How Does Satan Attack Us?

[]RiSeN[]

Quite frankly, I don't care one bit. I keep my eyes on my Beloved God, where they belong. Period! God is my Satan be gone.

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I understand and agree with what you say. But surely the slave is not greater than the teacher? Even Jesus was tempted by the Devil. And how did Jesus resist the Devil? By, like you have said keeping his eyes on God. But how did he keep his eyes on God? It was in that he fully, accurately knew the will of his Father and could recognize the lies and deceptions of the Devil. Jesus was perfect. We are not. We see in a hazy outline and we know partially as Paul says in 1Cor 13:9-12. That is why Jesus and Paul and Peter and John say to 'Look out' not to be mislead(Mat 24:4, 24, 1John 1:8, 3:7, Luc 21:8, 1Cor 15:33, 6:9, Ga 6:7 2Tim 3:13). Because the Devil is deception, he is constanly transforming himself into an angel of light, and so are his followers(2Cor 11:14-15). That is why we must be on watch and keeping our senses. The OP is asking for examples of how we might be decieved.

 

[KCDAD]

I understand and agree with what you say. But surely the slave is not greater than the teacher? Even Jesus was tempted by the Devil. And how did Jesus resist the Devil? By, like you have said keeping his eyes on God. But how did he keep his eyes on God? It was in that he fully, accurately knew the will of his Father and could recognize the lies and deceptions of the Devil. Jesus was perfect. We are not. We see in a hazy outline and we know partially as Paul says in 1Cor 13:9-12. That is why Jesus and Paul and Peter and John say to 'Look out' not to be mislead(Mat 24:4, 24, 1John 1:8, 3:7, Luc 21:8, 1Cor 15:33, 6:9, Ga 6:7 2Tim 3:13). Because the Devil is deception, he is constanly transforming himself into an angel of light, and so are his followers(2Cor 11:14-15). That is why we must be on watch and keeping our senses. The OP is asking for examples of how we might be decieved.

How could Jesus have been tempted by some fallen angel? How could that devil have even come into the presence of the Son of God? He wasn't tempted by some devil but by his own humanity!

 

[]RiSeN[]

How could Jesus have been tempted by some fallen angel?

Read Matthew 4:1-11

How could that devil have even come into the presence of the Son of God?

Read Job 1:6-12

He wasn't tempted by some devil but by his own humanity!

Define your use of the word 'humanity'.

 

[WingsOfTheNeophyte]

humanity

perhaps in this case humanity is what makes us human,

it is the animal attractions, the unneeded wants, the doubt, the need for material things

Jesus was comfronted with all these things, and He overcame them, in this specific picture of Jesus getting tempted by an adversary, the adversary may well have been humanity (as defined above)

 

[KCDAD]

Read Matthew 4:1-11

Read Job 1:6-12

Define your use of the word 'humanity'.

I read all both of those passages as well as the ones where demons couldn't stand the presence of Jesus and begged for mercy. You, of course, believe in demons. Are they just too weak compared to THE devil to tempt or confront Jesus?
Humanity as defined above is a good definition.

 

[]RiSeN[]

I read all both of those passages as well as the ones where demons couldn't stand the presence of Jesus and begged for mercy. You, of course, believe in demons. Are they just too weak compared to THE devil to tempt or confront Jesus?
Humanity as defined above is a good definition.

Thank you for reading those passages. Yes I do believe they were infact to weak. I'm sure you know there are different types of angels occupying different positions in heaven, and some are more powerful than others. I think it quite reasonable that these demons, named 'Legion' were less powerful angels than Satan who was a very powerful angel before he 'fell'.

I do not believe it was his 'humanity' that tempted him. Since he was perfect, as Adam was, the temptation had to come from an external force as with Adam when Eve offered him to partake in the fruit. And Eve who was also perfect was decieved by the serpent, not her own nature. Man was created 'in the image of God'. If I dont bake and place the cookies on the table, logically, the kids cant eat them. Its like God had created a computer and installed all the perfect software for His buisness. It worked perfectly. The 'Godexec. error' only happened when the Devil installed his 'Trojan', which started to corrupt the files, causing the 'crash'. Jesus is the 'Anti-virus' which cleans up the system and allows the 'system reboot'.

