BY SADE AKANNI
(Living seed Vol.8 No. 2 July 2001)
Even though man was the last of all that God created, he was given the first place among them all. He was created in God’s image; male and female created He them and it was for a purpose. They were commissioned to be fruitful and to multiply, and to fill the earth, to subdue it and to have dominion over all that God created.
“Then God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Gen. 1:28.
To be fruitful and to multiply was man’s commission and not an ordinary saying. To occupy and fill the earth and to spread everywhere and subdue the earth was part of that commission. He was charged to be in control of the earth and to govern it. For that purpose, God created the man in His own image so that he could have the inner ability to do the work: As God rules in heaven, the man would be His delegated authority ruling on earth. For the effective fulfillment of this same commission, God made them male and female and for the same reason He blessed them. He also gave them food, accommodation and abundant water supply.
In creating the woman (the female) God took particular care so that she could be a fitting help, not a misfit. He took a rib out of the man to made her. Then He brought her to the man. It was a sigh of joy and relief as the man exclaimed, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman because she was taken out of man.” (Gen. 2:23)
As for the man, that was the greatest thing that ever happened to him. He had been staying alone, labouring to fulfill God’s commission alone until God showed him favour by bringing him the woman. The word ‘now’ in Gen. 2:23 signifies a previously unsuccessful search for a helper, but which has now been successful. When God took a part of him to make a help for him, the search ended. He said, “At last, here is one of my own kind — bone taken from my bone, and flesh from my flesh…” (Gen. 2:23 GNB)
And so the man received help from the Lord in the form of the woman, for the fulfillment of the commission given him by God. She was a fitting help. They cleaved to each other and became a united whole. They lived in oneness and were so united that they were not ashamed though they were naked. The glory of God, their knowledge of God and their relationship with God covered them as their clothing. They were open to one another and they both continued serving God this way, doing what He told them to do. But their commission was not without a caution. They were free to eat of all the trees in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are not told how long they lived together in love and harmony, and in sweet communion together serving and obeying God, staying away from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But I want to assume that it was for quite some time before the devil’s interruption in Gen. 3. They must have lived in continuous harmony for some time, enjoying themselves and enjoying the presence of God.
“Now, the Serpent…” –
While Adam and his wife were daily enjoying one another as husband and wife, at that same time, there was the Serpent, Satan the devil; he was jealous. He was not happy about their joyful situation. He was not happy that his own former estate has been given to man. This privilege given to Adam, which though he lost, we now have in Christ Jesus. The truth is that the inheritance that God gives us in Christ Jesus and the great privilege of having access into His presence at all times to commune with Him is making the devil sad. That is the cause of the age long battle between man and the devil. He is always looking for ways to lure man away from this inheritance and draw him into disobedience so that the man also can lose that inheritance as the devil did. This is a warning for every man and woman. Never you be ignorant of the presence of the devil and his jealousy and rage. It will keep you on your guard. They probably did not know that there was someone in the corner who was jealous of their glorious estate. That was Satan, the devil, and the old serpent. Each day he saw them dwelling in love, (obeying God’s will and rejoicing in God’s presence) he was not happy. Before God created man, Satan (formerly called Lucifer) had lost his own glorious position in heaven. He could not bear seeing another person standing and enjoying his own estate. Before he lost his estate, Lucifer was with God. He was the anointed cherub that covered the glory of God.
“You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the Holy mountain of God;” (Ezek 28:14)
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations.” Isa. 14:12
Lucifer was a very beautiful cherub before he fell. God decorated him beautifully with all kinds of precious stones and gave him an estate – Eden, the garden of God.
“… You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering (Ezek. 28:12-13).
That was Lucifer’s estate. Eden was his property. God gave it to him. But when he became proud and sinned against God, He was driven out from heaven and Eden, the garden of God was taken from him. He lost all. And when God created man, he put the man in that garden. The garden was taken from Lucifer, (now called Satan the devil) and given to man. That explains the reason for his jealousy over man.
