The Ways of Satan

Understanding the Ways of Satan

Know the Enemy

A lot of believers in Jesus have very little to no knowledge of the enemy who we refer to as Satan, Lucifer, the Devil, or the evil one. We read in the gospels how Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the tempter (devil) in Matthew 4:3-11.

“And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou ye the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of god, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”

We notice from the above verses that Satan is a tempter he tempts us to do actions that pleases and/or feels good to the flesh. We read in Genesis 3:1-7, how Satan, known as the serpent, tempted Eve. We read in the first verse that the serpent was subtle. Genesis 3:1, Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made…” Subtle is synonymous of the word “clever”, and the antonym of subtle is the word “obvious”.

Eve was deceived through the words of the serpent. The fruit was pleasant to the eyes, it brought forth pride assuming one could be as gods; it appeared to bring about much wisdom. All of these aspects soothed Eve and she did eat. 

Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

When we think about Satan and the ways of Satan we cannot think obvious. As followers of Jesus we must be wiser than the serpent. Although God made Satan more subtle and more magnificent than any other beast or creature of the field, God created us in His image.

Sometimes as believers we are looking for actions and signs that are obvious; but Satan doesn’t work that way. Satan is very smart, wise, subtle and cunning and as Jesus said in Matthew 24:24, that the deception is so great even the very elect are almost deceived.

There is a great deception in the world today; a very great deception; orchestrated by Satan himself the master planner.  Jesus said, in Mark 13:5-6, “…Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Jesus didn’t say only a few will be deceived He said many.

Now when Jesus says, “many will say I am Christ” no person is literally saying, “I am Christ or I am Jesus,” with the exception of a few, but not many people are literally walking around stating they are the Christ or Jesus. Once again, that would be an obvious sign and an obvious deception. Many today are claiming to love and follow Jesus and claiming to be Christians and at the same time deceiving many with false doctrines and false teachings and false worldly perceptions.

For instance, let’s look at worldly deceptions. If someone says, “I love this world I never want to leave I don’t want Jesus to return now. This world is great. God loves this world and God Bless America!” That is giving a false worldly perception. This world is not great. There are homeless people on the street, an increase in crime, thousands and thousands of abortions each month, fatal diseases, injustice imprisonment, inhumane acts performed by our military, poor leadership in governments and so much more.

If anyone believes or teaches that God the Creator of All will embrace such acts is misleading the people…this is deception. It’s a deception that is very subtle. The enemy has a lot of Christians believing that this is it. Believing this world is all there is and with that perception they embrace the cares and lusts of this world and when that happens a person is deceived.But perhaps I would do the same If I Were the Devil 

Satan is clever, wise and cunning. The spirit of Satan works through people. The spirit of Satan can not function unless it has a body and a voice to function through. And as followers of Jesus we must be able to recognize when the spirit of Satan has entered your presence. No, this won’t be a sudden shift in temperature in the room; it won’t be a slight breeze in the air, or the breaking of glass or the pounding on the door it-will-be-subtle. I can’t stress that enough—Satan is subtle. You rarely will see a snake until it is right there ready to strike.

As a South Florida resident I can attest to the fact of never hearing or seeing a snake until I happened to look down and there it was. And the key word here is look. I looked and realized a snake was near. I know longer had blinders on my eyes and all of my senses and awareness became heightened. And today, I am able to recognize a snake at a distance by tuning in and observing my surroundings.

As followers of Jesus we all should be—watching and staying awake at all times. I Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeing whom he may devour.” We must always be aware when the adversary’s spirit has entered the room.

Have you ever walked into a room and could feel the tension between family, co-workers or friends who have been at odds for a while or a brief moment? The spirit of Satan is similar. As followers of Jesus we will be able to feel his presence.

It is very immature for believers to actually believe the spirit of Satan can’t enter our parents, children, siblings, friends or loved ones. Because Satan knows what makes us tick and gets us upset and fall short of the glory of God thus, who else to use other than your closest relative or friends. Satan would rarely use a stranger to get underneath your skin.

Remember, Satan is clever and wise and cunning. Anyone who dismisses and believes their family is full of Saints and there is no way the spirit of Satan would enter one of them…then sadly, that person clearly does not understand the ways of Satan and more than likely has had their share of deception and is still more likely being deceived in some way, shape or form by the enemy.

One thing Satan loves for you to do is discredit his abilities. Once you discredit his abilities he can then deceive you. If you do not believe Satan can make fire fall from the heavens—you will be deceived. If you don’t believe Satan can perform such wonders on this earth working through people—you will be deceived. If you believe Satan is an ugly beast with horns and red tights—you will be deceived.

If you don’t believe you can be deceived—then you will be deceived; for the spirit of pride has entered your vessel. Jesus said His very elect would be deceived had He not shortened the days. If Jesus said the deception is great and you’re filled with pride stating you can’t be deceived then you’re calling Jesus a liar and you have already been deceived.

This article is really simply touching upon the ways of Satan. This article is the first of many that will focus on the ways of Satan. It only makes sense for followers of Jesus to know their enemy. In any sport, professional or other, do they not study the ways of their opponents and base their strategies on their opponent’s techniques? Sure they do! As followers of Jesus, we must do the same?

Matthew 10:16, Jesus says, “…be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”

This does not mean we walk in the ways of Satan; for Satan’s goal is to kill, steal and destroy. Anyone that exhibits any of the above three (kill, steal, destroy) has the spirit of Satan or the mark of Satan within them. A person can kill another’s confidence, steal their joy and happiness and cause destruction of another’s soul through deception. The three can also be taken literally. A person can kill another, a person can steal material possessions, and a person can destroy people and property by many means. Anyone that does any of the three has the spirit of Satan or the mark of Satan within them at that time.

The deception is all around us. As followers of Christ we must be watchful and awake and sober in order to fight the spiritual battle that is upon us all.

Ephesians 6:12, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Related Article: If I Were the Devil