FROM FEAR TO LOVE

THE PROCESS OF SALVATION

How to Really Live and Love

Through Moving Away From a Spirit of Fear
Towards the Spirit of Love

by

Scott Werdebaugh, M.A.

COPYRIGHT REFERENCES AND INFORMATION

FROM FEAR TO LOVE: THE PROCESS OF SALVATION How to Really Live and Love
Through Moving Away From a Spirit of Fear Towards the Spirit of Love. Copyright
December 2014, by Scott Werdebaugh and Published by Outskirts Press, Inc.,
10940 S. Parker Rd 515 Parker, CO 80134 - All Rights Reserved.

(Space Reserved for ISBN Number and Bar Code.)

NOTE: Biblical quotes, all editorial notes, resource, and other reference material
throughout this work, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the Revised Standard
Version as found in the HARPER STUDY BIBLE / THE HOLY BIBLE: Revised Standard
Version; Edited by Harold Lindsell, Ph.D., D.D., Zondervan Publishing House, Grand
Rapids, Michigan, 1964/1965. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
Selected Scripture quotations, noted by RSV as the source following each quotation,
are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952,
and 1971, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of
America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Also, other Scripture included in this book are taken from the King James Version,
noted by KJV, and the New American Standard Bible, noted by NASB, follow each
Biblical reference, and both are Used by Permission.
Selected Scripture quotations and references, noted by KJV as the source following
each quotation or reference, are taken from The Scofield Reference Bible THE HOLY
BIBLE Containing the Old and New Testaments AUTHORIZED KING JAMES VERSION,
Copyright 1909, 1917 and Copyright Renewed, 1937, 1945 by OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK, INC. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
For use within the United Kingdom only: Scripture quotations and references
are taken from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized
Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by
permission of the Crowns patentee, Cambridge University Press.
NOTE: Most Scripture quotations and references in this book, noted by NASB as the
source following each quotation or reference, are taken from the New American
Standard Bible Reference Edition as published by Creation House, Inc., Carol
Stream, Illinois and Copyright by THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION, 1960, 1962, 1963,
1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 - A Corporation Not for Profit, La Habra,
Calif. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved. (www.Lockman.org)
Other quotations in this work, unless otherwise noted, are taken from these sources:
Taken from THE MIND CHANGERS: The Art of Christian Persuasion by Emory A. Griffin. Copyright
1976 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers. All Rights Reserved.
THE ULTIMATE INTENTION by DeVern F. Fromke. Copyright 1963 by SURE FOUNDATION PUBLISHERS,
Mt. Vernon, MO/Indianapolis, IN First Edition, June, 1962; Second Edition, June, 1963; and Third
Edition, January, 1966. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.
Taken from WHATS GONE WRONG WITH THE HARVEST? by James F. Engel and H. Wilbert Norton.
Copyright 1975 by Zondervan Publishing House of The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.
Taken from Dr. D. James Kennedy, Late Senior Minister of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Sermon
Notes. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page:

Table of Contents
Dedications
Acknowledgements

ii
iv
vi

Forward

viii

FROM FEAR TO LOVE: A Preface

A Spirit of Fear:
01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.

02

Defining a Spirit of Fear

Lets Look at Ourselves and Our Fears
The Origin of a Spirit of Fear
How Mankind Received a Spirit of Fear
A Spirit of Fear Used by Satan in His Temptation of Jesus Christ
Other Examples of a Spirit of Fear in the Bible
Examples of a Spirit of Fear in Our World Today
How Satan Uses a Spirit of Fear as a Weapon in Our Own Lives

04
10
16
24
48
56
86
114

The Spirit of Love:

126

09.
10.
11.
12.
13.

128
132
136
142
152

Defining the Spirit of Love

Lets Look at Ourselves and Our Loves
The Origin of the Spirit of Love
The Nature of the Spirit of Love in Action
The Supreme Example of the Spirit of Love

From Fear to Love - The Conversion Zone:

158

14. Moving From a Spirit of Fear to the Spirit of Love

15. Why Faith Is So Important
16. Identifying Where We Are in This Process

160
166
182

The Promise - Love Treasures From God:

188

17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

190
196
198
200
202

For Ourselves and Our Relationship With God

For Our Relationships With Others
For Marriage and the Home
A Special Bonus
A Special Promise (For Believers Only)

From Fear to Love: A Diagram Modeling This Process

204

NOTE: Most Scripture quotes throughout this book, unless otherwise noted,
are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960,
1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman
Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. References in
the text note this source as (NASB) following the text where
reference is being made or quoted. (www.Lockman.org)

ii

DEDICATIONS

I wish to dedicate this book first and foremost to the

grace of God and to my Lord Jesus Christ. These truths
are from Him and without Him, this book could never
have been written.
I would also like to dedicate this book to all those who
have opened the door of trust and entered with me into a
life of faith wherein we all can grow in our knowledge
and experience of the Spirit of Love, and together enjoy
the blessings this life affords us and the joy of sharing this
life with everyone we meet, so that they, too, might join
us one day in heaven forever with our Savior and Lord
within the eternal presence of Almighty God, our Father.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My Family: I am grateful for all that they have taught me about love,
forgiveness, faithfulness, and patience.
My Pastors, Past and Present:
I am thankful for their wisdom,
encouragement, and example that they have imparted to me as they sought
after Gods heart and desired that all would come to a saving relationship
with Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior and Lord.
My Fellow Students and friends at Wheaton College and Wheaton
Graduate School: I am thankful for all the time we spent discussing and
answering their perceptive and challenging questions, and for their
encouragement to write this book.
My Professors: I am grateful for their expertise in their chosen field,
their input into my life, and for their personal encouragement to me to write
this book.
My Youngest Brother, Todd Werdebaugh: I am grateful to him for his
unrelenting encouragement to write this book, particularly after my three
strokes which made my writing and ability to think and express myself as
well as in the pages written before these strokes. I became so discouraged
that I left writing this book for more than ten years. But through his
encouragement and Gods leading, I began writing again, such as it is, and my
only hope is that the first part and the last part may equally speak to the
reader of the Truths that God wants to communicate through these pages.

vi

FORWARD
(This Forward will be a bit different than most you have probably seen inasmuch
as you, the reader of this book, will be its writer. I would prayerfully ask that you
would enter your thoughts on this page and the next expressing how this book may
have encouraged you in your own personal walk with Jesus Christ. Then those who
read it after you may also be encouraged by what you have shared, and they, too,
can then share their thoughts, as room allows, and so on, for all subsequent readers
to enjoy and be blessed. Thank you!)

viii

ix

FROM FEAR TO LOVE:

A Preface

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in his First Inaugural Address in 1933,

uttered these now famous words: ...the only thing we have to fear is
fear itself.
Over the years, his statement has probably been quoted as often
as any of the others that he made, if not more. And, at first glance,
there does seem to be at least some element of truth contained in this
thought. However, upon closer scrutiny, it does not really go far
enough to accurately describe the true nature of people, whether they
be those who were caught in the economic turmoil and uncertainty of
The Great Depression, or any one of us today.
Truly, we are all a fearful people, at least to some extent. Some
are afraid of their past and dread any possibility of repeating it, or else
they run from their past, avoiding any mention of it, or, for that
matter, of any person, place, or thing that might even remotely
remind them of it. Then, there are some who fear their present
circumstances and may even appear to be paralyzed by them. Still
others are afraid of the future, with its unknown challenges and
possibilities. They instead prefer to live in the past with yesterdays
memories, or in the present with full concentration on and a hopeful
control over the affairs and concerns of today, thereby avoiding any
thoughts about tomorrow.
Some people are afraid of heights; and there are those who greatly
fear the dark. Many people greatly fear the aging process, with its
unavoidable changes to their physical appearance, and the
accompanying prospect of potentially ill health and, eventually, death
itself.
On the other hand, a great number of us, me included, have often
experienced a gripping fear of failure, or a painful fear of rejection by
others, in any one of many possible ways that such types of fear can
x

xi

arise within each one of us. If we were truly honest with ourselves,
we could fairly easily identify at least one thing that we fear,
something that strikes us to the very quick, whether it is a fear of
living or of dying.
And what is at the very heart of our fears? Where do our fears
come from? How should we handle our fears? Is it possible to live
above our fears? And what has fear to do with love?
It is interesting to note that, in late May of 1992, the very popular
talk show hostess, Oprah Winfrey, emphatically stated at least twice in
one week, on different shows dealing with different topics, that there
are only two basic emotions -- fear and love -- and everything is either
the result of one or the other -- fear or love. Again, while there is a
certain element of truth to this thought, and while certain feelings,
actions, and behaviors are manifested through the emotions of fear
and love, is there still not something far deeper at the root of these
two basic emotions? And, as with fear, are there not many different
forms and dimensions of love?
These and other questions will be explored throughout the pages
which follow. We will also consider the very premises upon which this
book is based, and the glorious promises that have inspired me to
write it, promises which are available to everyone who reads these
pages.
I therefore encourage you to not only read this book, but to also
interact freely with it, challenging its premises with your own personal
experiences and thoughts. I sincerely hope that you, too, will not only
come to understand the insidious and pervasive nature of fear, but, of
significantly greater value, that you will discover the fearless realm of
love in which to live out your life to the fullest, both now and forever.
Love without any fear? you ask? ...and a full life, too, with love,
joy, and peace? ...and what do you mean by forever? Again I say,
Read on, my friend. Read on.

SPIRIT

OF

FEAR

DEFINING A SPIRIT OF FEAR

As with many words in our English language, the word fear has
many possible meanings. Even now, you may be wondering what
aspect of fear will be the subject of this book. It is interesting to look
up both the noun and verb forms of this word in the dictionary. You
may be surprised at the many possible meanings for such a small
word.
For instance, in this book, when using the word fear, are we talking
about the emotion we feel when facing danger, a personal threat, a
potential injury, or pain? Or, perhaps we are referring to ones
reaction to a fearful situation that is evidenced by the so-called fright,
fight, or flight response. Also, we could be thinking about our own
personal worries and anxieties that each one of us know all too well
throughout life. Yet again, some of us may even be recalling when
and how we last succumbed to a persuasive appeal that was laden
with fear, and how we felt threatened with the possible consequences
of making a wrong decision. Actually, anything that might attack us
or put at risk our own personal sense of comfort, well-being, peace,
safety, or happiness can trigger fear to well up within us.
On the other hand, another way we might use the word fear may
be when we are thinking of our own humble sense of supreme awe,
deep reverence, and profound regard towards our own God.
Nonetheless, in one respect or another, there is probably at least
one common thread that runs through the fabric of any one of these
concepts of fear, and it is the element or role of the unknown in our
own respective areas of fear, whatever they may be. Think about it.

When facing danger, threat, possible injury, pain, or personal risk,

we may not know if we will survive, or how a given situation will turn
out, or how badly we may be hurt or adversely affected by a given
situation. And so, we either run from that which alarms us, or, if we
are brave enough and have our adrenaline flowing adequately, we may
stay and fight. But then again, we may just stew in our own circumstances for a while, with worry and anxieties on the one hand, or
perhaps even with self-pity, depression, and/or bitterness on the
other.
The unknown is also a part of every decision we make, regardless
of how the persuasive appeal is presented to us.
In fact, the
cognitive dissonance and subsequent disequiliberation one feels
after making a major decision are all based, at least in part, in the
reality that we will never know for certain if we might have been
happier and better off had we selected any one of the other available
1
alternatives in our decision making process.
And, of course, worship of our God may also involve a certain
degree of fear, up to and including, in some cases, a holy terror,
wherein we fear Gods actions, or perhaps, impending punishment
from our God for our own shortcomings. Another dimension of this
fear, as has already been mentioned, may involve our highest respect,
supreme reverence, and deepest awe for our God, simply for all that
we believe our God to be, and/or because we know how and what we
ourselves are truly like.
Nevertheless, in whatever way that our fear may manifest itself,
with regard to whom we understand our God to be and the nature of
our relationship to Him, there still remains, to a greater or lesser
degree, at least some element of the unknown. This fear may be in
terms of our own individual ignorance or lack of understanding of or
relationship with our own God, or as the result of a relationship with
our God that is based upon some sort of performance measure. (For
example, consider the Biblical account of the Apostle Pauls sermon in
Athens, in the midst of the Areopagus, wherein he refers to an altar
that had been erected to an unknown God. It is found in Acts
17:22-31.
However, if we as believers in the one true God are cultivating a
growing, close, intimate, personal relationship with Him, the God who

is knowable, the One who infinitely loves and cares for us, and who
created us in His own image and after His own likeness, then the
degree of the unknown in our relationship with God is directly
proportional to our individual level of faith in, love for, and communion
with our God.
Consequently, then, approaching the one true God, who is infinitely
greater, more powerful, and altogether more holy than all we could
ever possibly conceive and comprehend in our finite humanness,
should elicit from us the most fearsome awe, highest reverence, and
utmost respect that we can know, understand, experience, and offer to
Him in this life. Indeed, to do anything less would fall within the realm
of blasphemy.
Therefore, such a fear of God has far more to do with who He is
than with who we are. Only as we understand and apply this truth will
we come to the place where we can begin to relate to the one true
God with the correct and appropriate perspective that He alone is
altogether pure and holy and just, and that we are entirely sinful,
rebellious, willful, and hopelessly lost and unredeemable apart from
His sole gracious provision for our salvation. In other words, after first
understanding this truth, we then can only enter His presence when
we have repented of our sinfulness and asked for and received His
forgiveness for our sin through the death and shed blood of His only
Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary on our behalf and in our
place. Again, this is a fear that is unlike any other. It is a fear that
has nothing to do with who we are and what we have to offer to God,
but rather, it has everything to do with who God is and what He has to
offer us.
(Consider Isaiahs experience when God revealed His
holiness to him and called him to prophesy to the people of Judah. It
is found in Isaiah 6:1-8.)
In this latter kind of fear, there is one aspect that distinguishes it
from every other kind of fear. The fear we sense when approaching
the one true God is a God-centered fear, as we esteem His utter
holiness, His supreme power, and His exaltation over all creation.
Obviously, then, this kind of fear or awe or reverential respect is far
different from any other kind of fear that we may and do experience,
as all other fears are man-centered, or self-centered. Although both
kinds of fear involve an element of the unknown, the fear of God
centers its attention on God, in worship of who He is, while every other

kind of fear, without exception, focuses on oneself, or on mankind as a

whole, with a fright, fight, or flight response.
If you sense one of these other kinds of fear within your
relationship with your God, then may I suggest that perhaps the God
you worship is not the one true God of the Bible, who loves you
intimately, cares about you infinitely, and longs greatly for a
relationship with you that is based on an unconditional love that casts
out all fear. (1 John 4:16-19) It is this God of the Bible who offers
permanent forgiveness instead of fear; peace and comfort instead of
punishment and condemnation; reconciliation and full restoration
instead of castigation and total separation; and joy, love, and
acceptance instead of strife, loneliness, and rejection. Best of all, the
God of the Bible wants us to enjoy Him and experience abundant new
life right now instead of struggling through a meaningless existence;
and this God wants us to know and experience eternal life forever with
Him in Heaven instead of eternal condemnation, torment, and death
forever separated from Him in Hell.
This is the God being proclaimed throughout the pages of this
book, and you can come to Him right now, just as you are, if you have
not done so before. Talk to God, just as you would talk to your best
friend, for truly that is what He wants to be to you. Agree with God
that you have done wrong things in your life, and ask Him to forgive
you for those things. Thank God for sending His only Son, Jesus
Christ, to earth to die for your sins in your place, thereby paying your
penalty for the wrong things you have done, so you would not have to.
Thank God for forgiving you. Tell God that you believe in Him and
invite Jesus to take complete control of your life, knowing and trusting
that God only wants the very best for you. Then thank God, in Jesus
name, for giving you the free gift of eternal life in the future, and the
power to face and live life abundantly right now, with God Himself by
His Holy Spirit within you and surrounding you to help, guide, protect,
and keep you throughout your life here on earth.

Refining Our Definition of a Spirit of Fear

Let us all take a moment just now and think through our own
individual and personal fears and sources of fear. Are they not all
affected in one way or another by at least some degree of the

unknown? In fact, the greater the unknown is a part of your area of

fear, probably the greater your fear is in that area of your life. There
is a direct correlation between a persons unknown factor in any given
fear and the degree of fear that is experienced by that person.
Dr. Emory Griffin, in his book entitled THE MIND CHANGERS, has
reduced this thought to a formula:
FEAR = TERROR X
2
PROBABILITY.
He also adds, The amount of fear a person feels
depends not only on how terrified he is of a future possibility, but also
2
on his view of the probability of it happening to him. Therefore, it is
safe to say that the unknown factor -- that which we do not know,
cannot understand, and have not experienced -- is a great source for
fear and it can also be a great motivator. This may be why so many
salespeople employ the fear appeal technique in their sales pitches. If
you dont believe me, just ask a fire alarm salesperson to come give
you a presentation on his line of products.
And this brings us to the first of the basic premises of this book,
which indeed is the starting point for all of us in gaining an
understanding of a spirit of fear.
It is my firm conviction that
mankinds greatest fear is his own ignorance; that is, that
which he does not or cannot, ultimately or reasonably, know,
understand, control, or experience.
You see, it is this personal ignorance, or our own finite inability to
know, understand, control, or experience anyone and everything,
without any limitations, boundaries, or errors, whether this is to be
desired or not, that serves as a foundation to our response that will be
referred to hereinafter as a spirit of fear. It should also be noted
that the basis for this spirit of fear can arise and exist at any time, at
the will of an individual, or subconsciously, unconsciously, or as a
reaction to an external stimulation or to a perceived or actual situation
confronting an individual. This personal ignorance or finite inability to
know, understand, or experience someone or something, as accurately
and adequately as we feel we need to in a given situation or at a given
time, generally evidences itself as a spirit of fear, and it exists within
the natural spirit of mankind, individually and as a whole, and again,
whether this is something to be desired or not.
In a later chapter, we will examine why this is so, as we consider
the source and origin of a spirit of fear.

Footnotes:
1

Taken from a lecture by Emory A. Griffin in his graduate course, Persuasion,

taught at the Wheaton Graduate School during the mid-1970s.

Taken from THE MIND CHANGERS: The Art of Christian Persuasion by Emory
A. Griffin, Copyright 1976 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton,
Illinois. See Chapter 6, page 73 for reference. Used by permission of Tyndale
House Publishers. All Rights Reserved.

LETS LOOK AT OURSELVES AND OUR FEARS

All around us we see a spirit of fear. It does not make any

difference how old, wealthy, or healthy we may be. Children and
adults alike experience fear. So do both the rich and the poor, the
able and the infirm, the simple-minded and the most educated, both
leaders and followers, the powerless and the powerful, as well as
everyone in between. Even the pious and the pagan, the philosopher
and the theologian, the psychologist and the physician are not immune
from the ravages of fear. We all experience fear without exception.
Not one of us is excluded from encountering and trying to deal with a
spirit of fear in our lives.
The young among us fear old age. The old fear a disabling illness
and death. The rich fear financial disaster or any prospect of losing
their prized worldly possessions. The poor fear how they will be able
to obtain and provide the necessities of life for themselves and their
loved ones each day. The healthy fear disease and illness. The ill fear
pain, disability, or death. In some cases, an ill person may perhaps
even fear the prospect of getting well again, being anxious about life
after their illness, especially if there may be some possibility of
ongoing residual limitations or pain as a result of the illness or injury.
The employed may fear the prospect of losing their job or changing
careers, especially if the economy is creating an atmosphere wherein
employers are either downsizing their operations or going out of
business altogether. The unemployed may fear, or at least be anxious
about their prospects of finding a job that they enjoy and that
adequately meets their needs.
Just take notice sometime of how often we see people who are on
the verge of panic regarding the economy, the governments
seemingly incessant deficit spending, job insecurity, and the
10

11

limitations of their personal finances. Moreover, crime is continually

on the increase and most all of us fear, at least to some extent, the
possibility of becoming a victim.
Then, there is the transience of all human relationships. Today, we
see child and spousal abuse, alcoholism and various other forms of
substance abuse, divorce, and numerous other personal and family
dysfunctions, all continuing their downward spiral, causing undue
hardships and an unprecedented breakdown of the once traditional
nuclear family, while at the same time leaving deep emotional, and
oftentimes physical scars. In addition, with the traditional nuclear
family besieged almost to the point of extinction by such political
forces and agenda as the it takes a village philosophy and an overly
oppressive tax code, not to mention such social agenda as that
espoused by gay and lesbian organizations, feminist activists, Planned
Parenthood, outcome-based and Common Core education supporters,
and the like, there is more than enough of a spirit of fear on all sides
to go around.
Besides the breakdown of the family, nuclear and otherwise, our
anxiety level continues to escalate due to the rampant moral decay
that extends throughout our society, as well as the very real threat of
socially communicable diseases that are now spreading worldwide,
even to innocent victims, and there is still no real hope of any real
lasting cure. Indeed, the personal fear that arises from any one of
these tragedies is truly immeasurable.
And, as time goes on, there is an ever-growing consciousness that
the world as we have known it may be coming to an end. Natural and
weather-related disasters are on a continual increase, devastating lives
in their wake. So far, there seems to be nothing that mankind can do
to adequately prevent worldwide earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, forest and wild fires, famines, and the
like, much less to accurately forecast them enough in advance to just
save peoples lives, and far less importantly, their property. Then,
there are the tragedies caused by all kinds of accidents that can bring
havoc to our lives.
Moreover, the ever-increasing worldwide unrest, senseless acts of
violence and terrorism, skirmishes, wars, and rumors of wars continue

12

to escalate all over the world, including but not limited to new
magnetic, biological, germ, and chemical warfare, and increasingly
sophisticated and hardly detectable bombs and explosive devices, the
likes of which the world has never before seen.
No longer is this activity taking place somewhere else in the world,
but increasingly, many of us have experienced it in recent years in our
very own neighborhoods and backyards, whether the bombing of a
government building, school violence by children, the taking and
execution of hostages, drive-by shootings, and other such random
acts of violence and cruelty against ones own fellow man, woman, and
child. In fact, we are all touched by this violence, witnessing it firsthand, even if only on the evening news, or being related to or knowing
personally someone who has.
As severe sources of fear that these things may represent, there
are still those very real, extremely personal fears, phobias, and
worries that we all face, but try to hide or minimize as much as
possible, with the hope that no one else will notice, or that it will
somehow go away on its own if we try to ignore or forget about it.
Here, I am referring to those personal fears that we all have, like it or
not. These may be such fears as a fear of rejection or nonacceptance
as a person, or a fear of being a failure and not measuring up to
others or, perhaps, even to our own standards or expectations, or any
one of a multitude of other phobias that plague all of humanity.
In light of all our fears, then, do we fully recognize how insidious,
and are we truly aware of how pervasive this spirit of fear is within
each of our lives? Do we actually realize just how much it really does
affect, and indeed sometimes may even control, our lives? How can
we truly enjoy life, and fully give and experience love with such a spirit
of fear abounding and thriving all around us, much less within us? Can
love and joy really co-exist with a spirit of fear, or are they mutually
exclusive?
The fact that our fears are so very insidious and so pervasive, and
because they really do so deeply and thoroughly penetrate to our very
innermost being or spirit is precisely why these fears, as a whole, are
referred to as a spirit of fear for, indeed, that is truly what it is.
This spirit of fear has a two-fold nature with respect to ones ability

13

to know, understand, and experience the realm of the unknown, which

is different for each of us. Moreover, this two-fold nature can be
manifested consciously, subconsciously, or unconsciously.
On the one hand, a spirit of fear can be identified as a drive or
insatiable desire to know, understand, control, and experience all that
we can to the very best of our ability. And so, throughout our lives,
we invest ourselves, our time, and our natural talents and abilities in
the endless tasks of exploring, observing, discovering, conquering, and
taming our own respective realm of the unknown, only to find at the
end of our lives, if not before, that there is more that is unknown than
we could possibly fathom in an eternity of lifetimes.
But then, on the other hand, this spirit of fear can also be
recognized as a tendency toward relative complacency, indifference,
intellectual laziness or boredom, lack of curiosity about the unknown,
or even a seemingly transcendent peaceful comfort with or exclusive
acceptance of the familiar, that is, that vast body of knowledge,
understanding, and experience that is already known, understood, and
experienced. It is as though we have become so intimidated by what
we do not know, understand, control, and experience, for whatever
reason, that we respond by choosing not to pursue knowing,
understanding, controlling, and experiencing all that is available to us.
In effect, then, a spirit of fear is therefore present when we arbitrarily
set limits on how much of what body of knowledge, understanding,
and experience that we have personally chosen to be appropriate for
ourselves. This is exemplified by the trend in academia to further and
further specialize in any given field because of how knowledge,
understanding, and experience continue to expand explosively, and to
do so all the more with so many ongoing advances in technology. As a
result, each generation of scholars must specialize more and more,
that is, limit more and more, that body of knowledge, understanding,
and experience that they will be responsible and accountable for, lest
they be shown to be a fool for pontificating in an area in which they
may be ignorant.
At first glance, both this active drive and complacent tendency of
mankinds spirit of fear may appear somewhat paradoxical, at least on
the surface; however, closer inspection will prove that this perceived
dual nature is truly but two sides of the very same coin, that coin
being a spirit of fear.

14

Let us next consider where this spirit of fear comes from and when
it first manifested itself.

THE ORIGIN OF A SPIRIT OF FEAR

Where does this spirit of fear come from and why does it exist?
The answer to the first question is easy, for a spirit of fear
originates with Satan. Before mankind ever populated this earth,
Satan was acting on a spirit of fear. He sought equality with God as
something to be grasped. He could not accept being subordinate to
God. His proud, self-centered drive to be the top dog and in control
of others propelled him into a fateful battle with God, a fight that he
could not, and indeed will not, ever win.
Apparently, Satans spirit of fear blinded him from this truth; or
else it existed within the realm of his unknown consciousness, and
thereby deluded him. Yet, so it is with a spirit of fear and, in this case,
a sort of blind ambition. (Read the Biblical accounts of this story in
Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12b-19; John 12:31; Luke 10:18;
Revelation 12:7-12 and 20:1-3, 7-10; and many other numerous
passages about the person and work of Satan.)
And so, Satan was cast out of Gods presence forever. We can be
sure that the power of Satan was overcome once and for all when
Jesus Christ, Gods Son, took all of the sin (past, present, and future)
of the whole world upon Himself, as He died in our place on Calvarys
cross. And, after having been dead and buried, He rose again three
days later to eternal life, victorious over both sin and death.
We can also hold fast to the certain truth that the existence of
Satan and his raging war against God and His Kingdom will cease at

16

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the great white throne of judgment. (Perhaps you may wish to read
for yourself the following Biblical accounts of this story, which also
includes the message of the Gospel, or the Good News of Gods plan of
salvation: Genesis 1:26-31; 2:7-3:15; Isaiah 14:12-15; 33:1; 52:1315; 53:2-12; Ezekiel 28:12b-19; Matthew 27:11-28:10; Mark 15:3316:8; Luke 10:18; 23:44-24:8, 36-49; John 3:16-21; 12:31; 19:2820:22; Romans 1:18-32; 2:1-16; 3:9-26; 4:24-5:2, 6-21; 6:3-11, 2023; 7:14-24; 8:28-39; 1 Corinthians 15:3b-8, 20-28, 42-57;
Ephesians 1:3-14, 16-23; 2:1-10; Philippians 2:5-11; 3:20-21;
Colossians 1:13-23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7b-10; 2:1-12; Titus 2:11-14;
Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5, 8b-15, 17-18; 4:14-16; 5:8-9; 7:24-27; 9:1115, 22-28; 10:11-25; James 4:17; 1 Peter 1:13-16, 18-23; 3:15-18,
21-28; 2 Peter 3:9-13; 1 John 2:15-17; 3:8; 4:4; 5:4-5; 2 John 6-7;
Jude 3-23; Revelation 1:5-8; 9:1-11; 11:15-18; 12:7-13:18; 14:6-12,
14-20; 17:10-14; and 19:11-21:8.)
Nevertheless, while his doom is sure, we must not forget that,
even today, Satan is still in an all-out war against God and His people.
He will continue to wage battle after battle against God and His
Kingdom, along with all those who have not surrendered their lives to
God, those who have refused to confess their sin and, in faith, ask for
Gods forgiveness, and accept Jesus Christ into their lives as their own
personal Savior and Lord. Instead of choosing to live a life full of love,
joy, and peace in the victorious and unsurpassable power of Jesus
Christ, they too, like Satan, are deceived and proud, pursuing their
own selfish desires and lusts, and their lives are totally corrupted by
the satanic influence of a spirit of fear, which will ultimately lead to
their death and eternal destruction.

Who Is Satan?
Before we can hope to gain a thorough grasp of a spirit of fear and
its ramifications for us as we live out our lives in this world today, we
really need to pursue an understanding of Satan as the author and
source of this fear.
While Satans origin may be equivocal at best, the Bible does give
us many clues about the person and work of Satan, and his status
before God. Also, the names for Satan can give us an excellent sense

18

of his character. Harold Lindsell, Ph.D., D.D., and editor of the

HARPER STUDY BIBLE, writes in a note on 1 Chronicles 21:1 ~ RSV,
Satan (the Adversary), whose name is specifically given here, is
referred to by more than thirty different names and titles in Scripture.
Each of these designations brings out some particular phase of his
1
work.
And so, some of Satans names and titles include: the serpent
(Genesis 3:4 ~ RSV); Lucifer or Day Star, son of Dawn (Isaiah 14:12
~ RSV); prince of demons (Matthew 12:24 ~ RSV); the enemy
(Luke 10:19 ~ RSV); a murderer from the beginning, a liar, and the
father of lies (John 8:44 ~ RSV); the ruler of this world (John
12:31; 14:30 ~ RSV); god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4 ~ RSV);
prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2 ~ RSV); tempter
(1 Thessalonians 3:5 ~ RSV); your adversary the Devil (1 Peter 5:8
~ RSV); the evil one (1 John 1:4; 5:19 ~ RSV); the deceiver
(Revelation 12:2; 20:3, 8 ~ RSV); and the dragon, that ancient
1
serpent, who is the Devil and Satan (Revelation 20:2 ~ RSV).
While Satans various names and titles may go far in revealing his
character and activities, there are still other passages of the Scriptures
that speak specifically to Satans character, work, and status before
Almighty God.
First, there is Satans enticement of Eve and Adam in the Garden of
Eden, and their subsequent judgment from God in Genesis 3, which we
will consider in depth in the next chapter. But, as we will see, both
mans encounter with Satan and Gods judgment upon him do indeed
give us much insight into Satans character, work, modus operandi,
and status before God.
Also, we are reminded of Job, who God considered to be His
righteous servant. God Himself even declared of Job, For there is no
one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and
turning away from evil.2 (Job 1:8 ~ NASB) Yet, in spite of Jobs
godliness, we still see Satan challenging God about Job in an effort to
accuse him before God, hoping thereby to cause God to perhaps find
fault with Job, and reject him. Again, in Revelation 12:10, Satan is
still at it, trying to accuse believers day and night before the very God
in whom they have placed their confidence for salvation from sin by

19

the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Gods only dear Son, on the cross of
Calvary.
But what else do we know about Satan from the Bible? In Pauls
letter to the Church at Ephesus, we see that Satan is a great enemy of
God who has many helpers to accomplish his work. (Ephesians 6:12)
In Lukes Gospel, we read that Satan is Beelzebul, the ruler of the
demons.2 (Luke 11:15 ~ NASB) Also in Luke, we see that Satans
demons may even work in a large group. A man had long been
tormented by such a group of demons. When Jesus asked his name,
the demons answered, Legion, because he was filled with so many
demons. (Luke 8:30)
When Satan entered Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed
Jesus, we saw how Satan ruled the actions of that man from the very
throne of his heart. (John 13:27) And so it is today, Satan stands
ready to fight for control of each one of our lives, by pursuing us
through our passions and desires, our weaknesses and faults, our
thoughts and dreams, our attitudes and opinions, our goals and hopes,
our possessions and abilities, and anything else it takes to get our
attention and our actions oriented and moving in his direction, and
according to his purposes. It is not that some of these things are bad
in and of themselves; rather, when any area of our lives is not turned
over to God, when we are in control instead of God, it is precisely then
when Satan will gain a toehold in that area, and often without our
notice, for he is so subtle. And furthermore, any toehold Satan has in
our lives quickly becomes his stronghold in very short order, and we
are usually powerless against him in our own strength, and our hearts
are in real danger of becoming hardened against God.
Again, I cannot underscore this enough. It can all start very
subtly, but become overwhelmingly obvious in no time at all, if not to
ourselves, then to others. And, it is often at this point that we are so
ensnared by Satan and his wiles that we may come to either consciously believe that there is no escape, or unconsciously accept our
plight and settle for the status quo. So insidious and pervasive are
Satans tactics and temptations, and yet, how we so often succumb to
them in sin!
Satan indeed is our great tempter to sin against God and His
commandments, and he especially tempts those whom he considers to
be Gods servants. The Apostle Paul often wrote in his letters about

20

the subject of Satans temptations and his own battle against sin.
(1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Corinthians 2:11; 1 Thessalonians 3:5; and
Romans 7:5-25) Satan even sought to tempt Jesus Christ Himself,
both in the wilderness before He began His public ministry years;
(Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:13; and Luke 4:1-13) and in the Garden of
Gethsemane where He was betrayed. (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark
14:32-42; and Luke 22:39-46) Obviously, Satan is no respecter of
persons!
Satan seeks to undermine Gods Word, according to Christ, (Mark
4:15) and He should know from His own confrontation with Satans
temptations to sin. And, did you notice how Satan would twist,
misapply, and even misquote the Holy Scriptures in his temptations of
Jesus in the wilderness? Likewise, we can be assured, as with Christ,
so it is with each one of us, that Satan greatly desires to blind us from
seeing and knowing truth, to which he stands starkly and staunchly
opposed. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4; and 1 John 1:11)
Moreover, where and in and through whom God is at work, Satan
finds his challenge and likewise is very much at work as well. Satan
especially likes to target those who seek to join God in accomplishing
His work according to Gods perfect will. Specifically, Satan will continually seek to harass, demoralize, and even destroy Gods servants
in an ongoing effort to both thwart God from using them, and prevent
Gods servants from desiring to be available to and used by God in
effecting His eternal purposes and objectives. (2 Corinthians 4:8-11;
6:4-5, 8-10; Philippians 1:28-30; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; 1 Timothy
3:6-7; 1 Peter 5:8; and Revelation 12:7-17)
This is why Satan is so wily and furtive in accomplishing his own
evil
schemes, desires, purposes, and insidious objectives.
(1 Corinthians 11:3, 13-15; and Revelation 12:9) In addition, we
must remain continuously cognizant, carefully vigilant, and always
mindful that Satan will never be satisfied until he has ensnared every
one of us within his hopelessly tangled web of evil, deception, sin, and
death. Therefore, to know Satan is to know the ultimate in evil,
deception, corruption, and death, including, eventually, eternal
spiritual death in the anguishing flames of Hells fire and brimstone.
Satans activities are not waning, either. Again, according to the
Bible, we see that Satans power and work will only increase and

21

abound throughout our world. Indeed, the whole world, and everything in the world, have been given over to Satan to do with it as he
wills, (1 John 5:19) until it all passes away in complete, utter, eternal
destruction. (1 John 2:16-17; 3:8; and Revelation 20:1-21:1)

Why Is It Important to Understand Satan as the Source of a

Spirit of Fear?
Understanding Satan as the original source of a spirit of fear also
helps us to get a handle on where it comes from and how it affects our
daily lives. Indeed, as our definition of a spirit of fear becomes more
focused, and the better we understand what it is, the more convinced
we are that Satan is truly its source.
Furthermore, as we do realize that a spirit of fear originates with
and is implanted by Satan, the more convinced we become, and the
more clearly we see, that a spirit of fear is that willful and finite, yet
active, urge or drive within us which compels us to unceasingly, yet
unsuccessfully, strive to overcome our own ignorance of infinite
knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and experience, and to do so
through our own feeble efforts. In so doing, we thereby create, in the
process, some sort of a philosophy or world and life view that is
basically egocentric (i.e., centered on ourselves), or anthropocentric
(i.e., centered on mankind as a whole). Accordingly, it is solely
validated either by our own specific, or mankinds general, perceptions
of what is considered to be reality.
From these perceptions, which are primarily apprehended by the
senses and interpreted by ones ability to reason, and as a result of
ones internal and generally subconscious drive or spirit of fear, we are
compelled to arrange and structure the priorities of our cultural and
personal value system in an again finite and ultimately futile attempt
to provide order, and truly, a pseudo-order to an otherwise chaotic
existence that is separated, in its very essence, from God.
And so, again, we are brought back to the basic premise of this
book that, most simply stated, our greatest fear is our own
ignorance; that is, that which, according to our finiteness, we
do not, or ultimately or reasonably cannot, in this life, know,
understand, control, or experience.

22

Why Does a Spirit of Fear Exist?

In considering how a spirit of fear originated with Satan, we
discussed how fear caused Satan to be unable to accept an existence
wherein he was not in supreme control of everyone and everything,
including God Himself. But there is also more than just how a spirit of
fear originated in order to explain why it exists. And so, in examining
why it exists, it must be understood that its very existence is one with
its purpose, for truly both spring from the very essence of Satans
character, indeed, his very being.
Therefore, we especially see how a spirit of fear originated with
Satan when we consider why it exists. According to the Bible, Satan
prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter
5:82 ~ NASB) He does this in so many ways, all of which are evil.
Perhaps, he most often tries to deceive us by distorting and
obfuscating reality, and by getting us to focus our attention on
ourselves and the present moment, with precious little, if any, thought
about others, and much less about their eternity and ours.
As stated before, Satan is a defeated foe of God, even though, for
the time being, he does indeed have what he thinks is complete
control over this world, its people, and its affairs.
Satan, himself, is therefore operating under delusion, and this will
be manifested fully when he faces his final judgment before God, and
is cast into the eternal punishment of hell, along with all those he
successfully recruits to follow him. And Satans primary weapon with
which he accomplishes all his goals is still the same: it is a spirit of
fear. We will consider this further in a later chapter; but suffice it to
say, at this point, that this same spirit of fear which so dominates
Satans being is also the very weapon he uses to accomplish his ends,
and this is, primarily, why it exists.

