#57 -- Gospel and Spiritual Growth
Valley –
The title gives the subject of this message clearly: The Underlying Purpose of the World
System. We have already determined that
Satan was the originator of the world system.
Satan's whole purpose from his fall has been to be independent from God
and to encourage independence from God.
When the world system was designed with the murder of Abel by Cain, it
was designed to manipulate its subjects in a sphere independent from God. This was arranged to maintain an alternative
to reliance upon God. Opposition to God
can be manifested in either open rebellion or by placing something in place of
God. The world system provides a
substitute or alternative to depending on God and His provisions.
There are a number of misconceptions concerning what the
world system was designed to do. These
misconceptions are often presented in "Christian" literature,
preaching and teaching. Some recognize
that God has a decree and that nothing happens without divine involvement
whether by permission or by direct design.
Some of these people believe that the world system was permitted to be a
playing field in which God works out His decree for mankind. Many of these believe that the world system
was established with the fall of Adam.
This contradicts Luke 11. There
was no world system until the murder of Abel.
The world system is not a game board with competition between good and
evil for supremacy. Others believe that
God permitted the organization of the world system to provide a battleground
for His fight with Satan and demons.
Many of the "spiritual warfare" books accept this view or one
similar. The revelation in Scripture
involves planet earth and conditions here.
This is not the only place where there is conflict between God and
fallen beings. Daniel gives some insight
into spiritual warfare in the first (and probably the second) heaven. Some see the flaws in the world system as an
indication that Satan's organization of the world system was his first attempt
at organizing and ruling anything.
Ezekiel 28 describes the fact that he was on the Mount of God on earth
indicating that he had a key role in the government of God before his
fall. Some also go so far as to say that
the world system is not a part of the overall program of God. In other words, it was organized by Satan and
a sort of surprise to God. This does
wonders to one's understanding of divine omniscience.
The world system provides its own propaganda machine that
justifies its existence and that promotes its cause. The world system misrepresents itself to both
human and spirit beings. There are at
least five essential ways in which it misrepresents itself. The system and its components have convinced
human beings that it is necessary and that everything would fail if it would
cease to exist. Be reminded that there
was a day when there was no world system and the only failure was in relation
to God in the fall of Adam. The system
tries to emphasize that it is inherently righteous and not evil. Lewis Sperry Chafer in Vol. II of his Systematic
Theology titles a section: "The
Cosmos is Wholly Evil (pg. 84)."
The best it has to offer is inherently lacking in character if it is not
malignantly evil. The system's
propaganda creates the image that the system is inherently righteous even
though there is some evil in it here and there.
Any evil in the system is seen as incidental and as human failure that
is beyond its control. The fourth
misrepresentation is that it "civilizes" mankind so that human beings
can be acceptable to a higher power. The
system itself provides various higher powers independent of the God of the
Bible who are acceptable substitutes that accept various types of human
behavior. The fifth misrepresentation is
that the world system has divine sanction or divine origin. Only the government and religion of
III.
links the world system to the lie and its perpetuation by
Satan. The world system is an instrument
that continues to propagate the lie.
Genesis 3:1-5 establishes the lie in its relationship to human
beings. Satan peddled the lie to Eve in
the Garden of Eden. In 3:1 Satan
approaches Eve with a question concerning God's limitation concerning eating
trees of the garden. Eve tells him that
they are permitted to eat of all of the trees except of the tree in the middle
of the garden. Satan denies that Eve
would die even though God had told Adam that death would be the result. In verse five he gives the lie. "For Elohim
proceeds to know that in the day you eat from it, then your eyes will be opened
and you will be like Elohim, continually knowing good
[that which brings happiness] and evil [that which is lacking in
character]." I have translated the
Hebrew so that it is clear what he said.
"You can be like God."
This is the lie. One can be like God
and so not depend on God. That is to
say, you can be independent of God. The
inference is that you can be like I (Satan) am – independent of God. Satan is the father of the lie and expresses
it because he is a liar (cf. Jn.
The next mention of the lie in the New Testament is in
Ephesians 4:25. It literally says,
"Put off the lie." The option
is to speak truth [seeing things as God does as they really are] to one's
neighbor. One's neighbor is identified
in the verse as another believer "because we are members of one another of
the same kind." The lie for
Christians can come from Satan and demons in direct attack or can be
perpetuated by the world system. 2 Thess.
IV. involves Satan's marketing
program of his ultimate goal of creating independence from God. He only attacks spiritual Christians. He does not need to attack unbelievers or
carnal Christians. He controls those
groups my manipulation by himself, his demons or by his organized world
system. The world system is well
designed to draw people into a state of independence from God. Is uses people in the system, demons working
the system and the gratification of the sin nature through its elements. It sells itself. It draws the spiritual believer by appealing
to love for its things. Some of the
statements in Satan's heart in his fall very much relate to what he
incorporated in his organization of the world system. These will be discussed in the next
message. His intention is to control and
handle the sin nature in as many people as possible by his organized system.
Behind the world system is Satan's agenda for creating
independence from God. While he has an
attack that he uses against spiritual believers, his system is designed to support
his agenda by which human beings function independent of God. Its underlying purpose is to provide an
environment for independence from God and to manipulate his subjects in the
sphere of independence from God. I have
included a statement from Chafer's Systematic Theology that gives a nice
overview of some of this material.