Seeing the man and his wife enjoying sweet communion with God and with one another in the Garden of Eden was unbearable for the devil. However, as long as man remained in obedience to God, there was nothing the devil could do to make God cast him out of His presence as He did to Satan (the devil). There was nothing Satan could do to rob the man of his glorious estate in which God placed the man.
Be not ignorant of the devices of the devil.
Up till now, marriage is still one good thing that has ever happened to man as God ordained it from the beginning. It is a thing of Joy, a divine favor, a special help from the Lord for every man God created, so that he can effectively fulfill God’s will for his life. But the devil always hates to see such a loving union between a man and his wife. Whenever he sees such, he is never happy. He always seeks to scatter such a family and to turn them against one another and against God. Sadly enough, many couples are ignorant of this plan of the devil. So they fail to watch out for Satan’s schemes, to handle it properly and throw it out. They live as if there is no Satan, and almost as if there is no God. Many of such couples sooner or later experience an unforeseen head-on collision with the devil and fall prey into his trap. This results in bitter quarrels and fighting between a man and his wife, separation and divorce of all types and of all degrees. Many men and women have been left battered and embittered as they face each other with accusations and criticisms, being ignorant of the person behind the scene. If others have been ignorant of the devices of the devil, you, dear reader, must not be. Even if you are living in love and harmony with your husband or wife today, don’t forget to watch out… The devil is at the corner.
Adam and his wife lived in harmony for some time until one day, the devil devised a way for them to fall into Sin against God and fall out of their glorious relationship with God, and with each other, and fall out of Eden. Satan is an evil Spirit. So if he came as Satan and tried to speak to them to tempt them, they would not have yielded easily to his voice because they were not familiar with it. They were only familiar with the voice of the Spirit of God. He had to use something physical, which they were familiar with. He entered into a snake, which they were familiar with. As a masquerade, wearing the appearance of a snake, he moved to the woman. And Knowing no other way in which they could sin against God, except in the matter of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which he commanded them not to eat, he coiled around this one thing, and used it to tempt them. And indeed, they fell.
If Satan comes as Satan himself, the dragon with his seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 12:3-4), people will normally run away from him. Nobody will fall into his temptations because everyone will run as soon as he appears in that unfamiliar and terrifying way. No one will wait to see him or hear what he wants to say. But the devil does not normally come to a man as the devil. He normally appears as an angel of light, something that looks good, and something familiar and attractive so that he can get your attention. Look at 2 Cor 11:14:
“And no wonder! Even Satan can disguise himself to look like an angel of light!” (GNB) . “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (NIV)
He is capable of disguising himself, speaking and giving counsel about something in the family or even about your wife or husband and it would be as if it is the Spirit of God speaking to you. And once you take that suggestion or you apply that method or counsel to your partner, it brings a misunderstanding and a quarrel that may become a big matter if care is not taken. As a serpent, the devil may coil around a little careless comment made by your wife (or husband) and blow it into a big thing in your heart. Before you know it, you have become offended and withdrawn from each other. And once there is a grudge or a little separation as this between both of you, it also separates you from God and causes you to lose your stand before God. That becomes an opportunity for Satan to bite your family and devour the work of God in your hands. At other times, he may coil around children’s needs, or how your partner handles your parents, or a little misunderstanding on bed. There is no matter too small in the home for the devil to coil around like a snake and cause offence and troubles in the family. He knows that is the only familiar voice we may likely heed. We must be prayerful and watchful.
Paul said in 2Cor. 2:11 “Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” My brother, my sister, be not therefore ignorant of the devices of the devil. If the devil knows that you are not aware of his presence and his devices against you and your home, he quickly uses that ignorance to take advantage. To be ignorant of his devices is to play into Satan’s trap. He can come in various ways wearing different faces. He can come through the food your wife cooks or the forgetfulness of your husband to meet the family’s urgent need. He can come through the children’s misbehaviour or through a housemaid or houseboy. It may be through in-laws or friends or through the carefree attitude of your wife or husband. All these the devil does just to set you and your wife or husband against each other and cause disharmony. He knows that if there is a quarrel or a grudge between you that will be a great hindrance to your prayers until you settle it. (1Pet. 3:7, Matt. 5:23-24). Between the time the incident happened and the time you eventually settle it, the devil enjoys a field day. He could do any havoc at such a time in the family, knowing that since iniquity is found in you and your partner, the Lord is no longer going to fight for you. At such times he could attack you or the children with sickness, he could cause destruction and may even try to kill. Behind every quarrel and grudge between a man and his wife is this Serpent, the devil. You need to study him a bit and know him. He is a snake, seeking always to coil around issues that are no issues at all in order to cause separation. He acts like a masquerade wearing different faces to set you against each other. And as long as you are unable to see the devil behind those masquerades, you face your partner and quarrel with each other, leaving the devil who is behind it all untouched.