Footnotes:
1

Taken from Harold Lindsell, Ph.D., D.D., HARPER STUDY BIBLE / THE HOLY
BIBLE: Revised Standard Version. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand
Rapids, Michigan, 1964/1965. See page 601 for reference.

23

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

HOW MANKIND RECEIVED A SPIRIT OF FEAR

Let us now consider the Biblical account of when Satan introduced

a spirit of fear to mankind for the very first time. This account is
recorded in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, chapter 3. But first,
we must set the stage.
Genesis 1 and 2 relate how God created the entire universe. We
learn how God created mankind in His own image and after His own
likeness. What exactly this all means practically has been a mystery
for many, and we will consider the implications of what this means in
greater detail in the section on the Spirit of Love.
But for now, we do see, as these chapters relate the story of our
beginning on this earth, that there was indeed a very unique, special,
intimately close love-bond relationship between God, the Creator, and
the first two human beings to walk on the face of this earth, a man
named Adam and a woman he named Eve. (In making this statement,
we will not be entertaining a discussion as to whether the Biblical
account of this story is symbolic, allegorical, or literal historical fact. It
really makes little, if any, difference which position one holds on the
issue. The fact still remains. At some point in time, there was a first
man and a first woman who both, for a time, enjoyed a love-bond
communion in their relationship with their God, their Creator.)
In examining the relationship between God and Adam and Eve, it is
important to note that this relationship was established on a voluntary
basis, characterized by a mutual trust and communion. God chose to
create them and us in such a way that we could have a free will with
which to choose and to make decisions in life. In this sense, we were
created to be truly autonomous, to the extent that that is what we
24

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would actually choose for ourselves. Even as God chose to relate and
commune with mankind in such a trusting, intimate, love-bond
relationship, He allowed Adam and Eve, and every human being since,
the choice to also voluntarily accept or reject His loving invitation for
such a close communion with Him. It was not forced upon Adam and
Eve. As the Creator, God could have chosen to create mankind
without this free will to choose and to be fully autonomous within
himself, but He did not do so. Created in His own image and after His
own likeness, God has allowed us to act and feel and choose according
to our own will, even as God does.
Moreover, as much as God desires a love-bond relationship and
moment-by-moment communion with each one of us, and has gone to
such great lengths to make this possible and easy for us, He still
leaves the final decision with us. Will we choose to personally accept,
receive, and experience His great, infinite, immutable, and infallible
love that He is so willing to richly lavish upon us, both in this life and
throughout all eternity, or are we so secure in our own autonomy and
selfhood that we choose to not need or want God, or refuse to allow
Him to have any room in our lives? The choice and the consequences
of our choice belong to each one of us, and us alone.
Returning to the Biblical account, we see that Adam and Eve, as
the highest form of Gods creation, enjoyed a personal relationship and
intimate communion with their Creator like no one else has ever
experienced since, except Jesus Christ in His humanity. They were
blessed by God, and told to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and
subdue it. God gave and entrusted to them all of His creation over
which they were to have dominion. No good thing did God withhold
from them. He fully provided for all their needs with an unimaginably
lush and beautiful place called the garden of Eden. It was, for all
intents and purposes, more wonderful than the best-conceived utopia
that mankind has ever imagined; indeed, it was Heaven on earth.
In Genesis 2, we read about this lovely environment wherein the
relationship between God and Adam and Eve thrived. Beginning in
verse 8, we learn that God planted a garden and placed the man He
created in it. In this garden of Eden, God caused to grow every tree
that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; including the tree of
life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of

26
good and evil.1 (Genesis 2:9 ~ NASB) A single river flowed out of the
land of Eden to water the garden, and it was there that this river
divided into four rivers. (Genesis 2:10)
In verse 15 ~ NASB, we read that the LORD God took the man
He had created from the dust of the earth and put him into the
garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it.1 And then, in verses 16
and 17 ~ NASB, we come across another command of God. He
commanded Adam saying, From any tree of the garden you may eat
freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall
not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.1
Again, without getting into a discussion as to whether or not there
were actually literal historical trees in the garden named by God, or
whether this account is merely symbolic or allegorical in nature, the
facts still remain. God created man and woman, He provided for their
every need, and He established a close, trusting, voluntary communion
and love-bond relationship between Himself and mankind. It was,
therefore, within the confines of this trusting, voluntary communion
and love-bond relationship with the highest representative of His
creation that God gave this command to Adam.
With the command, God also gave Adam the consequences of any
decision to disobey His command. In verses 16 and 17 ~ NASB, we
read that God said, From [any] tree of the garden you may eat freely;
but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,
for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.1 (Italicized
word was added by the author for emphasis.)
We do not know how much time elapsed between verses 17 and
18, but it was not until some time after God had created Eve, the first
woman, and presented her to Adam, that eating the fruit of the
forbidden tree became a temptation.
What characterized the relationship of these first two human beings
with God, their Creator? Why is there no account of temptation or sin
before Satans appearance into the story in chapter 3?
The answers to such questions, I believe, are found in the fact that
Adam and Eve lived in an absolute love-bond communion with God,
trusting Him completely and implicitly for all of their needs and
desires.
There was a freedom in that garden experience unlike

27

anything that anyone has since known or experienced. There is no

evidence of there being any sickness, pain, guilt, or sorrow. After all,
what was death in an environment teeming with so much abundant
life, happiness, and boundless joy that apparently knew no end? So
captivated with the awesome presence of God, moment by moment, in
their lives, and so focused exclusively on Him as the Source and
Sustainer of their very existence, surely they had not even considered
what death might be, other than the grave consequence for disobeying
the very One who had created them, and had so completely loved and
cared for them. Enjoying such a close, loving communion with their
God, and with their attention being so totally captivated by His
presence, how could they ever possibly want to breach their open
trusting relationship of love, and jeopardize their seemingly idyllic life
by disobeying Gods simple command?
And then we come to Genesis chapter 3, when Satan confronts Eve
with the first temptation of mankind. Verse 1 describes Satan as the
serpent who was more crafty than any beast of the field which the
LORD God had made.1 (Genesis 3:1 ~ NASB) One of the many words
for Satan in the Scriptures is serpent. While women today by and
large have an aversion to snakes, if indeed they do not even fear
greatly any kind of serpent in their presence, we must remember that,
in the garden, prior to the first sin and ensuing punishment, there was
yet no enmity between the serpent and the woman. In whatever form
that Satan appeared to Eve, he was obviously subtle, engaging,
unobtrusive, crafty, and persuasively convincing enough for Eve not
only to pay attention to him, but to also succumb so totally to his
tactics.
Let us consider now, very carefully, how Satan captures his prey
and, as we do, perhaps we should also be thinking about the last time
that we fell prey to his tactics. Ask yourself, How do Satans tactics in
tempting me compare with his dealings with Eve? How are they
similar? How might they differ?
First, note the initial question that Satan poses to Eve: Indeed,
has God said, You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?1
(Genesis 3:1b ~ NASB) Now if we just take a moment to again look at
Gods command found in Genesis 2:16-17, we will clearly see that
Satan grossly misquoted Gods command. In fact, in his question to
Eve, he quoted Gods command almost as opposite as it could be, for
God had told Adam that he and, with Eves subsequent creation, she

28
could both eat freelyfrom any tree of the garden1 The only tree
that God had forbidden them to eat from was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Regarding this tree, Gods command specifically was ...but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you
shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.1
(Genesis 3:16-17 ~ NASB)
And so Eve proceeded to correct Satan as to what God had
commanded. Eve said, From the fruit of the trees of the garden we
may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the
garden, God has said, You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you
die.1 (Genesis 3:2-3 ~ NASB)
There are several problems with her response to Satan that at once
become obvious. First, she limited herself as to which trees God gave
her to enjoy and how she was allowed to enjoy them. Remember, God
said she could freely eat from any tree of the garden. That which was
a blessing from God, even though it preceded His command, was
squelched by Eve. She seemed to be more in fear of the tree that she
was not to eat from than in celebration of her freedom to eat from all
the other trees of the garden, trees that were pleasant to the sight and
good for food. (Genesis 3:6)
Are we any different? How often do we choose to focus on that
which we do not or cannot have, and allow such thoughts to make us
feel deprived or enslaved by self-declared negative circumstances,
instead of choosing to celebrate our freedom to enjoy all that we can
and do have, rejoicing in our circumstances, however humble they
may be to someone else? And, how often do we put limits on Gods
blessings? Do we realize that, in so doing, we are taking our first
steps toward making ourselves more vulnerable to Satans temptation
for us to sin?
A second problem with Eves response is that she added to Gods
command when she said that God had said, ...or touch it...1 (Genesis
3:3 ~ NASB) God had said nothing of the sort; He only commanded
them to not eat the fruit from that tree.
As innocent as this addition may have been, and perhaps as helpful
as it may have been in encouraging Eve to abstain from eating the
fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it was not part of
the original command. So, where did it come from? Did Adam add

29

this in relating Gods command to Eve after her creation, or did she
add it on her own, for whatever reason? The Scriptures do not say
who added this extra restriction to the command of God, nor why it
was added. But then, how often do we also add to Gods commands?
And why? How many rules, laws, requirements, restrictions, and the
like have been added by man to the original Ten Commandments of
God, which incidentally were condensed by Jesus Christ into just two
commandments? Do we think that Gods commandments in and of
themselves are inadequate and need our help?
Obviously, in Eves situation, and probably in our own also, the
additional restriction did nothing practically to keep her from succumbing to Satans temptation. And sadly, ever since this episode in the
garden of Eden, mankind has continually been adding to, taking away
from, modifying, and qualifying the Ten Commandments of God, as
summarized later by Jesus Christs two commandments, with the
apparent end result that many, if not most, of these commandments
have been compromised and obfuscated, or made to be contradictory,
confusing, and left up to ones own individual interpretation, at best,
and reversed, nullified, or negated altogether, at worst. Now, it is
widely considered that absolute truth and real justice, much less what
is right and wrong, lie not in the black and white areas of life, but
in the gray areas, and these are best left open to conjecture and to
the situation ethics that may be in vogue and to whatever other
current fads of the day that may be considered popular or politically
correct. It is no wonder, then, why Satan has no difficulty in blurring
right from wrong and truth from error for so many of us today.
Again, it is interesting to note that there were at least two trees
growing in the midst of the garden; the other tree was the tree of life.
Up to this point, Adam and Eve had not been forbidden to partake of
the fruit from the tree of life; only the fruit from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil were they commanded not to eat. But Eve
told Satan that they were not to eat the fruit from the tree which was
in the middle of the garden.1 (Genesis 3:3 ~ NASB) Why did she not
reference the forbidden tree by name, since there were at least two
there? At the risk of reading too much into the story that is not
specifically stated, could Eve have so greatly feared the forbidden tree
that she could not even call the tree by its name? Or, did she just
assume that Satan knew as well as she did which tree was forbidden?
Since both trees were in the same general part of the garden, I cannot

30

help but wonder how often they ate the fruit from the tree of life.
And, while enjoying the fruit from the tree of life, how many times
might they have eaten this fruit under the shadow of the forbidden
tree, and with what thoughts running through their minds?
Nevertheless, how much are we like Eve? Confronted with the tree
of life and the forbidden tree of death, Eve chose to focus on the
latter, so much so that it somehow lost its name or specific identity. It
became that tree. Note also that there was nothing wrong with the
fruit of the forbidden tree. In fact, it was probably, in and of itself,
good fruit for just the right person for whom God had created it. But,
just because God commands that we are not to have or do something
does not necessarily mean that the something is, in itself, bad; it is
just wrong for us, simply because God said so. Yet, because of His
restriction on it for us, we tend to pout and find all sorts of things
wrong with it, perhaps in attempt to keep ourselves from missing it.
In this case, God never declared anything to be wrong with the
forbidden fruit, only in the eating of it by the wrong individuals. Eve,
like us, wrongly focused on the thing instead of the behavior that was
forbidden by God in His command.
And, how about you and me? What do we choose to focus on? Are
they even the things we are to be focusing on? It is interesting to
note how many of Gods commands throughout the Scriptures are
more concerned with our actions and attitudes than in forbidding us
from things. Even in the garden of Eden, it was not the fruit that was
forbidden; it was the eating of the fruit that God had commanded
against. God knew what choices would lead to life and continuous
communion with Him within a trusting, love-bond relationship, and
what choices would lead to death and separation from Him. It was not
a thing; rather, it was an action. And how about us? Whether things
or actions, are we making wise choices that lead to life or choices that
lead to death? Can we even identify by name those things, actions,
attitudes, and beliefs in our own life that lead to death? Or, are we so
close to them that they no longer have any identity of their own?
Have we so lost sight of them that we are just going through life,
reacting to its pressures and not even recognizing that we are making
choices all the time, and doing so without even thinking whether our
decisions are based on an orientation that leads to life or one that
leads to death?

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Another insidious aspect of Satans question to Eve is that the very

nature of his question was designed to instill doubt in Eves mind as to
her relationship with God. It attacked the very foundation of her
voluntary love-bond relationship with God by undermining her trust in
God and His desire to provide for her needs. And the wording of
Satans question to Eve put her in such a position that she felt she had
to defend God, who in reality needs no defense. And so, in making
her defense, we see that Eve herself, just like Satan, ended up also
misquoting Gods command.
It should also be noted how central to Satans temptation of Eve
and, through her, of Adam, the role of a spirit of fear was. Satan
capitalized on Eves, and then Adams, ignorance, that is, that which
they did not know, understand, control, or experience. As we have
mentioned earlier, they probably did not understand the concept of
death within the confines of such a lush garden existence, except that
it was given by God as a penalty for eating fruit from the forbidden
tree.
Likewise, they probably did not know or attach any real
significance to such concepts as good and evil, inasmuch as they were
only surrounded by good. Indeed, God Himself proclaimed all His
creative acts as good. And so the tree containing these elements in its
name probably meant little more to them than just that; it was part of
the name of the tree that had the fruit that God said they could not
eat. It was, therefore, no accident that Satan began his temptation
with an appeal to what they did not know, understand, control, or
experience, which is at the very heart of a spirit of fear.
Let us now specifically consider Satans modus operandi, now that
he had Eve just where he wanted her to be and, not much later, he
had Adam, too. Remember, we are putting ourselves in a dangerous
position when we carry on any kind of dialogue with Satan apart from
the Word of God as our defense. Satan went on to contradict God. He
said to Eve, even as he says to us today, You surely shall not die! For
God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.1 (Genesis 3:4-5 ~
NASB) How many times have we heard people say something like,
How could such a loving God condemn anyone to hell, if there even is
such a place? And, how many people today long to be their own
person (i.e., god), doing and living as they wish, believing as they see
fit as to what may be considered right and wrong? They may be

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members of a cult, at one extreme, or proponents of the new age

movement at the other. Yet, it is a common belief in our culture today
that we should each make positive statements to ourselves each day,
affirming our own self-worth in our goal of attaining self-actualization.
And, as we leave everyone to themselves in this process, we carry the
assertion of to each his own to include the individuals own sense of
spirituality or belief system, political affiliation, sense of social
responsibility, sexual orientation, etc., to be measured against their
own understanding of what is right and wrong. As a result, the
standards for right and wrong have thereby been moved away from an
external standard, such as the Ten Commandments, to an internal
standard that is to be individually determined. And this is where Satan
would have us, because that is where he is most successful at making
his will a reality in our own lives, and even in making us think that our
decisions and choices were our own idea: I did it my way! as Frank
Sinatra would belt out in his famous hit song.
You see, apart from God, Satan can have full sway in our lives.
That is why he attacked, first off, Eves relationship with God. And this
stands to reason. Satan, as has been pointed out already, is at war
with God and with anyone he deems to be allied with Him. Hence,
Satans contradiction of what God had said. By proclaiming to Eve,
You surely shall not die!1 (Genesis 3:4 ~ NASB) Satan was, probably
for the first time in Eves consciousness, introducing a concept
contrary to all she had known until now, by declaring God to be a liar,
and someone she should not trust. Now, in place of what had been a
source of security in believing all that God had told her, Satan had
placed a nagging doubt, full of questions about the veracity of Gods
Word.
It was in the midst of such doubt that Satan proceeded with his
deceptive delusion. Inferring that Gods warning, that violation of His
command would result in death, was in reality a mere smoke screen,
in an attempt by God to keep Adam and Eve in their place. Satan
went on to say, For God knows that in the day you eat from it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.1
(Genesis 3:5 ~ NASB) What thoughts may have raced through Eves
mind at that point? Did she question why God may have been keeping
what seemed so good from her? Was it not a good thing for her eyes
to be opened, to be like God, and to know good and evil? After all,
had not God created Adam and her in His image and after His own
likeness? If there was so much good to be gained by eating the

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forbidden fruit, then why would God give such a dire consequence as
death for doing so? What is death, anyway; had she yet seen
anything dead so far in her garden experience?
Of course, we have no idea what exactly Eve may have thought
during her encounter with Satan, but Satan was indeed successful in
turning her eyes away from God and instead, he directed them to
focus fully upon the forbidden fruit and himself. In so doing, Satan got
Eve to doubt the truth that God loved her so much that He had created
her in His own image and after His own likeness. Satan made her
think, If God loves me so much, then why does He not want me to
have my eyes opened, to be like Him, and to know good and evil?
It was therefore just a short step from this doubting stage to the
temptation for Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit. In Genesis 3,
verse 6 ~ NASB, we read, When the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree
was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate1
Now, Eve began processing the forbidden tree and its fruit, first with
her physical senses, and then with her mind and emotions. When
facing temptation, everything seems better than it really is. The
familiar adage, If something seems too good to be true, it probably
is, might be a helpful piece of advice to remember whenever we are
at the point of temptation.
Nevertheless, Eve listened to and
entertained Satans lies and so she succumbed to the temptation.
Lest we make Eve out to be the scapegoat for the first sin, we
would be amiss if we did not include Adam in our consideration. The
rest of verse 6 reads, ...and she gave also to her husband with her,
and he ate.1 (Genesis 3:6b ~ NASB) Where was Adam when Satan
was tempting Eve? The Biblical account does not say. But, it is likely
he was nearby, if not present with her, because immediately after she
partook of the fruit, she offered him some. Why did Adam not
intervene in Satans temptation of Eve? Could not he have taken at
least some action that would have kept Eve from eating the fruit from
the forbidden tree? Whatever the specifics of Adams involvement, or
lack thereof, the fact still remains that he found her eating fruit from
the forbidden tree, and he made no kind of protest in her doing so. In
fact, he even accepted the fruit from her hands with no objection.
Whether Adam or Eve was the author of the additional restriction on
not touching the fruit of the forbidden tree, both handled the fruit

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before eating, and both, though individually, one after the other, ate
it. Adam was equally involved in the temptation to sin and just as
guilty, if not more so, than Eve, inasmuch as he first had the relationship with God, and God had given him responsibility for her.
Now that they had both severed their relationship with God, there
was no going back to the way things had been. Their eyes were
opened alright. Verse 7 says, Then the eyes of both of them were
opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig
leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.1 (Genesis 3:7 ~
NASB) After they had sinned, they realized the error of their ways;
where there once had been no shame, they were now ashamed by
their nakedness, and so they sought to cover themselves with fig leaf
aprons. Moreover, where there was once a close, intimate, trusting,
love-bond relationship with God, there was now just shame, guilt, and
hiding from Him. When God confronted them with their sin, both
Adam and then Eve pointed fingers of blame away from themselves
towards another. Adam blamed God and the woman (i.e., Eve) that
He gave him, and Eve blamed Satan who had beguiled her. Neither
one assumed responsibility for the cause of their actions. Although
they each did finally admit that they ate the fruit from the forbidden
tree, they felt that it was anothers fault that they did so. As a result
of their sin, God cursed Satan, Eve, and Adam, and He expelled Adam
and Eve permanently from the garden paradise and kept them away
from the tree of life. He also made garments from the skins of animals
and clothed them. Thus, sin had entered the human experience, and
our own bouts with Satan pretty much follow the same pattern that
theirs did; only the names and specifics are different.

How We Experience Temptation to Sin Today

After Satan had implanted the seeds of a spirit of fear within Eve,
we saw how quickly they sprouted into full bloom and yielded their
first fruit of sin; and from Eve, we saw how this spirit of fear spread to
Adam and did the same thing within him. There is an 8-step process
by which this takes place:
1.)

Satan instills doubt by misstating how things really are or

by misquoting or contradicting God and His Word, usually in an area of our lives where we have granted Satan

35

a toehold, whether we have done so consciously, subconsciously, or unconsciously.

2.)

We allow Satan a hearing wherein we listen to Satans lies

and allow them at least a semblance of credibility.

3.)

We enter a doubting phase, which may be conscious or

subconscious, wherein we yearn to know, understand,
control, and/or experience something (i.e., a spirit of fear
is born). This doubting phase is also characterized by an
if statement by Satan and sometimes by an if question
by us. These statements by Satan and questions by us
may be actual, implied, or inferred.
Satans if
statements are designed to create an atmosphere of doubt
as the context for the temptation. Our if questions
usually arise from and are indications of our doubts about
what is right and wrong in the area in which Satan is
seeking to tempt us.
a.)

Satan will make some sort of an if statement and

will include within the statement a kind of tailormade deception and lies designed just for us, and
presented to us at such a time and in such an area
of our lives wherein we are most vulnerable and
susceptible. With Eve, Satans if statement was
implied or inferred when he told Eve that she would
not die if she ate the fruit from the forbidden tree.

b.)

We ask, either consciously or subconsciously, our

if questions (e.g., If God loves me, why...? or,
If I do this, will God really do...? or, If so and
such is true, how come I cant...?). We do not
know exactly what Eves If question(s) may have
been, if any, but they may have been asked in her
subconscious, such as, If God created such good
fruit and He loves us so much, why did He say that
we could not eat it? and If God said we would die if
we ate the fruit from the forbidden tree, then why
am I being told otherwise? and If what the serpent

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(Satan) is saying is true, what else that seems so

good may God be keeping from me?
4.)

We then begin the temptation stage, wherein we submit

the forbidden thing, thought, belief, or activity to our five
physical senses, as appropriate.

5.)

We rationalize and mentally justify or minimalize what has

been forbidden, and/or resign ourselves to deal with any
future denial, cover-ups, consequences, or admission of
guilt and repentance at that time, as may then be necessary.

6.)

We usually, at this point, choose to fall to the tempta tion

and we sin.

7.)

We look for others to join us in our sin, or we join them in

the sin.

8.)

We eventually, at some point, realize the error of our

ways and suffer the consequences of our choices and
actions, whether or not we sense personal regret at being
caught in the sin, or genuine remorse and sorrow for it,
that is, if we are in touch with our conscience.

While the specifics may differ, generally, we follow most, if not all
of the above steps whenever we fall into sin. It should be noted that
no sin is unintentional; we choose to sin. We allow Satan to set us up,
tempt us, and, if we do not take the necessary steps to circumvent the
process, we sin. But in the final analysis, sin is something we choose
to do, regardless of how much regret, remorse, or sorrow we may
have about it afterward.
You may be wondering if there is such a thing as an unintentional
sin. The answer is, No! If you do not choose to do something
knowingly that is contrary to the law of God or man, but you do
something inadvertently or unbeknownst to you at the time, it is more
of a mistake or accident rather than a sin. But an important qualifier
must be understood at this point. While the specific action may be
more of a mistake or an accident, the fact that it happened at all is a

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direct result of having a sin nature, and living in a world that is under
bondage to sin and within Satans sphere of influence and control.
Whether a sin, mistake, or accident, the steps enumerated above
are still in force, and even an accident or a mistake can lead to
becoming a sin according to how we deal with the situation and the
choices we make. To illustrate this, let me share an example with you.
Suppose you were at someones place of business and you noticed a
wonderful bouquet of flowers in a gorgeous vase sitting in the middle
of a coffee table in the reception area. As one who appreciates such
displays, you move in for a closer inspection. You might sniff the
fragrance of the lovely flowers. You may even touch the petals of
some of them. What would happen if, somehow, some of the flowers
or petals were damaged in some way by your close appreciation of
them? Or, let us say that you had an unexpected sneeze and, in the
course of covering your mouth in surprise, you tipped the vase over,
and it broke and water went everywhere, soaking all the magazines
scattered across the table. Would any of these actions be a sin? You
were tempted to smell and touch the flowers. You forgot that you
were allergic to some flowers. Now there is a big mess. You could try
to cover it up or deny that you had anything to do with the mess, or
you could apologize for causing it and try to make it right. All of the
actions that I have related in this illustration would fall under a
mistake or an accident, with the only exception being a sin if you
chose to deny or cover up causing the mess. In such an instance, this
would be an example of an accident or mistake leading into a sin if you
were to deny or cover up your responsibility for causing the mess.
Now, suppose that you were upset with the company and, in a fit
of rage, you grasped the vase of beautiful flowers and threw them on
the floor, breaking the vase to smithereens, damaging the lovely
bouquet, and making one huge mess, much less disturbing the peace
and quiet of the office. Clearly, this is a markedly different scenario
than the one described above. This, beyond a doubt, is most definitely
in the category of a sin.
Mistakes and accidents will happen throughout our lives as a result
of living in a sinful world and because we are sinful, finite human
beings. We can try our best to avoid them, but they will probably
happen regardless of how hard we try. On the other hand, we do not
have to sin. We do not have to make choices that lead to temptation

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and sin. With Gods help, we have resources that He has provided for
us so that we will be able to stand up to Satan, and gain a victory over
temptation and sin. A good starting place in learning how to do this is
to first gain an understanding and respect for how Satan uses a spirit
of fear in our own lives, in order to lead us into temptation and sin.

The Anatomy and Analysis of the Process of Temptation and Sin

It might be helpful to our understanding of a spirit of fear and its
relationship to temptation and sin if we examine sin and how a spirit of
fear fits into the process of sinning. Let us begin by first specifically
defining sin. Sin is simply missing the mark, and the mark we all miss
is the standard God has set for us all to meet wherein the glory of God
is. Sin is the shortcomings we all experience in life. It is falling short
of Gods righteousness and His expectations of and for us. This is
what is meant when the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans,
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.1 (Romans 3:23
~ NASB)
Included in this understanding of sin is also the idea of trespass.
We trespass against God and one another when we impose our will
upon another or intrude across anothers boundaries without invitation
for the benefit of our own selfish desires and gain. This, too, is
missing Gods mark, falling short of His glory.
Another idea that describes sin is unrighteousness. God is infinitely
pure and holy; He is altogether righteous, so much so that God and sin
are mutually exclusive. The presence of God cannot tolerate the
presence of sin. Therefore, where God is, sin is totally, completely,
and wholly absent. Righteousness means to be in right-standing with
God. Because we all sin, and because God and His presence cannot
co-exist with the presence of sin, we are unrighteous. Because of sin,
we are by our sinful nature not in right-standing with God. There is no
way we could ever hope to, in and of ourselves, know and experience
God and His presence. That is why He had to make a way for us to
come unto Him; there was no way we, in and of ourselves, could ever
come to Him. The way that God ordained for us to come to Him and
to be restored in a relationship and fellowship with Him is the very way
that He had planned for us before He ever created us. (Ephesians
1:4;2 Revelation 13 : 83 ~ KJV) In fact, before He even created

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the foundations of the world, let alone before He created us, God knew
that we would eventually choose to do things our own way and follow
Satans lead, thus separating ourselves from Him and His great love
for us. And so, before we were even created, God planned a way for
us to come back to Him, if we would only choose to do so. That way is
Gods plan of salvation through the sacrificial death and resurrection of
His Son, Jesus Christ, on our behalf and in our place. (See John 3:1618, 36.) This is what Jesus Himself meant when He said, I am the
way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but
through Me.1 (John 14:6 ~ NASB)
Now that we have an understanding of what sin is, let us take a
good look at the anatomy and process of temptation and sin. In the
letter of James, we read, Let no one say when he is tempted, I am
being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He
Himself does not tempt any one. But each one is tempted when he is
carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is accomplished, it
brings forth death.1 (James 1:13-15 ~ NASB) We have seen how this
occurred in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. But here I would
like for us to examine how this happens in our own lives and see how
a spirit of fear, whose source is Satan himself, relates to temptation
and sin from a more practical standpoint.
From our discussion above, we can see how God does not and
cannot tempt or be tempted by evil. God is on our side; He loves us
and is for us. It is not His will that we be tempted to sin; rather, that
is solely the work and mission of Satan. Notice the manner in which
Satan tempts us. James says that Satan lures and entices us by our
own desires. So, what are our desires and where do they come from?
I believe our desires are the selfish whims we all have. They are
planted within all of us by Satan as a result of the original sin of our
ancestors, Adam and Eve. When our focus is on getting what we
want, doing what we want, when we want, and the way we want, we
are fair game for Satan to turn even our most well-intentioned desires
into evil desires.
We can recognize when Satan has ensnared us and when our
desires have become evil because we usually become fairly possessive
of such desires at this point, including being defensive of them and
critical of others if challenged, justifying or rationalizing them if need
be, excusing ourselves for having the desires, minimizing our desires

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in one way or another so they do not sound as bad as they really are,
blaming someone or something else for our desires to make them
seem okay, or sometimes even lying to others or denying that we even
have the desires in the first place, especially in the event that we are
embarrassed by them or experience adverse circumstances as a direct
result of our desires. But when we are at this point, we are already
hooked by Satans spirit of fear. Consciously or not, we fear going
through life without having our desires met, and we will do almost
anything to achieve that end. We fear the unknowns of life without
having our desires met. We do not even want to think of what it
would be like without satisfying our desires. Indeed, we often cannot
even imagine our lives without having our desires satisfied, and so we
become defensive and critical of anyone who may challenge us, or we
use any combination of justification, rationalization, making excuses,
minimizing, blaming, lying, or denial to secure the safety of our
desires.
When we seek to meet such desires, James says that we have
given birth to sin. Even harboring unmet desires is sin because our
heart is not in the right place. We are seeking our own agenda and
not Gods. Our desires have supplanted His. We have therefore
missed the mark. We have fallen short of the glory of God. We have
sinned. And James says that when sin is accomplished, it brings forth
death.1 (James 1:15b ~ NASB) What he means by this is that, unless
we repent of our sin and confess it, agreeing with God that it is sin, we
are headed for spiritual death with Satan. We cannot know and
experience the forgiveness of God and the eternal life that Jesus came
to give us until we do repent of our sin, confess it, accept Jesus death
in our place for it, ask Him for His forgiveness, and commit to submit
to His Lordship in our lives. Such a 180 degree turnaround in our
thinking, indeed, of our very lives, is what repentance of our sin is all
about.
Now that we have examined the anatomy and process of
temptation and sin and the role that Satan and his spirit of fear plays
in our lives, let us turn to another dimension of temptation and sin and
analyze the context wherein we do battle with Satan. I believe that
there is a process that can lead to overcoming Satan, just as there is a
process that leads to succumbing to his wiles. I also believe that there
is a constant war raging between these two processes that we

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need to recognize, and this has everything to do with the context

wherein we find ourselves.
I believe that we all have a belief system. In fact, perhaps
unbeknownst to us, we actually have two distinct belief systems. The
first belief system has to do with what we believe and understand
about God and ideally how we should live in light of our beliefs and
understandings.
Even nonbelievers have such a belief system,
however and whoever they define their god to be. Such a belief
system, whether Christian or not, incorporates an individuals system
and sense of values, ideals, and morals; that which gives an individual
meaning, direction, and purpose in life; and what the individual
considers to be right and deemed to be the highest good, as well as
what is wrong and deemed to be the greatest evil. It is that body of
beliefs, encompassing all these things, that we all say we aspire to live
by and which we consider to be ultimate truth and which gives our
lives true meaning.
The other belief system is perhaps a lot more nebulous, at best. In
fact, for many, if not for most people, it may not even be recognized
as even existing, but it is the belief system by which we all live in
actual practice the reality of our lives. This belief system is the result
of our lives in this world, how we see ourselves in this world, and how
we have come to process and understand the world for ourselves. It
embodies what we have learned through a lifetime of observations as
to what is, how we perceive reality to be, and what we believe about
ourselves and others. For many people, it may be quite difficult to
identify their specific beliefs in this second belief system.
The first belief system revolves around God, the things of God, and
how we believe we should live in light of what we believe. The second
belief system revolves around ourselves and our perceptions of our
world, and these dictate practically how we should live with little or no
advance thought on our part. Because we ourselves are at the center
of such a belief system, it is, by nature, very selfish, self-seeking, and
self-serving. This is also the realm in which Satan wreaks his havoc
and where his spirit of fear thrives.

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In each belief system, there are thoughts, attitudes, and opinions

that interpret the system for us and give our beliefs true meaning.
These thoughts, attitudes, and opinions can reveal what we truly
believe, as they are the results of our beliefs. If we have a thinking
error, or a wrong attitude or opinion, it is directly linked to a faulty
belief in the applicable belief system. In the first belief system, we
tend to be very familiar with our own thoughts, attitudes, and opinions
about what we believe about God and our relationship or lack of a
relationship with Him. In the second belief system, however, it may
be somewhat more difficult, particularly at first, to identify ones own
thoughts, although perhaps it may be easier to recognize ones own
attitudes and opinions.
From our thoughts, attitudes, and opinions, spring our emotions
and feelings. With respect to the first belief system, while we may be
aware of our emotions and feelings as a result of our thoughts and
beliefs about God and whatever relationship we may enjoy with Him,
in the second belief system, I believe we tend to be much more in
tune with our own emotions and feelings than we are with our
thoughts and beliefs.
Finally, we generally act out our beliefs consistent with our
thoughts, emotions, and feelings. For most of us, our behavior may
be an automatic, unconscious response to what we think and feel in
the second belief system, while being hard work, requiring a conscious
effort in the first belief system. But regardless of how conscious we
are in either belief system of the process of beliefs to thoughts to
feelings to actions, I believe the Scriptural truth that as a man
thinketh in his heart, so is he is a very accurate depiction of this
process. (Proverbs 23:7a4 ~ KJV) And as for the operation of this
process, especially within the second belief system, the LORD told
Jeremiah, The heart is more deceitful than all else and desperately
sick; who can understand it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the
mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to
the results of his deeds.1 (Jeremiah 17:9-10 ~ NASB)
Now I would like us to take an even closer look at the second belief
system, with its beliefs/thoughts/feelings/actions process, that leads
to succumbing to Satans wiles. When we are wrapped up in ourselves, whether consciously or unconsciously, we cannot be

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concerned with the things of God, nor with God Himself. I believe that
both belief systems are mutually exclusive. To the extent that we are
consumed by the one, we cannot be consumed by the other. It is
because of this that Satan can have a field day with each one of us.
Let us consider how this happens practically.
Suppose we have a belief that something or other, such as a new
car, belongs to us and people ought to respect our car, and should be
impressed with our car and with us for having it. Now imagine what
some of our thoughts, attitudes, and opinions might be as a result of
owning this new car. We might be naturally proud of owning such a
cool automobile. We probably might want to keep it as new and clean
as possible. We may park it in remote places in parking lots, lest it
suffer scratches or dents from other careless peoples car doors or runaway shopping carts and the like.
Our riders will probably be
forbidden to eat or drink in our new car lest it gets dirty or stained.
On another tangent, we may seek to put other peoples new cars in
a dim light, thinking to ourselves how our car is better than theirs, if
not coming right out and saying so. We may feel proud of ourselves
for being able to drive such a nice car, and perhaps we may look at
others on the sidewalk or in other cars for some sort of a favorable
reaction. All this can apply likewise to a sharp old classic car or
whatever other possession(s) we may be particularly proud of. The
bottom line is that we tend to expect to be judged and esteemed by
others according to what we have or do not have, whether good or
bad, just as we tend to judge and esteem others by these same types
of standards. We also tend to judge and esteem ourselves according
to our possessions. Because of this tendency, we tend to care for our
possessions accordingly. But notice the direction and emphasis of all
these thoughts. They all, in some way, come back to a self-centered
focus on ourselves, and not only our possessions, but also our
achievements, our personal attributes, talents, and abilities, our
appearances, our socio-economic status, our popularity, and whatever
else we think may put us on a pedestal above everyone else, at least
for the time being.
We should also notice how easily these thoughts flow into our
feelings on an emotional level. How many times do we purchase
things to feel better about ourselves, or to impress others and hope

44

that they may feel good about us. Lest we say that we do not have
such feelings or pride of owning things, let us consider how we would
feel if we suddenly lost a prized possession. How would we feel about
losing that nice car through theft or in an accident? We can become
quite upset if it even gets a scratch on it! The same is true about our
record of achievements, academic attainments, our personal attributes, talents, abilities, appearances, socio-economic status, popularity, and other such things we allow ourselves to be judged and
esteemed by ourselves and others. Any of these things, like our
possessions, can become lost or marred by accident, injury, sickness,
or other such misfortune. They are truly temporal. And when something adverse happens to us, our emotions can range from sorrow to
anger, embarrassment to utter disgust. Many people fall into a deep
depression when tragedy strikes.
If Satan has not ensnared us at the point of our beliefs, thoughts,
or feelings, then he will surely try to get at us through our actions.
For instance, some may believe that one of their beliefs has been
compromised or threatened in some way, leading to thoughts that
they have been personally attacked in some way.
Rather than
allowing for the possibility of a logical explanation or recognizing the
fact that accidents do happen, an individual may sense any number of
emotions, from feelings of hurt and disappointment up to anger and
rage. Thoughts may tend to revolve around supporting beliefs that he
or she is a victim and how he or she has been victimized. Unchecked,
such beliefs, thoughts, and feelings may result in actions which he or
she may later regret. Some react to negative experiences, theft,
damaged possessions, bodily injury, and the like by fixing blame on
someone or something, or by seeking revenge in one way or another.
This revenge may involve violence or legal actions and lawsuits
through the courts.
How does Satan ensnare us in each step of the process? The
answer is he uses a spirit of fear. Our beliefs, whether conscious or
not, tend to be formulated in such a way that we believe a certain way
because we fear the consequences of believing otherwise. We do not
know for certain what life would be like if we believed otherwise and,
because of not knowing, we fear it. Perhaps we dislike a certain way
of believing and, if we were to hold that particular belief, there is no
telling what may happen, and so we fear it as well. Such is the realm
wherein Satan loves to implant his spirit of fear.