 

[KCDAD]

Thank you for reading those passages. Yes I do believe they were infact to weak. I'm sure you know there are different types of angels occupying different positions in heaven, and some are more powerful than others. I think it quite reasonable that these demons, named 'Legion' were less powerful angels than Satan who was a very powerful angel before he 'fell'.

I do not believe it was his 'humanity' that tempted him. Since he was perfect, as Adam was, the temptation had to come from an external force as with Adam when Eve offered him to partake in the fruit. And Eve who was also perfect was decieved by the serpent, not her own nature. Man was created 'in the image of God'. If I dont bake and place the cookies on the table, logically, the kids cant eat them. Its like God had created a computer and installed all the perfect software for His buisness. It worked perfectly. The 'Godexec. error' only happened when the Devil installed his 'Trojan', which started to corrupt the files, causing the 'crash'. Jesus is the 'Anti-virus' which cleans up the system and allows the 'system reboot'.

See... that's where we disagree... I think someone can be perfect and still have temptations and doubts that come from within. You resfuse to accept your doubts and temptations as coming from within you... there MUST be a devil causing me to think these thoughts... yeah, that's not what Paul said... I do the things I hate and don't do the things I know I should... NO DEVIL... NO BLAME ON ANYONE BUT HIMSELF

 

[dlamberth]

But how did he keep his eyes on God?

You just asked the most important question in ones spiritual journey. How DOES one keep their eyes focued upon God? I submit that looking at Satan and trying to figure him out is not the way. That's because we human beings can not look at Satan and also look at God at the same time.

Now if looking at God we are able to see some part of us that is not looking directly at our Beloved, that needs to be worked on. If we find some part of us that constantly forgets God, the needs to be work on. But always, always, always, God must be totally in our sights..not Satan.

It was in that he fully, accurately knew the will of his Father and could recognize the lies and deceptions of the Devil.

What you describe looks more like the "results" of Jesus keeping His eyes upon the Father. What you described is not "how" to keep ones eyes upon the Father.

.

 

[]RiSeN[]

You just asked the most important question in ones spiritual journey. How DOES one keep their eyes focued upon God? I submit that looking at Satan and trying to figure him out is not the way. That's because we human beings can not look at Satan and also look at God at the same time.

I completely agree that one cannot slave for two masters.

Now if looking at God we are able to see some part of us that is not looking directly at our Beloved, that needs to be worked on. If we find some part of us that constantly forgets God, the needs to be work on. But always, always, always, God must be totally in our sights..not Satan.

I understand what you are saying. And I believe we might be saying the same thing in different words. Take the Bible, it is filled with the history of God's plan and prophesies. In the Bible we are given countless examples of others to learn from as to what pleases God and what does not. Some are examples of good and some of bad. Im I taking my eyes off of God simply by reading the bad examples? I certainly dont think so. And this is what I meant in my posts. God gave us 66 books to learn what pleases His and the tactics the Devil used to work against God and His people. I never said look to Satan.

What you describe looks more like the "results" of Jesus keeping His eyes upon the Father. What you described is not "how" to keep ones eyes upon the Father.

Ah but it is. It's one question: "Is this the will of God?" Look at the reaction of Jesus to Peter in Mat. 16:23: "But turning his back, he said to Peter: "Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you think not God's thoughts, but those of men."
Jesus, because of his accurate knowledge of God's will, immediately sees danger; he is offered something other than the will of God. Peter's want for security and the welfare of those he loves has been used against him. It clouded his judgement, God's will was no longer the first thing on his mind. Which is why Jesus tells him he is not thinking the thoughts of God.

In conclusion:
"For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Jesus Christ our Lord." -Romans 6:23
"This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent forth Jesus Christ" -John 17:3

Knowledge of God's will, just like Jesus, is the key to His kingdom.

 

[dlamberth]

Knowledge of God's will, just like Jesus, is the key to His kingdom.

Knowledge never saved anyone. Keeping ones eyes focused upon God does.

Jesus was much more than having "knowledge" of God's will...Jesus IS God's will!!! Spiritually, there is a world of difference between the two.