Satan likes such scenes; so he stands up again to fuel the misunderstanding and the quarrel gets hotter and may even result in physical combat. This is due to ignorance. There is no man or woman who gets married so as to divorce. Everyone gets married with a mind to enjoy his or her partner and live together happily and in peace. Though misunderstanding may occur, learn to settle it quickly. Give no place for the devil to operate.
The Devil’s devices
Satan knows that if he comes directly as the devil the way he really is with his terrifying appearance and nature as described in Rev.12:3-4 man will suspect him and will likely run away from him. If he comes as an adversary, man will fight and resist him. So he fashions many kinds of devices and comes in different familiar forms so as to gain our attention
Satan Comes through Familiar Things…
So the devil came. But he came not as the the devil, the dragon with seven heads ten horns (Rev. 12:3). He came in a form familiar to Adam and his wife. He came in form of a snake. That was the first device. Adam had seen the snake before in fact, he was the one that gave it that name ‘snake.’ All animals, including the snake were under Adam’s authority. He knew them and they knew him, Therefore the devil came in through the Serpent. He disguised himself as a masquerade. He wore the appearance of a snake and came to the woman. Seeing the snake, it was not a strange appearance to the woman. As usual she gave attention to the snake, not knowing that it was no longer the snake that she used to know and that Satan had entered the snake.
The devil would normally not cause problem in your home through strange persons or strange things. He knows you will be suspicious when you see such. So he comes through persons you are familiar with and things you are used to; things you handle every now and then, so that he can first get your attention and then he can proceed step by step to execute his real agenda. His principles of operation remain the same.
“Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” Jas 1:13-15
Satan is the tempter. To get man into his trap, he first gets his attention by coming through familiar persons and things so that when he speaks through such, the man would consider it unsuspectingly. Then he appeals to the man’s senses and to his desires. Man therefore gives a thought to the devil’s appeal without knowing. Once he gives in at that point to think about it, conception takes place. The seed of sin is already planted into his mind and he becomes ‘pregnant’. The duration of the pregnancy notwithstanding, whether long or short, sin must be born one day. Sin is the outcome of all such conceptions and that is the aim of Satan. That was the same principle he used in the Garden of Eden against the first man and woman. He still uses it even today.
We shall proceed to look at some of the familiar things/persons that Satan uses among couples today to cause disharmony.
(a) Through Conjugal relationship
Between a man and his wife, sexual relationship is part of the ways ordained by God for them to partner with one another and share their bodies with one another in order to fulfill God’s purpose for their lives.
“Marriage is honourable in all, the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge,” Heb. 13.4
As long as it is between a man and his wife, sexual relationship is not defilement. It is an honourable part of marriage. And it is a familiar ground among couples.
But the devil can coil around this sacred relationship in order to cause confusion and quarrels between a man and his wife. Sometimes the wife, being ignorant of her husband’s sexual needs may be tempted to think that he is only using her to satisfy his own selfish needs. And if it happens that he had previously shown a care free attitude towards her own needs, Satan can coil around that to accuse the man to his wife. The devil comes and says to the woman, “Don’t you see how your husband is just using you? See how he does not care about your own needs as if you are nothing. Why will you continue to allow him to take you for granted? If you don’t show him and prove to him that you are also important, he will cheat you.” The unsuspecting wife, not Knowing that it is the voice of the devil, now gives thought to that. Before you know it, the devil gives her suggestions of what to do to prove her worth to her husband: “When next on bed, refuse him. Insist on your right. Even if you don’t have money power, at least you have your body.” She takes that idea and sin is conceived. When the man comes back from his place of work she refuses to greet him warmly as she used to do. She withdraws at least a bit, waiting for the opportunity to strike (on bed). Those are signs of conception of sin. And at the opportune time, she brings forth sin. There is a quarrel on bed. And if care is not taken, it can become a big matter. The devil goes ahead to fuel it in the unsuspecting husband’s mind, the woman again reacts and the cycle continues. Many homes have been broken because of this.