45

Likewise, with our thoughts, Satan likes to reek havoc upon us with
his spirit of fear. With beliefs that are tainted even with the slightest
dose of a spirit of fear, our thoughts which support and express our
beliefs are likewise targeted by Satan. Remember, we ourselves are
at the heart of our respective belief systems; therefore, our thoughts
about ourselves, our attributes, and our possessions and the like are
all intimately impacted by our own personal fear of the unknown,
Satans playground.
It is no wonder, then, that our feelings and emotions can also be
controlled by Satans spirit of fear. When we experience doubt,
confusion, unmet needs or expectations, disappointment, sorrow, pain,
anger, and the like, our focus is on ourselves and what happened to
ourselves rather than on God. We tend to see ourselves as victims
and as being victimized rather than looking to God to see what He
wants to teach us through the experience. We tend to want to look
out for ourselves and cut our losses, if possible, rather than look to
God for our provision, sustenance, and protection. Our eyes are on
ourselves and our respective predicament(s), rather than on God and
His provision, and that is exactly where Satan wants our eyes to be,
because that is where he finds fertile soil for implanting his spirit of
fear.
Then comes our actions. This is the step in the process wherein
Satan makes his presence known, if not before. We often are so
worked up by our beliefs, thoughts, and feelings that we tend to
immediately fly into some sort of an action or reaction without
realizing that we have a choice to do so or not. Many times, we are so
blinded by what we think and how we feel at this point that we do not
consider the consequences of our actions, for ourselves as well as for
others. Yet, the action we take, or the reaction we have, derives from
a belief that we have maintained, consciously or unconsciously, within
our belief system that the action or reaction is okay and permissible.
This is the point where Satans spirit of fear reaches it zenith. At
this point, we are often numb or calloused to what we do not know,
understand, or may experience as a result of our actions, because in
our beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and now, our actions, Satan has blinded
us from it. Yet the fact remains, where Satans spirit of fear is alive
and well, wherever we may be in the steps in our belief system
process, there we will find ourselves in danger of falling to temptation

46

and sin. And again, as we read in James, ...when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.1 (James 1:15b ~ NASB)
Left
unchecked, unconfessed, and unforgiven, that is the precise result of
sin, and it is Satans goal for each one of us. This is what Paul, in his
letter to the Romans, meant when he wrote, For the wages of sin is
death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.1
(Romans 6:23 ~ NASB) That free gift is salvation through the
sacrifice of Gods Son, Jesus, in our place and for our sins.
You see, it is only when we take our eyes off ourselves and our
own self-sufficiency and look to God and His provision through His Son
that we can hope to find our salvation. This is a far cry from the
deception and lies Satan presents and deludes us with. How much
heartache and broken relationships could be spared if we could only
recognize Satans activity in our lives right from the get go. We will
look at specific ways to do this a little later; but suffice it to say that
Satan is out to get us, whatever it takes, and his most successful
weapon, beginning with temptation and following through to sin, is his
spirit of fear which he seeks to instill within all of us.
And so we have explored at length what it means to have a spirit of
fear. We have seen how Satan introduced a spirit of fear to Adam and
Eve through their temptation in the garden of Eden. We have also
considered how this spirit of fear is used by Satan when he tempts us
to sin.
In the next chapter, we will examine the one recorded time that
Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan. Jesus exemplified how God originally intended for Adam and Eve and us, too, to respond to Satan and
his temptations for us to sin. This should teach us the right way to
gain victory over Satan and his temptations of us to sin. Then, in the
following chapter, we will look at several practical examples from the
Bible where Satan employed a spirit of fear with people. Next, we will
consider examples of a spirit of fear in our world today. We will conclude this section by considering how Satan uses a spirit of fear in our
own lives.

47

Footnotes:
1

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

Reference taken from The Scofield Reference Bible THE HOLY BIBLE
Containing the Old and New Testaments AUTHORIZED KING JAMES
VERSION, Copyright 1909, 1917, and Copyright Renewed, 1937, 1945 by
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK, INC. See pages 1249-1250 for
reference. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.

Reference taken from The Scofield Reference Bible THE HOLY BIBLE
Containing the Old and New Testaments AUTHORIZED KING JAMES
VERSION, Copyright 1909, 1917, and Copyright Renewed, 1937, 1945 by
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK, INC. See page 1342 for reference.
Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.

Quote taken from The Scofield Reference Bible THE HOLY BIBLE Containing
the Old and New Testaments AUHTORIZED KING JAMES VERSION,
Copyright 1909, 1917, and Copyright Renewed, 1937, 1945 by OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK, INC. See page 688 for reference. Used by
Permission. All Rights Reserved.

2 4
Scripture quotations and references are taken from The Authorized
(King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United
Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crowns
patentee, Cambridge University Press. (For use within the United Kingdom.)

A SPIRIT OF FEAR USED BY SATAN IN HIS

TEMPTATION OF JESUS CHRIST

Not only are we fallible human beings the targets for Satans
antics, but even the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ Himself, also
fell prey to Satans spirit of fear and powers of temptation. But, unlike
us, the perfect and holy Son of God did not succumb to Satans use of
a spirit of fear nor his subsequent temptation. Jesus Christ resisted
Satan completely, and thereby remained without guilt and sin, guile
and shame, throughout His life on earth.
You see, it is not how good we are that determines whether we will
be targeted by Satan; we are all being targeted as his prey without
exception. Rather, it is how well we recognize Satans presence,
respect his power, and reject his appeals with the means that have
been given to us, and how fully we rely on the power of God through
His Holy Spirit and resident in His Holy Word, the Bible, that will truly
determine how victorious we are over Satan, his spirit of fear, his
temptations, and even sin in our own lives. Jesus Christ gave us all a
living example of how we should successfully deal with the wiles of the
Devil, realizing that the Holy Spirit of God is infinitely more powerful
than Satans spirit of fear with which he tries to threaten us.
In preparation of our consideration of Jesus Christs temptation by
Satan, it may be helpful to first take a look at the Personhood of Jesus,
lest we think that His temptation was any less difficult for Him than
what we face. Jesus Christ was just as human as He was divine. His
heritage before being born into the human race was indeed different
than ours. He had a prior existence; we did not. And that prior
existence was as the Second Person of the Godhead; Jesus Christ has
forever been, and forever will be, the Son of God. But according to
48

49

Philippians 2:6-8, Jesus set aside all His privileges and rights as part of
the Godhead in order to assume total humanity.
Jesus had a sort of dual personhood, if you will, but each one was
just as real as the other. Thus, even though He was 100 percent the
Son of God, this did not affect or detract from His being 100 percent
the son of man. Likewise, His being 100 percent the son of man did
not affect or detract from His being 100 percent the Son of God. While
this whole matter of the simultaneous deity and humanity of Jesus
Christ may seem confusing at best, the fact still remains: Jesus Christ
dwelt among mankind as a man, born of a woman, and, at the same
time, He was the Son of God within the confines of a human body. As
such, He experienced all of the very same limitations that we do, as
well as the same emotions, aspirations, weaknesses, pain,
temptations, etc., which we can and do experience. (You may wish to
read Hebrews 3:14-18 and 4:14-16 in this regard.)
Now, there may be some who feel that temptation, with its source
being Satan, must in and of itself be evil or sinful. Let us think about
this for a moment, especially since Jesus was tempted and did not sin.
As has been said, it matters not how good and perfect we may be;
Satan will tempt us all. Does that mean that we have sinned, just
because we have been tempted? No; it means that we have been put
to a test. How well we handle the test is what determines whether we
have sinned or not. In Jesus case, He was sinless. He was victorious
over Satan and His temptation of Him. Harold Lindsell specifically
addresses this matter in connection with Satans temptation of Jesus
Christ in one of his study notes in the HARPER STUDY BIBLE. He
writes: The Bible teaches two great truths about Jesus and sin:
(1) He was tempted; (2) He was sinless. This means that it was
possible for Christ to be tempted without sinning, and that He was
sinless although tempted. In His humanity the possibility of sinning
existed, yet He resisted temptation and perfectly fulfilled the law and
1
will of God.
Elsewhere, about Jesus sinlessness, he continued:
Sinlessness involves two elements. The first concerns the inward part
of man or the motivation which governs his actions. The second has
to do with the outward acts of man. Sinlessness implies that both
ones inward motives and overt acts are perfect in Gods sight. It is
actual conformity to the good and the holy. That Jesus our Savior was
sinless is the united testimony of the Bible. We have: (1) the warrant
of Jesus own words (Jn 8.46; see also Jn 18.29; 17.19; (2) the
testimony of others (Jn 18.38; Mt 27.19; Lk 23.41; Mt 27.4); (3) the

50

testimony of the apostles (2 Cor 5.21; Heb 4.15; 1 Pet 2.21, 22; Heb
2
7.26, 27; 1 Jn 3.5).
The point of all this is simply to say that, although Jesus Christ
was the Son of God when He experienced Satans temptation of Him,
this fact did nothing to diminish His susceptibility to Satans attacks.
We can take courage from this in our own personal stands against
Satan when he tempts us. Jesus did not succumb to the temptation
simply because He was the Son of God; but as the Son of God and the
son of man, He chose not to sin, and He used the same weapon
against Satan that we all have available to us, as we soon shall see.
But we, too, as believers in Jesus Christ and who have accepted Him
as our Savior and Lord, can become adopted sons and daughters of
God. (Romans 8:14-17) We can be indwelt by the same Holy Spirit of
God that was with Jesus in the wilderness. And, we can know God as
our heavenly Father, even as Jesus did, and because of our love and
devotion to Him, we can choose, as Jesus did, not to succumb to
Satans temptations and sin. The very same power to withstand
Satans attacks are available to us in no lesser degree than that which
was available to Jesus in the wilderness temptations that He faced.
And so, let us now consider this marvelous example that Jesus
Christ gave us of how He personally handled Satan, for we all can
learn much that we can apply in our own lives from His example. This
episode with Satan occurred when Jesus was led up by the Holy Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil, just before Jesus
began His public ministry. While the Bible only presents one occasion
when Satan tried to tempt Jesus, knowing Satan, there were probably
many others. But we have been given this time in Jesus life when
Satan attacked Him, and I believe we have here presented for us all
that we need to know for doing battle with Satan, if we would but put
these things into practice in our daily conduct and actions, and
dealings with Satan.

Satans Temptation of Jesus Christ in the Wilderness

Before we examine the Biblical account of Jesus temptation by
Satan, we should first understand the context wherein this episode
took place. Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist, his

51

cousin. Upon His baptism in the Jordan River, we read in Matthew

3:16-17 ~ NASB how Jesus went up immediately from the water; and
behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out
of the heavens, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am wellpleased.3 Talk about a spiritual high! Here Jesus not only had the
attention of men, but also the favor and blessing of Almighty God
visibly and audibly manifested upon Him.
It was immediately upon the heels of this significant spiritual event
that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit of God into the wilderness to be
tempted by the Devil. We read in Luke 4:1-2 ~ NASB that ...Jesus
was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became
hungry.3 I dont know about you, but I would be more than hungry!
I would be tired and sore from trying to sleep on the hard rocky
ground. Also, I would be terribly thirsty from the hot, dry, arid, and
dusty wilderness, to say nothing of my need for a bath and change of
clothes! Nonetheless, at the very least, we know that Jesus was
indeed very hungry. In Matthew 4:3a ~ NASB, we read, And the
tempter came and said to Him...3 With Satan, the timing of his
temptations are as important as the temptation itself in trying to trip
us up. When we feel closest to God, when things seem to be going
pretty well for us, when we are experiencing a spiritual high in our
lives, that is when Satan the tempter comes to us. But, he also comes
to us when we are hungry and tired, dirty and thirsty, poor and needy.
He did not come to Jesus as soon as He arrived in the wilderness.
Instead, he waited until he could use the situation to his advantage.
And so, in Matthew 4:3b ~ NASB, Satan said to Jesus, [If] You are
the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.3 (Italics
enclosed in brackets were added by the author for emphasis.) Notice
Satans If statement, just like with his temptation of Eve in the
Garden of Eden, although for her, it was implied.
Was Satan
questioning Jesus relationship with God, His Father? Did he truly
doubt Jesus Sonship? By asking Jesus this, was he attempting to
instill doubt in Jesus mind about His relationship with God the Father?
Or, perhaps, Satan was appealing to Jesus physical need for food as a
motivator to exercise His right as the Son of God to change the stones
of the wilderness to become loaves of bread. Even as with Adam and

52

Eve, Satan was appealing to Jesus physical need for food and trying to
tempt Jesus with how, as Gods Son, He would not mind Jesus using
His status before God to satisfy His physical yearnings by turning the
stones into bread. But Satan failed to recognize that Jesus did not
doubt His relationship to God nor His Sonship with God. There were
no If questions in Jesus mind. Satan was powerless to change Jesus
conviction and His certainty of His love-bond relationship of communion with God, His Father.
Also, Satan failed to recognize that Jesus did not only function on a
physical level. Jesus had a greater sense of His calling and whose He
was. The Spirit of God led Him into the wilderness and remained with
Him, moment by moment. The status of His Sonship was not in question. He was confident that God would provide for His physical needs.
But, in the meantime, Jesus was acutely aware of his calling and the
hard days of ministry that were before Him. He was acutely aware of
His dependence upon God for meeting both His and the many needs of
the people to whom He was about to minister. He also was dependent
upon God for His bold declaration and instruction of the Word of God
to the people of His day, many of whom would be hostile to both Him
and His message. But most of all, He was dependent upon God for
using Him to fulfill redemptions plan, for becoming the sacrificial Lamb
of God and all that that would entail. Therefore, according to Matthew
4:2a ~ NASB, Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights...3 Jesus was
so focused on His relationship with God and what God was about to do
that He was not thinking about His physical needs for food. And so,
...He then became hungry.3 (Matthew 4:2b ~ NASB)
When Satan made his appeal to Jesus to turn the stones to bread,
given all that Jesus had been doing the past forty days and nights, His
reply to Satan is not surprising. Jesus did not need Satan to tell Him
that He could turn the stones into some bread to eat. But to do so, at
Satans urging, would be to follow Satan, not God. So, instead of
listening to Satan or giving any credence whatsoever to him, Jesus
listened solely to God, His Father, and proclaimed as much when He
answered Satan, It is written, MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD
ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH
OF GOD.3 (Matthew 4:4 ~ NASB) Nothing more is said by Satan in
this temptation of Jesus, once He had quoted this Scripture from

53

Deuteronomy 8:3. Why? The Word of God is indeed powerful. It is

not only powerful in our own lives (2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Hebrews
4:12-13), but it is significantly powerful and successfully victorious
over Satan and his attacks (Ephesians 6:17), if we would only use it,
and do so con-sistently. Jesus did, and all Satan could do is tempt
Him in another area.
In Matthew 4:5-7, we read about Satans next temptation of Jesus.
For this temptation, Satan took Jesus to the holy city, Jerusalem, and
set Jesus on the high point of the temple. Again, Satan said to Him,
[If] You are the Son of God throw Yourself down; for it is written, HE
WILL GIVE HIS ANGELS CHARGE CONCERNING YOU; AND ON THEIR
HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, LEST YOU STRIKE YOUR FOOT
AGAINST A STONE.3 (Matthew 4:6 ~ NASB; italics enclosed in
brackets were added by the author for emphasis.)
Again, Satan
posed an If statement to Jesus, as usual. And again, Jesus turned a
deaf ear to it, unwavering in His Sonship and the certainty of His and
His Fathers close love-bond relationship. Satan could not implant any
seeds of a spirit of fear in the heart of Jesus. Jesus was impenetrable
to doubt and so he did not ask Himself any If questions.
Additional points about this temptation need to be made as well.
First, the site of the temptation was the temple in Jerusalem. Satan
not only took Jesus to the holiest city in Israel, but he took Him to the
holiest place. Moreover, at the temple, Satan took Jesus to the
pinnacle of the temple, its highest point. And so it is with us. Satan
can come to us and tempt us wherever we are, even in that place that
we deem to be most holy and sacred.
Second, whereas the first temptation appealed to Jesus physical
needs, this temptation addressed Jesus spiritual needs and relationship with God, His Father. Satan, in almost a mocking tone, was
attacking Jesus relationship to God as His Son and he was doing so in
the most holy site in Israel. Jesus was not about to stoop to Satans
level, much less throw Himself down to see if God would indeed
protect Him. Jesus safety was not something that needed to be
tested or verified. The passage loosely quoted by Satan from Psalm
91:11-12 was addressed to those who are godly and live in godliness,
as was the case with Jesus. To even listen to Satan, much less follow
his ultimatum, would contradict everything Jesus stood for, lived for,
and believed about His relationship of trust in and love for God as His

54

Father.
And third, inasmuch as Satan was using this passage from Psalm
91 out of the context in which it was written and intended by the
psalmist showed just how wrong Satan was in truly understanding the
meaning and significance of it. Moreover, in referencing this passage,
Satan did not even quote it in its entirety, but instead, he edited it to
fit his purposes. This is why we have to be so vigilant in seeing
through Satans temptations. We have to know the Scriptures, always
ready to recognize truth and error. When in doubt, we have to check
it out. Many teachers today who claim to know the Bible sometimes
misquote it or only quote those words that may sound supportive of
their pet teachings, with total disregard for the immediate context,
and the greater context of the Bible as a whole. Passages of Scripture
are cited in part or they are taken outside the context wherein they
were written with the result that it makes the Bible sound like it is
saying something far different than what was intended by the Biblical
writer. Such is the difference between exegesis and eisegesis, and
only through careful exegesis in our own study of Gods Word can we
come to know what the Bible is really teaching, and thereby learn how
to distinguish truth from error in how the Bible is being used or
referenced by Satan or a false teacher.
Jesus therefore rebuked Satan, again quoting Scripture, saying,
On the other hand, it is written, YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD
YOUR GOD.3 (Matthew 4:7 ~ NASB) (See Deuteronomy 6:16 from
where this was taken.) And that was the end of that. Satan was
again powerless to stand up against the Word of God, the same power
that is available to you and me, if we use it.
Well, Satan must have thought that the third time would be a
charm for, in Matthew 4:8-10, we read about Satans third try at
tempting Jesus. This time, he took Jesus to a very high mountain, and
showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them.
Attempting to appeal to Jesus sensual appetite for power, ambition,
fame, fortune, and all-around lust for the pride of life, Satan said, All
these things will I give You, [if] You fall down and worship me.3
(Matthew 4:8 ~ NASB; italics enclosed in brackets were added by the
author for emphasis.) Yet again, there it is, that If statement.
Satan really uses the same approach every time, whether he is trying
to tempt Jesus or us. We truly must train ourselves to hear these If
statements in Satans temptations.

55

And what was Jesus response to Satan? How about some more
Scripture, for Jesus said, Begone, Satan! For it is written, YOU
SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.3
(Matthew 4:10 ~ NASB) (Again, see Deuteronomy 6:13-15.)
And how about us? What is our response to Satan? Do we
faithfully quote Scripture to him to defend ourselves from his attacks?
Do we even know the Scriptures well enough to do this? How much
better able we all could be to withstand Satan if we made regular Bible
reading, study, memorization, and meditation a significant and
important part of our daily lives. Then, with Jesus, we could know the
joy and relief when Satan leaves and the angels come and minister to
us. (Matthew 4:11)

Footnotes:
1

Taken from Harold Lindsell, Ph.D., D.D., HARPER STUDY BIBLE / THE
HOLY BIBLE: Revised Standard Version. Zondervan Publishing House,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1964/1965. See page 15 for reference.

Taken from Harold Lindsell, Ph.D., D.D., HARPER STUDY BIBLE / THE
HOLY BIBLE: Revised Standard Version. Zondervan Publishing House,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1964/1965. See page 1809 for reference.

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken

from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962,
1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this
source as (NASB) following the text where reference is being made or
quoted. (www.Lockman.org)

OTHER EXAMPLES OF A SPIRIT OF FEAR

IN THE BIBLE

Throughout the Bible, there are many examples of a spirit of fear in

action that we can consider and learn from. While these examples do
not comprise an exhaustive listing, I believe they are representative of
the same ways Satan might limit us and our effectiveness through the
use of a spirit of fear in our own lives.

Cain and Abel

In Genesis Chapter 4 ~ RSV, we read about the different sacrifices
offered to God by Adams sons, Cain and Abel. Abel was a keeper of
flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the fround.1 (Genesis 4:2 ~ NASB)
When each gave their respective offerings to God, Cains offering being
the fruit of the ground and Abels being the firstlings of his flock and of
the fat portions, we find that Abels offering was accepted with regard
by the LORD and Cains offering was rejected and held no regard by
the LORD. The difference in the LORDs response was clear: even as
God made a covering for Adams and Eves shame after they sinned
and disobeyed God, the skins with which He clothed them involved the
death and the shedding of blood of the otherwise innocent living
animal. We read in Hebrews 9:22 ~ NASB that according to the Law,
one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.1
The difference between these two sacrifices shows the difference
between mans response to sin and Gods response. Even with their
parents response to their own sin and disobedience as related in
Genesis Chapter 3, we see clearly why God did not accept Cains
56

57

offering. To elucidate our understanding further, let us consider these

specific differences in response now. In Genesis 3:7-11, we learn that
Adam and Eve knew they were naked and felt shame by their nakedness. They knew they needed a covering for their guilt and shame
over the sin they had committed when found in the very presence of
their holy God. Their response was to make fig leaf coverings, which
symbolize mans reliance upon good deeds as cover-ups for their sin
and shortcomings. But mans cover-ups for his sin and attempts to
assuage his guilt by knitting together his good works cannot be
successful in hiding from the eyes of a holy God. for God sees not
as a man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the
LORD looks at the heart.1 (1 Samuel 16:7b ~ NASB) Therefore,
mans focus on his outward appearance or covering for sin by doing
good works is to God nothing more than filthy rags, as stated in Isaiah
64:6 ~ NASB, where we read: For all of us have become like one
who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us
away.1
However, Gods covering for sin through the innocent
sacrifices of animals and eventually, of His only Son, Jesus Christ,
involved the sacrifice and shedding of innocent blood and life for us,
the guilty ones. So, repentance requires that we see ourselves as we
truly are -- helpless sinners -- knowing that we need a covering at the
expense of anothers innocent life. By accepting these sacrifices in our
place, placing upon the sacrifice our full penalty of death as
satisfaction of Gods judgment for our sin and disobedience, can they
indeed become a satisfactory substitution for our penalty, and by their
blood can our atonement for sin be accomplished.
So, with this understanding, we can return to the story of Cain and
Abel, and better appreciate the differences in their respective sacrifices. Also, as his elder brother, Cain should have had a similar
understanding of this difference, as Adam and Eve surely must have
communicated this to both Cain and Abel. Nevertheless, we see in
Genesis Chapter 4 that Cains sacrifice did not measure up to that of
his brother Abels sacrifice. God even gave Cain the opportunity to
rectify his sacrifice when God saw that he was so angry at his sacrifice
being rejected. God said, Why are you angry? And why has your
countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted
up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its
desire is for you, but you must master it.1 (Genesis 4:6-7 ~ NASB)
This is the very same choice we all are given by God when we are
facing temptation. Unfortunately, like Cain, we are often too

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consumed with pride over our own accomplishments, or fear that we

can never measure up to anothers standards that we then succumb
to the wiles of Satan and his desire to make us his prey, rather than
mastering him and his attacks.
And so, we read that Cain rose up against his brother Abel and
killed him. When God confronted Cain, He said, What have you done?
The voice of your brothers blood is crying to Me from the ground. And
now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to
receive your brothers blood from your hand. When you cultivate the
ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you; you shall be a
vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.1 (Genesis 4:10-12 ~ NASB)
The story concludes with the statement that Cain went away from the
presence of the LORD. When we allow Satan to have his way with us,
this is the final result of our sin as Gods holy presence cannot tolerate
being in the same presence as sin. Thus, the hate, jealousy, and envy
that Cain had harbored against Abel were all indicative of the fruits
that a spirit of fear can bring to bear within the unrepentant heart of
one given over to the work of Satan in his life. Cain had rejected
Gods opportunity offered to him to experience a love-bond relationship of communion with Him and to live in righteousness - rightstanding - before Him.

Noah and the Ark

Another example of the presence of a spirit of fear involves he
story of Noah and the Ark. This account is found in Genesis 6:5-8:22.
In this passage of Scripture, we learn that Noah found favor in the
eyes of the LORD, he was a righteous man, blameless in his time;
and that he walked with God.1 (Genesis 6:8-9 ~ NASB) We also
learn that the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the whole
earth was filled with violence.1 (Genesis 6:11 ~ NASB) Then the
LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every intent of the thoughts of his heat was only evil continually.1
(Genesis 6:5 ~ NASB) The depravity of man had degenerated so far
that the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and He
was grieved in his heart.1 (Genesis 6:6 ~ NASB) When God looked
on the earth, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted
their way upon the earth.1 (Genesis 6:12 ~ NASB) Therefore, God
told Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is
filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to

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destroy them with the earth.1 (Genesis 6:13 ~ NASB) God said, I
will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from
man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, for I am
sorry that I have made them.1 (Genesis 6:7 ~ NASB)
Then God proceeded with instructing Noah in how to build an ark
with a single door in order to escape the flood of judgment that was
soon to come. God said, For behold, I, even I am bringing the flood
of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of
life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.
But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the
arkyou and your sons and your wife, and your sons wives with you.
And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind
into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and
female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their
kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every
kind shall come to you, to keep them alive. And as for you, take for
yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and
it shall be for food for you and for them.1 (Genesis 6:17-21 ~ NASB)
And we read that thus Noah did; according to all that God had
commanded him, so he did.1 (Genesis 6:22 ~ NASB)
In all this, we do not see the response of men to Noahs ark
building, but it is fairly certain, given their description, to surmise that
Noah was probably despised in the eyes of his fellow man and
withstood tremendous ridicule by them. In the eyes of those who are
perishing and who have no time for God in the midst of their many evil
pursuits, Satan blinds them with their pride, arrogance, and selfserving endeavors of iniquity. Anything Noah may have said by way of
warning to them was surely dismissed as the wild delusions of a mad
man. Noahs righteousness was probably evidenced to them as well,
since he revered God and His holiness apart from their profligate
lifestyles. Noahs faith in God and his obedience to His every word
stood in stark contrast to the men of his day. When God gave Noah
his final 7-day warning before the 40 days and nights of rain, he
obediently and faithfully followed all Gods commands and entered
through the single door of the ark, he and his family, and they were all
saved. One can only imagine how the rest of humanity might have
responded when the flood waters began to rise.
Perhaps they
pounded on the closed door, wanting to escape with Noah in the ark.
Filled with increasing terror as they faced their end, they each one met
their final demise as God fulfilled His judgment against them.

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The same scenario holds true for all of us. If we continue in sin
and our various faithless endeavors, proud of our own accomplishments and egocentric behaviors, the time is coming as in the days of
Noah when it will be too late to repent. Jesus Christ is our only door
of salvation from Gods coming judgment. I hope that we will all make
the needed response of coming to God in repentance and faith,
accepting Jesus Christs sacrifice in our place on the cross of Calvary,
and receiving His salvation from our sin and the eternal death that we
all deserve.

Abrahams Deception to Abimelech

In Genesis 20 ~ RSV, we find Abraham traveling through the
Negeb, a region known to Abraham as a land where his God was not
feared by the people. Since his wife was fair, he planned a deception
whereby Sarah would present herself as being Abrahams sister and
claim Abraham as her brother, instead of as her spouse. Indeed,
Sarah was his half-sister, being the daughter of his father but not of
his mother. (Genesis 20:12) So, when the king of Gerar, Abimelech,
saw Sarah and Abraham told him that she was his sister, he took her
away to be his wife. But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the
night, and said to him, Behold, you are a dead man, because of the
woman whom you have taken, for she is married.1 (Genesis 20:3 ~
NASB) Now up to this point, Abimelech had not yet approached
Sarah, so he was naturally perplexed at the dream and Gods
accusation. Abimelech responded to God, Lord, wilt Thou slay a
nation, even though blameless? Did he not himself say to me, She is
my sister? And she herself said, He is my brother. In the integrity of
my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.1 (Genesis
20:4-5 ~ NASB) Then God said to him in the dream, Yes, I know
that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept
you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.
Now therefore restore the mans wife, for he is a prophet, and he will
pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know
that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.1 (Genesis 20:6-7
~ NASB)
So, early in the morning, Abimelech got up and told his servants
about his dream and they were very afraid. Next, Abimelech called

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Abraham and said, What have you done to us? And how have I
sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a
great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done
What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?1 (Genesis
20:9-10 ~ NASB) Abraham said, Because I thought, surely there is
no fear of God in this place; and they will kill me because of my
wife. Besides, she actually is my sister, the daughter of my father,
but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife; and it
came about, when God caused me to wander from my fathers house,
that I said to her, This is the kindness which you will show to me:
everywhere we go, say of me, He is my brother. 1 (Genesis
20:11-13 ~ NASB) And so, after Abimelech blessed Abraham with
livestock and slaves, and offered his land to stay in wherever it pleases
him, he returned Sarah to Abraham with a thousand pieces of silver as
her vindication and to make things right before all who were with her.
Abraham responded by praying for Abimelech, his wife, and female
slaves so that they might again be able to bear children. (Genesis
20:14-18)
I selected this story to illustrate how we tend to allow our fears of
the unknown to take precedence over our faith that God will protect
us. Abraham sinned by bearing a false witness through Sarah to
hopefully protect his hide. He used misrepresentation and deception
in an effort to manipulate and control others for his own benefit. He
even blamed God for his wandering into Abimelechs land. Had not
God intervened through Abimelechs dream that night, much evil and
tremendous negative consequences could have fallen on Abimelech
and his people. Fortunately, Abimelech did what was right before God,
and he and his people were spared. How mindful are we of the effects
on others when we succumb to a spirit of fear? Are we aware that our
actions can lead others to sin, if even by their honest ignorance of the
truth that we have misrepresented to them?
This same deception occurred again when Abrahams son, Isaac,
used the very same deception with his wife Rebekah, again with king
Abimelech. (Genesis 26:6-11) The sayings, Like father, like son, and
Apples do not fall far from the tree would seem fitting here. Again, a
spirit of fear took priority over faith in Gods hand of protection. I
wonder if Abimelech began to wonder about Abrahams family and
their integrity. The lesson we can take from this is that little eyes are
watching us, and we should be ever mindful of the kind of example we
are giving to the next generation. Is it one that allows fear to dictate

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our actions, or faith in our God? How much does our love and
devotion to God penetrate and dictate our actions when facing the
dangers of unknown possibilities?

Jacob and Esau

The story of Jacobs stolen blessing from his father, Isaac, that was
meant for his brother, Esau, is another example of the generational
penchant for deception and dishonesty in Abrahams lineage. We find
this account in Genesis 25:27-34 and 27:1-40.
Jacob and Esau were twins and they exhibited a sibling rivalry from
the womb through adulthood. Rebekah, Isaacs wife, had been barren,
but after Isaac prayed for her, God blessed her with twins. God also
promised her that there were two nations in her womb and that the
peoples of these two nations would be divided, one would be stronger
than the other, and that the elder would serve the younger. Isaac was
sixty years old when the twin boys were born. The eldest was Esau
and the younger, Jacob, was born with his hand holding Esaus heel.
(Genesis 25:19-26)
In those days, it was most desirable to be the first-born son. Along
with the honor of being the first-born came the distinct honor of also
receiving the birthright. Jacob really coveted this birthright of Esau
and sought a way to somehow take it from him. One day, Jacob saw
his opportunity. And so we read the account of how Esau sold his
birthright to Jacob in Genesis 25:27-34 ~ NASB: When the boys
grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob
was a peaceful man, living in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he
had a taste for game; but Rebekah loved Jacob. And when Jacob had
cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; and
Esau said to Jacob, Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff
there, for I am famished. But Jacob said, First sell me your
birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am about to die; so of what use
then is the birthright to me? And Jacob said, First swear to me; so
he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave
Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went
his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.1
The story picks up again in Genesis 27.

Here we find that now

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Isaac was old and his eyesight was failing greatly. He could no longer
distinguish his sons one from the other except by touch and by their
voice, the former more than the latter. Esau was a hairy man while
Jacob was comparatively a smooth man. So, he called Esau and told
him that he was nearing his death. He then instructed Esau to hunt up
some game for him and prepare it the way he loved it, and after bringing Isaac the meal and eating it, he would give Esau his blessing
before he died.
Now Rebekah had overheard Isaacs instructions to Esau and
planned a deception using Jacob to gain the blessing from Isaac
intended for Esau. So after Esau had left on his hunt for game,
Rebekah called Jacob, and commanded him to obey her scheme to
steal Esaus blessing from Isaac. Before relating the details of how
this deception was to work, lets think about what was behind this
scheme and consider how we might apply it to ourselves today. God
had already promised Rebekah that Jacob was to become the son of
promise, and that he and his people would rule over Esau and his
people. But she thought that maybe God had forgotten His promise or
needed her help in bringing it to pass. She feared for Jacob and
reasoned that she had to seize this opportunity to make Gods promise
a reality, rather than simply trust Him to do what He had promised.
How often do we take matters into our own hands rather than allowing
God to work according to His perfect will? If we truly love God, then
we will truly trust Him and allow Him to be God and sovereign in all
matters facing us at any time.
But this was not how Rebekah handled the situation. She assumed
responsibility that was meant to belong to God alone. She proceeded
with her deception and made Jacob obey her plans. First, she told
Jacob to select two good kids from the flock so she could prepare from
them savory food for Isaac, such as he loves. Next, he was to bring it
to Isaac to eat before receiving his deathbed blessing. To this latter
instruction, Jacob raised a relevant concern that Isaac would easily
distinguish Jacob from Esau, resulting in a possible curse rather than
the desired blessing.
So, Rebekah had Jacob wear Esaus best
garments and put the skins of the kids upon Jacobs hands and upon
the smooth part of his neck, and sent Jacob in to Isaac with the savory
food and bread that she had prepared. (Genesis 27:5-17)
Pretending to be Esau, Jacob did just as his mother had ordered,
and lied to Isaac about his true identity. Isaac was surprised at how

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soon his meal had been prepared as Esau had left not that long ago for
his hunt. Jacob lied and said, Because the Lord your God caused it
to happen to me.1 (Genesis 27:20b ~ NASB) Isaac still must not
have been totally convinced that he was talking to Esau because he
asked Jacob to come near so that he could feel him and his hairy skin.
Still not quite sure that he was talking to Esau, Isaac remarked, The
voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.1
(Genesis 27:22b ~ NASB) And so the deception was now complete as
Isaac did not recognize Jacob. He asked one last time, Are you really
my son Esau?1 (Genesis 27:24 ~ NASB) And Jacob again lied and
assured Isaac the he indeed was Esau. Thus, Isaac asked for his
dinner and proceeded to bless Jacob rather than Esau. (Genesis
27:18-29)
Again, God could have arranged for this blessing to have fallen
upon Jacob had He been allowed to. Instead, they chose deception to
steal mans blessing rather than seeking God. And, as a result of this
deception, when they were found out, great animosity arose between
Esau and Jacob. Esau said, Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has
supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright; and
behold, now he has taken away my blessing.1 (Genesis 27:36 ~
NASB) So Esau hated his brother Jacob and even plotted to kill him as
soon as Isaac had died. To avert this, Rebekah sent Jacob away to her
brother, Laban, to live and marry from his people, when the time
came. (Genesis 27:41-46) Again, a spirit of fear which was at the very
heart of this deception, can negatively impact so many people, and we
can never know how God could have worked in His infinite love apart
from it!

Moses Killing of the Egyptian

In Exodus 2:11-22, we read the account of Moses and his
encounter with an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, one of Moses
people. Moses had grown up at this time and, while being raised by
royalty in Egypt, he still considered his allegiance to the Hebrew
people of Israel. So, when he went out to his people and looked on
their burdens and the abuse his people suffered as slaves to the
Egyptians, that is when he witnessed an Egyptian beating one of the
Hebrew slaves. This angered Moses so he looked this way and that,
and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the
Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And he went out the next day, and

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behold, two Hebrews were fighting with each other; and he said to the
offender, Why are you striking your companion? But he said, Who
made you a prince or a judge over us? Are you intending to kill me, as
you killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid, and said, Surely the
matter has become known. When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he
tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and
settled in the land of Midian1 (Exodus 2:12-15b ~ NASB)
What does this short story reveal about Moses? First, we learn that
he had an anger problem, although many of us might consider it a
righteous anger. But one who has a love-bond relationship with
Almighty God would seek His sovereignty in every situation. As Moses
saw a fellow Hebrew being beaten by an Egyptian, he saw the situation
as if it were he who was being beaten. Likewise, having been raised
in royalty, perhaps Moses also saw himself as possessing more authority than maybe he should have. If indeed it was in his power to stop
the altercation, why didnt he? But as happens with so many of us, he
was unable to step back from the situation at hand and see what
alternatives there were. Secure in the love of God, Moses did not
involve God in what eventually took place. Rather, he allowed his
spirit of fear (Satan) and anger to get the better of him, and he killed
the Egyptian aggressor. The killing was even premeditated in that he
looked first to see if anyone was watching what he was going to do.
And how like us on the verge of temptation and sin, we look over our
shoulder to see if we can keep our actions secret. Then, having killed
the Egyptian, he sought to bury his body in the sand. And so do we
attempt to hide our sin and try to keep our evil deeds from becoming
known. But again, like most of our sin, we are eventually found out.
And so, Moses encountered the next day two of his fellow Hebrews
acting out. When Moses tried to break it up, he was confronted with
his own actions from the previous day and he became very afraid for
his own life. Moses fled the scene as we so often do in similar situations when we discover that our sin has become known. We may be
able to run from our sin for a season, but we can never flee from
ourselves and our memories. Neither can we hide ourselves and our
sin from the eyes of a holy God.
This story continues now with Moses in the land of Midian alongside
of a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they
came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their fathers flock.
Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up
and helped them, and watered their flock.1 (Exodus 2:15c-17 ~

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NASB) What were Moses thoughts as he saw the shepherds abusing

these ladies? He apparently had time for his anger settle down some
from his time in Egypt. Indeed, no one here were his fellow Hebrews.
He was now a good and safe distance from Egypt. But he still surely
had his memories of what had recently transpired in Egypt and could
not escape his guilty conscience. Like us when we know we have done
wrong, Moses sought to do something kind to distract himself from his
guilty thoughts. And so, Moses intervened and took action on behalf
of these seven daughters and watered their fathers flock in a foreign
land. The story concludes by Moses receiving kindness from and a
place to dwell with the priest of Midian and his daughters, and he
eventually marries one of these daughters and sojourns in the foreign
land of Midian and became content. (Exodus 2:18-22) We may distract ourselves from horrible sin, and everything may externally look
hunky-doorie on the outside. But we can never run from who we
really are or what we have actually done. I believe this was true of
Moses.

