Eve, Jesus, and the Battle Within

Our world seems to be spinning out of control these days. What’s wrong is right and what’s right is wrong. I can’t even count on two hands how many times I’ve heard this from people this week alone. Furthermore, it’s getting harder and harder to know what to believe. With lies breeding fear and uncertainty circulating on just about every media outlet there is, there is a heaviness in the air, and I believe everyone feels it. Sometimes I feel like Paul when he says to the church of Corinth, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed...” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9), and things are only getting started.

Now is a crucial time in history for the church - for you, follower and abider in Christ and for me. Now is when the church must start believing what we read in scripture – God's Word. The ruler of the world knows his time is almost out and the King will be returning soon on clouds of glory. The time for Jesus’ ambassadors here on earth to stop believing Satan’s lies and deceptions is here. In order to help us out a little bit, I thought it would be fitting to learn from examples in scripture of what this looks like played out. So, go, grab your Bible and let’s open it. Together we’re going to study Eve, Jesus, and the battle within.

Adam and Eve didn’t have the Bible like we have today because (we can assume from the text) that they could audibly hear God speak. This was pre sin. His spoken command to them is found in Genesis 2:16-17. This was the directive and it was clear. This was God’s Word. If you read Genesis 3:1-3, what is the first thing the serpent, who we can assume is Satan, says to Eve? Did God really say that? Notice how he puts doubt into her mind by his question. Doesn’t this happen to us today - when doubt starts creeping into our heart and our mind - and we start questioning if the truth can really be trusted? I know this happens to me...a lot! The enemy loves to make us question if what God’s told us is true. And once that doubt takes root, we start believing the lie. What’s interesting is, Eve, by her response, knew what God had told her because she repeated it to the serpent. But the question is, did she believe what God had told her? We can know God’s word, we can have it memorized from front to back, but if we don’t believe God’s word we’ve lost the battle. So how do we not only know God’s Word but believe God’s Word?

Once the doubt had rooted itself in Eve’s mind, it didn’t take long for the crafty serpent to prey on Eve’s fleshly desires. We find in Genesis 3:4-6 his method prevailed. In v. 4 he completely flips the truth by telling Eve that she won’t die. We have to remember that Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44). There is no truth in him. He’s the original liar and his methodology hasn’t changed much from the beginning of time. 

I believe the majority of the battles we face today take place in the mind. The Bible tells us that from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). There is a huge heart/mind correlation. Believing something starts in your heart/mind, and then your actions follow. Unfortunately for Adam and Eve, as well as the rest of mankind, their actions proved that they believed the lie. We continue to believe lies today.

BUT GOD.

Read Matthew chapter 4:1-4 and see how mankind's Redeemer combated the temptation when confronted. Notice how here, the devil is called something different. He’s called the “tempter” because that’s exactly what he does - he tempts. He demands that if Jesus is who He says He is then He can turn the stones to bread. Keep in mind Jesus was on day 40 of no food. I don’t know about you, but if I had the power to turn some stones into bread, I just might’ve done it by this point. But notice how Jesus answers the tempter. He goes straight to God’s Word and demolishes the enemy’s request with it. Not only did He know His Father’s Words, but He believed them because He had just finished living 40 days with His only sustainment being from God. God presented Jesus with a test to trust and believe what He already knew. And spoiler alert, Jesus passed. Do you think God presents us with tests also?

Read Matthew 4:5-11. Look how the tempter uses scripture to try and lure the Son of God to take the bait. This is where we really need to pay attention because this shows us that the enemy knows the word of God also. The bible tells us that not only is Satan the father of lies, but he also disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). I believe Satan loves to present us with truth when in all actuality it’s almost truth. This suggestion from the tempter would have sounded great to an untrained ear, but Jesus knew better than to tempt God. We see by His response that Satan’s idea was just off. So far we’ve seen that Satan plants doubt, flat out lies, uses our fleshly desires to his advantage, and even uses the word of God, itself, to tempt us into sin. The third temptation by the tempter, in v. 9, is another attempt to swipe at Jesus’ flesh. Pride. “All these things I will give to You, if you fall down and worship me” (v. 9). By this point, the tempter’s “curiosity” as to whether or not Jesus was the Son of God seemed to dissipate. Convenient, Satan. Now he was just going straight in for the kill. No playing angel anymore! But check out how Jesus responds...once again He uses the word of God and displays His belief in it by standing firm and resisting the devil – submitted to God entirely. James 4:7 says if we submit to God and resist the devil, he will flee. That’s a promise my friends!

The word of God is our weapon and it is sharper than any two-edged sword. We must not only know it, but believe it and use it to stand firm and overcome by the blood of Jesus. Our past experiences of how God sustained us through seasons of trial and temptation can certainly be an indicator of how He’ll sustain you in the future. Jesus is the same yesterday, tomorrow, and forever more. Remember that the next time temptation comes your way, and watch the heaviness dissipate. It's time church!