Tag Archives: satan

The devil

The devil is just as far from God in power and might and wisdom and in every other such attribute as is any human being. This is true because God is infinite and perfect in every one of His attributes while humanity and the devil are limited, finite and imperfect. Infinitude is just as far from one point in finitude as it is from another. The devil is finite in his attributes because he is a created being, just as are we. We know that God is the only essential, necessary being. Everything else is contingent upon Him (Gen. 1:1; Ex. 20:11; Col. 1:16,17; Heb. 1:3).

In fact, in many ways man has more power and wisdom than the devil. The devil cannot make us do anything that we chose not to do. James says, “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Peter tells us to be steadfast in the faith in resisting the devil (I Pet. 5:9). Paul exhorts us to not give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27). And God has provided a way of escape to avoid the traps he sets for us (I Cor. 10:13). Furthermore, we are able to understand the value of the will of God while the devil tries to destroy it.

The devil’s chief power is his skill at lying. Jesus said there is no truth in him because he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). He is skilled at making something that is bad and evil look like it is good and right, even himself, for he sometimes transforms himself into an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14). He is proficient at lying wonders (II Thess. 2:9). One of his favorite devices–and we are not ignorant of his devices (II Cor. 2:11)–is to twist the word of God into something that it is not. He used this approach on Eve when he twisted what God had said and deceived her (Gen. 3:1; I Tim. 2:14). He tried unsuccessfully to use this approach on the Lord (Matt. 4:6).

As mentioned earlier, the devil is a created being (Psalm 148:1-5). The Bible does not explicitly say when he was created but if all things in heaven and earth were created in six days, then his creation would have been during that time frame (Ex. 20:11). Furthermore, it would have been very early in creation because God states in the book of Job that the sons of God (i.e., the angels) shouted for joy when God laid the foundations of the earth (Job 38:4-7).

The Bible says that when the creation was finished, God saw that everything that He had made was very good (Gen. 1:31). The devil then was not created evil since everything God had made was very good. But this also suggests the obvious question of when the devil became evil. When did the devil become the devil? Apparently, sometime between when God declared everything that He had made was very good and the temptation of Eve, the devil must have willfully chosen to rebel against God.

Why did he rebel? The indications are that he was moved by pride. In describing the qualifications for elders, the apostle Paul warns against appointing a new Christian, a novice, because he can easily be lifted up with pride and fall into the condemnation of the devil (I Tim. 3:6). Ezekiel (28:11-19) and Isaiah (14:12-14) both seem to allude to this. Ezekiel describes an anointed cherub that was created perfect in beauty and full of wisdom and that had been in the garden of God till iniquity was found in him. Isaiah describes Lucifer who wanted to exalt himself like the most High.1 Thus we have the proverb, pride goeth before destruction (Prov. 16:18).

The name “satan” means adversary. Peter described our adversary as a roaring lion going about seeking whom he may devour (I Pet. 5:8). In the early days of earth history, in the days of Patriarchy, when God asked him what he had been doing, satan replied that he was going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it, presumably seeking to devour, as he tried to with Job (Job 1:7). In the parable of the tares, Jesus described the enemy, which is the devil (Matt. 13:39), as going through the fields while men slept and sowing tares among the wheat (Matt. 13:24-30). The devil never stops. He was after Peter (Luke 22:31), Joshua the high priest (Zec. 3:1), king David (I Chron. 21:1), the apostle Paul (II Cor. 12:7) and also after the Lord (Matt. 4:1-11).