Moses and the Burning Bush

God placed His call on Moses life with a burning bush to capture
his attention. Moses had become content living in the land of Midian
tending to the flock of his father-in-law. While tending the flock, he
had led them to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb,
the mountain of God.1 (Exodus 3:1 ~ NASB) We can pick up the
story beginning at Exodus 3:2 where we read: And the angel of the
LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and
he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush
was not consumed. So Moses said, I must turn aside now, and see
this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up. When the LORD
saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of
the bush, and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here am I. Then
He said, Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet,
for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. He said also,
I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob. Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to
look at God.1 (Exodus 3:2-6 ~ NASB) Now, I have a question: why
was Moses afraid to look at God? Was it because of the awesome guilt
Moses sensed for killing the Egyptian? Was it the awesome holiness of
God and the sinful man Moses knew he was? The Scripture before us
doesnt say, but it was probably both of these at least. When Moses

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looked at the burning bush, it was out of curiosity, but once he knew
that God was present in the flame, he could not withstand the
awesome purity of Gods holiness. But even though Moses had sinned,
God still found a purpose to use Moses and work out His purposes
through him. And God wants to do this for each one of us if we pay
attention to the voice of God.
And so the story continues: And the LORD said, I have surely
seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed
to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their
sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the
Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious
land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and
the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the
Jebusite. And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to
Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians
are oppressing them. Therefore, come now, and I will send you to
Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of
Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh,
and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? And He said,
Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is
I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt,
you shall worship God at this mountain.1 (Exodus 3:7-12 ~ NASB)
Surprised at discovering God in a burning bush and now being
chosen by God for a task far larger than himself, Moses was not
completely on board with God yet. So Moses responds by raising up a
series of objections justifying his opinion that God was choosing someone who wouldnt measure up or be able to achieve the task that He
was laying out for him. Mindful of his weaknesses and limitations,
Moses begins to lay out for God why He was the wrong man for the
job. Then Moses said to God, Behold, I am going to the sons of
Israel, and I shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me
to you. Now they may say to me, What is His name? What shall I
say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM; and He said,
Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.
And God, furthermore, said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the sons
of Israel, The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My
name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. Go
and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, The LORD,
the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,

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has appeared to me saying, I am indeed concerned about you and

what has been done to you in Egypt. So I said, I will bring you up out
of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite and the Hittite
and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, to a
land flowing with milk and honey. And they will pay heed to what you
say; and you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt,
and say to him, The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us.
So now, please, let us go a three days journey into the wilderness,
that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God. I know that the king of
Egypt will not permit you go, except under compulsion. So I will
stretch out My hand, and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall
do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go. And I will grant
this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that
when you go, you will not go empty-handed. But every woman shall
ask of her neighbor, and the woman who lives in her house, articles of
gold, and clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters.
Thus you will plunder the Egyptians. 1 (Exodus 3:13-22 ~ NASB)
To this explanation, Moses continues to raise another doubt that he
is fit for the job God had for him. We read, Then Moses answered
and said, What if they will not believe me, or listen to what I say? For
they may say, The LORD has not appeared to you. And the LORD
said to him, What is that in your hand? He said, A staff. Then He
said, Throw it on the ground. So he threw it on the ground, and it
became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the LORD said to
Moses, Stretch out your hand grasp it by its tail - so he stretched
out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand - that
they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to
you. Again, the LORD furthermore said to him, Now put your hand
into your bosom. So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he
took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then He said, Put
your hand into your bosom. So he put his hand into his bosom again;
and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was restored like the
rest of his flesh. And it shall come to pass that if they will not believe
you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe the witness
of the last sign. But it shall be that if they will not believe even these
two signs or heed what you say, then you shall take some water from
the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take
from the Nile will become blood upon the dry ground.1 (Exodus 4:1-9
~ NASB)

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Finally, Moses raised his last objection: Moses said to the LORD,
Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time
past, nor since Thou hast spoken to Thy servant; for I am slow of
speech and slow of tongue. And the LORD said to him, Who has
made mans mouth? Or who makes him dumb or deaf, or seeing or
blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now then go, and I, even I, will be with
your mouth and teach you what you to say. But he said, Please,
Lord, now send the message by whomever Thou wilt. Then the anger
of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, Is there not your
brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And
moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you,
he will be glad in his heart. And you are to speak to him and put the
words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his
mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. Moreover, he shall
speak for you to the people; and it shall come about that he shall be
as a mouth for you, and you shall be as God to him. And you shall
take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.1
(Exodus 4:10-17 ~ NASB)
What then can we take away from all this? First, God accepts our
humility and human weaknesses as legitimate concerns and works to
overcome them in His strength. Also, as Moses raised each objection,
he was displaying his lack of trust and faith in God which, as we have
discussed elsewhere, are essential to a love-bond relationship. And it
was this kind of relationship God had desired with Moses and likewise,
with each one of us. When God call us to a task, it is not because of
our own talents and abilities and qualifications, but His. I love the
anonymous saying, God doesnt call the qualified; He qualifies the
called. And this was true of Moses. All God was really asking of
Moses was his obedience and willingness to trust Him for everything
Moses may need or encounter. That is how we grow in our relationship with Almighty God. He will be with us through thick and thin as
we seek to obey Him in all things. That may be what angered God
was the fact that Moses was focusing on his own limitations and not on
his unlimited potential in God; God wanted Moses to focus instead on
His faithful, perfect, unlimited Presence who repetitiously promised to
go with him, to do miraculous wonders through him, and to even be
with his mouth and teach him what he was supposed to say to the
people of Israel and to Aaron, his mouthpiece. So remember, when
God calls us to do something for Him, He will go with us, powerfully
work in us, and be through us all He is as God. Moses had to learn

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how to live this kind of life of faith and how to experience a love-bond
relationship with God and to know His infinite presence with and
through him, but as we know from Scripture, Moses became that kind
of man, indeed, Gods man in the history of Israel. Have you allowed
God into your life, and do you sense His presence and love as you face
each new day? That is Gods desire for all of us.

Moses Strikes the Rock in Anger for Water at Meriba

As Moses was leading the people to the Promised Land, a land
flowing with milk and honey, the Israelites had become a rather
cantankerous and disobedient lot. They tended to focus on their problems rather than on their blessings from God. As a result, they
meandered through the desert wilderness around Mount Sinai for a
period of 40 years. A popular gospel song, Take Another Lap Around
Mt. Sinai, hearkens back to the importance of learning lessons from
disobedience.
So, in Exodus 17:1-7, we find the people of Israel camped at
Rephidim. They were thirsty and without any water to drink. In the
second verse of this chapter, we see that the people quarreled with
Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to
them, Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD? But
the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses
and said, Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us
and our children and our livestock with thirst? So Moses cried out to
the LORD, saying, What shall I do to this people? A little more and
they stone me. Then the LORD said to Moses, Pass before the
people, and take some of the elders of Israel, with you some of the
elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck
the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at
Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it,
that the people may drink. And Moses did so, in the sight of the
elders of Israel. And he named the place Massah and Miribah, because
of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD,
saying, Is the LORD among us or not?1 (Exodus 17:2-7 ~ NASB)
We can empathize with Moses. Especially, those of us who are
parents can likely remember when our children were upset with us for
bringing them to a situation where they were uncomfortable, hungry,
thirsty, and tired. Unlike our children in that situation, Moses faced a

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multitude of adults who were acting like children and ungrateful ones
at that. Fearing for his life, Moses appealed to God who, as in the
past, faithfully provided for the physical needs of the Israelites.
As the Israelites continued to sojourn in the wilderness, they
encountered another Meribah experience similar to the one in Horeb
above. This time, the people of Israel were in Kadesh and that is also
where Miriam, Aarons sister, died and was buried. Again, the people
of Israel were thirsty and rose up against Moses and Aaron. They
said, If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the
LORD! Why then have you brought the LORDs assembly into this
wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? And why have you
made us come up from Egypt, to bring us to this wretched place? It is
not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there
water to drink.1 (Numbers 20:3b-5 ~ NASB) And so Aaron and Moses
went to the tent of meeting, seeking help from the Lord. Then the
glory of the LORD appeared to them; and the LORD spoke to Moses,
saying, Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the
congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield
its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock
and let the congregation and their beasts drink.1 (Numbers 20:6b-8
~ NASB)
Notice that Gods instruction for obtaining water flow from the rock
here in Kadesh was different than the procedure for the rock at
Rephidim. But Moses disobeyed God and struck the rock as he did
previously and said, Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water
for you out of this rock?1 (Numbers 20:10b ~ NASB) After striking
the rock twice, there was enough water that flowed to provide enough
for the people and their cattle to drink. But why did Moses strike the
rock instead of speak to the rock as God had commanded him? I
believe Moses was angered at the people of Israel and he may also
have seen his rod as a source of power and tricks. Rather than
trusting in and obeying God, he relied upon his staff as the source for
obtaining water.
But God was not amused.
Moses had again
succumbed to his spirit of fear and acted on his own instead of trusting
and obeying God. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, Because
you have not believed in Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the
sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land
which I have given them. Those were the waters of Meribah, because
the sons of Israel contended with the LORD, and he proved Himself
holy among them.1 (Numbers 20:12-13 ~ NASB)

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Sauls Disobedience of Making an Offering in Place of Samuel

As we have seen in the above stories about Jacob and Moses, we
again see with Saul how Satans use of a spirit of fear and our human
limitation of what we dont know about the future can become a
powerful tool of Satan in our lives to keep us from trusting God to
bring to pass what we believe He wants to do in our lives. With Jacob,
it involved the birthright of Esau and the blessing from Isaac. With
Moses, it involved his sense of personal incapability of leading and
doing Gods will on behalf of Israel, and later, providing water for the
people of Israel to assuage their continuous complaining and unappreciation of what God was trying to do in bringing them out of the
land of Egypt and into a future promised land flowing with milk and
honey.
And so, we come now to the story about King Saul, Israels first
king, and how he directly disobeyed Gods command about making an
offering on behalf of Israel. We find this story in 1 Samuel 13:8-15.
Here we read that Saul waited seven days, according to the appointed
time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people
were scattering from him. So Saul said, Bring to me the burnt
offering and the peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
And it came about as soon as he had finished offering the burnt
offering, that behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him
and greet him. But Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul
said, Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that
you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines
were assembling at Michmash, therefore I said, Now the Philistines
will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of
the LORD. So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering. And
Samuel said to Saul, You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the
commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for
now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel
forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has
sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has
appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept
what the LORD commanded you.1 (1 Samuel 13:8-14 ~ NASB)
Saul had allowed Satans spirit of fear to dictate his actions when

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he focused on the people of Israel scattering before him while the

Philistines were getting ready to battle against them. He had an
appointment with Samuel to prepare the offerings, but when he didnt
show up at the appointed time, Saul felt panic over the situation and
tried to take matters into his own hands against the commandment of
the Lord, even as Jacob and Moses took control of their respective
situations. And so it is with us. When we tend to not understand how
things can possibly work out according to our perceived plan that God
has for our lives at any given moment, and seeing our circumstances
in seeming disarray, we panic and take charge of things our way,
which is not necessarily Gods way. We trust ourselves to act more
ably than placing our trust fully in God to act on our behalf. And such
is Satans spirit of fear in our lives. It leads to and manifests itself in a
multiplicity of ways that are contrary to the ways of God, and so it is
sin, whether it involves murder, anger, deception, lies, false humility,
and making a burnt offering against the commandment of God, as in
Sauls case.

Saul and David Versus Goliath

The story begins with the setting wherein Saul realizes his
separation from God. We read in 1 Samuel 16:14 ~ NASB, Now the
Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the
LORD tormented him.1 I wish to make one thing perfectly clear here.
The evil spirit Saul experienced was clearly Satan and his spirit of fear.
It did NOT originate from God; rather, God allowed it to torment Saul
as soon as His Holy Spirit left him. God is altogether holy and cannot
coexist with evil; however, He can allow the presence of an evil spirit
in ones life and allow ones heart to become hardened to accomplish
His purposes, and I believe that is what is meant by this and subsequent verses. (Cross-reference Job 1:6-22.)
Continuing with this passage, then, we read, Sauls servants then
said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. Let
our lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them
seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come
about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he will play the
harp with his hand, and you will be well. So Saul said to his servants,
Provide for me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.
Then one of the young men answered and said, Behold, I have seen a

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son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man

of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and
the LORD is with him. Then David came to Saul, and attended him,
and Saul loved him greatly; and he became his armor bearer. And
Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David now stand before me; for he has
found favor in my sight. So it came about whenever the evil spirit
from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his
hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit
would depart from him.1 (1 Samuel 16:15-18, 21-23 ~ NASB)
It was now at this time that we pick up the well-known story of
David and Goliath. The Philistines had gathered for battle against
Israel and their champion warrior was a giant named Goliath from
Gath. This man taunted Saul and all Israel saying, Why do you come
out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you
servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come
down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will
become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then
you shall become our servants and serve usI defy the ranks of Israel
this day; give me a man that we may fight together.1 (1 Samuel
17:8b-9, 10b ~ NASB) When Saul and all Israel heard these words
of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.1 (1 Samuel
17:1-11 ~ NASB)
As the story continues, David volunteers to fight Goliath. Davids
attitude toward Goliath was best summed up by his own words: For
who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of
the living God?1 (1 Samuel 17:26b ~ NASB) When Saul heard these
words of David, he sent for him. Then David said to Saul, Let no
mans heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with
this Philistine. And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against
this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has
been a warrior from his youth. But David said to Saul, Your servant
was tending his fathers sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took
a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and
rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized
him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has
killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine
shall be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living
God. And David said, The LORD who delivered me from the paw of
the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of
this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and may the LORD

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be with you.1 (1 Samuel 17:32-37 ~ NASB)
Now Saul was not about to allow David to go out on his own
against Goliath. Instead, he clothed David in his own armor, helmet,
coat of mail, and sword. David said, I cannot go with these; for I
have not tested them.1 (1 Samuel 17:39b ~ NASB) This is so like us!
We rely on our own strength and weapons when we do battle with
Satan rather than relying on God to protect us using what he has
already blessed us with. And so, David took them off. And he took
his stick in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones from
the brook, and put them in the shepherds bag which he had, even in
his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the
Philistine.1 (1 Samuel 17:39c-40 ~ NASB)
As David readied himself to face Goliath, and as Goliath drew near
to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him, and saw David, he
disdained him; for he was but a youth, ruddy with a handsome
appearance. And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you
come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
The Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to
the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field. Then David said to
the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin;
but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the LORD will
deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down, and remove
your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of
the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of
the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by
sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORDs and He will give you
into our hands.1 (1 Samuel 17:41b-47 ~ NASB) And so David did as
he promised, and the Philistines, without their champion warrior, were
resoundingly defeated.
This story shows us how when we place our trust in God, even
when the situation seems huge and overwhelming, even when we
cant possibly see a way out of a threatening situation, or the resolution of a dilemma, God remains in control and works His sovereign
will, and may even use us in accomplishing His purposes. This story
shows us also how a love-bond relationship of communion with, and
our faith in, Almighty God is no match for a spirit of fear and Satan.

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Saul and David

With Davids victory over Goliath and Israels overwhelming defeat
over the Philistines, Saul became very envious of David and his
popularity among the people of Israel. The people sang about how
Saul had slain thousands and David his ten thousands, and this saying
made Saul very angry. He kept an eye on David from that time on
and then the evil spirit that tormented Saul came again upon him, and
he raged within his house, while David daily played the harp for Saul.
Saul hated David, and he kept his spear in his hands and even threw it
at David twice attempting to pin him against the wall. But each time,
David escaped. (1 Samuel 18:1-11) Saul was afraid of David, for the
Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.1 (1 Samuel 18:12 ~
NASB)
And so Saul began the process of hardening his heart more and
more against David, and in his increasing hate for David, he continually plotted to kill him, becoming more and more jealous of Davids
success, and he came to realize that Gods presence was indeed with
David and He continued to bless him. As prophesied by Samuel, God
was taking the kingdom away from Saul and giving it unto David. A
couple of times, David even had the opportunity to kill Saul, yet each
time he chose to spare his life. Here we see the stark difference
between one who has succumbed to Satans spirit of fear, leading to a
hard heart towards God. David, on the other hand, placed a priority
on his relationship of love for God and sought to trust and obey God in
all things. When he fell short of this, his heart was tender and supple
toward God, and he repented of his sin. May David be an example to
us of how we should handle life and events that Satan is bound and
determined to bring into our lives to thwart our faith and love for God,
and our obedience to Him. Only then can we, with David, know and
experience the presence of God in our lives and the love-bond
relationship of communion with Him that God desires for each of us.

Jonah and the Great Fish

The story of Jonah and the great fish is a well-known one from the
Bible. Indeed, as children, we may have had our first encounter with
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this story. I hope its familiarity, however, does not keep us from
understanding some significant truths for us in our study of a spirit of
fear.
We first meet Jonah when he is called by God to go to Nineveh. In
that call, God told Jonah, Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry
against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.1` (Jonah 1:2
~ NASB) Instead of Jonah obeying Gods command to go to Nineveh,
we read, But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of
the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going
to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to
Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.1 (Jonah 1:3 ~ NASB)
Dr. D. James Kennedy, the late Senior Minister of Coral Ridge
Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, gave me permission to
share this very perceptive observation he made during one of his
sermons. When we see Jonah going away from the presence of God,
the text states, or at least infers, that Jonah went down This is the
first encounter with this phrase in verse 3 when we read that Jonah
went down to Joppa Dr. Kennedy pointed out in his sermon that
every step we take against God in disobedience is a step away from
His presence, and involves a faithless and often disobedient act of our
will, and we will be going down. Likewise, every step towards Gods
presence in faithful obedience to what He has called us to do will be
shown in the text or in its meaning as going up. This we will see as
the story continues. So watch for these nuances in this story.
So Jonah boarded the ship headed to Tarshish. In the mist of the
journey, a great storm arose. The mariners were afraid for their lives
because the storm was so severe. Each prayed to his own god without
success. They began throwing cargo overboard to lighten the vessels
load, but to no avail. (Jonah 1:4-5) But Jonah had gone below into
the hold of the ship, lain down, and fallen fast asleep. So the captain
approached him and said, How is it that you are sleeping? Get up,
call on your god. Perhaps your god will concerned about us so that we
will not perish. And each man said to his mate, Come, let us cast lots
so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us. So
they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said unto him, Tell
us, now! On whose account this calamity struck us? What is your
occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country?
From what people are you? And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and
I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.
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Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him,
How could you do this? For the men knew that he was fleeing from
the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.1 (Jonah 1:5b10 ~ NASB)
Then Jonah told the men to take him and throw him into the raging
waters of the sea and they would then quiet down and they will then
be safe. But the men responded by rowing more earnestly in an
attempt to return the vessel to shore, but the sea grew even angrier.
(Jonah 1:11-13)
Then they called on the LORD and said, We
earnestly pray, O LORD, do not let us perish on account of this mans
life and do not put innocent blood on us; for Thou, O LORD, hast done
as Thou hast pleased. So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the
sea; and the sea stopped its raging. Then the men feared the LORD
greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows. And
the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in
the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.1 (Jonah 1:14-17
~ NASB) So in Jonahs efforts to flee from Gods presence, he went on
a ship headed down for Tarshish. On the ship, he went down in the
bowels of the ship, and had lain down, and fell into a deep sleep.
When the men cast lots, the lot fell on Jonah. Then he was tossed
downward from the ship into the raging sea. Next, he was swallowed
by a great fish and went down into its belly. Jonah had gone far from
Gods presence, just as he had wished.
But it was at this point in the belly of the fish, that Jonah prays to
God in repentance of his disobedience. And the LORD heard Jonahs
prayer and spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah up onto the
dry land.1 (Jonah 2:10 ~ NASB) In this, Jonah was vomited up by
the great fish, up onto dry ground. So Jonah begins his journey back
to God and His call upon his life to go to Nineveh. And Jonah arose
and went up to Nineveh as God had originally directed Him. (Jonah
3:1-3) Jonah began to go into the city, going a days journey. And
he cried, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown! And the
people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and put on
sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.1 (Jonah
3:4-5 ~ NASB)
Then tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his
throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat
in ashes. And he made proclamation and published through Nineveh,
By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast,
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herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, or drink water, but
let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them cry mightily
to God; yea, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence
which is in his hands. Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from
His fierce anger, so that we perish not?1 (Jonah 3:6-9 ~ NASB)
When God saw what they did, how they had turned from their evil
way, God repented of the evil which he had said he would do to them;
and he did not do it.1 (Jonah 3:10 ~ NASB)
But Ninevehs repentance and Gods mercy displeased Jonah
greatly. (Jonah 4:1) And he prayed to the LORD and said, I pray
Thee, LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?
That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a
gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast
love, and repentest of evil. Therefore now, O LORD, take my life from
me, I beseech thee, for it is better for me to die than to live.1 (Jonah
4:2-5 ~ NASB) Jonah had little esteem for the wellbeing of Nineveh.
He may have been racist in his attitudes, we do not know for sure.
But he had little regard for Nineveh and had no room for their
repentance in spite of Gods mercy to his prayer of repentance from
the belly of the great fish. What was good for him was not good for
the lowly evil people of Nineveh. For Jonah, apparently Gods mercy
and grace were exclusively for the Hebrews and no one else. He was
proud to be among Gods chosen people, and he wanted God all to
himself. He was fully open and content to allow the calamity of Gods
judgment to fall upon the people of Nineveh, whom Jonah held in
contempt.
So God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry? Then Jonah
went out of the city and sat to the east of the city, and made a booth
for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what
would become of the city. And the LORD God appointed a plant, and
made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head,
to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God
appointed a worm which attacked the plant, so that it withered. When
the sun rose, God appointed a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down
upon the head of Jonah so that he was faint; and he asked that he
might die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live. But God
said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry at the plant? And he said,
I do well to be angry, angry enough to die. And the LORD said, You

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pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow,
which came into being in a night, and perished in a night. And should
I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a
hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right
hand from their left, and also much cattle?1 (Jonah 4:4b-11 ~ NASB)
And so we see Jonah, preoccupied with his own selfish concerns that
involved a single temporary plant that he had nothing to do with, while
he was at the same time content to ignore the great city of Nineveh
and all their cattle that had been there for a long time. He was content to disregard their having a relationship with the same God who
had spared his life just days before. And so it goes with a spirit of
fear, our lack of knowing or understanding the unknown. Satan loves
to plant such a spirit within the hearts of even his choicest of servants.
The effects of a spirit of fear, such as Jonahs anger, bad temper,
pride, arrogance, racism, and feelings of superiority and exclusiveness,
led him to disobey God, and his lack of faith kept Jonah from seeing
things and people through Gods eyes. And the same is true for each
of us if we do not remain vigilant in our own lives of the many
symptoms of a spirit of fear, and recognize it as a tool of Satan to
separate us from obediently doing the will of God, loving others as He
does, and truly experiencing a love-bond relationship of communion
with Him.

Peters Three Denials of Jesus Christ

In all four of the synoptic Gospels we read about the Apostle Peter
denying Christ three times. We also read that Jesus Christ predicted
or prophesied that this would happen, while Peter adamantly declared
that he would always remain loyal to Jesus, even if he was the only
one left to do so. Yet, as Jesus was captured and led away, we see
Peters actions not align with his promises.
While we could look at all four of the gospels, for the sake of our
discussion here, let us consider Lukes account of Peters denials. It
begins in verse 54 of chapter 22 ~ NASB, where we read: And
having arrested Him, they led Him away, and brought Him to the
house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. And
after they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat
down together, Peter was sitting among them. And a certain servantgirl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, and looking intently at him,

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said, This man was with Him too. But he denied it, saying, Woman, I
do not know Him. And a little later, another saw him and said, You
are one of them too! But Peter said, Man, I am not! And after about
an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, Certainly
this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too. But Peter said,
Man, I do not know what you are talking about. And immediately,
while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. And the Lord turned and
looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He
had told him, Before a cock crows today, you will deny me three
times. And he went outside and wept bitterly.1 (Luke 22:54-62 ~
NASB)
Why did Peter deny any association with Jesus three times? I
believe Satan had implanted a spirit of fear into Peter, that he might
succumb to the same fate as was facing Jesus, although Peter did not
know the specifics of what it entailed. But Peter did know that Jesus
said He was going to have to die, and Peter, like most any one of us,
did not want to die. And so, Peter lied three times, claiming he had
nothing to do with Jesus. Peter feared what man might do to him
more than he feared God.
Again, mankinds greatest fear is his own ignorance of the unknown and we see once more how Satan uses fear of the unknown to
drive a wedge separating us from the God we say we love and serve.
So, when Jesus looked at Peter as the cock crowed, just as He said
would happen, Peter was cut to the quick and he left weeping bitterly
for what he had just done against his promises to Jesus. When we
allow a spirit of fear into our lives, we give Satan a toe hold for sin to
enter in and wreak havoc to our relationship with God. For Peter, this
sin took the form of bearing a false witness to three different people
on three different occasions. He also placed his allegiance to his personal safety above his loyalties to his Master, Jesus. He broke his
prior promises to Him. He also tended to be more proud of his own
capabilities, thinking higher of them than he ought to have, and so, as
pride often comes before a fall, Peter fell and he sinned, and his relationship with Jesus was broken. That, I believe, is why he wept so
bitterly. He felt so convicted by what he had just done, and also,
Peter knew that Jesus saw what he had done.
But that is not how this story ended. Peter was restored in his
relationship with Jesus. How do I know this? Besides Jesus personal
commission of Peter in John 21:15-19, in his first epistle, Peter

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testifies that after you have suffered for a little, the God of all grace,
who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect,
confirm, strengthen and establish you.1 (1 Peter 5:10 ~ NASB) When
we repent of our sin, and learn how to deal with and overcome Satans
attacks, Jesus will forgive us and restore, establish, and strengthen us.
Might this become our testimony with Peter, for whenever we allow
Satans spirit of fear into our lives, and the sin that results, we are just
as guilty as Peter of denying Jesus, and He is looking at us when we
do. But, as Peter testified, after we repent, we can again be restored
and established in our love-bond relationship and communion with
Jesus Christ, and He will strengthen us against Satans attacks.

Paul and Barnabas Disagree about John Mark

We turn now to an event in the lives of Paul and Barnabas. Paul
was a great and influential missionary of the early church, having been
on three missionary tours, and four if you include his trip to Rome. He
is one of the central figures in the whole New Testament inasmuch as
he wrote at least thirteen of these books, most of which were his
letters to churches and church leaders. We do not know quite as much
about Barnabas other than that he was an associate of Pauls until
Pauls second missionary tour when their respective ministries separated. Barnabas is known for living up to his name, which meant son
of encouragement.
This brings us to the account of where Paul and Barnabas disagreed over including John Mark in their ministry. We pick up this
story in Acts 15:36-41 ~ NASB: And after some days Paul said to
Barnabas, Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which
we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are. And
Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with them
also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who
had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the
work. And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated
from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away
to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the
brethren to the grace of the Lord. And he was traveling through Syria
and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.1 (Acts 15:36-41 ~ NASB)
Sometimes, even church leaders can be involved in heated debates

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and disagreements regarding the Lords work. And such was true
even for Paul and Barnabas. John Mark was an up-and-coming church
worker, but Paul felt strongly that he had divided loyalties while in
Pamphylia and so, based on that experience with the man, Paul did not
feel he was qualified to serve as he prepared to begin his second missionary tour. Barnabas, however, looked at John Marks potential and
not his qualifications, and felt he could do well at assisting them in
their ministry. And so, Paul and Barnabas had a parting of their ways
over John Mark.
Who was right and who was wrong about John Mark? We dont
really know from this passage of Scripture, but let us focus more at
this time on the dynamics that were in play as it relates to a spirit of
fear.
Paul held unequal expectations concerning John Mark compared to
those of Barnabas. Paul may have felt that his leadership may have
been challenged, threatened, or even questioned by the lesser known
Barnabas. Apparently, they had a strong argument over the issue of
John Mark and, perhaps, Paul may have even felt his rights to running
the show as he had done so far were being violated by the suggestion
of including John Mark in their ministry. At any rate, Paul was
definitely fearful of a repeat situation occurring with John Mark, and he
did not wish to expose his ministry to that. When we work with people, we naturally assume that once they may have let us down, they
will do it again and again, or at least they may have the potential of
doing so. This may or may not be true of certain individuals, but in
any event, Paul was not willing to take that risk. We will never know
what John Mark could have accomplished with Paul as he decided
against him. The fear of the unknown is again a mighty tool of Satan
to control us and our decisions. Fortunately, other than the form that
the sharp contention may have taken, no sin arising from Pauls
position on John Mark is reported.
Indeed, Paul probably made the right decision to separate from
Barnabas rather than harbor this bone of contention over John Mark,
who is believed to have later written the second Gospel in the New
Testament. Later in his ministry, Paul actually wrote to Timothy to
Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.1 (2 Timothy 4:11b ~ NASB) What happened with John Mark that
changed Pauls mind about his usefulness? We are never told in
Scripture, but one can reasonably assume that Barnabas may have

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had something to do with it. As the son of encouragement, Barnabas

probably poured his time into John Mark, seeing not his past only, but
concentrating on his future potential in serving the Lord. As we make
decisions about people, yes, let us take into consideration a persons
qualifications and past actions, but let us also consider the persons
future unlimited potential as they become sold out for God and serving
Him. I believe this is the contribution of Barnabas to the life of John
Mark.

Summary
We have considered various accounts from the Bible of how Satan
uses a spirit of fear to keep us from accomplishing Gods work in and
through our lives. We have also considered how this spirit of fear
involves the unknown and also how it can lead us into sin. We have
also seen, as in the life of King Saul, how Satan can harden our hearts
against God and His will for our lives through our repeated disobedience of His commands, through a pattern of harbored sin in ones
heart over an extended period of time, and through many wrong
decisions and feelings that adversely impact our behavior that is contrary to what God would have us do and be. But the ravages of a
spirit of fear are not limited to these limited examples that I shared,
but also includes many other examples and situations throughout the
Scriptures. As you read the Bible on your own, be watching for these
and apply what you have learned to them in order to further
understand and be wary in your own life. As Peter said, Be of sober
spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a
roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your
faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being
accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.1 (1 Peter 5:8-9
~ NASB)
Footnote:
1

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

EXAMPLES OF A SPIRIT OF FEAR

IN OUR WORLD TODAY

We are not much different today from the folks in Bible times when
it comes to experiencing a spirit of fear. It is just as present, indeed
pervasive, in our world today as it was then. And, just as with the
people of the Bible, we, too, see a spirit of fear at work as we
interrelate and interact with others, ourselves, God, and the events
and situations we encounter in life.
In this chapter, let us examine how this happens practically, and
thereby gain an even deeper appreciation of how a spirit of fear makes
itself known in our world today. Then, when we look at some examples taken from a few representative current events, we will be even
more equipped to identify the presence of a spirit of fear and specifically how it is at work in those current events. We should then be
able to more easily recognize a spirit of fear on our own as we see
Satan at work in our own respective worlds.

Relating and Interacting With Others

In all honesty, we can each identify at least one relationship in our
lives that we find difficult at best, if not impossible at worst. It may be
with our spouse, parent, child, neighbor, or a co-worker, boss, or
business associate. Some of us may have difficulties with certain
groups of people, such as with those of a given profession (e.g.,
doctors, dentists, used car salesmen, lawyers, politicians, etc.); or
with people who share a common characteristic, political or sexual
persuasion, philosophy, or religious belief system (e.g., young people

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Jews, Hindus, Moslems, and pagans, etc.); or with people of a certain

nationality or race. In general, if we can find something in another
person or group of people that is different from us, difficult for us to
understand, or foreign to how we may do things, that is a potential
trouble spot for us in interrelating and interacting with them. Of
course, if we are truly blessed, we may have problems with everyone!
Seriously though, Satan often implants the seeds of a spirit of fear
in those areas and in those relationships where we encounter
something contrary to ourselves and where there might be a perceived
threat to us of a need for us to change, request change in another, or
accept the difference as is. If you find change, or even the possible
need to change, to be somewhat difficult or threatening to any degree,
you are not alone. Most of us would choose the status quo as the way
to go, especially if we have become used to it. There is a sort of
comfort that we tend to derive from the familiar, regardless of how
much it can be improved upon. As a case in point, with regard to the
numerous ballot measures being proposed to the people in our state
recently, I saw a bumper sticker on a car that read, Just vote NO!
Also, when someone has proposed some change or another, we can
usually depend on someone else arguing back, Weve always done so
and such this way...If its not broke, dont fix it! No, as a lot, we
generally dislike change, and we tend to dislike people and things that
are different from us and the way we do things. Yet, it is precisely in
such situations that Satan chooses to trip us up with a spirit of fear.
And that brings up the next question. Precisely, what is it about
change and differences in situations and people that can lead us down
the path where Satan may trip us up with his spirit of fear? Let us
look at change first. In all change, there is at least some element of
the unknown. We may or may not have some sense about how it will
all turn out upon implementation of the change, but in all honesty,
anything could happen, especially with the more people that may be
involved. And as we have seen, where there is the unknown, there
often is fear, whether it is fear of how well the change will work out,
fear of failure, fear of how people will handle the change, and, for
some, even a fear of success. Wherever there is any degree of the
unknown, fear can be present; and, wherever fear is present, Satan is
not very far away with his spirit of fear, temptation, and sin. That is
why there is often so much negative emotion that surrounds change,

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and even just the very idea of change. And, along with the emotion, it
is also frequently accompanied by someone acting out in one way or
another. You surely have heard the expression, The Devil is in the
details. With regard to change, this is literally quite true.
The same is true about differences. When we encounter differences in our lives, regardless of the specifics, there is an element of
the unknown, just as with change. Also, if we are going to embrace
the differences to any degree, we are probably going to have to make
changes in how we may have thought, believed, or done things in the
past. This again involves the unknown and, as is true with change, so
it is with differences. How are we going to be affected by the differences we encounter in life? How much will we have to change in
order to accept or incorporate the differences we do encounter? What
will happen if we refuse to change our thoughts and beliefs, attitudes
and opinions, words and actions when we confront differences in our
lives? Again, this is where Satan loves to trip us up with his spirit of
fear.
In addition to change and differences, there is another area that
Satan uses in sowing his seeds of a spirit of fear. This has to do with
the area of communication, and with what takes place within the parties to a given communication. Let us analyze this for a moment.
When you want to convey something to another, we must be aware
that there are many things that are happening in addition to the actual
communication and the verbal and nonverbal language that accompanies it. However, as important to communication that verbal and
nonverbal language may be, let us ignore these for the purposes of
our present consideration.
When you want to communicate something to someone, especially
when it may involve change, there are several factors involved that
surround and affect to some degree the communication process. Many
of these factors, if not all, may be subconsciously present at least, or
conscious impressions at most. They may include some or all of the
following:
1.)

What you think, feel, and believe regarding the subject

of the communication;

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2.)

What you think, feel, and believe about the recipient(s) of

your communication, before, during, and after your
communication;

3.)

What you actually say;

4.)

What you think you said;

5.)

What you think the recipient(s) heard you say;

6.)

What the recipient(s) actually heard you say;

7.)

What the recipient(s) think, feel, and believe regarding

the subject of your communication before, during, and
after your communication;

8.)

What you want the recipient(s) to think, feel, and believe

about the subject of your communication; and

9.)

What the recipient(s) of your communication think, feel,

and believe about you before, during, and after your communication.

While this list of factors certainly is not exhaustive, it helps us to

see just how easy it is for any given communication to become instantly derailed, leading to confusion, misunderstanding, hurt feelings,
or some other effect of miscommunication. Because of this, Satan
knows he can make great inroads toward achieving his sinister objectives by sowing a spirit of fear within such factors surrounding
communication and the miscommunication that may result. Actually,
the possibility that any communication can ever be successful seems
quite miraculous, given these factors and the presence of Satans
activity within the communication process.
To exemplify how this takes place in practice, consider the following story. It seems that a college official was conferring with the
college president one day about an annual meeting that was soon to
take place. In referring to one of his colleagues, he asked the president if he thought they might be presented with the same old songand-dance report that they usually received from this individual.

