his tactics, to prepare ourselves accordingly, to stand at the alert so that we will have the greatest probability of success in this war.
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  war. And all of that church, all that I just described, that war, which has been fought for thousands of years and cost innumerable souls, begins with the phrase, now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. And so allow me to answer a few questions from our text and from the remainder of scripture as well. First, who is this enemy? Who is this serpent?
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  Where did he come from? It is an ominous beginning to the story behind the fall of man when it says that there was a serpent. For centuries, Jewish and Christian theologians have agreed that this serpent represents Lucifer, the devil himself. It's only been recently that liberal scholars have argued anything else, but there is no reason to doubt that the serpent is the devil. In fact, identifying the serpent might have been difficult if not for the whole rest of scripture.
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  Both Revelation 12 and Revelation 20 call the devil, and I quote, that ancient serpent. That ancient serpent. And so we conclude definitively that the snake of Genesis was the devil. And this enemy of our souls, the devil, has gone by many names. But make no mistake, church, don't be confused. They're all the same guy.
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  As is the case when we study the names of God, and so can identify certain characteristics about God by understanding his names, so also by understanding the names of our enemy, we will be enlightened. Scripture calls our enemy, this serpent, calls him Satan. In fact, 52 times in Scripture, it's one of the most popular biblical names of our adversary, calls him Satan. Satan means adversary. It means...
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  our enemy. Scripture prior to his fall called him Lucifer or the day star or the bearer of light. It called him the son of the morning and the anointed cherub. But then after his fall, called him the devil. That's perhaps the most popular names among humans, right? Most humans call him the devil. Devil means slanderer.
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  The Bible calls him the tempter. He calls him the ruler of demons. In fact, they do his bidding. Calls him Beelzebub, Lord, literally Lord of the dung heap where flies gather, Lord of the flies. Calls him the evil one, the father of lies. In fact, he cannot but lie. He is the inventor of lies. He uttered the first lies and everything he says, church, is a lie. Even when he speaks the truth, he is doing it deceitfully.
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  and with manipulation. He is the ruler of this world. And 2 Corinthians 4.4 says the God of this present age. Now that is God with a little g, not a capital G. He is not the God of creation. We serve the God and Lord of all creation. But the Bible does call him the God of this present age. Says that he masquerades as an angel of light.
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  One of his names from Scripture is Belial, Belial, which means vile, the vile one. He is the prince of the power of the air. He is a roaring lion, Abaddon, Apollyon, and the angel of the abyss. Revelation 12 calls him the dragon, the ancient serpent, the deceiver of the world, and the accuser of God's people. Now, I will use a few of these terms interchangeably throughout the sermon, but one of my favorites to use because of the reminder that it gives us is the enemy.
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  of our souls our adversary and make no mistake beloved church your soul has an enemy well that's who he is where'd he come from where did the serpent where did satan come from some believe that the angelic host including lucifer were created sometime in that six days of creation since chapter 1 and verse 31 of genesis say that god created everything that's the word that was used
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  everything and that everything was good and these people who believe that he was created during those six days would also hold that lucifer and his demons must have therefore fallen during chapter two because in chapter three he shows up on the scene evil and this could be you know others argue and i think i would tend to agree with this second idea that angels must have been created prior to the rest of creation before
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  the universe was created, the physical universe. There was the spiritual beings created because Job chapter 38 and verse 6 says that angels were witnesses to the creation of the earth.
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  You'll recall the time that God asked Job that series of questions about the creation of the universe, right? Where were you when I did all of these things? He's asking, that's the context. And Job chapter 38 and verse six says, what were its, in reference to the earth's foundations, on what were its foundations sunk? Who laid the earth's cornerstone?
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  when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of god in reference to angels all the sons of god shouted for joy the inference seems to be that the sons of god the angels were already created and witnessing the creation of the earth and singing for joy over creation now regardless of when lucifer was created one thing is sure lucifer fell because of his pride and was cast
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  down to the earth before Genesis 3 and verse 1. Turn with me, if you would, to the right. Go to Isaiah. Look at Isaiah's prophecy, chapter 14. It gives us some detail about that fall. Isaiah 14 and verse 12. How you are fallen from heaven, O day star, son of dawn. In reference.
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  to lucifer how you are cut down to the ground you who laid the nations low you said in your heart i will ascend to heaven above the stars of god i will set my throne on high i will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the earth i will ascend above the heights of the clouds i will make myself like the most high
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  This text seems to parallel the actions of one human king against the actions of another angelic being who committed a similar fraud. What we see in Isaiah 14 is that the sin of Satan is described as one of pride, an attempt to be equal to God in status, to become equal with God in authority. Turn with me further to the right a few books, if you would, Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 28.
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  gives us a few more details ezekiel chapter 28 verse 17 your heart was proud because of your beauty you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor and so i cast you to the ground i exposed you before kings to feast their eyes on you and again we see that his pride was his undoing
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  His wisdom and his beauty became corrupted. His place in heaven, his immediate access to God's throne were actually even taken away and all because he wanted to become like God. Now, as we'll discover next week in our study on the origin of sin, and I don't want to give too much away here because I don't want to steal thunder, okay, for next week.
