Toc CH1

CONTENTS
session 1: Chapter 1—Putting the Devil in His Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

session 2: Chapter 2—The Star that Bit the Dust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
session 3: Chapter 3—There Is a Serpent in Our Garden . . . . . . . . . 21
session 4: Chapter 4—The Serpent’s New Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
session 5: Chapter 5—The Serpent Strikes Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
session 6: Chapter 6—The Serpent Is Crushed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
session 7: Chapter 7—The Serpent, God’s Servant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
session 8: Chapter 8—What the Serpent Wants from You . . . . . . . 59
Chapter 9—Closing the Door When the
Serpent Knocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
session 9: Chapter 10—Neutralizing the Serpent’s Poison . . . . . . . . 71
hapter 11—The Serpent Is Cast Out of Heaven . . . . . . 79
session 10: C
Chapter 12—The Serpent in Eternal Humiliation . . . . . . 85
DVD SESSION 1
God’s Devil, Chapter 1:

PUTTING THE
DEVIL IN HIS PLACE
A Summary from the Book
T his book is a modest attempt to put the devil in his

place. When Lucifer (whose name means “light bearer”)
rolled the dice, gambling that he could do better by being
God’s enemy rather than God’s friend, he set in motion a
moral catastrophe that would reverberate throughout the
universe. You and I have been deeply affected by his decision
made in the ages long ago.
Any power Lucifer would exercise would always be sub-
ject to God’s will and decree. Thus moment by moment he
would suffer the humiliation of knowing that he could never
be the ultimate cause of his existence and power.
We need to be reminded of Martin Luther’s words that
5
ERWIN LUTZER
even the “devil is God’s devil.” We have forgotten that only

when we know who God is can we know who the devil is.
Blessed are those who are convinced that the prince of this
world has become the slave of the Prince of Peace.
This book attempts to give an overview of the career of
Satan and his interaction with the Almighty. It traces his
fall from an exalted position to his defeat by Christ and to
his demise in everlasting shame and contempt. It attempts
to prove that Satan always loses even when he “wins.” Best
of all, it shows that we who have been translated from the
kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light are able to
stand against him.
My first premise is that God has absolute sovereignty in
His universe. That means that even evil is a part of the larger
plan of God. Of course, I do not mean to imply that God
either does evil or approves of it. However, I do mean that by
virtue of His roles as Creator and sustainer of the universe,
God is the ultimate (though not the immediate) cause of all
that comes to pass.
My second premise is that God uses our conflict with Sa-
tan to develop character. These struggles give us the opportu-
nity to have our faith tested. Our spiritual war is a classroom
where we can learn about the deceitfulness of sin and the
chastisement of God—along with His grace and power.
I am convinced that unless we grasp how the devil fits
into God’s scheme of things, we will find it more difficult to
stand against his conspiracy against us personally and his in-
fluence within our culture. How we perceive our enemy will
largely determine how we fight against him.
6
Putting the Devil in His Place
ENGAGING THE TOPIC

Complete the statements below after reading the book and
the above summary. Then, during your class or small-group
meeting, watch the DVD, Session 1.
1. Satan was defeated the moment he chose to ________.
2. The portrait of Satan, which dominated much of medi-

eval thinking, was not based on the Bible but on popu-
lar ________.
3. At the ________, Lucifer was defeated spiritually.
4. When Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, he will be

defeated ________.
5. God uses our conflict with Satan to develop our

________.
6. The biblical portrait of Satan is that he indeed does

have great power, but that it is always limited by the
________ and ________ of God.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Discuss the author’s statement that “God has absolute
sovereignty in His universe.” What does that tell us?
How do we reconcile that with the evil we see in the
world today?
7
ERWIN LUTZER
2. Satan has already been defeated strategically. What was

the decisive factor in his defeat? What prevailing condi-
tions must Satan endure as a result of his defeat?
3. What ensured Satan’s defeat spiritually? In what ways

does his spiritual defeat impact him?
4. What will Satan’s eternal punishment involve? (See

