Editor’s Note
One aspect of the Total Truth that has been challenging for many Christians to accept is the concept that prior to containing Christ’s Spirit at our salvation, we were containers expressing the spirit of Satan (joined to the human spirit at the Fall). In fact, in a 2009 poll conducted by Barna Group*, found that 40% of self-identified Christians (not specifically “born-again”) strongly believed that Satan was not even a real being, but simply a symbol of evil. Taking that view requires ignoring a good deal of the Bible, as it has much to say about who Satan is and how he operates. Satan would love for everyone to continue on deceived about him, but God’s light shines out to expose the truth.
This issue of The Intercessor is meant to show Satan for who he is. It focuses on how Satan came into existence, the lies he uses to deceive mankind, and his place in God’s sovereign plan to bring about “a vast company of sons” as joint heirs with Christ.
The lead article, “We Have Been Deceived About Ourselves,” taken from Norman Grubb’s Yes, I Am, exposes the root lie by which Satan has blinded mankind—saved and unsaved, alike. Norman leads us through a biblical journey of discovery clearly presenting what the Scriptures say about who we are before and after salvation.
“The Origin of Evil” explores where evil came from—but more importantly, who evil/sin is and how he operates. An excerpt from Page Prewitt’s booklet: “Life: The What, The Who, The Why,” provides a wonderfully practical explanation of how Satan tricks us using our thoughts and feelings and how to avoid this sin trap.
In a fresh personal testimony, entitled “Found,” Marian Kinahan shares how her feelings of being “lost” pushed her to need answers in her life. Through a Christian friend, Marian accepted Jesus as her Savior. Over time, His Spirit shed light on specific areas of unbelief/sin, and through confession and repentance, she was able to “out” Satan from her life and “walk in the light” as a clean vessel. By continuing to affirm the truth that she was not an “alone I,” but in a spirit-union with Jesus Christ, Marian found “a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11) and true fellowship with God and His people.
Two more Norman Grubb articles round out this issue’s focus. “Man’s Unlearned Lesson” tackles the implications of the Fall and what it teaches us about ourselves today. As Norman says, “Man must understand himself,” and so he sets out to “help mixed-up Christians sort things out!”
And “No Such Thing as Independent Self,” taken from Norman’s booklet, “To All Christians…It’s As Simple as This,” furthers the discussion of how God fulfilled His designed purpose for mankind through Satan’s permanent choice of disobedience. “Because we are God’s sons and His means of expressing Himself in the universe,” says Norman, “we have to learn and drink to its bitter depths that great lie of the independent self.” But Satan has always been merely “God’s convenient agent” to develop “not only saved, but safe sons…by whom He would manage and develop by inheritance the universe, together with His Son.” (Heb. 1:2; Rom. 8:14).
In “Bible Bedrock,” highlighting 2 Corinthians 5:21, Norman explains that salvation, in totality, delivers us not only from the outer “product” of sin—our sins, but also rids us of the “producer” of sin—Satan.
Continuing to build on biblical insights into Satan’s lies and the Total Truth, this issue’s “Q and A” feature addresses reader inquiries about the qualities of Satan and the extent of authority God has given him in this world, as well as a question on the role sin plays in our lives.
In addition, we’ve provided a special resource: “What does the Bible Say About Satan,” a compilation of Scriptures for your reference. It is a powerful tool, collecting all in one place what God reveals about the Enemy.
Please use this issue of The Intercessor to add knowledge and clarify your understanding of the devil. Praise God that once we are born-again, Satan can never get back to our spirit-center! And remember, as he pulls at us and tempts us from the outside, we thank and praise Jesus Christ that He has joined Himself to us—one spirit—so it is He, in/as us, who can withstand the Evil One: “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). We are He, and we trust Him alone to live victoriously through us!
*www.barna.com