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Everyone knew his reports were empty, meaningless, and as good

as useless, yet the guy never seemed to get the message to bring a
report with some meat to it, something they could sink their teeth into
and really use. The college president remarked that some things
never change and they had best get used to it. That year, however,
they were all wowed at the annual meeting when the colleague
brought a report better than they had ever hoped for from this man.
They were all truly shocked that he was even capable of delivering
such a helpful and timely presentation.
You see, we all tend to put people into little boxes with their names
and labels on them. We may do this for a host of reasons, not the
least of which is our own convenience in knowing how to deal with
such people when we encounter them. Referencing the story above,
the college official perhaps thought, most likely subconsciously, that
he might look better to the college president by putting down his
colleague. Secretly, he may have hoped that this individual might
never change, thereby guaranteeing his superiority over him, at least
in the eyes of the college president. Not only was he denying his
colleague an opportunity to change, but he was also enlisting the
support of the college president in this regard. Such self-seeking and
self-promotion efforts play directly into Satans hand and his desire to
instill a spirit of fear.
Another reason we tend to categorize people involves our
perception of how they may affect, positively or negatively, our
reputation, and how we might best use people to our best advantage.
We then relate to people on these terms. But, after all is said and
done, such arbitrary categorizations of people, in the final analysis are
based on purely selfish motives, and these are the grounds in which
Satan implants his spirit of fear.
What would happen if the college official could never guarantee his
superiority over his colleague in the eyes of the college president?
What changes would he personally have to make if his colleague did
change from his past record of empty and useless song and dance
reports? How might his future relationship and interactions have to
change with his fellow colleague if he did indeed change? What might
others think if they saw him conferring with his colleague? So long as
these kinds of questions are consciously or subconsciously impacting

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our communications and the ones with whom we are communicating,

we are leaving the door wide open for Satan to march through with his
spirit of fear, which he will use to lead us into temptation and sin.

Relating and Interacting With Ourselves

I dont know about you, but if you are anything like me, there is an
internal dialogue taking place as I go throughout life. Most often, this
dialogue is silent to those around me, but sometimes, I may audibly
express my displeasure over a situation or over how I feel I may have
been mistreated. In such instances, these words are never directed to
or intended to be heard by anyone. For example, when I have been
cut off by another driver, or when I am in a big hurry and I get stuck
behind some slow farm equipment, I have been known to think, and
often utter, a few choice words or call the individual a derogatory
name. Unless I shouted such things out the window, or unless there
were others in the car with me, no one would even know of this
dialogue in my soul, apart from some nonverbal cues that might be
evident.
In addition to the type of internal conversation I just shared, which
exhibited feelings of emotional displeasure at being personally
inconvenienced, we also converse with ourselves about a host of other
things on a host of levels, with differing degrees of importance and
significance regarding how we see and interpret the world in which we
find ourselves. What is behind these and other conversations that we
have with ourselves, whether we are all alone, by ourselves, with no
one else in sight, or when we may think or feel that we are all alone,
even though there may be people all around us? These are conversations that tend to center around ourselves and involve our most
private, personal thoughts about such existential issues like who we
believe we are; what we believe to be the meaning of life, for us and
for others; and what we want out of life, such as our own hopes,
aspirations, and dreams. They are those conversations and thoughts
that have to do with our sense of personal identity; reason(s) for
living; what we believe we have to offer in terms of our own special,
unique, individual talents, gifts, endowments, and possessions that we
feel led to share with others; and our overall purpose in life.

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These conversations may also include all introspective reflections

about our lives, about what kind of person we sense ourselves to be
when compared to how we might like to be, as well as how we feel
about ourselves, and how we sense we measure up to others in our
own respective worlds. All of these various types of conversations that
we have with ourselves, within ourselves, whether we actually verbalize them or not, I would like to group together and refer to them
collectively as self-talk.
In addition, there are many today who are involved in various
active New Age programs of self-affirmation wherein they daily repeat
positive thoughts and statements about themselves to themselves,
whether true or not, in an effort to make these thoughts and
statements about themselves to become a reality in their own lives.
Whether right or wrong, beneficial or not, these statements, too,
would be included in what I would refer to as self-talk.
This so-called self-talk can be good for us and it can be bad for us.
So, how can we know the difference? I believe there is but one
measure that we can apply to all our self-talk, whether we verbalize it
or not. If our self-talk focuses on us or in any way is intended to
make us look good or feel better about ourselves or sets us up on any
kind of pedestal such that we feel or think that we in any way are
better than another, I think that such self-talk may be dangerous, if
not plain bad, for us. Why? When we are the center of our focus in
our self-talk, and when our self-talk is for the purpose of making us
look good to ourselves and others, and when we declare how we may
be better than another or how what we are doing or have done is right
and good and others are wrong and bad, we are just opening
ourselves up to Satan and making much the same mistake that he
made in seeking equality with God, if not superiority to God a thing to
be grasped. Thus, we are exhibiting a spirit of fear in that we do not
and cannot ultimately know, understand, control, or experience all that
others do and, in the absence of this information, we seem to be compelled to accentuate, elevate, and believe that our own personal
knowledge, understanding, control, and experience are more valid,
more accurate, and more relevant than anyone elses are. How much
pride is a major component of all our self-talk! As someone has
pointed out, at the center of the word PRIDE is I. And, as Solomon
has pointed out in Proverbs 16:18 ~ NASB, Pride goes before
destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. With this type

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of self-talk, then, it is not surprising to find that succumbing to Satans

temptation to sin is a frequent occurrence.
But are self-talk and the thoughts that go with it ever good and
appropriate? I believe there is indeed a kind of self-talk that withstands the wiles of the devil, and it is that self-talk, and the thoughts
that accompany it, that are centered on God and our relationship to
Him, and upon His Word. This type of self-talk arises out of a humble
relationship of love for God that worships and attributes value and
worth to Him above all else. When we have an accurate comprehension of who God is, it is accompanied by an equally accurate
understanding and realization of our need for salvation from ourselves,
and from our petty little concerns of this life in light of all eternity. It
involves a deep awareness of how sinful and needy we are, and how
lost we are in our own selfish devices. It is an overwhelming sense
that God is holy, and our best efforts are not and could never be good
enough. With the prophet Isaiah, we agree that all of us have
become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a
filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like
the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6 ~ NASB)
In humble
introspection, we become acutely aware of the person of Gods own
dear Son, Jesus Christ; it is He that we would compare ourselves to, if
anyone, for He is the One whom we seek to be like and to whom we
want to be conformed. (Consider Romans 8:28-30; 12:1-2.)
What characterizes this form of self-talk? I believe that it is the
humble, internal dialogue with God of personal confession of sin,
repentance, requests for Gods intervention, worship, prayer, recitation
of memorized Scripture, and meditation on Gods Word. (See Psalm
1:1-3; Proverbs 11:2; Isaiah 6:5-6; Romans 8:26-27; 2 Timothy
3:16-17.) There is no spirit of fear present, for Satan is powerless
against this kind of self-talk. It gives the individual strength and hope
during the vicissitudes of life, for he recognizes the power and protection of God on his behalf, and he basks in the presence of God in
his life.

Relating and Interacting With God

As has already been said in the first chapter, people often sense a
great deal of fear in their relationship and interaction with God. Here,

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I would like to expand on what I stated in the first chapter by looking

more closely at how we relate and interact with our God as really
being an extension of how we relate and interact with one another and
with people as a whole.
The fact of the matter is that there is, in general, as much variance
in any given persons relationship with his or her God as there is with
the various people in that persons life. How well the person knows
someone, or how close they may think they are to someone in their
life, is really immaterial in the final analysis. We all tend to go about
our own relating and interacting in much the same way with anyone
and everyone, even with our God. Moreover, the pattern we follow in
doing this is much the same with everyone, regardless of our demographic background, personality, or any other factor which we may
think distinguishes us as unique from everyone else.
Why might this be so? The answer lies in the fact that Satan is just
as involved, if not more involved, in our relationship and interactions
with God than he is in our relationships and interactions with people.
As was the case with our communication with others, as we discussed
above, it is even more so in our communication, relationship, and
interaction with our God. Why? Who else is more to be feared, and
with whom do we sense more of a human limitation in really knowing
and understanding than with God? Because of who God is in His
infiniteness, holiness, and power, and who we are in our finite
humanity, sinfulness, and frailty, there is plenty of room for our
human ignorance to flourish in knowing and understanding God, much
less in communicating, relating, and interacting with Him. This is
precisely where Satan is alive and well and actively seeking to thwart
any possible closeness, intimacy, communion, and trust that we can
possibly experience with our God as we seek a relationship with Him.
For this reason, it is not surprising that, in general, as we do with
people, we also do with our God. We tend to put our God in a box,
along with all our various beliefs, attitudes, and feelings about Him,
and we label this box with whatever we call our God. We also, at the
same time, whether intentionally or not, place limitations on God. We
expect Him to be and do exactly the same as we have understood Him
to be and to have done in the past.

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Sometimes, these limitations and expectations we place on our

God are very self-serving, if we truly analyzed them carefully. One
way that we can see how this might be true is by carefully scrutinizing
our prayer lives and the beliefs, attitudes, and feelings that are conveyed in our prayers to God. Until we undertake such an analysis, we
may be totally unaware of how many of our beliefs, attitudes, and
feelings may be affecting our prayer life, and how we may be approaching the One to whom we are praying. Likewise, what do the
words of our prayers indicate about our beliefs about God, our attitudes behind our prayers and towards God, and our feelings about God
and His place in our lives? By asking ourselves such questions, we
may begin to discover some things about this box we call God. We
may begin to see how much of our understanding of who God is, as
well as how our communication, relationship, and interaction with God,
are all very biased, self-centered, and self-seeking.
And furthermore, we need to come to the point of understanding
that anything that even remotely resembles a box called God is truly a
fabrication of Satan, which he uses to keep us from knowing and
growing in our faith in and communication, relationship, and interaction with the one true God, who has no limits to His Being,
character, holiness, love, mercy, grace, power, and ability to act.
We can all think of the various characteristics, attributes, and
qualities of our God, as we have read about them in the Holy
Scriptures, and as we may have even seen them manifested in our
own lives. But if God is truly as infinite as we say that we believe Him
to be, there must be even more characteristics, attributes, and
qualities of His nature that remain untapped. But, if we describe our
God only with the limited characteristics, attributes, and qualities that
we have seen or read about until now, and if we only seek to know,
communicate, relate, and interact with God on these terms, we have
still, in effect, placed our infinite God into a box. In so doing, we have,
perhaps inadvertently, denied God of His infiniteness, and closed
ourselves off from anything else that God may otherwise wish to
reveal to us about Himself, His nature, and His character. Again, I
truly believe that this is all the work of Satan, and that he is passionate about it. And this leads me to ask us, including myself, just how
passionate are we in drawing near to God, in seeking to know Him in
all His fullness, to whatever extent that He is willing to reveal Himself,
and all that He is and wants to be to us and for us and yes, even in
and through us? Are we even, at the very least, as passionate for God

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as Satan is against God and all those who would seek to know Him in
spirit and in truth? You see, we must all come to really understand
just how much Satan seeks to keep us away from the one true God,
and from all the fullness of what He wants to be to us, for us, and in
and through us by His Holy Spirit.

Relating and Interacting With Lifes Events and Situations

I have often said that we are not so much victims of our
circumstances as we are of our priorities. There have been many
situations in my life in which I have felt like I was a victim of
circumstances. At such times, it has been easy for me to wallow in
self-pity, depression, anxiety, and even anger. Also, it has always
been difficult for me to focus on determining and submitting to my
priorities, as they should rightfully be, in the situation confronting me,
rather than on the circumstances themselves.
As I have wrestled with this idea over the years, I have often found
that, in hindsight (which seems to always be clearer than my best
foresight), my priorities leading up to whatever crisis I was now facing
were often more to blame for my present situation than whatever
circumstances on which I would rather pin the blame. And surrounding all of this was the ever-present fear of the unknown which, as we
have seen, is Satans favorite ploy to get our eyes onto our-selves, our
problem(s), and our need for self-preservation, rather than on God
and what He wants to do for us and teach us. The result is that we
succumb to Satans spirit of fear in our lives and, most often, find
ourselves doing that which we later regret. To see how this works out
in real life, let me share with you one episode from my own life.
On January 1, 1999, I celebrated New Years Day with my family,
as did many others across America. That evening, I was playing a
Scrabble game with my children. During the several games that we
played, I was growing very tired and had a headache. Several times, I
lashed out at my kids over relatively trite things. They also were
poking fun at me at what we now know were the beginning symptoms
of a stroke. That was at about 10:30 to 11:00 P.M. By around
midnight or half past, I decided to retire to bed for what I thought was

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some much needed rest.

It was around 2:00 or 2:30 A.M. when, after much tossing and
turning and not a wink of sleep, I got up to use the bathroom and
there realized, for the first time, that I was very likely experiencing a
stroke. It so happens that my father, who was also a diabetic, had
already had three or four strokes. Since I, too, was diabetic and I had
already had three heart attacks about a year or two earlier, I was
already primed to be on the lookout for a stroke, but I never
suspected that I would be going through this at age 47. But I was,
and it was a very severe one at that. Even after the extensive months
of speech, physical, and occupational therapy, I remain paralyzed on
my right side, now some 15+ years later. Also, I continue to experience memory loss and related memory limitations and, even years
later, I am experiencing additional difficulties and complications,
including two more major strokes last year.
Before my stroke, I had been a workaholic. I took a sort of pride in
being busy. I was heavily involved in a host of things, ranging from
politics and political party leadership, union leadership, and church
activities and responsibilities, to a very stressful full-time job, trying to
get a corporation off the ground, managing and working a separate
husband-wife partnership, teaching piano lessons, and serving in a
leadership position in a professional organization, just to name a few.
In addition, we were a bit overextended in our finances. While we
were always current or ahead in our all of our obligations, we were
beginning to feel the crunch, as a result of ever-increasing interest
rates. Our four children were going into their teenage years. I tell
you all of this to say that the level of stress on our family was steadily
increasing, and it probably was not doing my health any good, either.
And, needless to say, this stroke was definitely not in my plans. But,
my plans had nothing to do with it. I definitely was having a stroke
that night and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Slowly, I saw all my abilities that I once took for granted
disappear, one by one. As I waited at the hospital to be seen in the
Emergency Room, I could barely walk under my own power. Standing
in line, I began to loose my balance, and just as I began to fall, an
orderly scooped me into a wheel chair in the knick of time and took me
to an available bed. In bed, I was hooked up to all sorts of monitors.

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When the nurses saw all the readings they were generating, they
shook their heads and went off to care for more viable patients.
There, all alone, I began to face the very real possibility that this was
it. I was at the end of the road. I remember taking my right hand
and pretending to write my signature in the air. So many years I had
worked to perfect my penmanship, and I reflected on the many
compliments that I had received over the years. But now, I was going
through the motions one last time.
I was right-handed, I thought to myself; now what was I to do? So
many things I needed both hands to do. How would I ever play the
piano, organ, or keyboard, much less compose and direct my music.
Then, I felt very dizzy and sleepy, but I could not sleep. About an
hour later, a nurse came by and realized I was fighting to stay alive,
and it was not long before I was the center of a host of activity. As
the day wore on, it became very evident that I was largely incapacitated. I could not talk, eat or swallow; nor could I walk or move my
right leg and arm. Also, I had an awful pain in my right arm and
shoulder that I still have to this day. And, I could not remember
things as I once did. My sharp mind for details and analysis and near
photographic memory was now just that: a memory that I could
barely remember. My brain was fried, so much so that I had much
difficulty even knowing the date and the day of the week; and I still
have trouble with this and with remembering my various appointments
and family schedules.
Next, I began to worry. I was the sole support for my family. I
was being told I could never work again. How would we survive? How
would we pay our bills now? And our tiny house needed so many repairs (and it still does); how would they ever get done now? And what
about all the activities and responsibilities I had up until now? How
would my co-workers figure where I had left off on my various projects
and work assignments? Would they even do as good a job as I tried
to do? We were already so shorthanded and overextended in our work
unit. Did I say that I was worried? No, it was more like fear and
panic; I feared the unknown, what would become of me and my family
and my job. This was not supposed to happen; not now, anyway!
So much for the sour grapes. I think that if anyone had a right to
feel like a victim of their circumstances, I certainly did. With the spirit
of fear all around me, both in my life and in the lives of my fellow

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patients, it was quite natural for me to feel anger over what was
happening. Why did God allow this to happen to me? What did I do to
deserve this? Why did I have to inherit my dads and his dads
diabetes that led to his strokes and, apparently, now to mine? Poor
me. How could I go on not using my right hand? Why did I have to
be paralyzed on my right side instead of my left? And why dont I get
any pity from the medical staff? In the name of compassion, cant
they feel even a little bit sorry for me? Yes, it was quite easy to focus
on me and my troubles. It was very hard for me to face the words
that I often had said so flippantly to others: We are not so much
victims of our circumstances as we are of our priorities. But
face them I did. You see, the priorities we choose in life are very
important and powerful, so powerful that they, in large measure,
determine whether we are to be victims of or victors over any circumstance we may face or any endeavor we may pursue in life.
Again, let us consider how this was true in my own life.
First, I had to face the fact that I had not been taking care of my
diabetes really all that well in the months preceding my stroke.
Actually, the fact that I had already had three heart attacks a year or
two earlier probably was proof positive that I had not been taking very
much care of my health in general for quite some time. While I may
not have been able to prevent getting diabetes, I had not done all I
could to keep such complications of the disease, like a heart attack
and stroke, from happening. But even if I had, would this have made
me a victim of my circumstances? I think not.
You see, circumstances are only perceived as limiting barriers when
they are not dealt with as opportunities. With opportunities, we have
the possibility of rising above our circumstances as victors over them,
that is, provided we have a plan of action for doing so. And this plan
of action is brought to reality through the establishment of the right
priorities.
So, what did I do? I saw my circumstances for what they were. I
recognized and admitted that, in a negative way, my past priorities
had done nothing to prevent the present circumstances from taking
place. In that light, it was unfair and dishonest of me to consider
myself as being victimized by the circumstances of the stroke, as
horrible as it was. Maybe you are facing some circumstances in which

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you honestly did not have any wrong priorities that led up to your
present situation, and there was absolutely nothing you could possibly
have done to mitigate the present circumstances in which you find
yourself. While such situations may truly occur, it is always best to at
least go through the exercise of verifying that your past priorities
really had nothing to do with your present predicament.
Unfortunately, this was not true in my case. And, unfortunately, I
was not the only one impacted adversely by my stroke. My children
no longer have the father who could throw the ball around with them
as in the past. And my wife no longer has the husband that she
married to help her with honey do lists, as well as to enjoy the other
activities and things of life as fully as we once did. Instead, she has to
take time from her already busy schedule to be my care giver and to
spend hours each day doing my therapy, administering my medications, and assisting me as I have need. My loved ones are each one
having to pay quite a price for my wrong priorities, and that is the one
thing that hurts and haunts me the most to this day.
But to turn my circumstances from limiting obstacles into challenging opportunities, I had to come up with, in a positive way, the right
priorities to gain victory over the paralyzing spirit of fear that was
leading me toward self-pity, depression, anxiety, and anger. First off,
I must confess that I have not yet arrived, and I may never arrive in
this life. But, I maintain the hope that I will get better at dealing with
Satans attacks as I draw closer to God. Nevertheless, it truly does
remain a daily challenge that I must work at with all the strength that
I have and with Gods help. And, it is a challenge that I must take and
commit to. The key to successful priority setting, I believe, lies in
taking things one day at a time, and setting your priorities accordingly.
This is probably the thought that Jesus was proclaiming during His
Sermon on the Mount. (See Matthew 6:25-34.)
I still do not know why God chose me, at that specific moment in
my life, to have the stroke, but that is not my problem. Knowing why
does not take away the fact that I had the stroke, nor does it make it
any less cumbersome on my wife, family, or myself. When I was in
the hospital, I heard about a young person who also was severely
disabled. That person said, I choose not to think about all the things
I can no longer do; rather, I choose to focus on the things I can do.

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Those words were a real challenge to me. And so, today, I choose
to focus on what I am supposed to do now, one day at a time, to gain
victory over the stroke and, if possible, to turn my disability into a
source of strength for God, for others, and for myself. While I cannot
do all the same things that I once did, I now can do them and different
things in new ways. God is not so concerned with what we can do and
where we may do it as He is with our relationship with Him. This is
one aspect of moving away from a spirit of fear towards the Spirit of
Gods love. In everything, we should place our highest priority on
whatever promotes our love-bond relationship of communion with
God, knowing He is always present with us.
One question I consider regarding the why me questions surrounding my stroke is why not me? Maybe God, in His infinite
sovereignty, chose me to have a stroke when I did because He
believed that I somehow could handle it better than someone else.
However, for me to believe that He made a mistake in choosing to
allow me the privilege of experiencing the stroke when I did
constitutes a direct affront to Gods judgment and sovereignty. And, it
truly is a privilege when I consider the expense to which He went to
make my salvation possible. It is also a privilege because it is exciting
to see how God uses my stroke to minister to and encourage others.
As bad as I may think I have it, there are always many others who are
far worse off than I am. Instead of looking at my circumstances, I
choose to focus on these many other individuals who are less fortunate
and the opportunities they represent for encouragement and ministry.
I have also had to approach my hard work of therapy, even in the
face of little or no results, as an opportunity rather than as a
circumstance. Likewise, our familys financial situation, my inability to
work situation, and my current health problems and pain are all
opportunities for me to become a victor over my circumstances, and
not a victim of them. This is the context in which I establish my
priorities each day.
How about you? Surely at one time or another in your life, if not
even now, you have known the feeling of being victimized by circumstances that seemed out of control. Maybe it involved a car accident,
death of a loved one, loss of a job, or other such event. Perhaps, even
now, you are going through the breakup of a significant relationship in
your life, or maybe a big misunderstanding is tearing up

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your relationship with another family member, or perhaps your marriage is on the rocks. It may be more or less significant than these
situations. But when you are in the midst of it all, it seems like the
world is coming to an end, and you may feel as though you are truly
at the end of your rope. This is when Satan loves to wow you with a
spirit of fear. Not knowing what is yet to be, you feel like you are all
alone in a dark tunnel, with no light at the other end. In times like
these, it can get very lonely. It is very natural to be all wrapped up in
our own affairs and to succumb to self-pity and depression on the one
hand or anxiety and anger on the other, or maybe even all of these.
But, in times like these, there is a God who loves you more than
you do, and He wants the very best for you more than you do. The
Apostle Paul was tormented by a thorn in the flesh and at least three
times he asked that God would remove it from him. (See 2 Corinthians
12:1-10.) In Gods sovereignty, though, Paul went to his grave still
bearing the affliction in his body. But very few have accomplished for
God what he did. What was Pauls response? He said, Most gladly,
therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of
Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses,
with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for
Christs sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians
12:9b-10 ~ NASB)
The Lord gave me a song shortly before my first stroke. Since that
stroke, I have often taken comfort and encouragement from its words,
and so have countless others. I would like to share these words with
you now. The song is entitled, For Such a Time As This, and here
are the words that God gave to me:
For such a time as this, Lord, Youve come
to bring salvation to everyone.
With You beside us, Lord, we have no fear;
for such a time as this, Lord, Youre here.
For such a time as this, our burdens bear,
and hold us close to You, Your comfort share.
When storms assail us, Lord, and foes increase;
for such a time as this, be our Peace.

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For such a time as this, light our way,

and show us how to live, this we pray.
When life oertakes us, Lord, in You well hide;
for such a time as this, be our Guide.
For such a time as this, help us show
Your love to everyone; let them know
Their hurts and pain Youll heal, their sin forgive;
for such a time as this, may we live.
My friends, this is my prayer for you, even as it is my own daily
prayer. May you, too, be comforted and challenged by these words as
you face the opportunities in your life to rise victorious over the
circumstances that Satan would have you to be overwhelmed with.
Let us remember the words of the Apostle John in his first letter,
...greater is He who is in you than he who is in the worldFor whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that
has overcome the world -- our faith. And who is the one who
overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of
God? (1 John 4:4b; 5:4-5. ~ NASB)

EXAMPLES OF A SPIRIT OF FEAR IN CURRENT EVENTS

There are always many examples in the news of a spirit of fear
and, I suspect, this will become more and more prevalent as the years
go by. As we become more attuned to recognizing Satans handiwork
all around us, we should become even more aware of his work in our
own lives. What follows are some selected examples from local and
national news stories over the past many years. I purposely tried not
to go into much detail about each individual story, but instead I tried
to distill the general way that a spirit of fear was made manifest by the
overall character of the event. What is important about each of these
news stories, for the purposes of our discussion, is not that I relate all
the facts of the event or the excuses that were even given for the
reason that the event took place, but just the fact that a certain event
actually occurred at all, and how this may have shown how Satan uses
his spirit of fear to result in sin or in a general sense of fear or hopelessness among the greater public.

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Matthew Shepard
A number of years ago, there was a college student named
Matthew Shepard. He was apparently a member of the gay lifestyle.
Somewhere along the way, this became known to those who do not
believe that homosexuality is a valid lifestyle. It was determined that
Matthew Shepard did not deserve to live because he was gay, and so
he was executed by one or more of these anti-homosexuality
individuals. Without getting into a gay rights debate, let us rather try
to zero in on what may have led to Matthews murder.
On one side, you have a gay person who just wanted to get an
education and live life as he wanted. According to those who say they
knew him, Matthew was apparently a pretty nice, decent fellow, and
very undeserving of the fate which befell him. On the other side,
there was a group of individuals, often labeled as homophobes by
those in the gay lifestyle, who believe that homosexuality is wrong.
Now, there are many people who fall into this category but, thankfully,
most are not so militant about it. Unfortunately for Matthew, though,
he suffered at the hands of those who are.
What would lead someone to take anothers life simply because he
was a homosexual? At the risk of oversimplifying what may have
happened to Matthew Shepard, one thing becomes glaringly obvious.
However committed he was to the gay lifestyle, there was someone
else who was more committed to exterminating homosexuals. Why?
We may never know the specific rationale for such a cruel and heinous
act, but I would like to advance some possible explanations.
Matthew Shepard was different than the mainstream of society.
Again, as stated before, when we face differences, we tend to
approach them from the stance that we are right and whatever is
different from us is inherently wrong. Our beliefs, opinions, attitudes,
feelings, and the way we do things is naturally superior to that of
anyone else. When confronted with someone who is different from us,
we usually tend to choose to do one or more of the following:
1) we may bristle when in their presence, feeling some degree of
discomfort; 2) we may feel that it is our necessary responsibility to
argue against their differences, taking a stand against them, and even
trying to get them to change to our position, if possible; and 3) we

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may sense that the differences are just to great a challenge for us,
and instead try to avoid them and those that stand for them as much
as possible. And, as was the situation in Matthew Shepherds case, a
few might seek to do away with the differences and whoever may
espouse them altogether. Why? May I suggest that we tend to fear
the differences because of one or more the following may happen.
First, we may have to live with the differences and all that that
may entail. Second, there is an element of risk and the unknown that
are involved. We risk having to feel put out, and we tend to bristle
at the prospect of repeatedly being in the position of having to tolerate
and put up with people and the choices that they make that are contrary to our own. The prospect of such long-term personal discomfort
may seem more than some can bear. Third, we may honestly not
know how we will respond to the differences over the long-term. What
we do not know for certain is a source of fear.
Where there is fear, there is the possibility for a spirit of fear, with
which Satan will use any opportunity available to tempt us and lead us
to sin. As for Matthew Shepard, it all resulted in his murder. And,
homosexuality in our world today is still just as alive and well as it
ever was, if not more so.

Bill Clintons Marital Infidelity

Unfortunately, former President William Jefferson Clinton may best
be remembered for the many scandals and eventual impeachment that
rocked his presidency. These scandals ranged from events that took
place while he was Governor of the State of Arkansas to the countless
actions that characterized his presidency until his last day in office. In
fact, he is perhaps best remembered as the President who was
impeached for his immoral sexual behaviors, both as Governor and as
President.
Without getting into the more than racy details, let the surface
facts suffice that Mr. Clinton had sex with a young White House intern
on many occasions over an extended period of time. In an effort to
keep the matter private and out of the news, Mr. Clinton and Monica
Lewinski, the intern, went to great lengths to hide their liaison from

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fellow staff, Mrs. Clinton, and the press. But, as the Scriptures warn,
be sure your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23b ~ NASB) And
such was the case for these two. In repeated interviews with investigators as well as the press, Mr. Clinton categorically denied ever
having sexual relations with the young woman. In one well known
exchange with the press, Mr. Clinton emphatically stated, I never had
sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinski. By that time, as fate
would have it, Mr. Clintons own beleaguered cover-up was unraveling
quite rapidly. And Ms. Lewinski, fearing her own legal liabilities, and
realizing that the President had been merely using her to satisfy his
own sexual fantasies, began to open up to the many investigators,
who were now carefully looking into the matter and all of the evidence,
like one certain blue dress and some secret recordings by Linda Tripp,
that were slowly beginning to build against them.
Why did Mr. Clinton feel the need to lie about what his involvement
with Ms. Lewinski was, and why did they try to keep it secret? After
all, he surely realized that, while holding the highest, most public
office in the land, it would be virtually impossible to keep such a
relationship truly hidden. And, why did he get involved with her in the
first place, since he was married? Let us look at these questions one
at a time and we shall see how a spirit of fear was behind them all.
First, why did Mr. Clinton feel the need to lie about the relationship
with Ms. Lewinski, and why did they try to keep it secret? Obviously,
Mr. Clinton was well aware of how the public would react if they heard
about it, and he did not want that to happen. Likewise, with the many
investigations taking place regarding all the other scandals he was
allegedly a part of up until now, he could ill afford have another
volatile charge added to that list. He would very likely lose his
presidency if that should happen. And, who knows how Mrs. Clinton or
his daughter, Chelsea, would handle such news.
Second, why did Mr. Clinton ever get involved with Ms. Lewinski in the
first place, since he was married? We can only guess at the specific
reasons for such misbehavior. Was Mr. Clinton on an ego or power
trip? Was it a mid-life crisis? Maybe his relationship with Ms. Lewinski
provided him with some sort of assurance that he still was able to
charm the young ladies, and he had not lost his touch or sexual
prowess. Perhaps, Mr. Clinton felt that, as President, everyone had to
do his bidding, even one of the pretty young interns he had met
earlier. On the other hand, maybe his relationship with Mrs. Clinton

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was not as fulfilling as it once was or, perhaps, he was trying to get
back at her for something.
Whatever the questions and however they are answered, we all do
things, think things, and say things that we subsequently feel the need
to disown, deny, and cover up, just as Mr. Clinton did. Why do we feel
such a need or drive to do this?
I believe that, when we have something we would like to hide
about ourselves, we are all easily tempted to do or say absolutely
anything on our behalf that may steer everyone elses attention away
from us, or mislead them in some other direction away from us, or
blame someone or something else for our words and actions. But
regardless of our specific response(s) under such circumstances, we all
experience some sort of fear when we are about to do or say
something wrong, or when we know that we have done wrong, or still
may be doing something wrong, and we do not want anyone else to
know about it. We may fear what our life would be like if we do not do
something or have something or someone. Or, if we do not do or say
something that we are tempted to do or say, we may fear how our
lives could have been like had we done or said it. Finally, if we have
already succumbed to the temptation, we may now fear the consequences of being found out and all that that might entail. In a
nutshell, we fear the unknown, and this leads us to a spirit of fear.
And, as we have seen, this spirit of fear is always under the direct
control and influence of Satan, who conditions all of our thoughts,
attitudes, emotions, and actions from this point on, unless we
immediately recognize, acknowledge, and admit what is happening to
someone who can hold us accountable.
Getting back to Mr. Clinton, only he knows the specific reasons why
he said and did what he said and did. But one thing is clear: it was a
spirit of fear, indeed Satan himself, that orchestrated the events that
led to his impeachment. Thus, Mr. Clintons focus was on himself, his
wants and his self-preservation. After all the lies, he was still impeached. He lost credibility amongst his colleagues and the American
people. One of his lasts acts as President was to finally admit publicly
that he had indeed sought to mislead the investigation. But, in the
final analysis, he never was able to come right out and admit that he
had lied. And so, to this day, Mr. Clinton remains unrepentant.

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Columbine High School Shootings

In 1999, we were all shocked to hear about yet another in the
series of school shootings to rock our country during the years before
and since. In this incident at Columbine, the shootings were carried
out by two boys who apparently had planned out, ahead of time, the
heinous acts that followed and which resulted in both boys committing
suicide. It was reported that these two boys had felt ostracized by
their peers, especially by those on the schools various athletic teams
and the cheerleaders. Some of the most popular kids lost their lives
that day. Another girl, named Cassie, was in the library that day.
When the shooting began, she hid under a table. One of the killers
found her and asked if she believed in God. When she said that she
did, he then asked her, Why?. Unfortunately, he did not allow her to
answer and, instead, he killed her.
Why did these boys feel like outcasts? And, if this was true, why
had the students of Columbine not have done more to make these
boys feel welcome in their midst? Moreover, why did Cassie have to
die for her faith? These are all disturbing questions. While, thankfully,
people are not usually put to death for such things, it is true that we
are often not as sensitive to others as we should be. We can also be
very cruel by the things we say and do to those who do not believe the
same as we do.
So, why do people feel outcast and unaccepted? As we discussed
earlier in this chapter, we tend to be suspicious of those who are
different from us. These differences may be racial, religious, personality, physical appearance, sexual orientation, socioeconomic, or
otherwise. While their demographic background may differ somewhat
from our own, they are still human beings who are in just as much
need as each one of us for validation, love, and acceptance. They
have just as much need to feel like they belong as we do. However,
when we focus on how different we are, rather than on how alike we
are, peoples feelings are likely to be hurt. In such situations, we are
not only demonstrating our own spirit of fear, but we are helping to
engender a spirit of fear within those around us, as well. When we
allow differences to separate us from one another, we are exhibiting

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by our thoughts, speech, and actions that we do not approve of these

differences, and those we see as characterized by them. But in reality,
it is not the people we have a problem with; rather, our problem lies
with the differences.
How do we demonstrate our spirit of fear in such situations? When
confronting differences, we consciously, subconsciously, or unconsciously need to change ourselves to agree with the differences or
tolerate the differences on the one hand, or to avoid the differences
and those who are different on the other. In doing this, we may have
a spirit of fear of what the differences may mean for us if we do
change, or what the future may hold for us should we choose not to
make any changes. This is true whether we tolerate the differences,
or separate ourselves from them and the people that we deem as
different. In either scenario, we do not know what exactly may
happen, and this unknown factor is a source of this spirit of fear which
so often leads to sin.
How do we help engender a spirit of fear within those around us?
When a spirit of fear is present in our lives, it is very contagious and
those around us are very susceptible. If we do not validate, love, and
accept those around us, who we deem as different from us, we are in
essence showing ourselves as superior and separate, and those
different from us as inferior and outcasts. This is exactly how cliques
form on the microsocial level and how racism occurs on the
macrosocial level. In essence, we are declaring to those around us
who are different from us that we are okay and they are not okay.
The animosity that can result is just one evidence that we may have
introduced a spirit of fear; so is hatred, anger, and eventually, even
violence itself. As was the case with us, they also do not know exactly
what may happen, and this fear of the unknown can lead to a spirit of
fear and to sin. For Cassie and the other students, as well as the two
boys who started the shooting rampage, this spirit of fear ended in
violent death. And, while I do not presume to know all the dynamics
of what happened that day at Columbine High School, from what has
been relayed by the news media appears to point to at least some, if
not all, of what I have described as taking place behind the scenes of
this tragedy.

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U.S. Presidential 2000 Election

In November, 2000, the United States conducted a Presidential
election that turned out to be one of the closest elections ever for that
office. George W. Bush, the son of former President George Herbert
Walker Bush, challenged the incumbent Vice President, Albert (Al)
Gore. The election returns, as reported by the major news networks,
see-sawed back and forth all night as state after state turned in their
election returns that were too close to call. The news media were all
competing against each other in an attempt to be the first to call the
election and announce to the public the name of the successful
candidate.
To complicate matters, the United States counts the popular votes
in each state to determine the successful candidate in each state, who
in turn is awarded the number of electoral votes assigned to each
state. To be elected President, a candidate must receive a majority of
electoral votes cast by the electoral college, composed of individuals
from each state who meet the following January to vote for President
and ratify the results of the popular votes cast in each states previous
Novembers election. In close elections, a candidate may have the
most popular votes but lose to his or her challenger when it comes to
the all-important electoral votes.
In the 2000 Presidential Election, it was determined that, although
several states were too close to call, they individually and collectively
did not have the number of electoral votes to make much of a
difference in the vote totals of either candidate. This was because
there was one other state, Florida, that also was too close too call, and
this state carried a large enough number of electoral votes to decide
the election, with or without the other states. In other words, the
winner of Floridas popular votes would receive enough electoral votes
to guarantee the successful candidate of receiving the majority of
electoral votes needed to secure the election.
The unknown factor present in this election, especially in Florida,
resulted in all sorts of speculation and accusations of voter fraud,
inadequately and unfairly counting the ballots in the various precincts,
etc. People began to even question the electoral process altogether.
Emotions ran hot and a spirit of fear was palpable. The desire to get
the right candidate to win encouraged illegal activities among voters as
a result of this rampant spirit of fear. To this day, the election is still

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thought to have been rigged or stolen, depending upon who was your
candidate of choice.

Terrorism and 9/11/2001

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the day had started out
like most any other day. But that was suddenly interrupted by Islamic
extremists who methodically hijacked passenger jets and crashed
them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan,
New York City, as well as into the Pentagon building, and into an
empty field in Shanksville, Pensylvania. In all four crashes, all on
board were killed and many more were killed or injured in the three
buildings. The nation went into almost spontaneous panic as the story
unfolded, and the government response was offensively to begin a war
on terror and defensively, to develop federal departments of Homeland
Security, beef up the Travel Safety Administration security practices,
and to use the National Security Administration in an attempt to
secure the safety of American lives. Also, a detention center at
Guantamino Bay in Cuba was set up for the capture and questioning of
terrorists, mostly Islamic and tied to Al Quaida.
Americans lost many of the liberties they had enjoyed before that
date in order that they might have a semblance of safety and security
in public. While the fear that was so rampant was initially addressed
by seeking how to identify the enemy and attempting to defend the
country from future atrocities, Americans faced from that day forward
an on-going fear that could not be assuaged by any action of our
government. The unknown aspect of all this was indeed palpable.
President Bush took out his fury on Sadam Hussein of Iraq, accusing
him of having and using weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Bin
Laden was pursued to his death by Three presidents: Bill Clinton,
George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Yet, the terror has continued
largely unabated over the years, in spite of the many federal safeguards that have been imposed on the American people.

