Sermon Tone Analysis

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/Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

/ 2 Corinthians 2:11

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SATAN: What Every Christian Must Know

 

By Dave Cotner

 

Copyright © 2007 by Dave Cotner

All rights reserved under international copyright laws.

No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author.

Third Updated Edition

Reformatted and corrected minor errors in punctuation, spelling, and etc.

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Scripture quotations are from the HOLY

BIBLE, KING JAMES VERSION.

For permission to quote, write to:

 

Rev.

David P. Cotner II

davecotner@aol.com

www.davecotner.com

/Printed in the United States of America/

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To

Teddie

my dear wife

and

best friend

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!

CONTENTS

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Introduction

Chapter One . . .

.Satan’s Creation and Career

Chapter Two . . .

.Satan’s Motivation and Method

Chapter Three . .

.Satan’s Kingdom

Chapter Four . . .

.Satan’s Power

Chapter Five . . . .

Satan’s People

Chapter Six . . . . .

Satan’s End

Chapter Seven . . .

Satan and the People of God

Bibliography

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INTRODUCTION

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*THE* Scriptures are abundantly clear that human beings are not alone in the universe.

The stars are inhabited by an innumerable company of angels and demons (Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; 6:12).

The earth as well serves not only as home to the people of every nation and language, but it is also the sphere in which Satan and his angels (Revelation 12:9) seek to imitate God, oppose His purposes, and corrupt the children of men as much as their depraved powers are able to do.

The study of the person, power and plan of Satan should be undertaken with the utmost seriousness by every child of God.

He is our enemy and constantly seeks to thwart the plan of God in our lives and cause us to live and die defeated in our service to God and in the process of sanctification.

There is a sin unto death (1 John 5:16b) and Satan would have every Christian commit it.

What is this most evil of sins?

Romans 8:13 tells us that “if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die.”

Living after the dictates of our own hearts, living to fulfill our own wants and desires, rather than living for and loving our Creator and submissively following Him is the great temptation of the child of God.

May we not be ignorant concerning Satan and may he never get an advantage over us.

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[This] subject is vital to any right understanding of the age in which we live, and of the personal conflict which we wage; for the existence, personality, and power of Satan are awful facts and of immense present significance.

We walk in the midst of his snares, hear on every hand his doctrines proclaimed by men of blameless lives “transformed as the ministers of righteousness,” and are allured by the pleasure, place and power of his perfectly organized world-system.

(C.

I. Scofield in the Forward of /Satan/, by Lewis Sperry Chafer)

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In light of the prophesied onslaught of deceiving spirits against the Church in the last days (1 Timothy 4:1-3), so apparent in its incipient fulfillment now, the unbelief of Christian people is all the more tragic as many believers suffer demonic deception and despoliation [damage] because of sheer ignorance of Satan and his devices.

Even many spiritual believers are unable to wage a successful war against this army of wicked spirits, through lack of knowledge of what is involved.

Many shrink from the subject altogether, insisting that so long as Christ is preached, occupation with Satan and demons is unnecessary and spiritually unhealthy.

All the while, however, Satan is continuously gaining advantage because of the believer’s ignorance.

(Merrill F. Unger, /Biblical Demonology/, pp.

201-202)

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In undertaking to outline the Biblical teaching on Satan, there are three general conditions which will serve as “ground rules.”

They are:

* The authority of the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments will be accepted without question.

* Evidence will be drawn from the Word of God alone, since no final light can be found on this subject other than it has pleased God to reveal it in the Bible.

* There will be no discussion as to the actual existence of Satan; this being both assumed and taught from Genesis to Revelation.

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CHAPTER ONE - SATAN’S CREATION AND CAREER

 

!! His Creation

*SATAN* is a created being and as such he is not all-powerful and all-knowing like God is.

God, the Creator, is the only completely independent and autonomous Being.

He needs no one and nothing.

Everything that is, including Satan, derives its life from Him.

As a result, no creature can ever truly live independently from its Creator or it would cease to exist (a notion foreign to the wisdom of God; He never uncreates; He never annihilates).

The greatest insanity of any creature is the attempt to live independently of the Creator.

Yet, this is the delusion of Satan and is the great lie that he introduced to our first parents and continues to promote today.

!!! Created By Jesus Christ

Colossians 1:16-17 teaches us that Jesus Christ is the Creator of all that has ever existed and will ever exist.

Satan (who was originally created Lucifer, son of the morning) is His creation.

The question that appears at this point is why God created a creature that He knew would introduce sin into the universe and be the instigator of the fall of mankind.

!!!! Sin Allowed to Exist

The answer is seen in the manifold wisdom of God.

“O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.”

(Psalm 104:24) “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.” (Ephesians 3:10) Mere creatures cannot hope to fully comprehend this “manifold wisdom.”

However, it is suggested that God has determined that all propositions made by the creature in opposition to the Divine will are put to an experimental test.

This God did with Satan’s suggestion that Job served God only for payment (Job 1:9-11).

God evidently did the same in the case of Lucifer’s rebellion too.

The all-wise, all-knowing God allows even men the same opportunity to challenge His authority.

Does He not allow us to go our own way and do our own thing until we realize the result?

!!! Satan’s Original State

The central passage detailing the original estate and condition of this Fallen Angel is found in Ezekiel 28:11-19.

The statement is directed to “the king of Tyrus.”

However, it is obvious that no earthly king could fit the description that we find here of the origin of Satan.

(It should be noted also that many of the Messianic passages are spoken to or about some particular person, but could not possibly be fulfilled by anyone but the Messiah.

See, for example, Psalm 16:9-11 where David speaks of things that were fulfilled in Christ.

This was explained by the apostle Peter in Acts 2:25-31.)

The passage is as follows:

 

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/Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.