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  But as we'll study, it's actually the exact same temptation the devil uses against us today. Were his words in the garden to Eve not, you will become like God. You will become like God. That's the exact same wording. You can become like God. And what I find so ironic about this temptation is that God wants us to become like him. Does God not want us to become godly, Christ-like?
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  I mean that's even what the New Testament says that in Christ we can become Godly men and women and it's exactly what he offers through Christ to become godly listen to second Peter chapter 1 and verse 5 says for this very reason make every effort every effort to supplement your faith with virtue virtue knowledge knowledge self-control self-control with godliness he wants us to become godly and so the problem we have is that we want what
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  is that we want, we don't just want to become like God. I'm sorry, let me say that again. The problem we have is not that we just want to become like God. The problem we have, and Lucifer's problem was really that he wanted to replace God. It's not that he wanted to become godly, right? He wanted to replace God on his throne. Hugh Ross says it this way, this same Lucifer.
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  The most majestic and powerful of the angels got created in one cataclysmic moment, swelled with pride, and asserted himself as God's equal, drawing a third of the heavenly host into rebellion with him. That's where the demons came from. A third of the angelic host became fallen angels' demons. And this act of defiance and self-exaltation, Hugh Ross says, tore a clear divide between good and evil. It demonstrated the reality and cost.
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  of choice in so doing satan became the originator of sin he discovers he continues to discover new ways to commit it and then he entices others into it now allow me a moment here to dispel some popular devil myths okay
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  in regard to who he is and where he came from, let me just set a few things straight. First, Satan is not the equal but opposite to God. He is not all powerful. Satan is not everywhere at once. He was created by God and is still, even in his rebellion, under God's authority. You'll recall the story of Job where Satan had to actually go and ask permission, permission to afflict Job.
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  Right? And God gave him permission. Without God's permission, Satan can do nothing. Second, Satan is not the king of hell, as so many presume. He doesn't live in hell. He does not pull all of hell's strings. He does not want to go there, in fact. More on this in just a few minutes in point three. Third,
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  Satan does not wear red tights and carry a pitchfork. I don't know where this came from. Every time all the little cartoons and all of that stuff, movies have been made about shoulder angels, little angel pops up here and then the devil pops up here. The devil's always wearing red tights and carrying a pitchfork or something like that. I don't know where, honestly, I don't know where any of that came from. But if you saw the devil right now, if he appeared right here in front of us,
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  you'd probably actually be drawn to him. You'd be attracted to him. You might even be in awe of him. Scripture says that he masquerades as an angel of light. He would not present himself in his ugly face. He'd be beautiful, probably the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. You might even be tempted to hit the deck and try to worship him. You say, well, then how will I know?
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  If it's so beautiful, all right, how will I know if it's the devil or if it's an angel? And make sure you catch this, church. Angels do not receive worship. So many times, Old and New Testament, an angel appears. Everybody hits the deck. They try to worship him. They think this is the most glorious thing I've ever seen. They try to worship him. And an actual angel, one of God's servants, will say,
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  Get up. What is wrong with you? Stop trying to worship me. I am not God. I'm a servant of God the way that you are. So stop. Worship the one who is worthy. The devil is willing to receive worship where true angels will not. And so he doesn't wear red tights. I'm sorry to say he does not carry a pitchfork. Fourth, he is also not, Satan is also not the root cause of all of your problems and sins.
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  He is not the problem. He is not the reason you sin. And you say, well, if he's not the root cause of all of our problems and sins, then who is? I mean, if I can't blame him, you've heard people say, well, the devil made me do it. No, he didn't. If I can't blame him, then who can I blame? And unfortunately, church, the only one you have to blame for your problems and your sins is you. Listen to James chapter one in verse 14. Each person is tempted.
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  when he is lured and enticed by his own desire, then desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. It is our own desire that causes us to sin. So that's first, that's who he is, that ancient serpent and where he came from. Notice second, where is he now and what is he doing? Where is he right now and what is he doing? Church, he is...
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  Here. He is in the world. And the Bible says he's busy.
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  Again, Wayne Grudem says this, there is no reason to think that there is any less demonic activity in the world today than there was at the time of the New Testament. Now, that's kind of a scary thing because in the New Testament, you see demons all over the place. They are vocal. They are very loud. They are interruptive. They are interactive, right? And you'd say, well, because I don't necessarily see that. Now, I'm assuming there are less, but that's not what he says. He says there's no reason to think they're not.
