Scripture likens their relationship to that of Christ and the Church. Two truths, which appear repeatedly in these passages, are the headship of the husband and the submission of the wife. Through Paul and Peter, God gives us clear instructions regarding the spheres of responsibility and authority within the family (Eph 5:22-6:4 Col 3:18-21 1 Tim 5:14 Tit 2:4-5 1 Pet 3:1-7). The more closely we understand God’s design for the family, the better we will be able to recognize when Satan tries to change and undermine it. The United States has the weakest families in the Western world because we have the highest divorce rate and the highest rate of solo parenting.” God, in His wisdom, knew that children needed the stability of married parents. In an annual report, 2 David Popenoe, a Rutgers sociology professor and report co-author speaks of the increase of cohabitation, “I don’t think it’s good news, especially for children … As society shifts from marriage to cohabitation - which is what’s happening - you have an increase in family instability. However, even when a father is present, if the parents are not married, it is still detrimental to the children. According to a recent survey, 1 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. If Satan can successfully destroy the marriage, this will have a devastating impact upon the rest of the family. Good marriages are the foundation of solid families. ![]() Satan’s Attack on the Internal Mechanics of the Family Unit With the increasing rate of divorce, the acceptance of common-law relationships, the barrage of Hollywood immorality, and the legalization of same gender marriages, we can see how successful Satan has been in twisting and perverting God’s best for us and depriving us of the blessings that marriage brings to the family. In listening to Satan and disobeying God, Eve and Adam plunged themselves, and all subsequent families, into slavery in the “kingdom of darkness.” Satan’s attack on the family has continued until today. Satan’s initial attack on the family occurred in Eden where the old serpent worked his evil deception on Eve and destroyed the harmony of the first marriage. For the benefit of future generations, God explained, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” God requires from the married couple a level of separation from others and a commitment to each other which will provide a stable foundation for the family unit. When God finished creating the first couple, He called what He had made “very good.” This man and woman were united in a holy bond before God. ![]() Satan’s Attack on the Institution of Marriage, the Foundation of the Family If Satan can be successful in tearing down the structure and substance of the family unit, then he will be successful in damaging what is dear to God’s heart. Satan knows the value of the family, how it is the fabric of a good solid society, the foundation of vibrant growing assemblies, and the future of God’s work on earth. God designed both marriage and the family for our benefit. Satan knows that God created marriage as a beautiful, living picture of Christ and the Church. This evil one seeks to turn people from what God has designed for their ultimate blessing and good. He is the “prince of the power of the air” who is “at work” around us. Paul calls him the “god of this world who has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor 4:4). John’s gospel is where we learn that the devil “was a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with the truth because there is no truth in him … he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). In Revelation, John refers to him as “the old serpent,” who “deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9). Peter describes the devil as our adversary who “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8 NIV). Many Biblical writers describe the evil character of the one who seeks to destroy what God loves. ![]() We need the armor of God to be able to “stand firm” against the “schemes of the devil” (Eph 6:10-18). God’s Word makes it clear that we are engaged in warfare against Satan.
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