God our Father brought the deception cure

God’s deception cure is salvation as revealed by the gospel of the kingdom. Salvation spans from the time Jesus was born on this earth through eternity in the new heaven and new earth (Eph 1:15-23, Rev 21:1-4). God has “rescued us from the tyranny of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, who paid the ransom to forgive our sins and set us free” (Col 1:13-14 AAT). God will give us the kingdom of God that is to come. “‘Then the King will say to those at His right,’Come, you whom My Father blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the time the world was made”’ (Mt 25:34). The inheritance is laid up for us in heaven to come to earth (1 Pe 1:4). It is our hope of glory (Col 1:2). The gospel of the kingdom prepares us for real life, which includes righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Ro 14:17) in the midst of suffering, hurts, wounds, heartache and death.

We needed the deception cure because deception comes from the father of lies

We needed the cure because Satan is the ruler of this world (Jn 12:31) and he rules through deception (Rev 12:9). He is the father of lies, as Jesus said to His religious persecutors, “Your father is the devil, and you want to do what your father wants. From the beginning he has been murdering people and hasn’t stood in the truth, because there’s no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he’s telling it from his heart, because he’s a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44 AAT).

The devil began his deception right after creation. God had warned Adam not to eat eat from the tree of good and evil in the garden of Eden.”The day you eat from it you will certainly die” (Gen 2:17 AAT). The old serpent, the devil, deceived Eve with a lie. “‘The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will 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‘” (Gen 3:4-5 NASB). Eve bought the lie and she and Adam ate the fruit.

Today, the devil deceives the opposite way—surely you will die. He terrorizes the people of the world with the fear of death. It works on the world he rules. It does not work in us, for we trust in Jesus Christ the Son of God, our Savior and Lord. He is the Descendant who crushed the serpents head.

God told the devil, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your descendants and her Descendant. He will crush your head, and you will bruise His heel” (Gen 3:15 AAT).

Jesus crushed the devils head when God saw His Son die as the spotless sacrifice for our sins. “Yes, you who were dead in sins and in your uncircumcised bodies He has made alive with Him when He forgave us all our sins, wiped out the Law’s demands that were against us and took them out of the way by nailing them to the cross. He stripped rulers and powers of their armor and made a public show of them as He triumphed over them in Christ”(Col 2:13-15 AAT).

Jesus broke the power of the devil over us when He died. “Now since all these children have flesh and blood, He in the same way took on flesh and blood in order to die and so take away all the power of him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and to free those who, terrified by death, had to be slaves all their lives” (Heb 2:14-15 AAT).

But notice “those who, terrified by death, had to be slaves all their lives.” Fear of death is the primary tool the devil uses for his dominion of the world. Unsaved people dread death, knowing hell follows. The devil and his minions use ingrained fear to deceive those who rebel against God. Cunningly, the devil deceives through natural inclinations to cause the unsaved to slip, flounder, and fall prey to his tyrannical rule. In order to avoid their basic fear they embrace evil. “Now, you know the works of the flesh. They are sexual sin, uncleanness, wild living, worshiping of idols, witchcraft, hate, wrangling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, quarreling, divisions, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like. I warn you, as I did before, those who do such things will have no share in God’s kingdom” (Gal 5:19-21 AAT). Such evil diversions are bondages natural man justifies with rationalization, humanistic values and worldviews. Yet, pagans have no peace.

Jesus knew He would die in order to free those who, terrified by death, had to be slaves all their lives, if only they believe in Him (Jn 3:16 KJV). He was prepared for His own death.

The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Surely, I tell you, if a kernel of wheat doesn’t fall into the ground and die, it will be just one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain. Love your life and lose it, but hate your life in this world, and you will keep it for an everlasting life. If you sere Me, follow Me: and where I am, there my servant will be If you serve Me, the Father will honor you.

I am deeply troubled now. But what should I say? Father, save Me from what is going to happen? No!. I came to suffer this now. Father, glorify Your name.

Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified My name and will glorify it again.”

The crowd, which stood there and heard it, said it had thundered. Others said, “’An angel talked to Him.’ Jesus explained: ‘That voice did not come for My benefit but for yours.’”

Now this world is being judged: now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. And once I have been lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to Me. He said this to indicate how He was going to die. John 12:23-34 AAT

If the rulers of this age had know they were ushering in their own defeat, they would not have crucified Jesus. Paul explained.