Revelation 20:14.)
5. Dante’s classic, Inferno, gives a portrait of Satan that

dominated much of medieval thinking. Describe the
details of his view of Satan. Why is Dante’s view erro-
neous?
8
6. In his poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, how

did Milton portray Lucifer? What helpful contributions
did Milton make to his readers’ general understanding
of Satan? Where did Milton fall short in his portrayal?
7. Discuss Goethe’s devil, Mephistopheles. How does

Goethe distort scriptural teaching about the devil? In
what ways can we see his devil fitting within the frame-
work of contemporary America?
8. The author mentions a poll that indicates that at least

25 percent of Americans believe that the devil is only
a symbol of man’s inhumanity to man. Of those who
believe in the devil, only a small percentage believe they
have ever been tempted by him. What does that tell us
about the “spiritual temperature” of our country? How
do you respond to family, friends, and coworkers who
share those beliefs?
9
ERWIN LUTZER
9. One of Dr. Lutzer’s premises in this chapter is that God

uses our conflict with Satan to develop character. As
believers, what do we gain from our conflict with such a
powerful, evil being?
10. The theme of our study is spiritual warfare. Against

Satan and his army, we are battling a powerful enemy.
What makes us confident we are in a winnable war?
PERSONAL REFLECTION
S cripture teaches us that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross de-

feated Satan and his purpose of destroying the entire hu-
man race ( John 12:31–34). Although Satan has great power,
it is always limited by the purposes and plans of God. Be-
lievers are under constant attack by the enemy, as Satan is
engaged in a great war with God for the souls of men and
women. But we walk by faith victoriously, for it is the res-
urrected Christ who intercedes for us to the right hand of
God (Romans 8:34). When we do sin, Satan will accuse us
before God. But by God’s grace, if we confess our sins, we are
forgiven and cleansed by the blood of Christ (1 John 1:9; 2:1;
10
Hebrews 13:20–21).
James 4:7 tells us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The key to resist-
ing the devil is to first submit to God. The word “resist” in the
Greek text here is the word anthistemi, which means “take a
stand against.” When we stand against the devil and his un-
derlings, we do so in the name and authority of Jesus Christ.
To be effective, however, we must equip ourselves by putting
on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11–18).
All God’s people experience personal struggles with the
enemy. When we face temptation, let us remember that Jesus,
when tempted by Satan, used Scripture to rebuke him. Read
Matthew 4:1–10, where Satan tempted Jesus three times. In
all three cases, Jesus used Scripture to resist Satan and defeat
him. We too can defeat Satan by properly using the Word
of God.
Take time to daily engage God’s Word:

• Spend time getting know God’s Word. Ask God to help
you apply it to your life.
• Memorize God’s Word. “Store” God’s truth in your heart
and mind.
• Meditate on God’s Word. Feed your soul with its truths
(Psalm 1:2).
• Use God’s Word when facing temptation. The Holy Spirit
will enable you to use God’s Word in your battles against
the devil.
Always remember that the Holy Spirit within us helps
teach the truth of God’s Word. “But the Helper, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach
11
ERWIN LUTZER
you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have
said to you” ( John 14:26).
Engaging thE topic answers:

1. sin 2. folklore 3. cross 4. eternally 5. character
6. purposes, plans
12

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CONTENTS

session 1: Chapter 1—Putting the Devil in His Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

God’s Devil, Chapter 1:

A Summary from the Book

T his book is a modest attempt to put the devil in his

even the “devil is God’s devil.” We have forgotten that only

ENGAGING THE TOPIC

1. Satan was defeated the moment he chose to ________.

2. The portrait of Satan, which dominated much of medi-

3. At the ________, Lucifer was defeated spiritually.

4. When Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, he will be

5. God uses our conflict with Satan to develop our

6. The biblical portrait of Satan is that he indeed does

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

2. Satan has already been defeated strategically. What was

3. What ensured Satan’s defeat spiritually? In what ways

4. What will Satan’s eternal punishment involve? (See

5. Dante’s classic, Inferno, gives a portrait of Satan that

6. In his poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, how

7. Discuss Goethe’s devil, Mephistopheles. How does

8. The author mentions a poll that indicates that at least

9. One of Dr. Lutzer’s premises in this chapter is that God

10. The theme of our study is spiritual warfare. Against

S cripture teaches us that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross de-

Take time to daily engage God’s Word:

Engaging thE topic answers:

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