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  equally as busy equally as active now their tactics might be different today than they were then right but he says there's an equal number of demons they've not been destroyed and their work continues they are equally busy and active and so a couple of thoughts first satan and his demons are active in the world today they are active right now in fact revelation even says that his throne satan's throne is a place here on earth
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  Now whether that's to be taken symbolically or not is open to debate But scripture clearly states that the devil is and I quote the god of this present age That is 2nd Corinthians 4 and verse 4 again under the authority of the god of the universe But he is the god little little G not capital G god of this present age The Bible also seems to imply that the devil's army of demons is organized and even strategic
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  Perhaps you will recall Daniel chapter 10 as the prophet Daniel was pleading to the Lord for understanding and he waited patiently for 21 days for three weeks. He is continuously in prayer asking the Lord, help me to understand, help me to understand, help me to understand. And for three weeks, he's waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for an answer. And then finally an angel appears to him and says, you know, I was dispatched.
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  from heaven's throne room i was dispatched with this message three weeks ago and so what seems to be the case is that daniel began praying and as soon as he began praying god dispatched an angel with the answer he says i was dispatched three weeks ago but i was delayed because i got into a wrestling match you can go and read it daniel chapter 10. i got into a wrestling match with a demon whom he called the prince of the kingdom of persia the angel
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  was only released from that wrestling match. He says, it's his own testimony, Daniel chapter 10, he says, I was only released from that wrestling match when the archangel Michael jumped into the fray and got me out of there. And so what appears to be the case is that maybe the devil has arranged his demonic horde, maybe regionally, right? The prince of the kingdom of Persia. Maybe he's got demons over certain areas, but there does seem to be this hierarchy.
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  Later in Daniel chapter 12, Michael, the archangel, is actually called the guardian angel of the Jewish people. He has the care of the Jewish people, the archangel Michael. And so maybe as God has arranged his angels, archangels and angels, arranged them strategically, regionally, ethnically, however he's arranged them, so also Lucifer has arranged his army.
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  of demons, and so they appear to be organized. They are definitely strategic. It is not this just mass of unthinking, disorganized beings. But second, Satan and his demons oppose the work of God. So where is he now? He is in the world. The Bible says he is busy. It is organized. It is structured. It is strategic. But scripture says that his demons, what is he doing? He is opposing the work of God.
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  In other words, whatever God is doing, Satan is doing the opposite. John chapter 10 and verse 10, Jesus says, John 10, 10, Jesus said, I have come to give life and to give it abundantly. In the same verse, he says, but the thief, the devil, comes only to steal and kill and destroy. So where Jesus came to give life, Satan brings death. He does the opposite of God's work. Satan and his demons, scripture says, are actively deceiving the nations.
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  They are actively blinding the eyes of unbelievers. They are actively making accusations against you and I. He is the accuser of the brethren. Now, a question that often gets asked in regard to Satan's work here on earth today that are engaging in that spiritual battle, a question that often gets asked is, do we, you and I, followers of Jesus, do we have authority over him? Can we bind?
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  the devil? And honestly, church, that is difficult to answer. During his earthly ministry, Jesus specifically gave some of his disciples authority over demons. He says it multiple times. He gathered the 12, he gathered the 70, right? And even throughout the book of Acts, there were those who had authority over demons to cast out demons. And so throughout his earthly ministry, he gave this, some of his disciples authority over
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  demons, but it doesn't seem as though he gave all of his disciples that same authority. I don't see where that is so clearly defined, that every follower of Jesus has authority.
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  over demons. Now, what is clear from God's word is that every believer, including you and I, has the authority and power, 1 Peter 5, 9 says, to resist the devil. And the promise is, many of you maybe know this verse, the promise is that if we will resist the devil, he will flee.
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  And so do we have the authority to bind him? I don't know that that's what the New Testament says, but certainly we have the authority to resist if we will put on the whole armor of God, that we will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. And the promise is that if we will resist him, he will flee from us. And that is great news. That's who he is. It's where he came from. It's where he is now and what he's doing.
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  But finally, where is he going? Where is the devil going to end up? Now as I said previously the place that we call hell is a real and even physical location Matthew chapter 25 and verse 41 says that hell was prepared by God for Satan and his demons God made hell. He is the king of hell. It's not Satan
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  God is the king of hell and it was prepared as a place to put those rebels, Satan and his demons. And we find in the book of Revelation that Satan does not want to go there. Nevertheless, hell will be his eternal destination. Revelation chapter 20 and verse 10 says, the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were.
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  And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And church, the enemy of our souls, along with his evil angels, and also every person who has rejected Christ's offer of forgiveness will spend eternity in hell. That is what the Bible says. Beloved church, do not make the mistake that so many have made for so long.
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  Don't think that because you can't see the battles you can't feel the wounds that you're not at war Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion. So we must do what Ephesians 6 says to do We must put on the whole armor of God and stand firm We must resist the devil and the promise is that if we will resist he will flee and Lord I pray
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  that you would again just make our hearts soft toward the truth. And I pray, God, that we would gird up the loins of our hearts, that we would put on the whole armor of God and stand firm, that we would engage in the spiritual battle and not just sit there in ignorance and occasionally see the football be kicked up in the air.
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  Lord, I pray that we would live in the reality that our souls are at stake. The souls of our spouse, our family, our kids is at stake. The souls of our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers are at stake. And so God, make us effective soldiers, warriors for Christ. And it's in his name we pray. Amen.