The problem may also start with the man. It is possible that through immoral behaviours while an unbeliever or through immoral films previously watched, his sexual taste becomes high and he is no longer easily satisfied by the wife. He may think that his wife is robbing him of her body when actually it may not be so. But ignorance about the wife’s needs and her physiological and psychological make-up may cause him to pick offence with his wife and become embittered against her. The devil coils around their sexual relationship, accuses the wife to her husband and instead of understanding one another and settling it between themselves quietly and with love, the man may be tempted to think that the wife does not care for him. Incidentally many times, the same devil now arranges other girls and women who appear loving and caring to the man. Before you know it, while his relationship with his wife continues to grow sour, Satan continues to arrange frequent opportunities for him to meet that ‘caring’ girl and then one day – they find themselves in each other’s arms and down they fall. Satan achieves his aim. Many couples have fallen into the trap of the devil this way and have had bitter experiences with one another. Again instead of settling the matter, forgiving one another as Christ forgives us, they face each other with accusations: “You are the one that made me to fall. You do not love or care for me…,” says the man. “You are an adulterer; you are unfaithful. How can you treat me like this, to break my heart?” says the wife. And the struggle continues. For some, this may end up in divorce, all because the man and his wife did not see the man behind the scene. They face each other and bite each other not knowing that the devil is the cause of it all. This is a strategy of the devil to rob us of our communion with God and with one another. There is no sin too big that we cannot forgive one another. Just as God in Christ Jesus forgave us our sins big and small, so also must we learn as a couple to forgive one another. But more than that, prevention is better than cure. Guard your heart with all diligence. The devil is at the corner.
(b) Through food, finance and needs in the home
Sometimes Satan coils around food in the home. While the man feels like feasting everyday on his table even if other needs in the house may have to wait, the woman thinks otherwise. She tries to manage the finances in such a way that they do not go hungry or lack any other thing necessary in the family. Instead of discussing together with understanding and submitting to one another, the devil may coil around this matter and the man (or woman) may become offended. Satan whispers to the man: “She is a disobedient woman. You see how she will not listen to you. I wonder who is the husband in this house. If you don’t deal with her, she will not learn to respect you. She will keep taking you for granted.” So, the unsuspecting husband either coils in or fights back immediately. He may shout at his wife instantly and try to assert himself and his authority. And if the wife also does not recognize the devil in the matter and calm her husband, she may also respond by returning “fire for fire”. And an open quarrel may result.
The man may however not show his annoyance immediately. He may withdraw quietly nursing his grudge against his wife. That may lead to a breakdown in communication. He may also decide to starve his wife (and children) with finance, while he goes out to restaurants and selfishly feast on family finances. If care is not taken to quickly solve the problem and throw the devil out, bitterness results and the roots grow underground to touch and break down every other aspect of family life including conjugal relationship. The devil is behind it all. He knows what you enjoy with God when you have a loving relationship with your wife or husband, and he is quite sad about it. You must not be ignorant of his devices. You can prevent it or nip it in the bud before it results in a quarrel.
The devil could also coil around children and their needs to cause disharmony between a man and his wife. The wife, who is more concerned about the children than about her husband, may sometimes become so glued and “married” to her children at the expense of her husband. And before long, the matter of the children has brought separation between them. The children are not the problems. It is the devil that just decides to coil around their case to bring disharmony seeing that their mother has a softer spot for them in her heart than for her husband. Instead of facing and accusing each other, face the devil and deal properly with him in obedience to God’s word. He will turn and run. Children must be cared for, but not at the expense of our marital relationship. It must be a joint decision.
