The Ancient Serpent
Pastor Tan Thai · Apr 29, 2017
This sermon examines Satan — his origin, nature, sin, and schemes in spiritual warfare. The pastor explains that Satan is a fallen angel brought down by pride, who continually seeks to deceive humanity into opposing God.
This sermon is the second in a series on spiritual warfare, focusing on identifying the primary enemy in that battle: Satan and his demonic forces. The pastor begins by recapping the series' foundation — that there are two worlds, visible and invisible, and that the life of a believer is a genuine spiritual conflict as taught in Ephesians 6:10-12.
The pastor explains that 'Satan' is not a personal name but a noun with two meanings: adversary or opponent, and accuser or prosecutor. Scripture mentions Satan throughout both the Old and New Testaments, and notably Jesus himself spoke about Satan at least 25 times in the four Gospels, confirming that Satan is a real and dangerous figure. Satan was originally a perfect cherub angel, full of wisdom and beauty, created flawlessly by God as described in Ezekiel 28:11-15.
Satan's sin was pride: he desired to make himself equal to the Most High rather than submit to God. Isaiah 14:12-14 records five declarations of 'I will' by Satan, expressing his ambition to replace God. As a consequence, he was cast out of heaven and thrown down to earth, and will ultimately be bound and cast into the lake of fire for eternity according to Revelation 20:1-3, 10. The pastor emphasizes the key lesson: pride is the most dangerous sin, and Scripture warns that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5-6).
The pastor also clarifies a critical theological point: Satan is not equal to God. Because Satan is a created being, he has clear limitations — he is not omnipotent, omniscient, or omnipresent. All his activities remain under God's sovereign authority, as demonstrated in the story of Job, where Satan could only act within the boundaries God permitted. This truth is a great comfort and encouragement for believers.
The serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-4) is identified as Satan himself, as confirmed by Revelation 12:9 and 20:1-3. Satan's primary scheme is to disguise himself as an angel of light to deceive — a tactic he used against Eve and continues to use today through false teachers, as Paul warns in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. Believers must recognize this strategy clearly in order to stand firm in the spiritual battle.