Smaller,
I think RevSRE is right. He's saying satan cannot be IN us. Satan and the Holy Spirit cannot live in the same space. If satan was IN us it would be possession, like he says.
Would you agree?
Wondering
Uh, no. It isn't a question about "possession." Never was. Believers however have that thought instantly spring into their mind for some odd reason. Maybe too much Hollywood movies and not enough Bible.
Paul tells us quite explicitly what happens where the Word is sown
(Mark 4:15) in painstaking detail
in Romans 7, the best primer on the subject. And it's no Hollywood movie, but a reality for everyone, particularly believers.
In Romans 7 Paul lays out the fact that where the Law, in the case of Romans 7 the law against coveting or lust is sown.
What then happens? Every form of concupiscence arrived in Paul's mind. Concupiscence is "sexual" immorality. The sin essentially began for Paul just as it does for everyone, in their thoughts/mind. Romans 7:7-13.
This fact shows us, personally, that what Jesus said about the Law, yes, the Law in Mark 4:15 is true. And it's true enough for everyone to "test" it out themselves, perfectly,
to derive an honest conclusion.
Or, conversely,
to be turned into liars.
That's where it lands. People are either honest about it or they aren't. It's that simple.
Jesus was also just as explicit, if not moreso when pointing out the fact that evil thoughts do defile us. Same principle.
And this internal evil defiling
is courtesy of the Law, proving beyond any doubt that all have sin as a present tense occupation of the flesh. Sin is a reality and it's a reality of the flesh in which it abides. Romans 7 again proves this to any honest person. Sin indwells the flesh. Sin is aroused and empowered by the Law.
Paul determined from all of that that evil was present with him at all times. Romans 7:21. And that indwelling sin in his flesh was not and could never be "legally obedient." Romans 7:25.
This is the basis for the entirety of the Gospel of salvation by Grace Alone.
Mark 4:15 shows us that Satan is also moved into action by the Law (where God's Words are sown) an is so into the hearts of people.
The conclusion is then quite obvious. That the Law prompts Satan into resistance and empowerment. And we should not see ourselves as "alone" in matters of sin. The tempter (or his seed)
is also quite internally involved in the equations of the deceptions of sin. There is no getting around this fact.
If believers want to understand the Law, they might be well served to recognize the principles involved. IN scripture there are always TWO parties to the equations of sin. The person, and the devil/his messengers. There is no such animal in scripture as "just an individual person" other than God Himself in the flesh.
Scripture does present that ALL of mankind are captives of sin indwelling their flesh, which is demonic. No one escapes this conclusion, before or after salvation. IN salvation we see sin for what it is. Demonic. But that doesn't make us sinless in the flesh. Sin is just as John stated. "of the devil." 1 John 3:8.
No liar can enter into this truth, personally. It is a blockade that is set up by scriptures to filter out liars. And it's so tight of a filter that not one single liar can enter into it. Believers who try to enter into this fact will find this fact sticking quite securely in their craw and they will not and can not spit it out and be honest. It just can not happen. It's quite an amazing principle.