(c) Through family and friends
Faulty and lopsided relationship between a couple and their friends and extended family and in-laws may also serve as a stepping stone, a loophole for the devil to come in. Once you are married, your relationship as husband and wife supersedes the relationship with any other person apart from God. Once you are ‘coupled,’ you must relate with every other person as a couple, not as individuals, lest you get “uncoupled.”
Satan, wishing to uncouple you may pass through your mother, father, brother, sister or friends to start relating with you as an individual. Very soon, Satan may use him or her to plant a seed in your heart against your husband or your wife. If he succeeds, you will soon become offended with your wife (or husband) and your behaviour changes. That may go on to affect your relationship and very soon, there is disharmony. All this is a camouflage. The devil is behind it all. Our warfare is not against flesh and blood. It is against the devil, against principalities and powers.
Secondly, the devil came to the woman, not the man. I wonder why he did not face the man with his trick. I guess he was not bold enough to face the man. He knew that the man was the custodian of God’s instructions in that home and Adam would have probably knocked him out. So he went to the woman who only had a second hand information of what God said. You can see it her response to the serpent.
“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.” Gen 3:1-3.
Satan came cunningly with a cunning question that could provoke one to speak out his or her mind quickly even without much thinking. He twisted what God had said. To say that God said they should not eat of every tree of the garden was so outrageous a statement that provoked the woman to quickly try to correct the serpent and probably defend God. But that was only a trick to draw out of the woman’s mind her understanding of what God said. And what a good catch! The woman did not correctly quote what God said. She added her own bit (an exaggeration) and omitted a bit : “…nor shall you touch it, lest you die.” (Gen. 3:3) But what God said actually in Gen 2: 17 was this: “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.” Putting her own addition and omitting some part of what God said watered down the word and its emphasis. It robbed the sword of the Spirit of its piercing power. And so the devil was able to continue the discussion.
This is a serious matter for all couples but much more important for us as married women. It is important as a woman to not only hear from your husband what God said and still says to him, and to you as a couple, but also to hear it directly from God Himself. Even though we are said to be weaker vessels by nature, created using one bone out of the many bones of the man, (which we must acknowledge) we are not inferior at all. The bone used to make the woman had the same quality as other bones that made up the man. And moreover, we both have the same Spirit, the Spirit of Christ whether you are a man or a woman. You must not face this matter in a lazy and complacent manner, lest the devil should tempt and overtake you as he did to the first woman.
And as God speaks to you, so you must speak. What God says to you has enough power and potency to overcome any suggestion of the devil without having to add to it or subtract from it. Every word and every punctuation mark in what God says is important. Adding your own word or subtracting from what God says robs the word of God of its powerful effect. But when the devil comes through whatever way to tempt you and finds that you know exactly what God says and you stand by it, he will turn and run.
That calls for a proper and prayerful study of God’s word. It also calls for every man and woman to develop a sensitive and accurate hearing of instructions from the mouth of the Lord. It is not when the devil comes to tempt you that you will start trying to study and get scriptures to attack him. And it is not that day you will start searching to know God’s will concerning your family. The word of God that you have not hidden in your heart before the devil knocks at your door cannot deliver you on that day. The psalmist says in Ps 119:11,
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Scriptures that touch your heart must be committed to your heart’s memory. Ponder over them again and again. They will stick. Again, be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. That is not a one-time experience. It is what you develop by daily exercise of learning to listen to the Lord and obeying what he says. The more you do that, the more sensitive and accurate your inner man will be to the voice of the Holy Spirit and the more effective you will be in using the sword of the Spirit (the word of God) to fight the devil.
