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Satan is a very real being.
The whispers of Satan are very real too.
Satan does not force you to sin.
What he does is suggest that you want to sin.
Satan points out all the good reason there are to sin.
When Satan tempted Jesus, it was a very real being tempting Jesus to do a sin.
Satan appealed to the flesh of Jesus.
To our body's need for food,
To his fleshly need for power that human's share.
He also appealed to the human desire for the respect of this world...
The temptation were very real, and the victory over them also was very real.
If satan is a real being that stands alone then we have a problem with scripture. Because scriptures tell us that temptation is when LUST are owned by us:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Furthermore, it is what comes out of the man that defiles him and not what goes in. So how is Satan accused if Satan stands alone. For one Satan would have to be SUBJECT to the Law to begin with. I have no verses in scripture that ever say the Law came to Satan. So how can Satan sin if satan is a separate being? Additionally, we know the scriptures make a distinction of who gets subject to the law for the Gentiles were not given the law but only what is known to do right is a law unto them. So why would God completely ignore the commandment to Satan to follow the law if the very purpose of Jesus was to come and destroy His works? The ONLY conclusion I can see is that Satan is the disobedient nature of MAN. Man does have record of being given the law. Where there is no Law there is no sin.
No
The teaching is that Satan is a real angel that fell and now works to try to break down the plans of God.
Satan is a very real creature,,,powerful but not all powerful.
Satan speaks to us in many ways, in an attempt to get us to sin.
satan cant make us sin...nor can Satan cause our hearts to stray from God.
What Satan does is suggest good reasons to sin...
Satan suggests that the Law if in error.
Satan suggests the idea that we believe that God's word cant be trusted, or that "Everyones doing it"
Satan makes his appeal to our flesh...
are we hungry?...do we see a nice girl that is not our wife?...do we seek the cheers of the many?
Satan will suggest that we can get these things and God cant stop us, or even care.
No
The teaching is that Satan is a real angel that fell and now works to try to break down the plans of God.
Satan is a very real creature,,,powerful but not all powerful.
Satan speaks to us in many ways, in an attempt to get us to sin.
satan cant make us sin...nor can Satan cause our hearts to stray from God.
What Satan does is suggest good reasons to sin...
Satan suggests that the Law if in error.
Satan suggests the idea that we believe that God's word cant be trusted, or that "Everyones doing it"
Satan makes his appeal to our flesh...
are we hungry?...do we see a nice girl that is not our wife?...do we seek the cheers of the many?
Satan will suggest that we can get these things and God cant stop us, or even care.
That is just bunk. It has no scriptual support. But I will challenge you. Since sin is the transgression of the law. Then you tell me where Satan is given the requirement to follow the law? Surely since Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan, you will be able to show me where Satan was given to the law to follow.
What else can "weakness of the flesh" refer to if it isn't something spiritual? And if it is spiritual then of whose spirit is it?
Paul
My understanding is that weakness of the flesh refers to our innate desire to satisfy the needs of our physical body but it could also go beyond that into mental needs such as to feel wanted, liked, loved, important, etc. Those are not sin in themselves. Jesus said the the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. So those are opposing forces and only one is called a spirit.
I would tend to not call weakness of the flesh a spirit. For example, hunger is a weakness of the flesh while gluttony is a spirit. The desire to be comfortable rather than uncomfortable is a weakness of our flesh, but the mind consumed with providing comfort to the body is a spirit.
Last edited by Thy Kingdom Come; 08-02-2009 at 08:26 PM..
My understanding is that weakness of the flesh refers to our innate desire to satisfy the needs of our physical body but it could also go beyond that into mental needs such as to feel wanted, liked, loved, important, etc. Those are not sin in themselves, but to satify those needs at the expense of obeying God is when it becomes sin. Jesus said the the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. So those are opposing forces. Whether that weakness of the flesh can be called an opposing spirit.... I tend to doubt that, but I'm not sure.
The reason I would tend to not call that a spirit: Take comfort. It is an innate human desire to prefer being confortable over being uncomforatable. We can not do much about that basic trait of our nature. By itself that trait is a weakness but not a sin and I would not call that a spirit any more than I'd call hunger a spirit. But if the desire for confort conceives into lust and grows to consume our mind and become the focus of our lives then that is a sin and a spirit and a carnal mind. Likewise hunger is not a spirit but gluttony is a spirit.
But hunger is a spirit. It is a spiritual attribute. Anything born in the mind pertains to spirit. Anything that is a personality trait or emotion or desire is a spirit. Even slumber is a spirit, so why not hunger?
Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear unto this day.
But hunger is a spirit. It is a spiritual attribute. Anything born in the mind pertains to spirit. Anything that is a personality trait or emotion or desire is a spirit. Even slumber is a spirit, so why not hunger?
Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear unto this day.
Paul
Could be Paul. But I can see a big difference between hunger and a spirit of slumber. Hunger pertains to the physical body. Slumber there does not refer at all to physical sleep. A spirit of slumber refers to a way of thinking (spirit) that makes one spiritually asleep and unable to hear the truth. Hunger is not really a way of thinking. Gluttony is a way of thinking.
A "sin" is to fall short from what God would want.
To lie is to sin
Does Satan sin?
Yes, he is said to be the father of lies.
a murderer from the beginning.
Satan is an angel...I think I remember he was one of the most important angels up to the moment he fell.
At this time Satan is busy working to break up the plans of God.
Satan is a real being, a real angel.
Satan is powerful, but he is not all powerful.
Satan is not everywhere...
All our sins do not stem from the whispers of Satan.
Satan is not behind every sin we do....
Satan is said to roam the world looking for things to cause pain and death with.
This means that Satan is limited in that he is not everywhere at the same time,
He is not in every human heart.
He roams...
Could be Paul. But I can see a big difference between hunger and a spirit of slumber. Hunger pertains to the physical body. Slumber there does not refer at all to physical sleep. A spirit of slumber refers to a way of thinking (spirit) that makes one spiritually asleep and unable to hear the truth. Hunger is not really a way of thinking. Gluttony is a way of thinking.
But hunger is an attribute of thought. It isn't something that exist as material.
Glutton is a spiritual attribute also.
I'm actually a bit perplexed Bob for I always thought you knew what a spirit was.
Paul
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unto this day. 