ISIS/ISIL Terrorist Actions

This Islamic extremist group that has been deemed more radical
and savage than Al Quaida has been attempting to establish an Islamic
Caliphate that they hope will encompass Lebanon, Syria, Israel,

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Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. They have made the news reels of late
showing the beheadings of journalists and other innocents from the
U.S. and England. They actually filmed their gruesome actions on
television and over the internet, and that act has further raised the ire
of political leaders. The U.N. has been in session regarding how to
handle the crisis and stop these terrorists. As they respond out of a
spirit of fear, the terrorists are also combating fear of being attacked
by threats of more beheadings and separating themselves into smaller
groups that can infiltrate cities and be harder to locate and attack.
The fact still remains, as it does for each one of us dealing with those
who are different from us, whether in their beliefs, manner of dress or
conduct, etc., if they continue peacefully in their differences, and we
likewise continue in ours, whoever is right in the end will be finally
borne out when we all face God in His judgment. It is when we attack
those who are different from us and take matters into our own hands
and act in Gods place by unilaterally judging and punishing others that
we are proving that Satan is indeed in control of our lives, and we are
serving him and exhibiting his spirit of fear.

Summary
I have only listed a few examples of how a spirit of fear is at work
among us. You can undoubtedly identify so many more as Satan is
quite active in using fear to accomplish his purposes and move us to
the sidelines of life so that he might have even more of a free reign
over us and among us. But, from these examples, may we ever be
mindful of Peters warning in his first epistle, chapter 5 and verses 810 ~ NASB: Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the
devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences
of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the
world. And after you have suffered for a little, the God of all grace,
who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect,
confirm, strengthen and establish you.1 (1 Peter 5:8-10 ~ NASB)
Also, Paul in his epistle to the Romans, chapter 8, encourages us with
these words, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,
who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all
things? Who will bring a charge against Gods elect? God is the one
who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who
died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God,

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who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.1 (Romans 8:31-35, 37-39 ~
NASB)
Oh friend, are you feeling overwhelmed by a spirit of fear in your
life? Are the events of this world stressing you out? Gods love in His
Son, Jesus Christ, can be yours and you can through His love be
strengthened to overcome the wiles of the wicked one, Satan, and the
fear he loves to instill. Come to Jesus, tell Him your fears and failures,
and invite Him into your life to cleanse you from all sin and help you
live for Him as the Lord and Supreme Ruler of your life. He will give
you peace and joy and victory over your fears and over Satan. If you
have never done this, please do it now!

Footnote:

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

HOW SATAN USES A SPIRIT OF FEAR

AS A WEAPON IN OUR OWN LIVES

Satan uses a spirit of fear as a sort of weapon in our lives. He

does this, surreptitiously or not, in an effort to accomplish his various
goals and objectives, most important among which are those aimed at
deceiving and capturing as many victims as possible, and keeping such
unfortunate souls from ever coming to God through the saving work of
Jesus Christ and the sustaining power of His Holy Spirit.
Although Satans war against God and those who belong to Him is
as good as over, the battles continue to rage on in the meantime.
Make no mistake about it; Satan fights for the bodies, minds, and
souls of men, women, and children, and he will continue to do so as
long as he is allowed to reign as the god of this world, and until he
ultimately faces his certain doom before Jesus Christ on His great
white throne on the Day of Judgment.
But what do these battles entail, and how does one recognize when
he is doing battle with Satan? These are significant questions because
we cannot hope to do battle with Satan unless we can recognize his
tactics, and how he works to attack us. It is no easy task doing battle
with Satan. He is so subtle and deceptive, wily and persistent, and he
always seeks to use whatever works to gain him access into our lives,
from which he can turn a tiny foothold into a mighty stronghold very
quickly, and so often unbeknownst to us, until one day, all of a
sudden, we see our lives in shambles, ruin, and destruction.
To help us to recognize the work of Satan and his weapon of choice
in our lives and in our world today, much can be gleaned from a study
of the Scriptures to learn how Satan worked in the lives of people
then. When you stop and think about it, we are not very much
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different than the men, women, and children in the Bible, and we have
the same basic human nature and capacities for feeling, thinking,
believing, doing, and wanting things to be a certain way, that is, our
way. We also have the same ability to be ignorant and limited in how
much we can know, understand, control, and experience. In other
words, we have the same capacity for a spirit of fear to be present in
our lives today as the people did in Bible days.
As we look to the Bible for guidance, then, we should always
remember that Satan himself operates from a spirit of fear. And with
this spirit of fear as his base of operations, so too are all of his actions
and the actions of those who act under his influence, whether directly
or indirectly. They all are specific manifestations of a spirit of fear at
work. Therefore, by learning how to recognize Satan and his presence
in our world, we are likewise learning how to identify a spirit of fear in
our world. Inasmuch as Satan, his followers, and his work, are
specifically described and characterized in Scripture, we can truly
recognize and understand how, taken altogether, they really do comprise a clear personification of a spirit of fear that was not only at work
then, but is also actively at work in our midst today.

Recognizing Satan and His Presence in Our World

How can we recognize Satan and his activities now and until he
faces his final judgment before God? We can learn much from the
pages of the Bible about Satan and his presence in our midst. The
Bible warns us that Satan is alive and well on planet earth, and that he
can come to us in a wide variety of ways: under the guise of false
apostles of Christ, deceitful workmen, an angel of light, and
servants of righteousness; (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ~ RSV) through
principalities, powers, world rulers of this present darkness, and
spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places; (Ephesians 6:12
~ RSV) by deceitful spirits and demons, liars whose consciences
are seared, and false teachers; (1 Timothy 4:1-3; 6:3-10 ~ RSV) by
the one who sins, children of the devil, whoever does not do right,
and he who does not love his brother; (1 John 3:8, 10 ~ RSV) by
using every spirit which does not confess Jesus, and the spirit of
antichrist which is in the world already; (1 John 4:3 ~ RSV) and
finally, we are told that Satan disguises himself as the dragon in
Revelation, who gives his power and his throne and great authority
to the beast from the sea, which is consumed with the spirit of

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antichrist and is indeed the very antichrist himself; (Revelation 13:110) and to the beast from the earth, who is the false prophet who calls
the whole world to worship the antichrist. (Revelation 13:11-18)
We can also see the effects of Satans work and activities by how
he works within and through mankind. Indeed, the Scriptures are
replete with passages that describe those who have fallen prey to
Satan, and how he also seeks to use us in his battle against God while,
at the same time, destroying our own lives in the process, both now
and, if possible, forever with him in Hell.
Therefore, Satan is behind all the ungodliness and wickedness of
men who, by their wickedness, suppress the truth, (Romans 1:18 ~
RSV) even though they know God, yet choose to not honor him as
God or give thanks to him. (Romans 1:21 ~ RSV) The Apostle Paul
goes on to say that such men have become futile in their thinking and
their senseless minds are darkened. While they claim to be wise,
they actually have become fools, and have exchanged the glory of the
immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or
reptiles, celebrating and worshiping and serving the creature rather
than the Creator. (Romans 1:21-23 ~ RSV)
In fact, throughout the whole New Testament, Peter, Paul, James,
Jude, and John all describe at length those who have fallen into
Satans sphere of influence. From their respective descriptions, we
should be able to easily recognize those who are under Satans power
and influence by their actions, attitudes, relationships, and numerous
other distinguishing characteristics.
Therefore, we will find any one or more of the following descriptions, characteristics, and designations being applied to such victims of
Satan by these New Testament writers. Please note, however, that
this survey of the New Testament writers is not meant to be a
complete and exhaustive listing of all such descriptions, characteristics, and designations of Satans victims. Rather, these should
provide helpful clues into the nature and work of Satan as we look at
the effects he has on the lives of those who have fallen prey to his
work and been ensnared in his devious activities. Also, it is interesting
to note the many similarities and even the repetition amongst the
various writers as they discussed Satans victims.

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Paul
In Pauls writings, we find perhaps the most numerous and complete descriptions of and references to those who fall prey to Satan.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul gave the following clues as to what
these people are like: they are slaves of sin; (Romans 6:17 ~ RSV)
and they pass judgment on one another or decide to put a
stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. (Romans 14:13
~ RSV)
In his letter to the Churches of Galatia, Paul wrote: they gratify
the desires of the flesh, and their works are plain: immorality,
impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife jealousy,
anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness,
carousing, and the like. (Galatians 5:16, 19-21 ~ RSV)
Pauls letter to the Ephesians provides the following description:
they live in the futility of their minds; they are darkened in their
understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance
that is in them, due to their hardness of heart; they have become
callous and have given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to
practice every kind of uncleanness, and their manner of lifeis
corrupt through deceitful lusts. (Ephesians 4:17-19, 22b ~ RSV)
In another letter, Paul warned the Philippians about those who live
as enemies of the cross of Christ: their end is destruction, their god is
the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly
things. (Philippians 3:18-19 ~ RSV) In his letter to the saints and
faithful brethren in Christ at Colossae, Paul wrote how their lives are
characterized by immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and
covetousness, which is idolatry; they walk and live in such a way that
they are full of anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from their
mouth, and they lie to one another. (Colossians 3:5, 8, 9 ~ RSV)
Paul counseled Timothy in two letters to recognize such people as
being the lawless and disobedient, the ungodly and sinners, the
unholy and profane, murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers,
manslayers, immoral persons, sodomites, kidnapers, liars, perjurers,
and whatever else that is contrary to sound doctrine; (1 Timothy
1:9-10 ~ RSV) they are puffed up with conceit, knowing nothing;
they have a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about

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words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, and

wrangling among men who are depraved in mind and bereft of the
truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain; they are those
who desiring to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many
senseless and hurtful desires that plunges men into ruin and
destruction; (1 Timothy 6:4-5, 9 ~ RSV) they are lovers of self,
lovers of money, proud, arrogant, and abusive, disobedient to their
parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers,
profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with
conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form
of religion but denying the power of it; they are those who make
their way into households and capture weak women, burdened with
sins and swayed by various impulses, who will listen to anybody and
can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth; they are men who
oppose the truth, men of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith; their
folly will be plain to all; (2 Timothy 3:1-9 ~ RSV) and they will not
endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate
for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away
from listening to the truth and wander into myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4
~ RSV)
In his letter to Titus, whom Paul refers to as his true child in a
common faith, he warns about the presence of false teachers and how
they can be recognized, as well as others who are impacted by Satans
deceitful influence. Paul writes the following: there are many insubordinate men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially the circumcision
party; they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families
by teaching for base gain what they have no right to teach. One of
themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil
beasts, and lazy gluttons. This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke
them sharply. (Titus 1:10-13 ~ RSV) Paul says of such men that
they give heed to Jewish myths or to commands of men who reject
the truth; they are corrupt and unbelieving and, to the corrupt and
unbelieving nothing is pure; their very minds and consciences are
corrupted. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their
deeds; they are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
(Titus 1:14-16 ~ RSV) They are foolish, disobedient, led astray,
slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing their days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another; they are involved in stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels
over the law, which are unprofitable and futile; and they are

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factious, perverted, sinful, and self-condemned. (Titus 3:3, 9,

11 ~ RSV)

James
James, the brother of Jesus Christ, added the following descriptions
of those under Satans influence in his letter to the twelve tribes in the
Dispersion: their wisdom is earthly, unspiritual, devilish; they have
bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in their hearts, accompanied by
disorder and every vile practice; (James 3:14-16 ~ RSV); and they
are unfaithful creatures who do not know that friendship with the
world is enmity with God. (James 4:4a ~ RSV) (See also James 4:14 for the context of this thought.)

Jude
Then Jude, self-proclaimed as a servant of Jesus Christ and brother
of James, and who was possibly even a brother of Jesus, (Mark 6:3;
and Matthew 13:55), was especially concerned about people
recognizing Satans influence through false teachers. He described
them as follows in his letter: their manner is like the angels that did
not keep their own position but left their proper dwelling; (Jude 6 ~
RSV) and like those in Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding
cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust;
(Jude 7 ~ RSV) they are men who, in their dreamings, defile the
flesh, reject authority, and revile the glorious ones; (Jude 8 ~ RSV)
they revile whatever they do not understand, and by those things
that they do know by instinct as irrational animals do, they are
destroyed; (Jude 10 ~ RSV) they walk in the way of Cain and
abandon themselves for the sake of gain to Balaams error, and perish
in Korahs rebellion; (Jude 11 ~ RSV) they are blemishes on the
Christians love feasts, as they boldly carouse together, looking after
themselves; waterless clouds, carried along by winds; fruitless trees in
late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; they are wild waves of the sea,
casting up the foam of their own shame; they are wandering stars
for whom the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved for ever;
(Jude 12-13 ~ RSV) they are the ungodly who have committed
deeds of ungodlinessin such an ungodly way; (Jude 15b ~ RSV)
they are ungodly sinners who have spoken harsh things against the
Lord; (Jude 15c ~ RSV) they are grumblers and malcontents,

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following their own passions; they are loud-mouthed boasters,

flattering people to gain advantage; (Jude 16 ~ RSV) they are
scoffers, following their own ungodly passions; (Jude 18 ~ RSV)
they set up divisions; and they are worldly people, devoid of the
Spirit. (Jude 19 ~ RSV)

Peter
Peter, arguably the most outspoken and among the most familiar
of Jesus twelve disciples, also wrote in his two letters about the need
for his fellow first-century believers to grow deep and mature in their
Christian faith. He was obviously concerned that they would be prepared to withstand Satans attacks on their faith, and to endure and
persevere the accompanying suffering that they were likely to experience whenever they would take a stand for and hold firm to what they
believed. It should also be noted that Peters words are equally applicable to us today.
In his first letter, Peter encouraged the believers to recognize the
difference between their new life in Christ and their former lifestyle
apart from Christ. Peter associated their former lifestyle, as well as
that of others under Satans influence, with those who abuse and
revile a believers good behavior in Christ. (1 Peter 3:16) Peter also
described them as follows: they do what the Gentiles like to do,
living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and
lawless idolatry; and they are surprised that believers do not now
join them in the same wild profligacy, and they abuse those who
belong to Christ. (1 Peter 4:3-4 ~ RSV)
In Peters second letter, he warned his fellow believers of false
teachers and others who were deceived by Satan.
Warning his
readers, Peter gave the following description to help his fellow
believers to recognize them. He wrote: they are false prophets and
teachers who arise among the believers, who secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them; they
will cause many to follow their licentiousness, and because of them
the way of truth will be reviled; in their greed, they will exploit
believers with false words; (2 Peter 2:1-3 ~ RSV) they indulge in
the lust of defiling passion and despise authority; bold and willful,
they are not afraid to revile the glorious ones; (2 Peter 2:10 ~ RSV)
they are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be

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caught and killed, reviling in matters of which they are ignorant; they
count it pleasure to revel in the daytime;
they are blots and
blemishes, reveling in their dissipation, carousing with believers.
They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin; they entice
unsteady souls; they have hearts trained in greed; as accursed
children, forsaking the right way they have gone astray; they have
followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from
wrongdoing. (2 Peter 2:12-15 ~ RSV) They are waterless springs
and mists driven by a storm; uttering loud boasts of folly, they
entice with licentious passions of the flesh men wholive in error.
They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; (2 Peter 2:17-19 ~ RSV) they are scoffers who will come in
the last days with scoffing, following their own passions; (2 Peter 3:3
~ RSV) and they are the ignorant and unstable who twist things
hard to understand to their own destruction, as they do the other
scriptures. (2 Peter 3:16 ~ RSV)

John:
And finally, John, the Beloved Disciple, also characterized the
people that Satan has influenced in each of his three letters to his
fellow believers. In his first letter, John wrote: they are the antichrist
who is coming, and the many antichrists who have now come; they
are those who went out from the Christian fellowship and never
returned; (1 John 2:18-19 ~ RSV) they are liars because they deny
that Jesus is the Christ; they are the antichrist because the antichrist
denies the Father and the Son; (1 John 2:22-23 ~ RSV) they who
commit sin are guilty of lawlessness because sin is lawlessness;
they who commit sin are of the devil, for the devil has sinned from
the beginning; they are the children of the devil; they do not do
right, nor do they love their brother; (1 John 3:4, 8, 10 ~ RSV)
they are of the world and hate those who belong to God; they hate
their brother and therefore are murderers; they have the worlds
goods yet, when they see their brother in need, they close their
heart against him; (1 John 3:13, 15, 17 ~ RSV) they are among the
many false prophets that have gone out into the world; they possess
the spirit of antichrist which does not confess that Jesus Christ has
come in the flesh; they are of the world, therefore what they say is
of the world, and the world listens to them; they possess the spirit of
error; (1 John 4:1-3, 5-6 ~ RSV) they do not love and they do not
know God; they do not have confidence for the day of judgment, but

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they have a fear related to punishment, and they are not perfected [or
completed] in love; although they may say that they love God, if they
hate their brother, they are a liar, and cannot love God; (1 John 4:8,
17-18, 20 ~ RSV; words enclosed in brackets were added by the
author for clarity) they neither love God nor the children of God; they
do not keep Gods commandments; they do not believe that Jesus is
the Son of God; neither do they believe God, nor the testimony that
God has borne to his Son; they are touched by the evil one and, with
the whole world, they are in the power of the evil one; and they do
not keep themselves from idols. (1 John 5:2-3, 9-10, 11-19, 21 ~
RSV)
In his much shorter second and third letters, John reemphasized
some of his previous thoughts from his first letter when he added
these insights: they are among the many deceivers who have gone
out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus
Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist; they
go ahead and do not abide in the doctrine of Christ and they do not
have God; their work is wicked; (2 John 7, 9-11 ~ RSV) and they who
imitate evil and do evil have not seen God. (3 John 11 ~ RSV)

How Can We Apply All This in Our Own Lives?

Wow! What a depressing and heavy exercise in reading so many
negative and evil descriptions, characteristics, and designations given
those whose lives have been adversely impacted in some way by the
presence and work of Satan. But, this is reality! This is where we all
find ourselves in this world of ours.
We have covered a lot of ground in our study of the person and
work of Satan, both in Biblical times as well as our own. We have
looked at his cunning ways and his subtlety in seeking to get us to
follow him, consciously or not, and how he ensnares us through his
many levels of deception and progressive series of temptations. If
each one of us would take even just a moment to reflect how we have
been impacted by the presence of Satan in our world, I am certain that
we would shudder at the effects and successes Satan has had in gaining first a toehold and, more often than we would care to admit, even
a stronghold in our lives. As abhorrent and appalling as the results
that such an exercise of regularly scheduled, honest, and faithful periods of self-introspection may be, probably nothing may be so

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profitable for any one of us than to recognize, as soon as possible,

when and how Satan may have infiltrated our lives. As soon as we
can recognize a breach by Satan, we can then acknowledge it and
take the necessary constructive steps of confession, repentance, and
restoration of our broken relationship with God, and seek forgiveness
and restitution from all who may have been adversely affected and
hurt by our assorted human failings as a result of succumbing to
Satans wiles.
While there is nothing positive that can come from an encounter
with Satan, there is everything positive that can come from an
encounter with God and His love for us through Jesus Christ, His Son.
Negative encounters with Satan can be redeemed by a positive encounter of genuine confession, repentance, and sorrow for our sin
before a holy God. He wants us to be restored in our relationship with
Him more than we do. And because God understands better than we
can about how hard it is for us to stand up against Satan, He has even
provided each one of us with something that we can do which should
give us true hope in dealing with Satan. It need not be a forgone
conclusion that we must succumb to Satan. In his first letter to the
church at Corinth, Paul wrote that there is no temptation that has
overtaken us that is not common to mankind. God is faithful, and He
will not let us be tempted beyond our strength, but with the
temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that we may be
able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 ~ RSV) So the question that
should be asked at this point is: How hard are we looking for and
following the way of escape that God has provided for us whenever
Satan is seeking to tempt us or lead us astray?
Also, God has made available to us special spiritual armor suitable
for use in our daily warfare with Satan and all his evil hosts of wickedness. (See Ephesians 6:10-18.) While these pieces of armor are
largely defensive in nature, one piece is clearly offensive in nature, the
sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (the Holy Scriptures),
and we have already seen how useful and victorious it is without
exception when used by Jesus against Satan himself. (See chapter 5
where we specifically addressed this.)
In addition to our constant protection of faithfully wearing and
using the armor of God, we can have the certainty of an eternal personal and spiritual security by always dwelling in the presence of God
and His love, which can indwell us by His Holy Spirit, and thereby

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fortify us and our faith in God, and give us boldness and victory over
sin and Satan. (See John 15:1-17; Romans 8:31-39; and 1 John 3:14:21.) For all these reasons, we can agree with confidence with the
Apostle Paul who said that we are more than conquerors through him
[God] who loved us. (Romans 8:37 ~ RSV; bracketed word, God,
was inserted by the author for clarity.)
In the next section, we will be exploring this love of God which will
be referred to as the Spirit of Love. This is to be our goal, to replace a
spirit of fear with the Spirit of Love in our lives. Then, in the following
section, we will consider the process by which we must all have to go
through in moving away from a spirit of fear towards the Spirit of love.
In reality, this is the process of salvation, which cost Jesus Christ His
earthly life so that we may have eternal spiritual life with Him in
Heaven.

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126

Defining the Spirit of Love

Before we can define the Spirit of love, we must first consider the
source or who is the Spirit of love. We will consider this in greater
detail in chapter 11 when we discuss the origin of the Spirit of love,
but suffice it to say, for purposes of defining the Spirit of Love, that it
has its origins in the very heart and nature of Almighty God. It is the
very essence of who God is.
First, we read in 1 John 4:8b, 16 ~ NASB that God is love.1 In
his Gospel, John declares that God is spirit; and those who worship
Him must worship in spirit and truth.1 (John 4:24 ~ NASB) So, we
know that God is Spirit and He is love, or combining these two truths,
God is the Spirit of love. God as the Spirit of love is present in our
world and indwells the lives of believers who have submitted their lives
to the Lordship of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. The third person of
the trinity, the Spirit of love is one and the same as the Holy Spirit and
proceeds from God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, and indwells
the believer, working in and through their life both to will and to work
for His good pleasure.1 (Philippians 2:13 ~ NASB)
In the Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament,
the word for the love of God, of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit is agape.
Oftentimes, when I have read various authors defining agape, I have
been left with the impression that it is sort of a syrupy or goopy
agape as their descriptions have described it so flowery and as so
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divine and unattainable by human beings. These superlative definitions of agape, while true descriptions of the unconditional Spirit of
love, can mostly be lumped together as love regardless. By that, I
mean that it cannot be earned or received as a reward since it exists
apart from the realm of time. We will consider this next and again in
chapter 10, when we compare agape with the other kinds of human
love with which we are familiar.
Because agape love is the highest, most perfect form of love with
its origin in the very heart and nature of the Godhead, to understand it
most fully then, we need to understand God in relation to His love.
First, God is. We read His name as He revealed it to Moses at the
burning bush as I AM, or I AM WHO I AM.1 (Exodus 3:14 ~ NASB)
Why does God define His name in the present tense? How does that
shed light on the meaning of agape? Even Jesus claimed that same
name throughout the Gospel of John, (John 4:26; 6:35; 8:1, 12, 24,
58; 10:7, 9, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1), and in the book of Revelation.
(Revelation 1:8, 17-18) To know God in His dealings with man and
through His descriptions of Himself in the Bible, we understand that
God exists beyond time as we know it. He is the beginning and the
end. Jesus describes Himself as the first and the last1 (Revelation
2:8 ~ NASB) and exactly one chapter earlier, we read, I am the
Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and
who is to come, the Almighty.1 (Revelation 1:8 ~ NASB) The
Godhead, present at creation, is eternally existent. (Genesis 1:1-2:3;
John 1:1-5) Since the Godhead is also love according to 1 John 4:8b,
16, then using the transitive property of equality from mathematics,
we know that Gods love also exists eternally and can only be
understood within the realm of being eternally present, even as God is.
I believe that a major part of the likeness of God wherein He
created us has to do with the fact that we were created to be eternally
existent with Him, and can only apprehend who God and His love are
in the eternal present. While God has no beginning, we do, but we
share an eternal future. Those of us who have accepted His gift of
eternal life with Him through our redemption by Christ Jesus can know
an eternal love-bond relationship of communion with Him now and
throughout all eternity. Those who have rejected this gift of salvation
through Jesus Christ will spend their eternity in Hell. But we all have
an eternity. And, if we open our lives to God and His love through
Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit of God sent to be our comforter,

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teacher, and strength, we can experience Gods love and presence in

the eternal present tense wherein God and His love exist. That is why
His love just is, regardless or in spite of who we are or what we may
have done. It cannot be earned and it is never a reward for anything
we may or may not have done. It just simply is, even as God just
simply is. Moreover, I believe that when God created us to be
eternally existent like He is, God also created a void or emptiness
within us that only His presence and love can fill. We may seek other
things to try and fill this void, but we will never be truly satisfied or at
peace until we are filled with Gods Holy Spirit of love and find our rest
in Him.
In 1 John 4:18-19 ~ NASB, We read, There is no fear in love, but
perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the
one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved
us.1 I would also like to submit for your consideration that fear has
to do with our own ignorance. But with Gods love and our faith in
God and His sovereignty, we have no need for knowledge or
understanding or control or experience, save that God loves us
moment by moment, in the eternal present, and we can trust Him fully
as we commune with Him, thus removing from us any need for any
such things. We can simply rest in God and His love which provides us
a real peace that far surpasses anything the world can offer. We can
cease our striving which accompanies fear and simply rest in Him in
our respective eternal presents. This may truly have been what Paul
had in mind in his second letter to Timothy, where we read: For God
did not give us a spirit of timidity [fear] but a spirit of power and love
and discipline [sound mind, sound judgment, self-control].1 (2
Timothy 1:7 NASB; words enclosed in brackets were added by the
author to show other possible meanings for these words.)
In the next chapter, we will take a look at ourselves and our loves.
We will consider how living in the realm of time affects how we love.
We will see how the English language is rather limited in describing
these various other loves, using a single word, while the Koine Greek
has at least four words for love.

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Footnote:

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

10

Lets Look at Ourselves and Our Loves

Lets look at ourselves and our loves. When we think about how
many ways we use the word, love, it becomes readily obvious that we
mean that word in a multiplicity of ways depending upon the context
in which we use it. Koine Greek had a different word for the different
ways it was being used, but in English, each time it is rendered as the
single word, love. Lets look at these words.
We considered in the last chapter one of these Greek words for
love, agape. This is the highest, most pure or perfect form of unconditional love, and as such, is associated with God and His Holy Spirit of
love.
Another Greek word for love is eros. This is the type of love that
seeks physical gratification from another. It is most often associated
with the physical marriage relationship. As it is self-directed, it is
thought to be a sort of selfish or self-centered love, especially centered
on the pleasurable physical benefits one can experience with another
person. Outside of the marriage relationship, it is condemned by
Scripture. Within marriage, it is Gods gift to enjoy the physical marriage intimacy, but it is not meant by God to be the only kind of love to
be enjoyed between spouses.
A third type of love is philia or phileo. This is friendship love which
incorporates the ideas of loyalty and trust. This kind of love is more
outwardly focused. Both parties seek to give and enjoy receiving this
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type of love mutually in the friendship. But this kind of love can also
be corrupted by our selfish or self-centered natures. We have a tendency to only remain in relationships based on phileia or phileo so long
as we are rewarded for our loyalty and trust. We enter or not enter
into such relationships based on what we think it may give us (e.g.,
prestige, popularity, career advancement, etc.), or what others may or
may not think of us (e.g., reputation of the other person), or any
number of other such self-oriented considerations, and so this type of
love may have a heavy self-centered aspect to it.
The final type of love is storge. This is the kind of familial love that
parents feel toward their children or sibs feel toward each other within
the family context. There again is an outward focus that has a protective nature toward the children or amongst sibs wherein the givers
of storge seek the betterment or at least the maintenance care of
those within the family. However, this type of love also has an inward,
or self-centered, focus or element, inasmuch as our senses of identity,
belonging, and heritage all are a part of storge love.
Dr. A. W. Tozer has written about Three Degrees of Love in one
of his editorials in The Alliance Witness. I searched unsuccessfully
for this editorial, so I must depend on what DeVern F. Fromke
observed from this editorial as published in his excellent book, The
Ultimate Intention.1 According to this author, Dr. Tozer first points
out that most Christian thinkers divide love into two kinds: love based
on the gratitude and love based on excellence. According to Mr.
Fromke, love that is the result of gratitude for favors received cannot
but have a certain element of selfishness in it. With this type of love,
one is mostly mindful of only the benefits received and does not seem
to exist apart from them. It is what the other does for them that
seems to matter and so they love the other person for it. I can
imagine how another makes one feel when they are around or perhaps
the desired social status they may feel they share because of who they
are with can also be the benefits they love when they are in this
relationship.
A second type of love Dr. Tozer observes he has described as the
love of excellence. Mr. Fromke adds that this love has a strong
element of admiration in it. We all can think of an example from our
own lives where this kind of love existed. We may love how an
athletes prowess and skill awakens feelings of admiration within us.

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Likewise, an incredible musician who has befriended us raises up

similar feelings within us. And just by being their friend, how many of
us have secretly hoped that some of their talents would rub off on us?
How many times have we been counseled to associate with successful
people if we aspire to be successful ourselves?
Mr. Fromke continues by making the observation that these two
loves have one thing in common: they can both give a reason for
their existence. Love that can offer reasons is a rational thing and has
not attained to a state of complete purity. It is not perfect love. This
higher, purer, more perfect love is what Gods agape love is like.
About this highest degree of love, Dr. Tozer writes, There is in the
higher type of love a supernatural element that cannot and does not
attempt to give reasons for its existence. It says not I love because;
it only whispers I love. Perfect love knows no because. Looking at
ourselves, then, there is nothing we can offer God whereby He senses
gratitude for, as it says in Isaiah 64:6 ~ NASB, all our righteous
deeds are like a filthy garment.2 Likewise, there is nothing excellent
in us for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.2 (Romans
3:23 ~ NASB) Yet, even so, God has loved us with no reasons or
because. His love is neither earned nor a reward. It just simply is and
exists in the eternal present tense as has been mentioned earlier.
That is the agape love of God.
Incidentally, it is this unconditional agape love of God that we are
called to have for one another. Jesus commanded His disciples, This
is My commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved
you.2 (John 15:12 ~ NASB) That means, because agape love exists
in the eternal present even as God does, we love each other with no
because. Again, it is not earned, merited, or deserved in any way, but
it flows from and through us to one another, and it becomes tied to
who we are as we become more like God.
In summary, then, when considering the agape love of God as it
compares with the three other human kinds of love, we clearly see
how agape love is superior, inasmuch as it is very selfless and unconditional, incapable by its very nature of any possible corruption from
our fallen human nature of selfishness and self-centeredness.
In the next chapter, we will explore further how God is the source
of agape love and the implications this has for all of us.

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Footnotes:

Taken from THE ULTIMATE INTENTION by DeVern F. Fromke. Copyright

1963 by SURE FOUNDATION PUBLISHERS, Mt. Vernon, MO/Indianapolis, IN
First Edition, June, 1962; Second Edition, June, 1963; and Third Edition,
January, 1966. See pages 156-158 for reference. Used by permission. All
Rights Reserved.

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

11

The Origin of the Spirit of Love

We have looked briefly at the origin of the Spirit of love earlier

(Chapter 9) and found that the Godhead, comprised of Father God,
Jesus Christ, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, was indeed the source and
origin of the Spirit of love. The Godhead is the very heart and nature
of the Spirit of love. In this chapter, I want us to explore exactly how
the Godhead is this Spirit of love, and consider why this truth is so
important, indeed, foundational to us today.
That the Godhead is embodied in three distinct persons, though
one in essence, has been an enigma for many people over the
centuries. Forgive me for being too simplistic, but I believe that
water, H2O, for me at least, best describes this Trinitarian truth. While
H2O can be manifested as a liquid (water), gas (steam or vapor), and
a solid (ice), it is nonetheless still H2O. Likewise, the triune Godhead
has been manifested to us as God the Father, Jesus Christ, His Son,
and the Holy Spirit while remaining one in essence. These three
persons of the Godhead have manifested themselves primarily to us as
follows: God the Father as Almighty God the Creator, Jesus Christ the
Son as our Savior and Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit as the One who
comes alongside of us to teach and lead us into all Truth and unify us
in the Spirit of God (love). That essence includes being simultaneously
eternal in presence as well as pure, unlimited, unconditional love in
and through all three persons of the Godhead.
Let us first consider more fully Gods presence as eternally existent. As we saw in chapter 9 and the Bible references cited therein,
we understand that God is above and beyond all time. Time as we
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know it is accounted for us as human history, or the story of creation

and how and when we understand that all things came to be. History,
as we know it, has a beginning point and it will eventually have an
ultimate ending point.
This view I call secular history or the history of mankind. Let me
suggest, however, that there is another much more important sacred
history, that of His story, or the account of Gods interaction with
mankind. That story begins with all of creation wherein mankind was
the only thing God created and pronounced very good. We were
created out of Gods great love and for His great love to be shared.
We were created to enjoy a holy communion with Almighty God in a
dynamic love-bond relationship with Him and He with us.
That
relationship was marred by sin and God tried relentlessly His pursuit of
us to restore that now marred love-bond relationship of communion.
Eventually, though planned from before the foundations of the
world, our redemption was purchased at the expense of Gods one and
only Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary. For God so loved the
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish, but have eternal life.1 (John 3:16 ~ NASB)
This was the primary purpose of the first advent when God as the
incarnate baby, Jesus, entered the human race to live a life of
communion with God His Father, even as God had intended for us to
live in. But Jesus, knowing no sin in His life, died for us who were
well-acquainted with sin, the Godly for the ungodly, the Righteous for
the unrighteous, and the Just for the unjust. (See Romans 5:6-21.)
Through His first advent, we could finally experience peace with God
again through accepting Jesus Christs atonement for us by His
substitutionary death in our place, thereby saving us from our sin, and
redeeming us from sins penalty of death. (1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews
9:12-15, 22, 24-28; 10:10)
His story continues with the second advent of Jesus Christ as the
Judge and coming King above all kings. As we just read in Hebrews
9:27-28, there is coming day when we shall all be judged for our
deeds and what, if any, relationship we had with God through Jesus
Christ. For those of us who belong to Him, we look eagerly for Him on
that day. After He finds our names written in the Lambs Book of Life,
we will reign and live eternally with Him as our coming King.

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It is now time that we draw a distinction between Gods view of

eternity and our own. Eternity for God is the same as time, or history
is to us. God has always been eternally existent, and so eternity is His
realm. However, when God created man, He was created to be
eternally existent with God. God has no beginning or ending time;
He always was and always will be, and so the only time God knows is
the eternal present. Mankind has a beginning point, but he has no
ending point. God created us to be eternal beings or souls. Depending on our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we will either
spend our eternity with Him in Heaven or without Him in Hell.
This brings us to the nature of God Himself and His relationship to
man. Since God dwells within the eternal present, He also manifests
Himself in the eternal present. Since God is eternally existent, His
love is eternally existent as well, and God seeks to commune with man
and manifest His love in the eternal present. His love is unlimited, as
it has no quantity or limits. His love is also unconditional as it flows
equally to all with no requirements to merit or deserve it, and it is
never a reward for past achievements. Gods love simply is as He is,
and His love is manifested in the eternal present, even as God is
manifested in His eternally present presence. This is how we ought to
prepare ourselves for His presence, by focusing on the present and
forgoing any thought about yesterday or tomorrow. God lives in the
here and now and that is precisely where we can expect to meet our
God! Eternity to God, void of a past and a future, leaves Him with
only the eternal present, the same present that we know, but waste so
much of our time and energy on past history or future hopes and
desires, as well as fears. By focusing on the eternal present, wherein
God exists, eliminates a lot of other things to clutter our time of communion with Him. This should give us an overwhelming sense of
peace and power and strength that we can come to our God, just as
we are and at any time we like. Indeed, I have found that it has been
such a blessing to spend all my waking moments in a daily love-bond
communion with God, going through my days with Him, living and
sharing with Him our mutual daily present presence. In the event any
sin in my life comes to my attention, I can promptly confess it to Him
and He is faithful and righteous to forgive me and cleanse me
from all unrighteousness,1 including even the sins I have committed
but may have forgotten or not been aware of. (1 John 1:9 ~ NASB)
Another point I want to address is how this Spirit of love reaches to

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the very depths of any spirit of fear. In fact, a spirit of fear is the very
beginning point where one can first appreciate and apprehend the
Spirit of love as the only way of escape from such a spirit of fear.
There is no fear in love; but perfect [agape] love casts out fear,
because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not
perfected in love.1 (1 John 4:18 ~ NASB; italicized word was inserted
by the author.) For God did not give us a spirit of timidity [fear] but
a spirit of power and love and discipline.1 (2 Timothy 1:7 ~ NASB;
word enclosed in brackets was added by the author for clarity.) John
writes in His first epistle, See how great a love the Father has
bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such
we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not
know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not
appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears,
we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And
every one who this hope fixed on Him purifies himself as He is pure.1
(1 John 3:1-3 ~ NASB) Notice the importance of the eternal present
in these verses, and how we are transformed in the here and now. We
find the same emphasis on the eternal present in Pauls call for full
surrender to God: I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good
and acceptable and perfect.1 (Romans 12:1-2 ~ NASB)
Enjoying a communion with God in a love-bond relationship with
Him and His eternal presence with us, we have nothing to fear. Paul
writes in his epistle to the Romans, What then shall we say to these
things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His
own Son but delivered Him up for us all, will He not also with Him
freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against Gods elect?
God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ
Jesus is He who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of
God, who intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.1 (Romans 8:31-35, 37-39

140

~ NASB)
This, then, brings us to how we can share God and His love with
others. If we relate to and commune with God personally in the
eternal present, and we are indwelt by His Holy Spirit of love which
again exists in the eternal present, it should be in the eternal present
that we communicate with each other the truths about God and His
agape love.
Others we know and meet daily are accustomed to seeing everything in life in terms of history as having a time frame as a beginning,
present, and future, and sometimes an end. They then relate with one
another in such time frames. Therefore things like value judgments,
history with an individual or individuals, presumed expectations, especially in terms of behavior, and anticipated expectations about the
future with such a person or persons play a major role in conditioning
any relationship or lack thereof with anyone. They sort of put people
into a box and label them accordingly, as we discussed earlier. We
also discussed how people often do the same with God, knowingly or
unknowingly. They may have been taught the many various attributes
and names of God, and that is all put into a box and labeled, GOD.
Perhaps you may have done this. But if God and His love are truly
infinite, could it be that He has other attributes that you have yet to
discover? If you are relating to God based on what is in your box, you
have in effect limited an otherwise infinite, unlimited God. Yet we tend
to do the same with one another. However, if we related to God and
each other in the eternal present, how much more could we learn
about each other and God? What may be the implications in terms of
our unlimited potential, which I believe is how God sees and deals with
us? How might such an understanding inform how we relate to one
another?
In the next chapter, we will further consider how these implications
of the nature of the Spirit of love can affect, indeed, transform all our
human interactions as well as how we relate to God when we see this
Spirit of love in action.