Having caught the woman because of her partial ignorance or incorrect quoting of God’s word, the devil struck with his major weapon of deceit and lying:. “You will not surely die.” Satan seemed to have known the exact word God used in his instructions in Gen 2:17. God said, “…for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.” But the devil says “You will not surely die.” He knew the word of God more than the woman. So he turned it into a lie and made the lie to sound like the truth. That is another device of the devil. He spoke the lie “You will not surely die.” Then he gave a seemingly reasonable explanation to it as to appeal to the woman’s senses. He said,
“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. 3:5
Look at the way the devil painted that lie to make it look like the truth and appeal to the woman! He made it look as if God was only hiding something good from them so that the man and his wife would not be like God. He painted God black and painted himself good and caring to the woman. That is Satan’s device, a fiery dart thrown at the woman to burn down whatever God said to them.
The devil still uses this weapon of lying very much today. When he sees that you don’t know the exact truth of what God says about your wife (or husband) or you are not really standing by what God says, he has already caught you in his web. When he knows that you are not standing by God’s word that says “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord” (Prov. 18:22), he can successfully accuse your wife to you and you will stand and act on those accusations. Whereas the Lord says your wife is one good thing you have found and that she is a favour from the Lord, but to your own understanding, your wife is not good at all. As far as you are concerned you are just trying to put up with her, since you cannot divorce her. That is a faulty understanding. When the devil comes with his lies, you can easily fall. He may tell you that your wife is possessed and that she is even a witch: To make you understand that lie, he can tell you that your child that died recently, or your younger brother that had a misfortune, was caused by her. Before you know it, you may be swept off your feet. You will find yourself reacting against your wife over every little thing she does. You may even face her and call her a witch; so that a big quarrel may result which causes a big crack in your relationship, while you leave the devil, the real cause of your problems untouched. Of course the devil is happy at that and he sneaks away having left you wounded and your family broken down. He sneaks away looking for another family to tear apart. May you not fall prey to this serpent in Jesus’ name.
The devil may also play on your ignorance as a woman about the fact that the making of a man to become faithful, is in the hands of the Lord, (Prov. 20:6, Gen 2:8). Instead of knowing this and standing on it, praying day and night for the Lord to form and make your husband to be faithful and then fight the devil for making your husband to misbehave, many women use their woman power to try to change their husbands. That is a trick from the enemy. Your husband may at the moment, not be faithful in handling family finance or in the matter of women. Instead of praying and depending on God to change him, your reaction towards him only shows the devil that you do not really understand God’s word and God’s way out. So he comes to you with lies, telling you how your husband has been using family money to take care of his own people, leaving your own people uncared for. Or he may accuse him to you in another way. He may bring suspicion to your ear, how he is trying to run after other women. These accusations may be true or false. But whether true or false, what can you do to change a man? It is only God who makes a man to change his ways. He is the only one who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Until now, God is still in the business of making men. But since you would not understand this, the devil now comes to you with suggestions of what you can do to change him: “Stop opening up to him about all the money you have. Don’t tell him everything again”. Or “Starve him of sex or food so that he can recognize how valuable you are to him.” All these are lies. The devil also knows that human beings cannot change any man. He only uses that device so that your family can scatter. But he would not tell you his real agenda, which is to scatter your home. He hides it inside lies and when you swallow it, your home scatters and the devil achieves his aim.
Behind all the troubles in the home and, indeed, all interpersonal quarrels, is the enemy. Instead of facing a human being with quarrels and accusations, the right person to face and fight is the devil. Once the devil succeeded in deceiving the woman, causing her to push aside the word of God and believe a lie, he stopped speaking. He knew fully well that this fiery dart is potent enough to burn down all that God had built in their lives until it is completely burnt down. And so, having pushed aside God’s instruction, their defence was gone. The devil’s device started working.
“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. 3:6
The woman began to see in a different light. Her understanding of God changed. She saw what the devil said as ‘true’ and took a lie for the truth. Her defence was gone. She could no longer think rightly. She went ahead and gave the fruit to her unsuspecting husband. And he did eat. The devil succeeded in cutting them off from God and putting them against each other.
And The Result?