Anticipating the meeting in the air where position will
become possession,
DKS
1 John 2:15
Proposition: To identify the core reason that Satan developed the world system and to evaluate his objectives in its establishment.
Introduction
A. The Source of the World System Is Satan
B. The Simplicity of Satan's Whole Purpose to His Existence from His Fall
C. The System Designed to Manipulate Its Constituents
D. The Sides of Opposition to God
1. Replacing God with a Designed Alternative – Substitution
2. Rebelling Against God in Open Rebellion -- Sedition
TRANS: Satan designed the world system with a specific purpose and that was to create an environment that would encourage independence from God. The system does this in a different way than Satanic attack. It is organized to be an environment in which a person can live with no consideration of God and His revelation. A part of the problem is the confusion that has come concerning what the world system is.
I. MISCONCEPTIONS CONCERNING WHAT SATAN DESIGNED
THE WORLD SYSTEM TO DO – THE PROBLEMS WITH VIEWS OF THE WORLD SYSTEM – THE
DELUSIONS CONCERNING WHY THE WORLD SYSTEM EXISTS
A. God Permitted Its Organization to Have a Playing Field to Work Out the Decree for Man
B. God Permitted Its Organization to Have a Battleground for His Fight with Satan and Demons
C. The World System Is the Place Where Satan, Demons and God Battle for Supremacy
D. The World System Was Satan's First Endeavor at Organization
E. The World System Is Not a Part of the Overall Program of God
TRANS: The world system itself provides its own propaganda machine justifying its existence and promoting its cause.
II. MISREPRESENTATION
BY THE WORLD SYSTEM OF ITSELF TO HUMANS AND SPIRIT BEINGS – THE PRESENTATION OF
AN IMAGE OF THE WORLD SYSTEM – THE DECEPTION FROM THE WORLD SYSTEM ITSELF
A. It Is Necessary [There was a time in human history when it was not – Luke 11:50, 51)
B. It Is Righteous and Not Evil (cf. John
C. It Possesses Righteousness though There Is Evil
D. It "Civilizes" Mankind Making Humans Acceptable to a Higher Power
E. It Has Divine Sanction Rather Than Divine Permission
TRANS: The whole system is designed to carry out Satan's purpose of attempting to make created beings independent of God. While he attacks with independence, the system provides for an independent existence by providing an environment where that independence can thrive and be maintained.
III. MANAGEMENT
OF THE PERPETUATION OF THE LIE BY SATAN – THE PLATFORM FOR PERPETUATING THE LIE
TO HUMAN BEINGS – THE DESIGN FOR PRESENTING AND IMPLEMENTING THE LIE AMONG
HUMAN BEINGS
A. Satan Establishes the Lie for Human Beings with Eve – Genesis 3:1-5
1. Satan's Approach to Eve with a Question – Vs. 1
2. Eve's Answer Concerning God's Instructions – Vss. 2, 3
3. Satan's Appeal to
B. Satan Expresses the Lie Because He Is a Liar – John 8:44
C. Mankind Extends the Lie through Early History – Romans 1:25
1. The Accountability of the Race – Vss. 19, 20
2. The Accountability of the Eight Who Survived the Noahic Flood – Vs. 21 (Gen. 11)
3. The Accountability of the Race at
4. The Accountability of the Sodomites – Vss. 24, 26 (Gen. 18)
5. The Arranging to Replace the Truth with the Lie – Vs. 25
a. Did Worship and Religious Service to the Creature
b. Replaced the Creator as Rightful Object of Worship and Service
D. Christians Are Expected to Put Off the Lie – Ephesians 4:25
E. Mankind Will Be Enabled to Believe the Lie as Presented by the Man of Lawlessness --
2 Thessalonians 2:11
F. The Evidence of the Perpetuation of the Lie
1. Satan Seeks to Make All Created Beings Independent of God
2. Satan Seeks to Focus on the Created Being Rather Than the Creator
TRANS: In a sense the world system is a marketing system for Satan's simple goal. He uses it to provide a means to keep people independent of God.
IV. MARKETING
OF SATAN'S ULTIMATE GOAL OF
A. Satan's Program for People on Planet Earth
1. By Attacking Spiritual Christians
2. By Controlling Carnal Christians and Unbelievers
3. By Manipulating All People Through the World System
a. Through Other People in the System
b. Through Demons Working the System
c. Through the Sin Nature and Its Gratification
B. Satan's Plan in His Fall – The Five Statements of Intent – Isaiah 14:12-14
C. Satan's Projection for Handling the Sin Nature
in as Many as Possible (cf. Lu.
D. Satan's Provision of a General Undercurrent Within the System Promoting
TRANS: Satan promotes independence from God on the part of created beings. In return his ultimate goal appears to be that of making created beings dependent upon him to some degree and for various purposes.
The root evil in the cosmos is that in it
there is an all-comprehensive order or system which is methodized on a basis of
complete independence of God. It is a
manifestation of all that Satan can produce as a complete exhibition of that
which enters into the original lie. It
is the consummating display of that which the creature – both angelic and human – can produce
having embarked on an autonomous career.
The cosmos is not a battleground whereon God is contending with
Satan for supremacy; it is a thing which God has permitted, that the lie may
have its fullest unveiling. It is
reasonable to suppose that the cosmos represents the supreme effort of the
supreme creature, and that as it began with the repudiation of God, it has
maintained its intended segregation from the will and purpose of God.
-- Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol. II, pp. 84, 85
--DKS—
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