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Here are some thoughts I offered in response to comments a friend shared in one of my recent blog posts.
“It is my opinion that because there are NO vacuums in life, out of necessity if it isn’t going to be about life, then it is all about death. Most, however, do not or would not see it quite this starkly!
“Self was intended to be clothed inwardly and outwardly in the adornment of the living God (life). In forsaking this God-designed expression, self then had to be defined apart from its original purpose. Self-reliance became part of this craving to carve out and establish an identity apart from God (death). I see self-reliance as one of Self's offspring, others being self-esteem, self-worth, self-confidence, etc. All these things emanate from the corruption within our soul. Everything pertaining to 'self' is opposed to God, and feeds into our inherent sin/Satan nature. When Satan said, "I shall be like the most high God...I will ascend..." etc. I think he was trying to carve out an identity for himself separate from his maker. When we rely on 'self-anything' aren't we doing the same? As born-again children of the most high God, we are to live out of his indwelling spirit. Putting us into impossible situations forces us into a position whereby we canNOT resort to relying on 'self' but on God alone.
“Out of defying God and trying to become like God, man, having his eyes opened, was plunged into total darkness, and in this darkness the father of lies and religion began to make his presence known in the world through human agents.”
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” The construction of man consisted of body, soul and spirit, and each of these three components were to be united when man freely chose to eat from the Tree of Life; this spoke of a ruling nature that up to that point he was yet without. Consequently, the other tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil likewise figuratively represented a nature.
In my opinion, Satan, the fallen archangel who once radiated all light, glory and worship back to God, grew tired of being in a subservient position and up to that point was found blameless until, pride welled up in his heart, “I will ascend to the highest heights, I will be greater than God.” This insidious malignant cancer became the inward impetus that propelled his meteor-like crash landing upon the earth.
I love this quote from Jesus, “I was watching Satan falling from heaven like lightening.”
Jesus highlighted who and what Satan was, “a father of lies” (a usurper) but it is important to realise that only God has the capacity to create. Satan can only replicate. Satan was never ever a bona fide father like God, so Satan, knowing this, had to lie, cheat and trick Adam into acquiescing of his own choosing to swallow his baited pitch, hook, line and sinker.
What and how much Satan knew of God’s purposes and plans for man was obviously enough to do what he did in his covert, stealth-morphed disguise. He knew that man had or was to become a fuller expression of what Satan (Lucifer) had once been, a glory-bearer, one who would radiate the wonder, beauty and majesty of this living God!
In his mutinous defiance, man then became a host for Satan to have his spirit, likeness, image and nature represented throughout the earth. The only thing was, that man was blinded to his now having a nature that he would think was 'human', but in fact (according to Jesus) he became by nature a child of wrath, a son of disobedience.
It is out of this that man carved his identity. Prior to the fall, he lacked an identity - much like a pumpkin which lacks an identity until a face is carved into its flesh. Man's craving for identity was metaphorically carved into his flesh the moment the father or lies entered his soul.
Rich