“He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.” Eccl. 10:8’
Their eyes were opened. Their eyes became opened not to know God but to the nakedness and emptiness of each other. The man started seeing the evil in his wife; likewise the wife saw the same in her husband. The serpent began to bite them. Before that time, they lived so much in love that they did not see evil in each other. Love covers a multitude of sins. They overlooked each other’s offence. They were not ashamed of each other. But as they yielded to Satan, trouble started. Each of them started to cover up. They sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. But they did not only cover up before each other but even before God. God came down to see them and give them an opportunity to recognize their sin, repent and return to the Lord. But they covered up. They hid themselves behind one of the trees in the garden. Next, they started accusing each other before God. Self defence started. And on and on, the problem multiplied and progressed from one stage to the other. Finally God drove them out of their estate; they lost communion with God and were driven out of the garden of Eden. The devil achieved his purpose.
Even today, many Christian homes have fallen prey to the devil this way. Once he succeeds in disguising himself, turning the man and his wife against each other, they may hide behind one of the trees in the garden, behind ministry, behind God’s gift etc, but the truth is that they have lost the glory of God. They fall out of God’s plan for their lives unless they repent, forgive each other and return to the Lord.
GOD’S WAY OUT
1. Understand what the will of the Lord is
If Adam and his wife were ignorant of the devil’s devices, they were not ignorant of God’s command. The Lord had said to the man:
“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.” Gen. 2:16-17.
If they had stuck to what God said, they would not have yielded to the devil’s temptation. You cannot obey God and the devil at the same time. You cannot possibly serve two masters at the same time.
“I say then: Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Gal. 5:16-17 NKJV)
“What I say is this; let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do” (Gal.5: 16-17 GNB)
Walking in the Spirit is the same as obeying what God commands. But there is another person inside that also seeks to control our lives. It is the flesh, our human nature, whose desires are contrary and completely opposed to the desires of the Spirit. The desires of the Holy Spirit and those of our human nature are mutually exclusive. Obeying one is the same as disobeying the other. In other words, if you obey what the Holy Spirit says, you have automatically disobeyed and overcome the flesh and the devil. If Adam had insisted on obeying what God commanded him, he would have overcome the devil automatically. No matter whom the devil tries to pass through to tempt him, familiar or unfamiliar, he would overcome if he had stuck to God’s instructions.
Be not ignorant of the devices of the devil. But much more, be not ignorant or forgetful of what the Lord wants you to do. Always remember and stick to what the will of the Lord is in relating with your wife or husband (Eph 5:17). You will not gratify the desires of the flesh or fall into the temptation of the devil.
2. Yield not to Temptation
As long as we are in the world, temptations will keep coming in different ways, at different points and in different degrees. Satan, our adversary does not go on leave. He keeps going here and there, up and down, to and fro, looking for someone to tear apart. And he always starts with a temptation. He is the tempter (Matt 4:1-3) who is never tired of making attempts to make us fall. He may start by giving you wrong suggestions to make you go a little bit contrary to God’s will. He may simply flash a small accusation into your heart against your spouse. Or he may lure you into outright sin, and cause confusion in your home, turning you against each other and against God. All these are aiming at the same thing. The aim is to devour your home, tear you apart as husband and wife, devour your life as individuals and devour your children. Even if any court of law succeeds in granting you divorce, it is only a further step of the devil to achieve his purpose and push you out of your real estate with God. You can never be completely whole again because a part of your bones and your flesh is cut off. Even if the wound heals, the scar will always be there and a scar is obviously not the same as normal skin. It is weaker. More than that, it leaves you with a defect physically, spiritually and character-wise. Rather than accuse each other, you must understand and tolerate each other and face your real enemy, the devil squarely. You may say, “But in this case, my wife (or my husband) did it deliberately. She (he) deliberately decided to maltreat me.” That is not really true. Even if he/she says that actually it was deliberate, it is still not true. If you look properly, the devil is behind the scene, fueling the situation, Your partner only happens to fall prey to his devices. Rather than accuse one another and be bitter against each other, pray for one another. Pray like Jesus did. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” The truth is that at the point your partner quarrels with you, he or she does not know what he/she was doing. The people of Jerusalem crucified him and said “Let His blood be upon us and upon our children.” That looks as if they did it deliberately. But Jesus knew that they did not know what they were doing. They did not know that they were being used by the devil to do the work. If they knew, they would have ran away from the devil. But Satan disguised himself and coiled around religion in order to get them to crucify Him. Yet they did not know. So Jesus prayed for them, not against them: ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”. No man is really our enemy here on earth. Our enemy is the devil. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers…” (Eph. 6:12)
Therefore, yield not to temptation. The result is normally more grievous than the temptation. Prevention is better than cure. If it is the problem of the flesh, your human nature that the devil uses to easily push you against your spouse, cry to God and overcome it quickly.
