Netprophet’s Weblog

I recently had an epiphany of sorts after reading an interesting statement by a fellow Christian blogger concerning Satan. This friend suggested that Satan is not only an actual being but should also be viewed as a metaphoric symbol for evil (sin). This made a lot of sense to me as I considered these spiritual aspects of God, and His creation of the human spirit in His image.

In the beginning before the fall of man, which was caused by the choice to gain the knowledge of good and evil, man had a pure spiritual and physical link with the Divine. He walked with God in a communal relationship. After the fall however, man received more than just the simple knowledge of good and evil. By his disobedience to God, man unwittingly created both sin and the need for the law. Then, not only did he possess the spiritual likeness of God, he also carried the sin of his transgression and the spiritual knowledge and presence of evil. This rebellious action created what is Biblically referred to as the first death or the physical return to the dust of the earth.

Ejected from Paradise, man became a part of Satan’s realm both physically and spiritually. It is this spiritual connection with Satan that abides in the heart of mankind, and is in constant battle with the Spirit of God. Christ, by His death and resurrection, provided the way of reconciliation between God and man by covering man’s sin with His blood and allowing him the choice to be reborn of incorruptible Spirit, while dieing to corruptible flesh. This is the second birth, which leads to eternal life with the Holy Spirit, and has no death except for those who after accepting and understanding this truth, choose to reject this Holy Spirit offering. This is the second death.

Though man will still sin on occasion after his spiritual rebirth bringing sin’s natural consequences to the flesh, his spirit is held safely in the hand of God. 

Man is also thereafter, constantly reminded in his spirit that he will reap what he sows. The new nature brought by the Spirit will truly change one’s life. Our spirit will ache to please God and we will forever be seeking His truth and striving to live in the way of Christ’s teachings. This is God’s promise, and I believe it.

What do you think? Do you see Satan as only a spiritual being?  God shared His Spirit with mankind. By man’s choice to disobey God, did we not accept the spirit of evil into our being? 

I’ve spent the last year or so visiting hundreds of Internet blogs on religion and joined in countless discussions on what appears to be some of the most important questions concerning Christianity and it’s purpose in today’s World. What most of these discussions boil down to is a difference in Biblical interpretation, that for the most part, give those seeking a better understanding of the truth much to consider but very little in the way of resolution.

Though I feel it is very important for Christians to read and research the scriptures for the answers that effect their ultimate individual salvation, many of these intellectual discussions produce more questions than answers. When God sent mankind the Holy Spirit after Christ’s death and resurrection, it was for “comfort and teaching”, so why do we look elsewhere for these answers? Is it because the Spirit’s answers come too slowly, if at all?  Are we simply not sure that it is He who is answering?  Perhaps they are answers, which are not what we expect or want to hear.

All this confusion and intellectual speculation has been going on ever since the Church became the focal point of our relationship with God, somewhat eclipsing one of His greatest gifts given to us gentiles… the Holy Spirit.  Isn’t it time for us to recognize the only real truth the Bible has to offer us? The Bible is not the way that leads us to God. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. The Bible is simply a history of man’s struggles to rectify the relationship with God that was severed by sin. It is a guidebook, teaching some of God’s expectations and methodologies. It is the ‘Law’ that Satan uses to accuse us before God. Isn’t that why Jesus was sent by God to fulfill that law and provide us with a way to rekindle and develop a personal relationship with our Creator?

The Bible’s linguistic limitation is the foremost cause for division in the Body of Christ. It is what provides the ability to twist the Bible’s wording (language), and create a multitude of interpretations into meaning whatever the reader or teacher wants it to mean, which has in turn, helped create so many Denominations within the Body. It is what gives people the arrogance and audacity to claim their Church is the “one true Church of Christ”. Jesus never said only the Catholics, Baptists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, etc, would hear His voice and be saved, but these Christian sects all do. Shame on them!    

At this point you may be thinking, “Yes, but most all these Denominations share the same beliefs about Jesus being the Christ, and we are all truly united in this belief, the most important of all Doctrines.” This doesn’t change the fact that many young Christians are being taught to concentrate on their loyalties to the Church rather than on their service to God, which is defined by Jesus as simply following the two commandments He referenced in Mathew 22:37-40. Does anything else really matter? Apparently so! Because people are still hungry, in need of clothes and shelter. The elderly are struggling, the poor are neglected and the “Good News” has been embellished.

It is fine to ask questions and seek answers but when those questions divide and distract us from the “Good News”, they become Satan’s greatest weapon. Has Christ become a mere mind-set? Is He no longer the Way, the Truth and the Life?