You brought up a great point...So How DOES one keep their eyes focused upon God? For us lovers of God, I'd think that exploring the depths of the answer to that question becomes our spiritual path.

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[]RiSeN[]

Knowledge never saved anyone. Keeping ones eyes focused upon God does.

Explain your statement "Keeping ones eyes on God.".

Your repeated ambiguous statement is starting to look more like mantra than allegory.

Of course gathering as much information as one can wont save. Its not meant in that sense. In the same way that I can gather every information on how to fix a car motor, but it wont get fixed unless I put the info into practice.

Jesus was much more than having "knowledge" of God's will...Jesus IS God's will!!! Spiritually, there is a world of difference between the two.

Thats an entirely different thread.

You brought up a great point...So How DOES one keep their eyes focused upon God? For us lovers of God, I'd think that exploring the depths of the answer to that question becomes our spiritual path.

Yes, thats what I'm saying.

 

[PacificPandeist]

I do not believe it was his 'humanity' that tempted him. Since he was perfect, as Adam was, the temptation had to come from an external force as with Adam when Eve offered him to partake in the fruit. And Eve who was also perfect was decieved by the serpent, not her own nature. Man was created 'in the image of God'. If I dont bake and place the cookies on the table, logically, the kids cant eat them. Its like God had created a computer and installed all the perfect software for His buisness. It worked perfectly. The 'Godexec. error' only happened when the Devil installed his 'Trojan', which started to corrupt the files, causing the 'crash'. Jesus is the 'Anti-virus' which cleans up the system and allows the 'system reboot'.

If man is made in the image of God, and man can be tempted, can God be tempted? And how is God's software, to continue the analogy, corruptible? Did God not foresee what Satan would do? Or is whatever Satan does part of God's plan?

//// Pacific PanDeist

 

[dlamberth]

Explain your statement "Keeping ones eyes on God.".

Really, I'm not trying to avoid your question, but I want to turn the question around and ask you, as a lover of God, how about you tell us what it means to you to have your eyes firmly fixed upon God.

Your repeated ambiguous statement is starting to look more like mantra than allegory.

For some, I can see how making God a reality in ones life IS an ambiguous venture. For others, God IS a reality and there’s nothing ambiguous about it.

Allegory? I see keeping ones eyes focused upon God as straight up reality so I’m not understanding the "allegory" comment.

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[paul123]

When ever I feel comfortable. When I don't struggle with any sins. When it feels I'm doing ok in God's eyes. This is when satan works. Not when we struggle. The struggle is God working on our side. That's how satan destroys me. By letting sink me real slow until I don't care cause I never felt myself slipping.

 

[PacificPandeist]

When ever I feel comfortable. When I don't struggle with any sins. When it feels I'm doing ok in God's eyes. This is when satan works. Not when we struggle. The struggle is God working on our side. That's how satan destroys me. By letting sink me real slow until I don't care cause I never felt myself slipping.

Friend, there are powerful tempatations to do wrong or think wrongly all around us every moment.... the worst are those that disguise themselves as right thinking, and appeal to our basest emotions-- like the bloodlust for human execution!!

//// Pacific PanDeist

 

[KCDAD]

Friend, there are powerful tempatations to do wrong or think wrongly all around us every moment.... the worst are those that disguise themselves as right thinking, and appeal to our basest emotions-- like the bloodlust for human execution!!

//// Pacific PanDeist

I love human execution. The flock needs to be culled.

 

[PacificPandeist]

I love human execution. The flock needs to be culled.

Sounds like you love eugenics....

//// Pacific PanDeist

 

[FLANDIDLYANDERS]

LOL.

Well, it is grace that saves us.

Dispute it, but its true. Not alot else matters, except love and freedom, and all the responsibility those imply.

 

[KCDAD]

Sounds like you love eugenics....

//// Pacific PanDeist

Eugenics? Is that the geeky guy in GREASE?

 

[PacificPandeist]

Eugenics? Is that the geeky guy in GREASE?

Eugenics is killing the weak purportedly to create a stronger race.... unless your point was about overpopulation as opposed to what kind of population we have....

I would think Satan would be all for any kind of activity that involves man killing man, whatever the excuse....

//// Pacific PanDeist