Creator, Father, King #36

He is a liar and the father of lies.

THE WORST DAY IN history started with a terrible string of lies.

When Satan, taking the form of a serpent, appeared to Eve in the Garden of Eden, he immediately began whispering fallaciously in her ear about God’s character and commands. Earlier, God had given Adam and Eve only one restriction: “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die” (Genesis 2:16-17).

But Satan slithered up to Eve and said, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden? . . . You won’t die! . . . God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil” (Genesis 3:1, 4-5).

Sadly, Eve succumbed to temptation and ate the fruit. Then Adam did too. They rebelled against God’s law, and sin entered the world.

Satan’s fatal lies had worked.

What’s It Mean?

Satan is a master liar who is constantly trying to destroy God’s Kingdom with his deceits. He even lied to Jesus during the wilderness temptations (Matthew 4:1-11) in order to ruin Christ’s redemptive mission.

In John 8:44, Jesus said Satan “has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” In the Garden of Eden, Satan convinced Adam and Eve to disregard God’s authority and doubt his goodness by twisting God’s words and uttering bold-faced falsehoods. Adam and Eve’s choice to believe Satan’s lies instead of obeying God proved disastrous for all of humanity (Romans 5:12).

Satan is still actively opposing God’s plan today. He seeks to destroy every person’s life—both Christian and non-Christian—with his wicked lies.

But praise God the story doesn’t end on such a negative note! God had a plan from the beginning to crush Satan. As 1 John 3:8 says, “The Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil” through his atoning work on the cross for our sins and his powerful resurrection. Through Christ’s power, we can “resist the devil, and he will flee” from us (James 4:7).

Thank you, Jesus!

Now What?

Memorize Scripture to combat Satan’s lies, just like Jesus did. Here are two great texts to start: Ephesians 6:10-18 and 1 Peter 5:6-11.

Did You Know?

While Satan is a natural liar and brings death, Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).