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Footnote:
1

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

12

THE NATURE OF THE SPIRIT OF LOVE

IN ACTION

I am so thankful that God in His unconditional agape love sees me

in terms of my unlimited potential, and that is because of our
communion with each other in the eternal present. How might such a
communion with one another change if we dealt with each other by
setting each other free to achieve their own unlimited potential while
accepting them as they are now? I dare say that agape love would
thrive in such an environment, and this would be an environment free
of expectations, value judgments, etc., wherein the Spirit of love can
be seen in action.
No longer would we pursue only those relationships for what they
could do for us or what we could get out of them. If we were truly as
selfless as God is, we would be seeking out the lost, lonely souls and
giving our lives away on their behalf. We would be most interested in
redeeming the time and providing a sense of safety wherein others
could just be themselves without any pretense or fear of something
coming back to haunt or hurt them. Any wrongs they may have done
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would be truly forgiven in an atmosphere of unconditional trust, love,

and no possibility of reprisal.
Is this a mere dream or can it be reality? Things which are
seemingly impossible in this life can be truly transformed into Himpossible1 if we indeed have the unconditional agape love of God as we
practice the presence of God and live in His eternally present
presence. Such a life is indeed humanly impossible, but I know God,
and I have a close love-bond relationship of communion with Him and
that transforms everything.
As I write these words, it is Christmas Day.
I have been
meditating a lot this Advent season about that first Christmas. In
Isaiah 7:14 ~ NASB), we read about Gods promise to Israel:
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will
be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.2
[that is, God is with us]. (Words enclosed in brackets were added by
the author for clarity.) And in Chapter 9, verses 6-7 ~ NASB, the
prophecy continues: For a child will be born to us, a son will be given
to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name
will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince
of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of
peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and
to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from then on and
forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.2
The prophecy of Isaiah 7 we know to have been fulfilled with the First
Advent, the birth of Jesus Christ, which we celebrate at Christmas.
The prophecy of Isaiah 9 refers to the Second Advent of the Messiah,
when Jesus Christ returns as the King of kings and Lord of Lords.
I am making such a point of this because I want us to take a closer
look at the First Advent and the implications it holds for each of us
today. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ became the personification of
the promise of Emmanuel, God is with us. It is the miracle of the First
Advent, when God became incarnate in Jesus Christ as our promised
Emmanuel (God is with us). But after His crucifixion, Jesus sent us His
Holy Spirit of love, continuing the reality of not only the truth that God
is STILL with us, but that He wants to incarnately indwell each of us
with Gods eternal boundless and unconditional presence, power, and
love as we face each and every present moment in our lives. All the
resources of Heaven and all of who God is can be resident within us

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and through us as we experience and practice His eternal presence

today and every day of the year, when we cultivate a close love-bond
relationship and communion of faith in God through His Gift of Jesus
Christ, our blessed Emmanuel. Hallelujah!!!
Moreover, the Second Advent presents a picture of Jesus Christ as
our Messiah through four titles given Him. Each of these titles sheds
light on who He wants to be in our lives today because we have already seen that the past and the future exist in the eternal present
within the Godhead. That is why the prophecies of God are as certain
to be fulfilled as the moment they are first given because God already
sees them as done and complete within His eternal presence. So, lets
look at each of these four names or titles given to our coming Messiah.
The first name or title given to Him is Wonderful Counselor.
When Jesus sent us His Holy Spirit of love at Pentecost, Jesus gave us
an idea of what His role would be when He came. In Johns gospel,
Jesus promises that He will give another Helper, that He may be with
us forever, that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it does not behold Him or know Him, but we know Him,
because He abides with us, and will be in us.2 (John 14:16-17 ~
NASB) Herein is the reality of Emmanuel for us and Gods incarnation
within us. This Wonderful Counselor in the person of the Holy Spirit of
love is so wonderful to us because Jesus promises that His Father God
will send Him in Jesus name, and He will teach us all things and bring
to our remembrance all that Jesus has said to us. In John 15:2616:4a ~ NASB, Jesus promises His disciples, But when the Helper
comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of
truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me; and
you will bear witness also, because you have been with Me from the
beginning. These things I have spoken to you, that you may be kept
from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue; but
an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that He is
offering service to God. And these things they will do, because they
have not known the Father, or Me. But these things I have spoken to
you, that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you
of them.2 Then, comforting His disciples about His soon departure
from this world, Jesus says, But I tell you the truth, it is to your
advantage that I go away; for if I go away, the Helper shall not come
to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes,
will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and

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concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no

longer behold Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this
world has been judged...But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He
will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own
initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to
you what is to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine;
and shall disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine;
therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you.2
(John 16:7-11, 13-15 ~ NASB)
This brings us to a second name or title given to the Messiah:
Mighty God. All through the Scriptures and throughout the history of
Gods chosen people, the almighty character of the Godhead is seen
and experienced by His people. Beginning with the Creation, we see
God as the Creator of Heaven and earth as well as everything on
earth, including His highest form of creation, mankind. God has
chosen to be ever-present in mighty ways to communicate His
redemptive love through His love-bond relationship with mankind.
Even after mankind had rebelled and turned against God, choosing to
believe the lies of Satan and following after his ways, God was seen
pursuing in the Garden of Eden that love-bond relationship with man
and establishing how mankind could be redeemed and again restored
in a close love-bond relationship of communion with Him. In fact,
before the foundations of the world were even created, God chose to
have this love-bond relationship with mankind, not yet created but
planned for, and He wanted that relationship to be voluntary such
that, should His beloved creation ever turn against that relationship,
He fore-ordained a way for mankind to be restored back into that lovebond communion with Him by offering His only Son, Jesus Christ, to
bear our penalty for our sin as our Paschal Lamb. (Ephesians 4:1;
Revelation 4:13-14, 13:8) That is probably the most awesome way in
which God has chosen to maintain that love-bond relationship and
eternal presence with us, even while we were still His enemy. (Romans
5:6-11)
How many times we find ourselves in a situation that seems hopeless or impossible. The people of Israel were no different. While
escaping from the land of Egypt, they were being hotly pursued by
Pharaohs great army of chariots and there was nothing between the
Israelites and Pharaohs men on one side and the Red Sea on the
other. Yet Gods presence was made manifest through the miraculous
parting of the Red Sea so that Israel could cross over to the other side

146

in safety. And, after they had safely crossed over, God let the Red
Sea return to its previous state, swamping Pharaohs army. Then,
when the host of Israelites were to cross the Jordan River to possess
the Promised Land that God was giving them, they faced a similar
dilemma in that the Jordan River was at flood stage and raging at the
time. Again, God manifested His presence with a miraculous stopping
of the rivers flow so that they could safely cross over to the other
side. In New Testament times, Jesus disciples were on the Sea of
Galilee when a fierce storm brewed up and they were afraid they
would drown. Jesus spoke and calmed the storm and the disciples
were safe. In each of these incidents, men were facing situations that
were far beyond anything they could humanly control or solve. Gods
presence intervened and brought them peace and safety. God chose
to love the people of Israel and still chooses to love us also today
when we face things out of our control. Through His almighty power,
God enters our lives with His infinite love, mercy, and grace.
The third name or title given to the Messiah is Eternal Father. In
the 17th chapter of Johns Gospel, we read how close a love-bond
relationship existed between Jesus and God, His Father. And in His
prayer, He asks that God would show us the same love which He had
known and proclaimed how He was one with God, His Father, and His
prayer was that we could also be one with them. Jesus said to God,
His Father, in part, I glorified Thee on earth, having accomplished the
work which Thou hast given Me to do. And now, glorify Thou Me
together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I ever had with
Thee before the world wasAnd the glory which Thou hast given Me I
have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; I in
them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the
world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even
as Thou didst love Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou
hast given Me, be with Me where I am, in order that they may behold
My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou didst love Me before the
foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the world has
not known Thee, yet I have known Thee; and these have known that
Thou didst sent me; and I have made Thy name known to them, and
will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou didst love Me may
be in them, and I in them.2 (John 17:4-5, 22-26 ~ NASB) Jesus also
taught His disciples to pray, Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed
be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, as
we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation,

147

but deliver us from evil. [For Thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, forever. Amen.]2 (Matthew 6:9-13 ~ NASB; words
enclosed in brackets added by the author are part of the NASB text,
but are omitted in the earliest manuscripts.)
From these two
passages, we can appreciate how 1) Jesus and Father God are one; 2)
Father God loved Jesus; 3) the work Father God has given to Jesus to
provide salvation from sin, and this was the plan since before the
world began; 4) the love and glory experienced by Father God and
Jesus was meant to be shared with us, and was planned since before
the world began; and 5) Father God and Jesus want to share eternity
in heaven with us so we can experience Their Presence, unity, love,
and glory throughout all eternity. The Apostle Paul in his epistle to the
Romans recognizes that this is much the role of the Holy Spirit as
promised by Jesus when he wrote, For all who are being led by the
Spirit of God are sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of
slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of
adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba! Father! The Spirit
Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if
children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ, if indeed
we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.2
(Romans 8:14-17 ~ NASB) Do you know Jesus as your Eternal Father
who wants you to be forever with Him throughout all eternity and even
now, today, to know and experience a love-bond relationship of ongoing communion with Him?
The final name or title given to the Messiah is Prince of Peace. In
John 14:27 ~ NASB, Jesus says, Peace I leave with you; My peace I
give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your
heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.2 And again, in John 16:33 ~
NASB, Jesus continues, These things I have spoken to you, that in Me
you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take
courage; I have overcome the world.2 Jesus knows that we as
human beings seem to place a rather high premium on learning and
knowing as our means for combatting a spirit of fear of the unknown.
Inasmuch as the Godhead exists in the eternal present, and all we
need to know to live safely before Him, He promises to teach us and
guide us, He also recognizes that we have nothing to fear because God
is with us eternally. Our lives in God and His life through His Holy
Spirit of love within us is so radically different from anything the world
has to offer. So the world offers only tribulation, but Jesus offers us
peace through not only knowing before-hand what is coming our way
in the world, but also that He has overcome the world, and that we, as

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one with the Godhead, can have the peace and assurance of knowing
who wins this cosmic battle in the end.
How should we then apply these truths today?
Jesus taught His
disciples that their very lives should be characterized by Gods love:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even
as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men
will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.2
(John 13:34-35 ~ NASB) Jesus was saying that this agape love of God
which He exemplified before His disciples should likewise be the very
hallmark of anyone who chooses to follow Him. This love of God our
Father, exhibited by His Son, Jesus Christ, and empowered by His Holy
Spirit within and through us brings us all the love of God that we need
to live for Him every day of our lives. We do not need any more of His
love; we do need to express His love more than we do, because the
love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy
Spirit who was given to us.2 (Romans 5:5b ~ NASB) With this
hallmark of Gods love comes the power to activate it and use it for His
glory.
Also, when we are full of His Holy Spirit, it is shown by certain accompanying hallmarks of the fruits of His Spirit within us, specifically
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now
those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires.2 (Galatians 5:22-24 ~ NASB) You see, this One
whom the prophets foretold us about that we celebrate at the Advent
season has indeed come to us now as our Savior and Lord, indwelling
us with His Spirit, fulfilling His promise to be with us now, and forever
have us with Him in Heaven. All we have to do is receive Him into our
own lives. Gods presence exists in these hallmarks of His agape love
and in each of these fruits of His indwelling Holy Spirit made operative
by the first fruit of love.
In Pauls second letter to Timothy, we read, for God did not give
us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and discipline.2
(2 Timothy 1:7 ~ NASB) In our lives, Satan tries his hardest to defeat
us with his lies, and by instilling worry, fear, and doubt, and causing
us to sense that we have a host of weaknesses, limitations, anxieties,
insecurities, and the like, anything whereby he can sideline us from
being fruitful in the Spirit of God. And this happens whenever we
listen to and obey him rather than live on every word that proceeds

149
out of the mouth of God.2 (Matthew 4:4b ~ NASB) In his letter to the
Galatians, Paul refers to this activity of Satan in our lives as being
manifested by works of the flesh: Now the works of the flesh are
evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery,
enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions,
factions, envyings, drunkenness, carousings, and things like these...2
(Galatians 5:19-21a ~ NASB) The works of the flesh and the fruits of
the Spirit are mutually exclusive. Even as the fruits of the Spirit are
hallmarks of Gods presence in our lives, so also are the works of the
flesh hallmarks of the presence of Satan in our lives. Neither the fruits
of the Spirit nor the works of the flesh can coexist with each other.
Paul instructs us to walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the
desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and
the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another,
so that you may not do the things that you please.2 (Galatians 5:1617 ~ NASB) Paul continues, If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk
by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another,
envying one another.2 (Galatians 5:25-26 ~ NASB)
When we recognize Gods presence in our lives as our loving Father
and Daddy, we realize that all that God is and has is at our disposal for
the asking. Again, Paul writes, for if you are living according to the
flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit, you are putting to death the
deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit
of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of
slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a Spirit of
adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba! Father! The Spirit
Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if
children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ, if indeed
we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.2
(Romans 8:13-17 ~ NASB) That is why we can always have access
with our ever-present God as a child does with their loving parent, and
can agree when Paul instructs the church at Philippi, Be anxious for
nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of
God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.2 (Philippians 4:6-7 ~ NASB)
Next, we will look at the supreme example of the Spirit of love and
then we will consider how one can move away from a spirit of fear
towards the Spirit of love as we discuss the Conversion Zone.

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Footnotes:
1

Taken from The Ultimate Intention by DeVern Fromke.

Published and
Distributed by Sure Foundation Publishers, PO Box 68505, Indianapolis,
Indiana 46268, Copyright 1963. See page 68 for reference. Used by
Permission. All Rights Reserved.

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

13

The Supreme Example

of the Spirit of Love

Let us now consider the supreme example of the Spirit of love.

Jesus Christ is indeed our supreme example as we have seen. Perhaps
the clearest description of this Spirit of love present in Jesus Christ is
contained in the famous Kenosis passage penned by the Apostle Paul
in his letter to the Philippians where we read, If therefore there is any
encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is
any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my
joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love,
united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or
empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one
another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for
your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have
this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who,
although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with
God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also
God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father.1 (Philippians 2:1-11 ~ NASB)
152

153

In this description, we have a good idea of what agape love is all

about, and it is indeed reflected in the life and death of Jesus Christ,
and is one with the very heart of who God is. We have already
discussed at length the meaning of agape love and its implications for
each one of us. But let us consider what Paul taught us in the above
passage regarding the love of Jesus Christ. First, he said if there is
any encouragement in Christ.1 (Philippians 2:1 ~ NASB) Jesus love
reaches out to others and encourages the broken hearted among us.
Likewise, as we encourage others around us to focus on Jesus and love
Him above all else, clinging onto Him when all around seems to be
giving way, we are exemplifying Christs love, and Paul is exhorting us
to do this.
Next, Paul says if there is any consolation of love.1 (Philippians
2:1 ~ NASB) This phrase encompasses our reason, our mind, our will,
and our emotions. When we know that it is right to show agape love
toward someone, and when we sense their need for the love of God to
be demonstrated toward them, we do not hold back and we lavish His
love on them. Paul then adds, if there is any fellowship of the
Spirit.1 (Philippians 2:1 ~ NASB) When Gods love is being shown
towards others, we are indeed participating in the fellowship of the
Spirit of Jesus and sharing Gods heart and love. When Paul says if
any affection and compassion,1 (Philippians 2:1 ~ NASB) he is calling
us to show the same kind of affection, compassion, and sympathy to
others as we have experienced from Jesus when we were in desperate
need of affection, compassion, and sympathy. As with any participation and fellowship in the Spirit of Christ, we come along side of
others in their time of need and show the compassion and love of God
to them. We are to be the very hands, arms, and feet of Jesus to
them as He has been to us. And so Paul concludes his thought with
these words: make my joy complete by being of the same mind,
maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.1
(Philippians 2:2 ~ NASB) As our love is so closely identified with Jesus
Christ and God the Father, everyone senses its source and that it is
one with the Spirit of Christ, infused in its very essence with the very
presence of God Himself. There is no division or party spirit, pride, or
competition, for its source and nature is of God. There is unity because we all serve one God.
Paul then continues by saying, Do nothing from selfishness or
empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one
another as more important than himself.1 (Philippians 2:3 ~ NASB)

154

In other words, what Paul is saying is to love with abandon, giving no

precedence to our own agenda, hopes, and possible gain from loving
others. We make the agenda of others more important than our own,
whether for good or ill as far as we are concerned. In other words,
their agenda is our agenda. Our focus on being the love of Jesus to
others is on them and not on us, and this will leave selfishness, pride,
envy, and conceit wholly out of our love, and allow Gods love to stand
on its own for meeting the needs of others and being Jesus Christ to
them. Their attention, likewise, will be directed toward God, and they
will see Him and Him alone, not us, through the love that we share.
Finally, Paul says, do not merely look out for your own personal
interests, but also for the interests of others.1 (Philippians 2:4 ~
NASB) This goes hand in hand with the preceding thought. Our love
for others must be devoid of any inkling of our own interests and
agenda, and very pregnant and overwhelmingly occupied with what
concerns others, with their interests and their agenda above our own.
At this point, Paul launches into the exhortation that our minds and
our love must be the same as the mind and love demonstrated in the
life and death of Christ Jesus as our source and end. Paul writes,
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who,
although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with
God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.1 (Philippians
2:5-7 ~ NASB) In other words, Gods love is selfless. Even Jesus
Christ, being the Son of God and as such, He was equal to God, and
even had the form of God, but He laid all that aside, emptied Himself
of all His rights to divinity, and took on human flesh, being born as a
man, but a man who saw His only mission in life was to serve His
fellow man with all that would mean. This one thing, at its very core,
separated Jesus from Satan. Satan sought divinity as something he
craved and has been attempting to grasp. But Jesus gave it all up for
us, so He could be just like us, and yet show us what God had planned
for us from before the very moment He created the first man and
woman. God only wanted loving communion with us, and our obedience as we followed Him. And this is what Jesus came to show us, as
a humble servant in human form.
Paul continues and concludes his thought with these great words:
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by

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becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the
name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under
the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.1 (Philippians 2:8-11 ~ NASB) In
His humanity, it was not an easy thing for Jesus to be obedient unto
death, especially death by crucifixion. We see when in the Garden of
Gethsemane, according to Luke 22:39-46, while He prayed to God
about what He was soon to endure, Jesus sweat drops of blood, and
He asked God if there were any other way to achieve salvation, He
would rather this cup pass from Him, but then, in great obedience to
God, His Father, Jesus uttered those tremendous words which need to
more and more be on our lips when we pray, Yet not My will, but
Thine be done.1 (Luke 22:42b ~ NASB)
And so, Jesus endured His death on the cross, paying not His
penalty for He had none to pay, but our great penalty for the sin we
have committed. Here, I am reminded of the words from Johns Gospel, Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for
his friends.1 (John 15:13 ~ NASB) But I am also reminded at the
same time of Pauls words in Romans 5:6-11 ~ NASB: For while we
were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For
one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good
man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be
saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were
enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son,
much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And
not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received the reconciliation.1 And this
indeed is the heart of the gospel message of how much God loves us,
that He would send His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our
place, to purchase with His own life and blood, our redemption from
sin so we could become once again Gods friends and not His enemies.
And this great love of God, which was present in His Son, Jesus Christ,
is the very same love to which Paul is calling us to have within us
when he said, Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in
Christ Jesus.1 (Philippians 2:5 ~ NASB) Jesus is indeed the supreme
example of the Spirit of love for each of us to emulate in and through
our own lives as we seek to be obedient to God in all things.

156

Footnote:
1

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

From Fear to Love:

The Conversion Zone

158

14

Moving From a Spirit of Fear

to the Spirit of Love

As we look at what is involved in moving away from a spirit of fear

to the Spirit of love, it would definitely be helpful if you kept handy the
diagram modeling this process to refer to. It can be found below as
well as at the end of this book.

160

161

You can see from this diagram that Satan is the source of fear and
God is the source of love. To move from a life of fear towards a life
full of Gods love, one must experience the process of salvation, thus
moving away from Satan and a spirit and life of fear, resulting in
eternal death, towards the Spirit of love, resulting in eternal life by
passing through the Conversion Zone culminating with opening the
Door of Trust through which one enters into a life of faith in and
obedience to God.
In this chapter, we will be considering this
salvation process in detail.

The Beginning
We are all born into a life of a spirit of fear, under the influence and
control of Satan, inasmuch as Adam and Eve sinned and mankind has
since then inherited a fallen sin nature. We saw how a spirit of fear
has Satan as its origin and how Satan tempted Adam and Eve to
disobey God and commit the original sin when we began this study. In
subsequent chapters, we learned how Satan uses a spirit of fear to
create a life of fear which, left unchecked, will lead to eternal death
and permanent separation from God. But this diagram also shows that
Gods Spirit of love can reach to the very depths of a spirit of fear and
there is hope for everyone to be saved from Satan and his use of a
spirit of fear to lead us to a life of sin and eventual eternal death. This
brings us to the Conversion Zone, where we progressively are reached
and become increasingly open to responding to Gods Spirit of love.
We will discuss that next.

The Conversion Zone

When I was attending Wheaton Graduate School, Viggo Sogaard, a
classmate, suggested a sort of continuum describing what happens
within what I refer to as the Conversion Zone. This is the zone
wherein an individual makes a decision to ultimately accept or reject
the salvation message of the gospel. It has since undergone many
revisions and refinements since he first shared it with our class, finally
appearing in its current format and called The Spiritual-Decision
Process on page 45 of the book, Whats Gone Wrong With the
Harvest? by James F. Engel and H. Wilbert Norton and published by
Zondervan Publishing House in 1975.1 This diagram by Dr. James F.
Engel shows how an individual may move toward and through the

162

Conversion Zone by going through different levels of awareness of

God and His love, to gradually opening up to considering the message
of the gospel of Gods love, and eventually to growing in his personal
acceptance of it. These are the necessary door steps to climb by one
who wishes to gain access to the Door of Trust. So, in this Conversion
Zone, as he climbs these steps and approaches the Door of Trust, he
becomes increasingly cognizant and accepting of Gods love, and
simultaneously, increasingly aware of his sin and personal need for
salvation. Each door step requires an act of the persons will. If and
when an individual comes to the point where he is finally ready to
make a decision to repent of his sin and accept the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ in his place and on his behalf for his sin, he climbs the final door
step and opens the Door of Trust, and then he begins his life of faith
with Jesus Christ as His Savior, Lord, and Master, and he grows in his
obedience to Him and service for Him.

Life of Faith
As an individual begins his walk of faith, he must learn what God
commands and expects of a believer. As he grows in the knowledge of
God and the things of God, and studies Gods Word and is obedient to
all it teaches, an interesting thing happens. God usually calls such a
one to serve Him in a particular ministry and equips him especially for
it. These we refer to as spiritual gifts. Also, as he grows in his
relationship with and obedience to God, he often experiences what is
known as sanctification, or being set apart by God for a specific calling
or ministry. All along his walk of faith, he becomes more and more
cognizant of Gods Spirit of love in his life of faith. He becomes born of
God. As the Apostle John states in his first letter, No one who is
born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he
cannot sin, because he is born of God.2 (1 John 3:9 ~ NASB) John
continues this thought in chapter 5 when he says, Whomever believes
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father
loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children
of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this
is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His
commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God
overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the
world -- our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but
he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?2 (1 John 5:1-5 ~
NASB) And he adds a little later, We know that no one who is born of

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God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him and the evil one
does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole
world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of
God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we
might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in his Son
Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.2 (1 John 5:18-20 ~
NASB) And so, my From Fear to Love diagram clearly depicts that
there is an absolute end to a spirit of fear and the work of Satan when
it encounters the Spirit of love, and this is realized as part of the life of
faith in which one comes to know more and more who God is and His
Spirit of love in and through Jesus Christ by the ongoing work of the
indwelling Holy Spirit. The result is salvation from Satan and sin, and
the reward of eternal life with God in Heaven. We can know great
peace that comes through this blessed hope, and derive strength to
stand up against Satans attacks in our present lives.
I would like to close this chapter by sharing a quote by my friend,
Pastor Robert Timothy Cole, from a Facebook post regarding this spirit
of agape love of God which all of us are heading toward with our life of
faith. He writes, Oh, we love stories of romance. What a beautiful
thing to behold, and even more, to experience. The Bible says one of
the most wonderful things in life is to watch a young man and woman
in love. (Proverbs 30:19) There is a love that supersedes all great
loves and that is the love of God for mankind. Most love we experience is conditional. I love you if, when, as long as, because. The love
of God is called agape. It is unconditional love. It is a love that
views the object of love as one who is valuable and precious. It is a
love that loves no matter what. The Bible says, God is Love. God
wants to hold you in his arms and love your hurts and fears away. He
wants to heal what is broken and give you a new life. He wants to
bless you beyond your wildest dreams with a life that is so wonderful
he calls it Abundant Life. It is not only a quantity of life -- Forever,
but it is a quality of life -- Heavenly. Our sin and rebellion against God
holds us at arms length, when God wants to embrace us. Throw
yourself into His arms of love, lose yourself in His embrace, and you
will truly find yourself in Christ. My prayer is that each one of you
would come to truly know this love of God for yourself and then share
it with our needy world in the strength of His Holy Spirit within and
through you.

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Footnotes:
1

Taken from WHATS GONE WRONG WITH THE HARVEST? by James F. Engel
and H. Wilbert Norton. Copyright 1975 by Zondervan Publishing House of
the The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan. See pages 44-45
for reference. Used by permission of Zondervan. All Rights Reserved.
(www.zondervan.com).

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

15

WHY FAITH IS SO IMPORTANT

In this chapter, we will learn why faith is so important by

examining the life of Joseph and how he overcame Satan and a spirit
of fear by focusing on the love of God and recognizing that He is
sovereign, regardless of what may be happening to him. If we could
just catch a glimpse of what faith Joseph held in God in the worst of
conditions that he encountered in his life, I believe there is no end to
the possibilities for us in our own respective lives of faith, and how
much God desires to bless us with His presence and His spirit of love
within us at all times and in all situations we may face.
Joseph is arguably one Bible character who, second only to Jesus
Christ, best exemplifies what the obedience of faith is all about. For
this reason, many have considered Joseph as a type of Jesus Christ.
As a man, he surely was a sinner; but there is nothing in the Scriptural
record of any sin or failing by Joseph.
Whether facing evil or a low point in his life, or even when he was
at the top of his game, Joseph accepted whatever was his lot in life,
and approached life from Gods point of view. We have much to learn
from the life of Joseph as we survey the events that marked Gods
grace, even when Joseph may not have fully understood it at the time.
One thing always remained true for Joseph, though. He always saw

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God as sovereign and in control of the affairs of his life, and he trusted
God to work on His behalf according to His own timing. Joseph was
always willing to accept Gods plan for his life, even when he could not
see or understand it fully. And so, now let us consider major events in
Josephs life of faith in and love for God.

Josephs Early Life as a Child

To better get a grasp of the dynamics in Josephs early life as a
child, we need to know about his father, Jacob, as well as his wives
and the children they bore. Jacob went to live with and work for his
Uncle Laban when Rebekah, his mom, sent him there to get away from
his brother, Esau, after Jacob stole his birthright and blessing from
Isaac. When he was with his Uncle Laban, Joseph met two sisters,
Leah and Rachel, and he fell in love with Rachel. Before he could
marry her, his Uncle Laban made Jacob work seven years. On the
wedding night, Laban tricked Jacob and gave him Leah, not Rachel, to
be his wife.
It was not until morning that Jacob realized the
substitution to his great dismay. His Uncle Laban then required that
Jacob work one week and he would allow him to marry Rachel on the
condition that he would serve his Uncle Laban for another seven years.
This Jacob was happy to do as he was so in love with Rachel, whom he
loved far more than Leah.
Leah was able to have children, but Rachel was barren. Leahs
first-born son was named Rueben and next was born Simeon. Then
she bore Jacob two more sons, Levi and Judah. After Judah, Leah
stopped having children. Rachel envied Leah because she was able to
give Jacob children. Realizing she was barren and unable to become
pregnant, Rachel decided to give Jacob her maid, Bilhah, to give Jacob
children. Bilhah did in fact bear Jacob two sons and their names were
Dan and Naphtali.
Not to be outdone, and realizing that her child-bearing days had
ended, Leah gave her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob as a wife, as Rachel had
done with Bilhah. Zilpah then bore Jacob two sons also, named Gad
and Asher. Now Leah still wanted to bear more children, and God
granted her wish with two more sons. They were named Issachar and
Zebulun. She also was able to have a daughter, named Dinah.
Likewise, God finally answered Rachels desire to conceive and she
bore Jacob a son, Joseph. Some years later, Rachel again conceived

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and bore Jacob another son, Benjamin, but she died during childbirth.
Of the twelve sons Jacob had born to him, his favorites were Joseph
and Benjamin, the two sons of Rachel, his beloved wife. Even though
Reuben was Jacobs first-born son from Leah, he chose Joseph, his
first-born son from his dear wife Rachel, to receive his blessings.
Furthermore, Rueben had an incestuous relationship with Bilhah, and
so Jacob had disqualified him from future blessings usually granted the
first-born son.
Still just a young lad of seventeen, Joseph shepherded his fathers
flock, with the youngest sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. One day, Joseph
gave Jacob a negative report of the conduct of these two brothers.
Jacob loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of
his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic. And his brothers
saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they
hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.1 (Genesis
37:3-4 ~ NASB)
About this time, Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his
brothers they only hated him even more. And he said to them, Please
listen to this dream which I have had; for behold, we were binding
sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and stood erect; and
behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.
Then his brothers said to him, Are you actually going to reign over us?
Or are you really going to rule over us? So they hated him even more
for his dreams and for his words. Now he had still another dream, and
related it to his brothers, and said, Lo, I have still had another dream;
and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down
to me. And he related it to his father and to his brothers; and his
father rebuked him and said to him, What is this dream that you have
had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow
ourselves down before you to the ground? And his brothers were
jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.1 (Genesis
37:5-11 ~ NASB)
Now was Joseph just a precocious child of seventeen years or was
he somewhat perplexed by his dreams? I think the latter was more
likely, although there were enough dynamics between all the brothers
to entertain at least some sibling rivalry. The Scripture clearly states
that Josephs brothers already hated him for being loved the most by
their father, for receiving the unique long robe, and for his two
pompous dreams. At least two of his brothers may have felt that

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Joseph was a snitch and tattle-tail when he told Jacob what they had
been doing while watching the sheep. At any rate, the dreams were
clearly messages from God, indicating to Joseph that He had some
rather important, if not grandiose, plans for his life, and He was preparing him, and even placing a call upon his young life. Even though
he was merely a lad of seventeen, God let Joseph know that he was to
be expecting God to interact with his young life. Unlike his brothers,
his father, Jacob, had the correct response when we read that he kept
the saying in mind.1 (Genesis 37:11 ~ NASB) So we see here that
even as a youth, Joseph listened to God. His heart remained open to
what God had planned for him far before He was to bring it to pass.
When God calls us to join Him in His work and we see no way that it
can happen, it may even be years from now, but we can trust God
implicitly to work out the details, even if we cannot see His plan clearly
or do not understand His call on our life. Our continued love-bond
communion with God is the context wherein we can hear His voice,
respond in obedience, and always trust Gods sovereignty in all things.

The Brothers Plan to Kill Joseph

One day, when Josephs brothers were pasturing Jacobs flock near
Shechem. Jacob asked Joseph to go check on his brothers and the
flock and see if all was well with them. So, Joseph obediently did as his
father had asked. When he got to Shechem, a man saw Joseph
wandering in the fields and asked him what he was looking for.
Joseph said he was looking for his brothers to ensure all was well with
them and his fathers flock. The man responded that he had heard
them say that they were going to head for Dothan. Now Joseph did as
his father told him and went to Shechem. He could have returned to
his father with the report that they had gone to Dothan. But that was
not in Josephs nature. He went the extra distance, traveling to
Dothan to check on his brothers and his fathers flock, as Jacob had
instructed him.
Now the brothers saw Joseph coming from afar as no one had a
long robe with sleeves like his. And so, they planned to kill him
because of his dreams. And they said to one another, Here comes
this dreamer! Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into
one of the pits; and we will say, A wild beast devoured him. Then let
us see what will become of his dreams! But Rueben heard this and
rescued him out of their hands and said, Let us not take his life.

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Rueben further said to them, Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit
that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him that he might
rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. So it came
about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of
his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; and they took him and
threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in
it.1 (Genesis 37:19-24 ~ NASB)
Meanwhile, as the brothers sat down to eat, they saw a caravan of
Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, headed for Egypt. (Genesis 37:25)
And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is it for us to kill our
brother and cover up his blood? Come and let us sell him to the
Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; for he is our brother, our
own flesh. And his brothers listened to him.1 (Genesis 37:26-27 ~
NASB) So, the brothers agreed to this idea and they sold him to the
traders who took Joseph to Egypt. (Genesis 37:27-28) But Rueben
apparently was not among them when they executed this plan. He
came back for Joseph to bring him out of the pit and, when he realized
he was no longer there, he became very upset and tore his clothes in
anguish. He came to his brothers and reported: The boy is not there;
as for me, where am I to go?1 (Genesis 37:30 ~ NASB) The brothers
apparently did not tell Rueben what they had done. Instead, they
took Josephs tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic
in the blood; and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their
father and said, We found this; please examine it to see whether it is
your sons tunic or not. Then he examined it and said, It is my sons
tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to
pieces! So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and
mourned for his son many days.1 (Genesis 37:31-34 ~ NASB)
This is a sad story of deception. Jacob the deceiver was now the
deceived. Joseph was, I am sure, scared about what was going to
happen to him. But he trusted God. He kept his faith in the God who
loved Him. As he was sold in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh,
the captain of the guard, there is nothing in the text to indicate that
Joseph did not accept or fight his fate. He simply trusted that God
would take care of him and keep him safe. (Genesis 37:36)

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Joseph and Potiphars Wife

And so, the next thing we learn about Joseph was that indeed, the
Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in
the house of his master the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the
LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to
prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and became
his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and
all that he owned he put in his charge. And it came about that from
the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he
owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptians house on account of Joseph;
thus the LORDs blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and
in the field. So he left everything he owned in Josephs charge; and
with him around he did not concern himself with anything except the
food which he ate.1 (Genesis 39:2-6 ~ NASB)
Now Joseph had become a very good-looking, attractive young
man and it is no wonder that he eventually caught the wandering eye
of Potiphars wife. One day she propositioned Joseph to come and lie
with her. But he refused and said to his masters wife, Behold, with
me around, my master does not concern himself with anything in the
house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one
greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me
except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great
evil, and sin against God?1 (Genesis 39:8-9 ~ NASB) Undeterred,
Potiphars wife daily persisted with her seductive petition to Joseph. I
am sure that at his age, his hormones must have been raging and to
dismiss this as a trite temptation would be a huge mistake in
understanding the actual scene facing Joseph. We must understand
and recognize the love-bond communion and trusting relationship that
existed between Joseph and God. He had an implicit faith in God to
meet his needs, and he saw his service to the man Potiphar as his
serving God, and he would entertain nothing that might supplant Gods
commandments and call on his life. And so, one day while he was
faithfully discharging his duties, and there were not any other men in
the house, Potiphars wife grabbed Josephs garment and begged him
yet again to lie with her. But Joseph, choosing to maintain his purity
before God, left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.1
(Genesis 39:12b ~ NASB) Quite likely, the Apostle Paul might even
have had this scene in his mind when he wrote his second letter to
Timothy and counseled him, Now flee from youthful lusts, and pursue
righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord

172
from a pure heart.1 (2 Timothy 2:22 ~ NASB) And so, Joseph fled
the scene of temptation, and left it so quickly that he even left
Potiphars wife holding his garment. When she saw that he had left
his garment in her hand, and had fled outside, she called to the men
of her household, and said to them, See, he has brought in a Hebrew
to us to make sport of us; he came in to lie with me, and I screamed.
And it came about when he heard that I raised my voice and
screamed, that he left his garment with me, and I screamed. So she
left his garment beside her until his master came home.1 (Genesis
39:13-17 ~ NASB) Then she told Potiphar the same story. Thus,
Potiphar became very angry at Joseph and put him in prison. But the
LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him
favor in the sight of the chief jailer. And the chief jailer committed to
Josephs charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that
whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. The chief jailer
did not supervise anything under Josephs charge because the LORD
was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper.1
(Genesis 39:21-23 ~ NASB)
Joseph lived a life of integrity before God and man. It took a
vicious lie to send him to prison, but even there, the integrity and
righteousness of his relationship with God was seen by the prison
guard, and Joseph was treated far differently than all the other
prisoners because of this. When we are mistreated and receive unjust
confinements, does the integrity of our walk with and faith in God
supersede our circumstances as it did with Joseph? Or do we tend to
become vengeful and proud and fall into sin? Such is the difference
between one who maintains God as sovereign and Lord, and one who
serves himself and does what he perceives is right. Joseph practiced
the presence of God and knew His Spirit of love, and that was enough
to sustain him in prison and give him life and hope in a place that was
for most there a dark dungeon of death and despair. He did not fall
prey to a spirit of fear and the unknown which leads to sin and death.

