Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 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.”So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was [a]pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Genesis 3:1-7
It is important to know the devil in order not to become his prey and a victim to his devices. Here are few things every Christian should know about the devil(Satan)
The devil cannot hurt you in anyway once you are connected to your source.
The devil was there in the garden and has been around all the while but couldn't hurt Adam and Eve as long as they were connected to the God through obedience.
Until you empower the devil his power cannot have effect or influence on you
That is why he always causes us to disobey God before he can unleash his power. When God was given instructions to Adam he heard since he has been around. He couldn't have influence on them until he has cause them to disobey or rebel against God.
Satan will always cause you to activate his power over you before he can cause you harm. God created death and he hid it, death was trapped.Death has been there when man was created but was not activated and so it was powerless and ineffective. Hear what God said to Adam:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat , for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:17
God tells Him the day you eat the tree of knowledge of good and evil you will bring out this power called death to kill you. We shouldn't dare God but obey him only. Any power whatsoever have no influence on you until you give it life or empower it.
Atlantis
I watched a series movie titled Atlantis. In this movie were three great characters who went to the underworld to collect a box which was believed to possess evil magical powers and were warned not open it for any reason. But the girlfriend of one of the characters opened it and its powers were unleashed and it caused great destruction and terror. The box was powerless as a jewelry box but became powerful when it was opened unleashing the evil inside.
The devil is always powerless until we empower him. The devil will not force you to fornicate, smoke, steal, kill, divorce but will tempt you so you can give him the power to make them happen in your life.
Satan is always after what you will for
What the devil used to exploit Adam and Eve was their will. God gave them their will to choose between good and bad. God said to them:
"Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat , for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:16-17
The will is one the greatest power man has. Your will is one of powerful weapons against the devil and he knows it. If you decide not to do something he cannot force you.
Our will is our power of choice , all our desires, inclination, wishes, intents, likes and delights are in our will, it is indeed powerful.
With the will we can choose either to obey God or disobey Him, a weapon we can even use against God. God intentionally gave man the will to see whether they will obey His word or not.
The devil will always search for what we are easily inclined to or desire and then use it against us, that's his perfect tactics. He saw that God has given man the power of choice and that was a good area to start. He then went to interview man about her will and listen to what transpired:
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And He said to the woman , "Has God indeed said , 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent , "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden , God has said , 'You shall not eat it , nor shall you touch it , lest you die.' "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."Gen.3:1-6
The weakness of the woman(Eve) was exposed after the devil interviewed her, never give any chance to the devil for you may not like the end results:
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food , that it was pleasant to the eyes , and a tree desirable to make one wise , she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her , and He ate. Gen.3:7
Beacareful of what you will for for In the will of man there lie lust for food, pleasures of the eye, and desire for power.
The devil couldn't use anything against them but their own. Do you think Satan know your weakness?The devil may not know your weakness but when you give him the chance he can discover them through your will because in there lies your desires.
Give no place to the devil, we should be watchful and prayerful so that we may not enter into temptation.
Have a blissful Sunday