How Does Satan Attack Us? — The Lust of the Flesh (1 John 2:16)
Spiritual Questions with Scriptural Answers.
There is no debate regarding the sinister motives of our adversary, the devil. He is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44), a thief (John 10:10), and hates everything that is good, holy, and right.
He has many tools in his arsenal that he uses such as creating doubt (Gen. 3:1), questioning truth (Matt. 4:3), and through his influence, tempting all of humanity to turn their back on God. He has been very successful as so many today reject the grace of God by turning to the passions and pleasures of the world.
With this article, we begin a three-part series that will hopefully help us be more aware of satan’s tactics that we may be better prepared to fight against him (2 Cor. 2:11; Eph. 6:10-18; 1 Pet. 5:8-9).
The Bible teaches us that throughout history, Satan has gone after individuals directly. In fact, there are three specific occasions mentioned in Scripture.
Satan and Eve.
First, Satan went directly to Eve causing her to question what she had been told by God:
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “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.’ ” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 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.” 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. 3:1-6).
She gave in and sinned (Jas. 1:13-15). As John describes the three-fold tactic of Satan (“lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”), Moses, by inspiration, wrote that Eve gave in to all three!
She SAW the fruit that it was good for food (FLESH) and desirable to make one wise (PRIDE). Amazing that the same operation is circulating as we speak!
Satan and Jesus.
Second, we read where Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). The devil tempted Jesus directly and appealed to the “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”
He tempted Jesus to “turn the stones into bread” (lust of the flesh).
He tempted Jesus by showing Him the kingdoms of the world (lust of the eyes).
He tempted Jesus by misquoting Psalm 91 and trying to ensure Jesus that nothing would happen to Him if He threw Himself down (pride of life).
Satan and Job.
Third, Satan attacked Job personally and directly.
God limited satan because God is more powerful, but He did allow satan to test Job (Job 1-2). God was not the source of the evil afflicted on Job, but satan certainly was. He is good at what he does and his motive is always evil.
Today, Satan does not use a direct approach because that would give him more power than God! God doesn’t directly work upon anyone; rather, the Gospel pricks the hearts of men and helps to transform behavior (Acts 2:22-41; Rom. 12:1-2).
Satan Uses the Lust of the Flesh.
Satan, through his influence, uses the three-fold attack plan to find victims: Lust of the flesh (what we desire in the body), lust of the eyes (the “windows to the soul”), and the pride of life (consider Proverbs 16:18).
As we live in the flesh, we must fight against fleshly desires and lusts as they “war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11-12). Satan wants us to give in and enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, but God desires for us to be holy and to “walk in the Spirit” that we may not “walk in the flesh:”
“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).
By being aware of Satan’s tactic to entice us to give into fleshly lusts, may we remember that God’s people are to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (i.e follow what God has revealed in the Bible and live in harmony with His will) (Rom. 8:1-2).
Next time, we will take a closer look at the second of the three-fold attack: “Lust of the eyes.”
Drew Suttles is a minister for the Quitman church of Christ in Quitman, Georgia, and one of my best friends in this world. They live-stream all their Bible classes and sermons on their YouTube channel.
Drew also hosts the “Weathering the Storm” podcast on the Scattered Abroad Network. Drew talks about facing life’s challenges as a child of God. His podcast will be a blessing to your life.
 | A guest post by
|