“No temptation has overtaken you, except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1Cor. 10:13)
Temptations to quarrel with each other, to accuse each other, to cover up issues from each other, to refuse going to bed with each other etc. may come. The devil has his own purpose for bringing them but God normally turns it to work together for our good if we take our stand and follow God’s way of escape. With every temptation that the devil brings, God normally provides a way of escape, showing how powerless the devil is and how great our God, is. Sincerely if you look very well and your heart is right towards God, you will always see a way of escape in every temptation. And you can escape and not yield. That is God’s will. Temptations are not to make you fall, but to make you strong. The devil brings it for your fall, but God turns it for your good. So you do not have to fall. You can take your stand based on the word of God and you will stand.
But this is not a message for sinners. A man who is living in sin has come short of the glory of God. He has no resistance, no immunity against sin and temptations, because God Is not yet on his side. Sin separates people from God; from God’s grace, help and assistance. The first thing to do is to come onto the Lord’s side and He shall be on your side. Repent of your sins and turn to Christ. Surrender to Him and make Him the Lord of your life. It is then you will have inner assistance from God and resistance against sin.
The sins or what you call mistakes and short comings you yield to in your home, are fiery darts and arrows of the devil against you and your family, and against the purpose of God for you. It may look very trivial, but it is potent enough to destroy all that you and God have been building for years. Yield not to temptation. It will affect you; it will affect your children. It will drive you out of God’s presence and purpose. But you may say “But I have already yielded. I came under severe pressure in my home, and I succumbed. My home has already scattered.” Your case is not difficulty to God. Even for you, there is a way of escape that God has already provided in your present situation. If you are willing, God will restore to you in double fold what the cankerworm and the caterpillar have eaten, God can reverse the situation. Humanly speaking, it may appear difficult. Like the disciples of old in Mark 10:26-27, you may say “who can be saved out of such a difficult Situation as mine?” But hear what Jesus says: “With man it is impossible, but not with God; for with God, all things are possible.” If you are willing to go through God’s own way of escape and you are obedient, you shall still eat of the good that God purposed to bring forth your home. But if you see unwillingness in your heart, pray that God should make you willing. As a child of God in such a situation, God’s word stands true “for whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world – our faith” 1 John 5:4. You are the one that will overcome it. It will not overcome you. Cast not away therefore your confidence in the Lord. It has a great recompense of reward.
Conclusion
No matter the joy and harmony with which you are relating together as a couple, never forget that there is someone at the corner, jealous and sad about your joyful situation. He is not happy about your oneness with God and with each other. He is Satan, the devil. Be not ignorant of his presence and his devices. But that is not to make you fearful but prepared and vigilant at all times to knock him out any time he comes to tempt you. More importantly, be not ignorant or forgetful of God’s promise that forms the bedrock of your home; His word that upholds you as a Christian and His will and plan concerning your home. Call it to remembrance always. It is the sword of the Spirit that you will use to overcome the devil’s tricks.
And yield not to temptation.
I. Yield not to temptation, for yielding is Sin
Each victory will help you, some other to win.
Fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue
Look ever to Jesus, He‘ll carry you through.
Ask the Saviour to help you
Comfort, strengthen and keep you
He is willing to aid you.
He will carry you through.
2. Shun evil companions, bad language disdain
God’s name hold in reverence, nor take it in vain
Be thoughtful and earnest, kind hearted and true
Look ever to Jesus, He’ ll carry you through.
3. To him that O’ercometh, God giveth a crown
Through faith we shall conquer, though often cast down
He who is our Saviour, our strength will renew
Look ever to Jesus, He’ll carry you through.
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