Joseph and the Butler and the Baker

Joseph had now been in prison for some time when Pharaohs chief
butler and chief baker had done wrong in their service to the king of
Egypt, and they were sent to the same prison where Joseph was.
Joseph was then put in charge of them in prison and they were there
for some time in his custody. One night, both the butler and the baker

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had dreams. Wondering about the meaning of their dreams, Joseph

found them in the morning a bit disturbed by the dreams each had
dreamed, for there was no one they knew who could interpret their
dreams for them. Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong
to God? Tell it to me, please.1 (Genesis 40:8b ~ NASB)
So the chief cup bearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him,
In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; and on the vine
were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out,
and its clusters produced ripe grapes. Now Pharaohs cup was in my
hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaohs cup, and
I put the cup into Pharaohs hand. Then Joseph said to him, This is
its interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; within three
more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your
office; and you will put Pharaohs cup into his hand according to your
former custom when you were his cupbearer. Only keep me in mind
when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by
mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. For I was in
fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have
done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.1
(Genesis 40:9-15 ~ NASB)
Now was the chief bakers turn. Hoping for the best after seeing
how the chief cupbearers dream interpretation had turned out for him,
the baker was naturally curious about his dream and its interpretation.
So he told Joseph about his dream saying, I also saw in my dream,
and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; and
in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for
Pharaoh, and birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.
Then Joseph answered and said, This is its interpretation: the three
baskets are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up
your head from you and will hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat
your flesh off you.1 (Genesis 40:16b-19 ~ NASB)
Thus it came about on the third day, which was Pharaohs
birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the
head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his
servants. And he restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put
the cup into Pharaohs hand; but he hanged the chief baker, just as
Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not
remember Joseph, but forgot him.1 (Genesis 40:20-23 ~ NASB) In
all this, Joseph remained faithful to God as he continued serving his

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time in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Joseph and the Pharaoh

It was another two years that had passed and then now Pharaoh
had two dreams. In his first dream, Now it happened at the end of
two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing
by the Nile. And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek
and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass. Then behold, seven
other cows, came up after them the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they
stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. And the ugly and
gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh
awoke. And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold,
seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good. Then
behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up
after them. And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full
ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. Now it came
about in the morning that his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called
for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told
them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to
Pharaoh.1 (Genesis 41:1-8 ~ NASB)
It was just then that the chief cupbearer had remembered Josephs
plea while he was in prison, and so he suggested to Pharaoh that
Joseph in prison could perhaps explain the meaning of the dreams just
as he had been able to do for him and the baker. So Pharaoh,
desperate for someone to interpret his dreams, summoned Joseph
from prison and explained that there was no one in his kingdom that
was able to interpret his dreams, but that someone had said that
Joseph was able to accurately interpret dreams. Joseph answered
Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable
answer.1 (Genesis 41:16 ~ NASB)
Then Pharaoh proceeded to tell Joseph his dreams, hoping that he
would be able to explain them as no one heretofore had been able to
do. Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, Pharaohs dreams are one and the
same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven
good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years;
the dreams are one and the same. And the seven lean and ugly cows
that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears

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scorched by the east wind shall be seven years of famine. It is as I

have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about
to do. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the
land of Egypt; and after them seven years of famine will come, and all
the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will
ravage the land. So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe. Now as for
the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice; it means that the matter
is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about. And now let
Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the land
of Egypt. Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of
the land, and exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the
seven years of abundance. Then let them gather all the food of these
good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the
cities under Pharaohs authority, and let them guard it. And let the
food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine
which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish
during the famine.1 (Genesis 41:25-36 ~ NASB)
Josephs words of advice sounded great to Pharaoh and he addressed his servants saying, Can we find a man like this, in whom is
a divine spirit? So Pharaoh said to Joseph saying, Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you
are. You shall be over my house, and according to your command all
my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than
youSee I have set you over all the land of Egypt.1 (Genesis 41:3841 ~ NASB)
How often when we face a challenge we cannot solve on our own,
we tend to seek out an expert opinion or consult with the worlds
wisdom. Joseph sought out God moment by moment, and God became Josephs wisdom as he spent all his time in Gods presence, so
much so that it was even evident to pagan Pharaoh who was forced to
acknowledge Josephs God. Might Joseph serve as an example to us of
the primacy of spending time with God, loving and obeying Him, serving Him in faith. Then we can know Gods heart and love, and be filled
with His Spirit in all we say and do.
And so, at only thirty years of age, Joseph entered the service of
Pharaoh king of Egypt and implemented the interpretation of his
dreams and Josephs wise plan to store up food during the seven years
of plenty so there would be enough food during the seven years of

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famine. (Genesis 41:46-57)
God was at work throughout Josephs life. Each time something
negative occurred, it was redeemed by God for future blessing. Had
Joseph not been wrongly sent to prison according to Potiphars wifes
lies, he doubtless would not have met Pharaohs chief cup bearer. Had
he not been there to interpret the chief cup bearers dream, he would
not have been referred to interpret Pharaohs dream. Had he not
interpreted Pharaohs dream, he would not have been able to ascend
to his position of prominence over all of Egypt. And as we shall see,
with the severe famine affecting the whole known world of the day,
Joseph was in the sole position that God had made available for him so
that he could save his own family. As we walk with God, He will walk
with us, protect and guide us in the way everlasting. Never
should we underestimate the power of Gods presence in our lives as
we stay open to Him, and are faithful and obedient servants of God.

Joseph and His Brothers Meet Again

As we saw above, in Genesis 41:57 ~ NASB, the people of all the
earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine
was severe in all the earth.1 Eventually, Jacob heard that Egypt still
had food, so he sent his sons, all, that is, except his beloved
Benjamin, to Egypt to buy grain. When they arrived in Egypt, they
went in to Joseph to request that they might buy some grain and they
bowed humbly in his presence, apparently not recognizing that he was
indeed their brother, Joseph. However, Joseph recognized his brothers
but acted as if they were strangers and treated them roughly in his
speech. He accused them of being spies. He noted that the youngest,
Benjamin, was not with them, so he ordered one to go back home and
bring him back with him and the others he sent to prison for three
days. (Genesis 42:2-17) On the third day, Joseph released them from
prison saying, Do this and live, for I fear God: if you are honest men,
let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest
of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring
your youngest brother to me; so your words may be verified, and you
will not die.1 (Genesis 42:18-20 ~ NASB) And this they did, leaving
Simeon behind.
Again, while they did not recognize Joseph in all these proceedings,
Joseph recognized his brothers. As Joseph spoke Egyptian to them
through an interpreter, he understood fully everything they were

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saying. Rueben said to his brothers, Did I not tell you, Do not sin
against the boy; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning
for his blood.1 (Genesis 42:22 ~ NASB) It became a rather emotional
time for Joseph as he heard his brothers discussing what they thought
was his fate, and so he excused himself from their presence as he was
overcome with tears. Then Joseph returned to his brothers, but gave
secret orders to refill their bags with grain, except to replace each
ones money in the top of each of their sacks. And so, the remaining
brothers returned to Jacob. As each opened his respective sack of
grain, they found their money on top. (Genesis 42:23-35) While they
were dismayed by this and were fearful, Jacob responded to them,
You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and
Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin; all these
things are against me.1 (Genesis 42:36 ~ NASB) Well, time elapsed
and when they had eaten all the grain, it was evident that they needed
to return to Egypt for more. In great anguish, Jacob finally allowed
them to return with Benjamin, but also, each brought double the
amount of money as they had brought on their prior visit, as well as
special gifts to Joseph. (Genesis 43:1-15)
So they journeyed back to Egypt, and when Joseph saw them, he
ordered them to come to his house where he had planned to dine with
them. But the brothers were unaware of Josephs plans and thought
he was planning evil against them, even as they had done toward
Joseph. While they were hurriedly and nervously planning their defense, Joseph came in and said, Be at ease, do not be afraid. Your
God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I
had your money.1 (Genesis 43:23 ~ NASB) At that moment, Joseph
brought in Simeon and proceeded to make preparations to eat. When
Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, he again was overcome with emotion and excused himself and went into his chamber and wept. Afterward, he regained his composure and returned to where his brothers
were and they sat down to eat. As was the Egyptian custom, Joseph
ate alone, his brothers ate by themselves, and the Egyptians that were
present ate by themselves because it was believed by the Egyptians
that it was an abomination for them to eat with the Hebrews. Portions
of food were taken from Josephs table and given to his brothers, except Benjamin received five times as much. (Genesis 43:16-34)
When they had finished eating, Joseph instructed that each of their
sacks be filled to capacity, except in the top of Benjamins sack,

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Joseph had the steward place his own silver cup. (Genesis 44:1-3)
After they had left, Joseph commanded the steward to pursue them
and when he had caught up with them, report that my silver cup is
missing and that he has orders to search their sacks for it. Then, he
was to say to them, Why have you repaid evil for good? Is not this
the one from which my lord drinks, and which he indeed uses for
divination? You have done wrong in doing this.1 (Genesis 44:4-5 ~
NASB) The brothers told him that they would have done no such thing
but would submit to his search with the promise that with whomever
of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lords
slaves.1 (Genesis 44:9 ~ NASB) To this, the steward replied, Now
let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall
be my slave, and the rest of you shall be innocent.1 (Genesis 44:10 ~
NASB) And the cup of Joseph was indeed found in Benjamins sack.
Then the brothers rent their clothes, and every man loaded his ass
and returned to the city. (Genesis 44:11-13)
When they stood before Joseph, Judah spoke on behalf of his
brothers saying, What can we say to my lord? What can we speak?
Or how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of
your servants; behold, we are my lords slaves, both we and the one
in whose possession the cup has been found.1 (Genesis 44:16 ~
NASB) But Joseph responded, Far be it from me to do this. The man
in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but
as for you, go up in peace to your father.1 (Genesis 44:17 ~ NASB)
Now Judah had previously given his father, Jacob, assurance that
nothing ill would happen to Benjamin, and that he would personally
take sole blame if anything adverse did happen. So hearing Josephs
words that Benjamin would have to become his slave struck Judah to
the core, so he proceeded to intercede on Benjamins behalf, asking
Joseph to apply on him whatever sentence was to befall on Benjamin.
At this point, Joseph lost all self-control and so he dismissed everyone from his presence except his brothers and he broke out in crying
and weeping. He wailed so loud that the Egyptians and Pharaohs
household even heard him. (Genesis 45:1-2) Joseph then disclosed
his true identity to his brothers saying, I am your brother Joseph,
whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be grieved or angry with
yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to
preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years;
and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor
harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a

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remnant in the earth, and to keep alive by a great deliverance. Now,

therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has
made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler
over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father, and say to
him, Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt;
come down to me, do not delay. And you shall live in the land of
Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your
childrens children, and your flocks and your herds and all you have.
There I will also provide for you, for there still five years of famine to
come, lest you and your household and all that you have be
impoverished. And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my
brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you.
Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and of all
that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down
here.1 (Genesis 45:4c-13 ~ NASB)
And so we see the fulfillment of Josephs dreams when he was still
but a young child. God is faithful to His promises if only we were just
as faithful to Him. Joseph throughout his life had every possible
human reason to not follow through in his commitment to God, given
all the evil he had to endure. But Joseph saw that he was not alone in
any of these adverse times, but rather strove to see and understand
things from Gods vantage point. When Jacob died, Josephs brothers
renewed their fears that, now that their father was dead, Joseph might
unleash his vengeance on them. This is perhaps how they would have
responded, in their spirit of fear, if they were in Josephs shoes, but
that is not how Joseph chose to respond, in Gods Holy Spirit of love.
(Genesis 50:1-18) He said to them, Do not be afraid, for am I in
Gods place? And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God
meant it for good in order to bring it about this pleasant result, to
preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will
provide for you and your little ones.1 (Genesis 50:19-21a ~ NASB)
Moreover, the land of Canaan was becoming less hospitable to Jacobs
family. God had promised to make them a great nation through which
all the nations of the earth would be blessed. But the people of
Canaan were largely pagan, and the beginnings of the nation of Israel
struggled to survive among them. It was Gods plan to bring them to
Egypt, to the land of Goshen, which served as sort of a cocoon for
them to grow and thrive. When they left Canaan, there were only
seventy. (Genesis 46:27) By the time of their Exodus from Egypt, it is
believed that Israel had grown to at least 603,550 in number.
(Numbers 1:46) Given their struggles in Canaan and the severe

180

famine, if God had not prepared Joseph to go to Egypt and rise to his
powerful position, the people of Israel would likely have perished. But
God had promised to make them a great nation, and Josephs great
faith in God and his absolute obedience to Him in the face of adversity
secured their future.
How does your future look? Do you have a close love-bond
relationship of communion with God? Do you recognize His presence
in your life and, if so, how does it impact your choices and behavior?
Are you growing in your life of faith and are you obedient to His
commands and His calling on your life? How closely does your life
mirror that of Josephs? It is only as we place our complete trust in
God, backed up by a full life of faith, and as we seek to obey Him and
serve Him can we come to sense His Spirit of love, indeed, His very
powerful moment-by-moment presence in our lives. This I pray for
each one who reads these words.

Footnote:

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

16

IDENTIFYING WHERE WE ARE

IN THIS PROCESS

Up to this point, we have considered what is entailed in the process

of moving away from a spirit of fear towards the Spirit of love and why
faith is so important in this process. We also examined how the
Conversion Zone exists as the transitional zone between fear and love
in this salvation process. Even as on Noahs ark there was a single
door through which those being saved had to pass, so also I have
depicted this Conversion Zone as a Door of Trust through which all
must pass to be saved and enter a life of faith and experience Gods
Spirit of love.
So the million dollar question is, Where am I in this process? The
purpose of this chapter is to lead our thinking in discovering where we
each of might find ourselves in this process of salvation, which
ultimately will not be fully realized until we complete our lives on
earth. To facilitate our considerations in this chapter, may I suggest
that you keep handy the diagram that models the process of salvation
wherein an individual moves away from a spirit of fear towards the
Spirit of love. This diagram can be seen at the conclusion of this book,
as well as on page 160 in the chapter, Moving from a Spirit of Fear to
the Spirit of Love.
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183

Inasmuch as we all are born with a spirit of fear, we will begin our
discussion at the left end of the salvation process continuum. Because
we all start on this end of the process, in that we all need to be saved,
the sad truth remains that unfortunately most will never leave this end
of the continuum. These are the ones who live their whole lives under
Satans influence and domination, and remain lost in a spirit of fear.
They include those whose lives are marked by grievous sins, public or
private, that they have committed and of which they have never confessed or repented. Also included are those who have lived as if there
were no God, such as atheists and idolaters. They do not understand
that idols are not only graven images of worship, but may also include
things, thoughts, and ideologies that are contrary to the Truth as
communicated by God through general revelation and special revelation and, of course, through His Holy Word, the Bible. So, one might
worship or venerate ones good health, physically fit body, reputation,
occupational success or achievement, socio-economic position, pursuit
of wealth and riches, possessions, philosophies, or even themselves as
the final determinant of all that is good or evil. So I ask you, does this
description describe you? If so, then you are in the majority of
humanity that are lost in a spirit of fear, under Satans control, and in
need of salvation and Gods Spirit of love. If you desire to do so, you
dont have to remain here, but sad to say, the majority are satisfied to
stay here and feel as though they do not need to be saved.
Some of those here at the left end of the continuum do sense
emptiness and are disillusioned by all their personal efforts to be more
and do better. That is Gods Spirit of love trying to get their attention,
reaching out through their spirit of fear and letting them, indeed building within them, a desire to seek answers for their life. Such seekers
are hungry to satisfy that gnawing feeling that there just has to be
something more to this life than what they have known or experienced
heretofore. They recognize a sort of empty void in their lives. These
seekers are being drawn by God toward the Conversion Zone, but they
are usually not quite ready, just yet, to enter. Only as they allow
themselves to be exposed to the claims of the gospel message and
work their minds and hearts around it, can they move even closer to
the Conversion Zone. They need their questions heard and answered
in a safe, non-judgmental setting. This is where those of us who have
passed through the Door of Trust can be especially helpful and a friend
to a person who may be seeking, even though they may not yet know
or understand exactly what it is that they are seeking.

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As one approaches the Door of Trust in the Conversion Zone, they

have to make a decision for or against the message of the gospel.
They have to come to a point where they admit that they have nothing
of their own merits to offer on behalf of their shortcomings. They also
have to come to that point where they not only know about but
acknowledge that Jesus Christ was who He said He was and did what
He came to do, i.e., die for lost sinners to redeem them for God. They
have to personally accept His sacrifice for themselves in their place,
taking on Himself the punishment due them and deserved by them.
They must confess and repent of their sin and make Jesus Christ the
Lord and Master of their lives. These are the necessary door steps of
faith to be climbed enroute to the Door of Trust. This is often too
daunting for many, and so they shrink back again to the familiar
shadows of a spirit of fear.
They may move again toward the
Conversion Zone at some other point in the future, but each time they
move back away from it, Satan tends to seal their fate by hardening
their hearts and minds even more against the Truth of the gospel
message. And so, I ask you, where are you in relation to the
Conversion Zone? Are you ready to open the Door of Trust and enter
a new life of faith in Jesus Christ and receive His Spirit of love into
your life? Or does all this just seem too much for you right now and
Satan is hardening your heart and mind against this Gospel of Truth
and calling you back into your former life of a spirit of fear?
If you are one of the very few who make the decision to move
further through the Conversion Zone, then you will confess your sin to
God, repenting of them all, and falling totally upon His grace and
mercy for full forgiveness. You will be so thankful and indebted to
Jesus Christ your Savior for taking all your shame and blame and guilt
upon Himself on the cross of Calvary, dying in your place and suffering
your punishment for your sin, that you then open the Door of Trust
and enter through it, making Jesus Christ your Lord and Master from
this day forward. You may not know and understand everything quite
yet, but you are teachable and very willing to learn as much as you
can. You find within yourself an insatiable hunger and thirst for Gods
Word, the Holy Bible. Does this perhaps describe where you are at in
this salvation process? Have you climbed up the door steps to the Door
of Trust? Have you opened the Door of Trust and entered the life of
faith? If so, may I encourage you to seek out someone you trust who
has already done this or perhaps schedule some time with a minister.
You need someone to shepherd your new-found faith.

185

As you grow in your understanding of the decision you have made

to follow Jesus Christ, you will undoubtedly have many questions and
this is normal. You will also encounter many temptations like you
have never known before and you may even have a lot of doubts
about whether you have made the right decision. Again this is quite
normal and Satan does not want to lose you to Jesus. He will do all in
his power to trip you up and make you believe that you cannot follow
through with your decision. Some succumb to his attacks and fall back
away from God and His Spirit of love, but you do not have to let this
happen to you. It is said that life is but a series of choices, and this
choice to follow after and obey God is the most important choice one
can make in their whole entire life! Therefore, do all you can to
protect that choice and surround yourself with people and places that
support that choice. You will probably find it necessary to make new
friends. It also helps if you proclaim your new allegiance to God and
your desire to not return to your former life.
For those of us who have entered a life of faith, we are now in a
position to increasingly know, understand, and experience Gods Spirit
of love to the degree that we are growing in our faith. The indwelling
presence of Gods Holy Spirit within us is a huge part of allowing that
process to continue. But Satan still may attack us when we least
expect it. His spirit of fear, though less and less present in our lives, is
still nonetheless there until we breathe our last breath. At that point,
there is a final end to Satans spirit of fear and we will be forever free
from its influence upon our death and resurrection to the newness of
eternal life with God. But until then, never underestimate Satan! His
desire will always be for us and he is known as the great accuser of
the brethren. But as we keep our eyes focused upon God, and invite
His Holy Spirit to take control of our thoughts, desires, and actions,
and so long as we keep Gods commandments and obey Him, and
spend quality time with Him studying and using the Holy Bible against
Satans temptations, then we can defeat Satan at his own game.
We must also keep short accounts with God as regards any sin in
our lives. Even secret, private sins need to be confessed and repented
of. Unconfessed sin creates a barrier in our walk with God. His
presence cannot and will not coexist with the presence of sin in ones
life. But, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.1 (1 John 1:9
~ NASB) By memorizing and meditating on Bible verses, we can
become stronger in our walk with God. Thy word I have treasured in

186
my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.1 (Psalm 119:11 ~ NASB)
Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.1 (Psalm
119:105 ~ NASB) How many of you find yourself enjoying Gods
presence while in faith you are growing more and more to witness His
Spirit of love at work in your lives? It is my sincere prayer that this is
where many of us are, and where the rest of us are headed. Here we
can know firsthand the power for living life to the fullest, not in our
own strength and power, but through the perfect power of Gods Holy
Spirit of love in and through our lives. And as Paul wrote in his letter
to the church in Rome, Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy
and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of
the Holy Spirit.1 (Romans 15:13 ~ NASB) Yes, my friend, we have a
lot to be thankful to God for, and we therefore rejoice in His great
salvation as we seek to live for Him each day. Rejoice in the Lord
always; again I will say, rejoice!1 (Philippians 4:4 ~ NASB)
However, we also see a serious question about our salvation in
Hebrews 1:14, followed by a dire warning to not neglect this salvation
message in Hebrews 2. The writer to the Hebrews wrote: Are they
not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of
those who will inherit salvation? For this reason we must pay much
closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For
if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall
we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first
spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,
God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and
by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own
will.1 (Hebrews 1:14; 2:1-4 ~ NASB) As Paul also wrote in 2
Corinthians 6:1-2 ~ NASB: And working together with Him, we also
urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain for He says, AT THE
ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF
SALVATION I HELPED YOU; behold, now is THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,
behold, now is THE DAY OF SALVATION1 (NASB) If you have not
already done so, I urge you to not let this moment go by without
accepting Gods great plan of salvation for you.

187

Footnote:

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

THE PROMISE
LOVE TREASURES FROM GOD

188

17

FOR OURSELVES AND OUR

RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

What is the promise of love treasures from God as it applies to

ourselves and our relationship with God? In this chapter, we will be
considering how God wants to bless us through His love which we will
treasure throughout our life and walk with Him. Because God is infinite, His storehouse of love treasures and blessings are vast in
number, but let us now consider some of the major ones, realizing that
this in no way is an exhaustive consideration.
First, for those of us who have a personal love-bond relationship of
communion with God through the saving work of Jesus Christ, we are
reminded by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians that we
have received at least three love gifts from God: His salvation, which
is an expression of His grace, and our faith, which are all important
components involved in Gods plan for our salvation from Satan and
his grip of sin on our lives. In Ephesians 2:8-9, we read: For by
grace you have been saved through faith; and that [salvation] not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one
should boast.1 (NASB; word enclosed in brackets was added by the
author for clarification.) So, Gods gift of our salvation from the
penalty of our sin comes to us also as His gift of grace, whereby we
receive what we do not deserve, and we receive Gods grace in faith,
which is also a gift from God, and this therefore exists apart from
anything we have done or earned. In his second letter to the church
at Corinth, Paul commended the Corinthians for their faith in the
gospel of Christ and their obedience to it manifested by their liberal
contribution to Gods ministry to the saints as being a hallmark of
Gods gift of His grace at work in them when he wrote: And God is
190

191

able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all
sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good
deed; while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you
because of the surpassing grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for
His indescribable gift!1 (2 Corinthians 9:8, 14-15 ~ NASB)
Also, there are His promises found in the Beatitudes in Jesus
Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3-12. When we feel poor in spirit,
Jesus says we are blessed, for He promises us the kingdom of heaven.
Then, there are times when we may experience mourning for any
number of possible reasons during our lifetimes. In those times, He
promises His blessing and that we shall be comforted. When we are
gentle or meek, we are then blessed and promised that we shall
inherit the earth. We are also blessed when we hunger and thirst for
righteousness, as Jesus promises that we shall be satisfied. If we are
merciful, we are blessed and promised to receive mercy. Also, we are
blessed if we are pure in heart, and He promises that we shall see
God. When we are peacemakers, we are blessed and promised that
we shall be called sons of God. We are also blessed when we are
persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and promised the kingdom
of heaven. And lastly, Jesus grants us a blessing when men revile us
and persecute us and say all kinds of evil against us falsely on His
account. In fact, Jesus encourages us to rejoice and be glad when
that happens, and He promises us that our reward will be great in
heaven, and we can take courage on this side of heaven, inasmuch as
we are facing the same kind of persecution as the prophets who were
before us.1 (Matthew 5:3-12 ~ NASB)
Next, I would like us to consider another great promise from the
heart of God and that is the promise of His awesome presence with us.
This is a very powerful concept and almost incomprehensible to me.
God loves us so much that He gave His only Son to die for our sin, in
our place, so that we might be able to live with Him in purity, as if we
had never sinned. And, as a seal of His promise to always be with us,
He indwells the life of every believer with His Holy Spirit of love and
empowers us to do what would otherwise be impossible on our own.
In a very real way, we are able to experience a little of what Jesus
incarnation might have been like as we are filled with the very
presence of God and His Holy Spirit while we still are flesh and blood
humans. We are able to share with Jesus what He experienced as
100% God and 100% man, as we have all who God is present within

192

us to accomplish His work in and through our human lives on earth.

And Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the
works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall
he do; because I go to the Father.1 (John 14.12 ~ NASB) Then, in
Jesus high priestly prayer for His disciples and for the Church in John
17, Jesus states that we are to be one with Him and God, and so He
bears witness to this intent and promise that we are to become one
with God. (John 17:23) Such a heritage and source of strength we
have in this promise, if we truly are in a love-bond relationship of
communion with God. We are no longer alone in this world, left to
face lifes challenges in our own strength. We have all the power of
God available to us and there is nothing for us to fear. We are instead
filled with His joy and peace when all around us is in an uproar or lost
in utter darkness. The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom
shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?
Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though
war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confidentFor in the
day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place
of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my
head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; And I will offer in
His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises
to the Lord. 1 (Psalm 27:1, 3, 5-6 ~ NASB) And again in Psalms, we
read: The Lord is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? 1
(Psalm 118:6 ~ NASB)
Another love treasure from God is His promise of peace amidst the
turmoil of this life. Jesus said, Peace I leave with you; My peace I
give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your
heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.1 (John 14:27 ~ NASB) Then
He added, These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may
have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but take courage; I
have overcome the world.1 (John 16:33 ~ NASB) Again, Jesus is
reaffirming that His presence goes with us is with us at all times. He
indeed is our Prince of Peace. There is comfort in His presence, and
there is overwhelming peace amidst everything we will ever encounter
in this life of ours. The key to this peace is to remain in Him,
communing with Him in a close love-bond relationship.
Then there are the so-called fruits of the Spirit as more love
treasures promised to us by God. These fruits of the Holy Spirit when
He is present in our lives are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

193

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things

there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires.1 (Galatians 5:22-23 ~ NASB)
These are marks of the one who has that close love-bond relationship
with God about which we have been talking. Likewise, such a person
who has the presence of God through His Holy Spirit indwelling every
facet of their lives exhibits these fruits as they serve God with their
spiritual gifts and joyfully love one another.
In the above paragraph, I mentioned spiritual gifts. These are yet
another of the promised love treasures given us by God. When God
calls us to serve Him and join Him in His work, He also equips us so
that we may be useful to Him in accomplishing the work He has called
us to do to the glory of God. We are not left to work for God in our
own strength as to how we see fit, but by indwelling us with His
presence through His Holy Spirit, He uses us in special ways that we in
our own efforts could never realize. It is in and through His power
that we are able to accomplish much for the Kingdom of God. The
Apostle Paul writes about these spiritual gifts when he says, Now
there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties
of ministries, and the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects,
but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one
is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to
one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the
word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by
the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to
another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to
another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of
tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and
the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one
individually just as He wills.1 (1 Corinthians 12:4-11 ~ NASB) Paul
continues, Now you are Christs body, and individually members of it.
And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets,
third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. All are not apostles, are they? All are
not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not
workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healing, do
they? All do not all speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret,
do they? But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still
more excellent way.1 (1 Corinthians 12:27-31 ~ NASB) Then Paul
launches into what is widely known as the love chapter in the Bible, for
Gods love is the operating principle that governs the realm wherein

194

every spiritual gift, like each fruit of the Spirit, is exercised. That is
why God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to
that member which lacked, that there should be no division in the
body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if
one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.1
(1 Corinthians 12:24b-26 ~ NASB) But above all, Gods love should
reign supreme, and it is because of His love that we have even received these gifts from Him to assist us in better, more effective service to Him, in accomplishing His perfect will in and through our lives.
Lastly, I would like us to consider the importance of obedience to
the plan of God for our lives. When we obey His leading and keep all
His commandments, confessing and repenting of sin so we can maintain a pure and holy life before Him, He promises that we will dwell in
His love and have victory over the world through our faith. And not
only that, we will have eternal life with Him. (See 1 John 5.) One of
Jesus chief commandments to us is found in John 15:12 ~ NASB
where we read, This is My commandment, that you love one another
just as I have loved you.1 We are then to have a selfless love for
each other, investing our very lives into one another, even as Jesus invested His own life into us for our salvation. He continued by saying,
You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call
you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I
have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father
I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you,
and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your
fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He
may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.1
(John 15:14-17 ~ NASB) We therefore demonstrate, indeed prove,
our love-bond relationship and communion with God by obeying His
commands and by loving one another. What more glorious fruit can
there possibly be than to enter Heaven with all those who are there
because we loved them and shared Gods love for them. We can bring
nothing with us to Heaven other than the souls we have won to God by
our love for them while in this life.
These are but a couple of the love treasures we have from God as
a promise for our relationship with God. As we become more and
more familiar with His Holy Word, we will uncover many more love
treasures for our lives with Him, but these that I have shared with you
here are among the finest of Gods love treasures that He has indeed

195

promised for us.

Footnote:

Unless noted otherwise in this chapter, Scripture quotations are taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963,
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. References in the text note this source as
(NASB) following the text where reference is being made or quoted.
(www.Lockman.org)

18

FOR OUR RELATIONSHIPS

WITH OTHERS

Now let us consider the promise of Gods love treasures for our
relationships with others. We have already seen that God through
Jesus Christ has commanded us to love one another. But what does
that love look like? May I submit that when Jesus commands our love
for one another, He is asking us to love others with the same love with
which Jesus has loved us. Yes, that means the agape love of God, a
love that is selfless and unconditional, a love that simply exists without
seeking to be earned or given as a reward. But, I would like us to go
a bit deeper.
Gods love for us and our love for one another accepts the other
person as they are, warts and all. They choose not to see and not to
focus on their current faults and deficiencies, but see the other person
as God sees them, indeed, as He has seen each one of us at one time
or another. Thus, God sees the other person in terms of their
unlimited potential to be all He has created and intended them to be.
How might this affect how you see others and love them with the
agape love of God?
When we are able to love others as God does both us and them, a
beautiful thing happens. We begin to value persons and see others as
valuable to God, and therefore, valuable to us. We cherish each other.
And we relate to one another in a manner that we may never have
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been able to do before. We can learn from them and in so doing, even
learn more about ourselves. We find a sort of strength in other people
that we may have overlooked before, and there is no fear involved in
relationships with others that are based in the agape love of God.
Gone is the fear of rejection, competition, performance, appearance,
and all the rest which characterize most human relationships today
apart from the presence of the love of God. We hear that we all have
a need to be accepted and to belong. It is natural in this life to fear
that we may never quite fit in with those with whom we want to
identify. But since we have Gods Spirit of love at work within us, and
the love of God flowing through us, these issues are things from our
past that no longer are issues for us who belong to Jesus Christ. And
so, God has given us His presence and His Holy Spirit of love to
transform our relationships with others and for that we can greatly
rejoice and give God all the thanks, praise, and glory.
Moreover, as believers indwelt by Gods Holy Spirit of love, we give
this gift to others when we are able to lead them into a love-bond
relationship of communion with God so that they, too, can partake in
the same incarnate experience of knowing that God is not only with
them, but indwelling them with His Holy Spirit of love. And then, when
our lives on earth are done, we can continue living with God and for
God and His glory in heaven throughout all eternity. This is such a
glorious promise from God, and a wonderful love treasure we can each
look forward to in our relationships with others.

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FOR MARRIAGE AND THE HOME

In this chapter, we are going to look at probably the closest

relationships we may possibly experience here on earth. I believe God
has a special promise of love treasures for us in our marriages and in
our homes.
Marriage is an important institution to God. From Adam and Eve at
creation through to this day, God has placed a high value on the
sanctity of marriage. The Church is considered the Bride of Christ, and
His marriage to the Church will be in heaven at the Marriage Supper of
the Lamb. Jesus Christ purchased His bride, the Church, with His own
life and blood when He died and gave Himself up for her. The Apostle
Paul even equates the roles of husband and wife to be equal to those
of Jesus Christ and His Church in Ephesians 5:21-33. To fully have
and know all the real blessings of marriage, one must live in the Spirit
of love, meaning they must be growing in their individual and
corporate lives of faith and love for God, and they must be obedient to
His commands, and where He leads them throughout life. They must
become one together as husband and wife, as well as one with Jesus
Christ, as the Churchs Bridegroom, and with God, the Father.

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Even the children born to a husband and wife embody the oneness of
their parents love. They mirror the oneness of the marriage relationship out of which they are conceived.
So, we have seen how important marriage is to God. But unfortunately, we also see so much turmoil in our marriages and homes
today. Gods promise of love treasures for marriage and the home are
on a higher plane, for it means that, when a husband and wife have
surrendered their wills and selfish ambitions to God and He has replaced them with His all-surpassing love and oneness with Him, there
exists in the eternal present the Spirit of His love, and faith in His
purposes and leading, that binds Satan and his attacks, and therefore
cannot coexist with a limiting spirit of fear. This Spirit of love gets
communicated to the children in the home from early on, and they
learn and grow in their respective lives of faith in God. There is love
and there is respect that characterize everyone in the family.
There is also a premium placed on the purity of the heart of each
individual within the home. Like we learned from the life of Joseph
earlier in chapter 15, a relationship with God is primary in everyones
life in the home. They honor and obey God above all else. They see
sin as rebellion and wickedness against God, as well as against others
who may be involved. Lusts, struggle for power, controlling attitudes
and manipulation, retaliation, etc., are all seen as not accomplishing
the perfect will of God. Joseph led us by his example and, whenever
confronted with these and other temptations, he fled the scene of their
source and refused to spend any time in their presence. He trusted
God for His wellbeing. He had peace with God and his life, though
sometimes adverse, was therefore marked by peace. His heart was
kept tender toward God, and he loved and obeyed God implicitly.
Because of his vital love-bond communion with God, Joseph was able
to forgive his brothers wrongs against him and make peace with
them. He was redemptive in his relationships with Potiphar, Pharaoh,
the jailer, and his brothers. Everyone saw evidence that he was filled
with Gods Spirit. He was even able to soften the hard hearts of his
brothers and restore fellowship with them and they with God. So
much we can learn from the life of Joseph and apply these truths to
our own marriages and homes today. In this way, we can receive
Gods promise of love treasures for our marriages and homes.

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A SPECIAL BONUS

For those of us who have passed through the Conversion Zone and
opened the Door of Trust and entered a life of faith and have grown in
that faith by spending quality time with our Savior and Lord, we have
been able to also grow in our understanding and experience with Gods
Holy Spirit of love. We have also realized the moment-by-moment
nature wherein Gods eternal love exists. Because it exists and is
communicated in the eternal present, the way that we express and
show that love to others as well as within our marriages and our
homes has more closely mirrored Gods love, and together we have
been able to draw closer to Gods Spirit of love in and through our
lives.
Moreover, we have become aware that this Spirit of love exists
where there is no sin, so we have understood the importance of living
lives of purity and personal holiness as we obey the commands and
leading of God in our lives. As we continue to live lives sanctified or
set apart unto God alone, we have likewise noticed a reduction in a
spirit of fear and attacks by Satan, for this Holy Spirit of love has
imparted to us a certain power and victory over Satan through the
memorization and use of the Word of God, and by His Spirit of love at
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work within us. We have become most open to the call of God on our
lives through our meditation on His Word and most closed to the
temptations of Satan and his spirit of fear. In this way, we have
experienced a real joy in living unlike we have ever experienced
before. This freedom from a spirit of fear, then, is the bonus, and a
very special love treasure promised by God to those who choose to
love Him above all else.

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A SPECIAL PROMISE
(For Believers Only)

God has reserved for believers only a very special promise.

Inasmuch as we have confessed and repented of our sin and set our
lives apart unto God and His will for our lives and continue to obey His
commandments and leading in our lives, Jesus has gone ahead of us
to prepare a special place for us in Heaven so that we may permanently and for all eternity live in Gods presence, free of the sin,
limitations, and pain of our lives with which we are all too familiar. We
can read all about it in Revelation 21-22 God will wipe away every
tear from our eyes and there will be no more sorrow or sadness, but
these will be replaced with rejoicing.
We can begin even now to have and know a life that exudes joy as
we rejoice in our salvation, but it will pale when compared to the
rejoicing that we will experience throughout all eternity. We will also
be freed from Satan, temptation, a spirit of fear, and death. God will
be eternally with us, even as He promised to be with us on earth.
We also will be able to freely enjoy the Tree of Life as we will no
longer be forbidden access to it and its fruit. He will allow us to rule
and reign with Him. In Heaven, God will provide us with a mansion, as
well as glorious surroundings, like streets paved with gold and pearl
gates, and the eternal brilliance of His presence among us.

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He will reward us for righteous acts done on earth with crowns

which we will in turn throw at His feet in praise and adoration for all
He has done for us. The believer will thus spend an eternity alive in
the Holy Spirit of love.

FEAR TO LOVE DIAGRAM

MODELING THE PROCESS OF SALVATION
OF MOVING AWAY FROM A SPIRIT OF FEAR
TOWARDS THE SPIRIT OF LOVE

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