I have been reading a lot from other authors, about the sin nature, whether or not Christians have two natures and the new nature that we have from the indwelling Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Most of what I have read in the past several months, I agree with. However, I cannot agree with some authors who claim that sin is Satan. Saying that sin and Satan are one in the same is to say that Satan, who is a created being, can be in multiple places at the same time, giving him the power of omnipresence, a power that can only be attributed to God Himself. For sin is the nature of all unbelievers everywhere in the world.

The second problem I have with this saying, that Satan is sin is that when Paul says in Romans 7, “But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.(vs 17)” you make him say that Satan who dwells in him is sinning. I don’t believe that Satan can indwell the believer. He’d find himself in a world of trouble in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I have found that the Greek word for sin is a word pronounced ham-ar-tan’-o. The first meaning listed is: to be without a share in. The rest of the definitions are typically what comes to mind when we think of sin: to miss the mark, to err, be mistaken, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong, etc..

While reading an article by Sylvia Pearce on this subject the Lord reminded me that the word, sin, in Spanish means – without. In Italian, the word, without, is senza. This is what lead me to find out what word was being spoken for, sin, in the greek. As I said before, the first meaning of the word listed is, to be without a share in.

In another article, I talked about the death that Adam and Eve experienced when they had eaten of the forbidden fruit. Death was immediate. To die means to separate. When a person dies the spirit separates from the body. This is physical death. Adam and Eve experience spiritual death. In eating what they were told not to eat they chose to be separate fromGod, thus separating from Him spiritually. Now their condition has become, sin – to be without a share in. They are spiritually, conditionally dead, separated from their life source. What followed many years later was physical death, the separation of their spirit from their bodies.

I believe sin is a condition, not Satan. For he himself is permanently subject to this condition of sin, to be without a share in. He was the first to believe that he could act and live independently of God.

For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. (Isaiah 14:13-14).

Notice how Lucifer came to this fallen condition. He said in his heart, “I.” He said it 5 times, declaring his independence from God. Notice his focus is on himself:

  • “I” will ascend into heaven
  • “I” will exalt “My” throne above the stars of God
  • “I” will sit on the mount of the congregation, etc.
  • “I” will ascend about the height of the clouds
  • “I” will be like the Most High

But there is no life without God, and this includes the angels. Satan and the angels that followed him are spiritually separated from God, Dead!

Anything we produce in this condition of being separate from God, essentially “in sin,”  is sin. This is why it is impossible to be saved by your good works. Everything that you do in this condition of sin, no matter how good your motive, is SIN!

Not only is everything you do sin, you are subject to being indwelt by Satan, fallen angels, or demons. Being separated from God as they are, you are also subject to the ones that Adam and Eve followed into this condition, Satan and the angels who fell with him.

Jesus Came To Destroy The Works Of The Devil

Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection destroyed the works of the devil. In other words, He has reversed the condition of death for all who believe in Him. Possibly as early as the garden of Gethsemane He was taking on the condition of man, sin. He had to receive the condition of man’s sin because He was without sin. Just before His physical death, the Lord cried, “My God, my God, Why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) For the first time in His life, he was experiencing a sense of separation from the Father because of our sin.

When hung on the cross it was to satisfy the demands of the law of God. The law demands perfection. It is a picture of God. Jesus was perfect, the image of the invisible God.

For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.. (Col 1:15)

You might be wondering how Jesus could as a man could be without sin, yet, we are said to be born in a condition of sin, separated from God. The scripture says that He was born as a man without sin, in union with God the Father.

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together,she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. (Matt 1:18)

Unlike the rest of us, born into a condition separate from God, Jesus bypassing the seed of Adam, is conceived in Mary’s womb by the power of the Holy Spirit, is born without sin. He was as Adam before Adam sinned. In his pre-fallen state, Adam represented all mankind. He was without sin. Jesus as a man without sin is the second, perfect representative of mankind. At the time of His death, Jesus was still sinless. I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. (John 14:30) In other words, there was no sin in Him.

It took a spotless lamb, without blemish, to count as a worthy sacrifice at Passover. Jesus was God’s perfect sacrifice, without blemish, without sin, to represent man at our time of judgment.

For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4)

In the flesh of the sinless Jesus, God condemned sin, punished it, destroyed the condition thereof. Therefore in Jesus Christ, we are justified. Jesus was raised because of our justification. Had He had any sin of His own, we would not be justified and, Jesus would still be dead.

He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. (Romans 4:25 NASB)

As believers in the finished work of Jesus Christ, we have a new condition. Our new condition is life, “in Christ.” In Christ, we are now in union with God just as Christ is. When Christ was crucified, we were crucified with Him. When He was raised from the dead (separation), we were raised with Him to new life. We now have a new nature. We are born again. Jesus was the firstborn from spiritual death, and we are born in His likeness.

This new condition can only be gained through faith in Jesus Christ. Just as you were born into a condition that is, separate from God or sin, so now through faith in Jesus Christ’, death and resurrection, you are now restored to life, born from above. You are now connected. You are no longer without a share in God. You now share His very life in Christ. We participate in his divine nature.

Through these things he has bestowed on us his precious and most magnificent promises, so that by means of what was promised you may becomepartakers of the divine nature, after escaping the worldly corruption that is produced by evil desire. (2Pet 1:4)

The purpose of this article is not to criticize other believers of the faith. I simply believe we should be careful in understanding the nature of sin and the person known as Satan. I don’t believe they are one in the same. Lucifer’s nature and condition were corrupted when he decided that he could live independently of God. In doing so he experienced spiritual death, separation from the only life that exists, the Creator God Himself.

When Adam and Eve followed his lead, they took on the same condition and opened themselves to his influence and control. But both Satan and Adam (man) are subject to sin. Man can be saved through faith in Jesus Christ. Satan and the rest of the angels who rebelled with him are doomed. There is no physical death for them, therefore, their spiritual condition is fixed. Because man is a being that also exists in the physical realm, our condition can be temporary, allowing us to take part in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, if we leave the physical realm (die) without having partaken in the death and resurrection of Jesus (by faith), then our condition will be fixed. We will be lost forever.

To die without Christ is to lose one’s soul and be separated from God for eternity.