I came to you weak and afraid and with much trembling. When I spoke and preached, I didn’t use clever talk to persuade you, but I let the Spirit and His power prove the truth to you so that your faith will not depend on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.

But we do speak a wisdom to those who are ripe for it, a wisdom unknown to the world today and to its rulers who pass away. Yes, we tell about God’s secret wisdom that was kept hidden but that God before the world began planned for our glory. None of those who rule this world knew it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Corinthians 2:4-8 AAT

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. Revelation 1:7 KJV

Spiritual warfare

The devil and his minions have been defeated, yet they will continue to war against us until they and their followers are thrown into the lake of fire forever (Rev 20:10-15). “Your enemy, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion.” But God “will make you perfect, firm and strong. He has the power forever.”

All of you, put humility on as an apron before one another because God opposes the proud but is gracious to the humble. Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand so that He may honor you when His time comes.

Throw all your worry on Him because He takes care of you. Keep a clear head and watch! Your enemy, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Be strong in your faith and resist him, knowing that your fellow Christians in the world are paying the same price of suffering. After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you in Christ Jesus to His everlasting glory, will make you perfect, firm and strong. He has the power forever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:5b-11 AAT

We suffer, because the devil prowls in the church. Time and time again, we are warned about the devil’s deception coming to Christians.

Jesus warned against false prophets and false christs. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Mt 7:15 KJV). “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Mt 24:4b-5).

Paul warned of false apostles. “But I’m afraid that as the snake by its trickery seduced Eve, your minds may somehow be corrupted and you may lose your simple and pure loyalty to Christ. When somebody comes along and preaches a different Jesus whom we didn’t preach or gives you a different spirit you didn’t get before or a different gospel you didn’t receive before, you put up with it well enough. I don’t think I’m in any way less than your super apostles” (2 Cor 11:3-5 AAT).

Paul warned of false teachers appealing to those with itching ears. “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Tim 4:1-4 KJV).

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth” (1 Tim 4:1-3 KJV). Also see 22 Thessalonians 2

Paul told of false believers. “This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you” (Gal 2:4-5 NIV)

John exhorted,, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 Jn 4:1 AAT).

God helps us recognize and withstand the deceptions of the devil

By the Word. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:16-17 KJV).

By the Spirit. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor 2:10:12-13 KJV).

By the gospel of the kingdom. God helps us prepare to withstand whatever comes our way through the gospel Jesus taught.

The disciples asked Jesus, “How can we tell when the world will come to an end?”

“Be careful not to let anyone deceive you,” Jesus answered them. “‘Many will come using My name, and saying, ‘I am the promised Christ,’ and will deceive many.‘”

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you don’t get alarmed. It must happen, but that’s not the end yet. Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in different places. But all theses are only the first pains.

Then they will hand you over to those who will make you suffer, and they will kill you, and all nations will hate you on account of My name. Then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and lead many people astray. And because there will be more and more wickedness, the love of most people will turn cold. But endure to the end, and you will be saved.

This gospel of the Kingdom must be preached all over the world so that all nations hear the truth, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:4-14

By joining us in the body of Christ. God helps us discern as we grow up into Christ in the body of Christ. Lone christians are easy prey for the devil. Joined together, we mutually minister to one another (Eph 4:1-16). “We shouldn’t be babies any longer, tossed and driven by every windy thing that is taught, by the trickery of men and their clever scheming in error. Let us tell the truth with love and in every way grow up into Him who is the Head—Christ” (Eph 4:14-15 AAT).

By our following Jesus. God helps us grow up by following Jesus our high priest as people “who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil”

Although Jesus is the Son, He found out from what He suffered what it means to obey. And when He was finished, He became One who gives everlasting salvation to all who obey Him, being proclaimed by God a high priest like Melchizedek.

We have much to say about this, but it’s difficult to explain because you have become too dull to understand. At a time when you should be teachers you need someone to teach you the ABC’s of God’s Word again. It has come to this that you need milk again instead of solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, being a baby, doesn’t have enough experience to talk of what is right. But solid food is for grown-up people whose senses are trained by practice to tell good from evil. Hebrews 5:8-14 AAT

By disciplining us. God disciplines us for our good. “That we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Heb 12:10b-11 KJV).

By allowing our suffering. “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character.” Our response to suffering is not to judge, hate or retaliate, but to live a noble life. For God’s love has been poured into our hearts.

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5 RSV

By giving us the whole armor. So, we put on God’s whole armor and withstand the evil forces of darkness.