DISCERNING THE WORKS OF THE FATHER AND THE WORKS OF SATAN

Those of you who can hear the voice of the Father, never give up. Even though the world does not hear Him, stand your ground. Do not be ashamed of the only gospel that can save the souls of men. As John writes, the world is under the power of the wicked one, but we who know the truth have left earthly things to be united with the Father. For a brief period, you might feel like a solitary desert without water, but in the day of your visitation, you will be filled with joy beyond measure.

By now, we should know that the story of Adam and Eve is a riddle. It explains how man has descended from the glory of God (paradise) and is subject to vanity (dust). Yes, this is the reality. Men of this age are subject to vanity and have become slaves to corruption. Do not be fooled by outward appearances: all men live in an experience called hell and death, where there is no knowledge of God.

There is no knowledge of God in this present world. What people thought to be God was only a product of man’s darkened imagination. God cannot be known externally; knowing God is experiencing Him, not some form of mental exercise.

In the parable of the Garden of Eden, we see how Satan lures man away from his celestial state in Eden. In the garden experience, Adam is clothed in the Awareness of the I AM. It is the omnipotent state of the Son of God who declares, “I live from age to age.” In this state of perfection, there is no trace of death. All this is lost as man is deceived by Satan (the Serpent). The sense of nakedness and subsequent shrinking away from the light is what we were all subject to in our human experience.

Satan is the spirit of this age, where there is no knowledge of God. It is the spirit of natural man who is unable to know the things that belong to the knowledge of God. It is the spirit that dominates the world and both religious and secular systems. Many do not know that it is the same mind of Satan, operating through religious men, that killed Jesus because they were unable to recognize Him. If they had recognized Him, they would not have crucified Him.

The spirit of Satan induces men to conform to the earthly world, while the Spirit of God elevates them to dwell in the Spirit.

In the following verses, we see the mind of the Father (the Spirit) and the mind of Satan at work.

Matthew 16:13-23 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Here we see two contradicting voices. One reveals the mystery of the Son of God and gives the key of the kingdom from the Father. The other voice does not know the mystery of the Son of God, it is not aware of the things of God but rather fixed on the things of men. This represents the voice of Satan, the prince of darkness.

In an instant, Peter was called blessed and shortly afterward, he was rebuked. We ought to be able to recognize the voice of the Father and walk single-mindedly in relation to the Father. The voice of God liberates you from sinful human sense and lifts you into the state of the Almighty. On the contrary, the voice of Satan ensnares, reduces you to a mortal man of the dust, and binds and enslaves you to the beggarly elements of this carnal realm.

Let us not flatter ourselves; we must let go of the abominable life of the flesh to see true rich life in God. The Father’s will is that we live in the revelation of His beloved Son, which He has revealed within ourselves. Yes, we are sons of the living God, whose existence is before time and space. Sons of God are from above and not beneath. Sons of God are not mere mortals; they are one body with the eternal Father, God.

Peace.