Lesson 3: Man and Satan

A. MAN – THE IMAGE OF GOD – MADE TO HAVE DOMINION

 

God had a great purpose for creating humanity, both male and female. He envisioned a beautiful plan for them. As the embodiment of love, God sought to make mankind who shared His thoughts and feelings with whom He could share His existence—everything that defines Him and encompasses His endeavors—so that they could govern the heavens and the earth alongside Him as His children. Thus, He created humankind in His own likeness.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” Genesis 1:26-27

B. LUCIFER

 

Before the creation of the heavens and the earth, God brought forth many marvelous creations, among which were the angels—spiritual beings designed to carry out His divine will. These angels continuously worship and serve God, as seen in Revelation 5:11-14. However, Lucifer, one of the chief angels, chose to rebel against God, seeking to usurp His authority and rule over creation from a position above God’s throne in heaven. In response to Lucifer’s rebellion, God cast him out of heaven. Alongside him, a third of the angels who followed his lead were also expelled. This event is described in Revelation 12:4.

“How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star [Lucifer], son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth, you who once lid low the nations! “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High’” Isaiah 14:12-14

Lucifer was cast to the earth, where he is known as ‘Satan’ or ‘The Devil.’ Being cut off from the radiant splendor of the Creator, he forfeited the beauty and illumination he once possessed, as mentioned in Ezekiel 28:11-17, and became consumed by darkness and malevolence.

The angels who fell alongside him similarly lost their glory and transformed into wicked spirits in the newly formed world of God.

However, Satan’s malevolent aspirations remained unchanged, leading him to devise another scheme in an attempt to unlawfully seize God’s throne. Consequently, he turned his attention towards the man whom God had brought into existence.

C. THE TEMPTATION

God entrusted the first human beings, Adam and Eve, with authority over all of creation and instructed them to maintain His dominion over the earth.

To protect them from Satan and his evil spirits, God placed two vital trees in the garden where they lived. These were named “The Tree of Life” and “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” (see Genesis 2:9, 17).

The Tree of Life symbolized God’s own life and authority, and by consuming its fruit, Adam and Eve would be increasingly filled with His strength, love, and glory. Adversely, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil symbolized Satan’s life and authority; as long as Adam and Eve refrained from eating its fruit, they remained safe from the evil spirits that roamed the earth.

Their dominion over all of creation would be theirs forever, as long as they obeyed their loving Creator, God (Hebrews 2:8).

“ The Lord God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’”  Genesis 2:15-17

However, Satan deceived Eve. He told her the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil wasn’t really bad—rather it would make them like gods. She believed the lie and ate the fruit of the tree.

Adam, although he knew it was a lie, also ate of the tree. 1 Timothy 2:14.

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” Genesis 3:6

 

D. THE RESULT

Through that fateful act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden, humanity irrevocably lost the glory that once illuminated their existence, destroying the intimate fellowship with God and relinquishing their divinely appointed dominion over creation.

In the void left by Adam and Eve’s choice, Satan seized the opportunity to ascend to the throne and exert his malign influence over the earth, thereby ushering in a torrent of chaos and despair. With this cosmic shift, death and suffering infiltrated the world, fundamentally altering the divine order set in motion at creation.

The consequences of that singular moment echoed throughout history as humanity grappled with the loss of sacred connection, purpose, and the right to steward the world as intended by their Creator.

Hebrews 2:14-15.

“… sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because [in Adam] all sinned… ” Romans 5:12

All the generations following Adam and Eve have inherited their fallen nature.

All have come under the power and dominion of Satan.

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath” Ephesians 2:1-3

People’s hearts everywhere are now filled with:

1. Idolatry

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave their thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of God for images made to look like mortal man and bird and animals and reptiles” Romans 1:21-23

2. Immorality

“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another.

Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion” Romans 1:24-27

3. All Kinds Of Wickedness

“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but also approve of those who practice them” Romans 1:28-32

E. GOD’S GREAT PLAN TO RESTORE

God did not abandon humanity because of sin. On the contrary, He initiated a remarkable plan to save mankind from the clutches of Satan and restore humanity to its original purpose of being His children and sharing in His glory. He set the stage for the arrival of the Savior – Jesus.

“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” 1Corinthians 15:22

The New Testament records the story of Christ, the One Who would come to save us from our sins.