He is also after you and me. But the good news is that he is beaten. Even before the foundation of the world the Lord had put in place a plan of salvation whereby satan’s efforts would fail (Rev. 13:8; Eph. 3:9). Immediately after the Fall it was foretold that the seed of the woman would deliver a mortal blow to satan (Gen. 3:15). The Lord has destroyed the devil and the power which he held over man–that is the fear of death through His resurrection from the dead (Heb. 2:14; Col. 2:14,15). Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels and he will be cast there, bound forever (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

Other posts on the devil:
How Does satan Influence Us?
Additional On How satan Works

Eric L. Padgett

Footnote

  1. The majority of commentators seem to reject the view that these passages refer to the devil. However, both passages are consistent with what we know explicitly and implicitly of the devil from other, undisputed passages. We know the devil was created perfect, and that God did not create the devil as the devil. We know, therefore, that he must have fallen from some higher state. We know that Paul describes at least one of his faults as being pride, which comports with Ezekiel’s description of his heart being lifted up and Isaiah’s description as one seeking to obtain the position of God. We know that there was an hierarchy of created, angelic beings and that some of these rebelled and left their first estate. We know that hell was created for the devil and his angels. We know that the devil was in the garden. While it is obvious that they also refer to the historical figures of the king of Babylon and Tyre, some of the references in the passage in Ezekiel especially seem only to apply to the devil (e.g., “created”; having been in the garden of God, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty; anointed cherub, etc). There is nothing in these two passages from the prophets that would demand that they not be referring to the devil in some respects. As far as I can understand, there is no doctrine that would be violated or damaged by such an application. At the very least, these two passages describe circumstances that parallel what we know of the devil’s history and I can’t understand the strong historical opposition to such an application.

How Does satan Influence Us?

Look around. See the evil. There can be no doubt that real, palpable evil exists in this world. There are child molesters, murderers, torturers, liars, cheaters, thieves, abusers of the innocent and helpless and so many more disgusting and abhorrent people and actions in this world. How did evil come to be in the world? The Bible clearly teaches that the devil is responsible for the evil that is in the world (Gen. 3). But how does the devil operate in this world today to bring about evil? How does satan work?

First, satan does not bring about evil through miraculous means. Maybe you’ve seen a movie which portrays satan taking over the mind and body of a person, causing them to do some terrible thing. While evil spirits have possessed people in the past (e.g. Matt. 8:16, 28-34), this does not occur today. The reason for this is that the age of the miraculous has ceased (Zech. 12:1,2; I Cor. 13:8-13; Eph. 4:7-16). God does not now work miraculously in the world (i.e., invoking a superior law of God in a way superseding the laws of nature for to teach some spiritual truth). But if God does not work in this world today through the means of the miraculous, then neither does satan for, if he did, that would leave Christians without a viable defense. However, the Bible teaches that God has made a way of escape from every temptation (I Cor. 10:13; II Tim. 3:16; James 4:7; Eph. 6:10-17).

Second, satan does not act immediately. By “immediately” I mean he does not act directly, without mediation or agency. To be even more precise, satan does not act directly upon the human heart. Again, this question can be settled by understanding how God operates on us as Christians and on the unbelieving world. God does not act directly upon the heart of the alien sinner or of the child of God. If He did, then individuals would cease to be free moral agents but would become puppets instead. The false doctrine of Calvinism teaches that God operates directly on the human heart and some chosen few are irresistibly saved, but the Bible nowhere teaches this. In fact, many passages like the Great Commission teach just the opposite (Matt. 28:18-20; cf., Gal. 5:4).

In fact, clear examples can be shown where God worked on the heart of the alien sinner through the agency of His word. In Acts 8, God did not work directly upon the heart of the Ethiopian Eunuch but rather through the agency of His revealed word. Philip began in Isaiah 53, and, using others scriptures, preached unto him Jesus (Acts 8:35). This was even during the time when miracles were available to first century Christians. It was only through the agency of God’s written and spoken word that he learned what he needed to do to be saved (Acts 8:35-39).

Even in the case of Cornelius and his household, even when God allowed him to miraculously speak in tongues before he was forgiven of his sins, he first had to send for Peter to have him tell him words whereby he would be saved (Acts 10:6; 11:14). In Acts 2, those present for the Pentecost feast likewise were “pricked in their heart” when they heard the words of scripture Peter quoted and correctly applied (Acts 2:37). If God does not act directly upon your heart, then neither does (or can) satan.

The truth is, even I can move you to do things through the agency of words. If I tell you I would like you to come over because I have freshly baked, chewy, chocolate chip cookies, if you have any desire for freshly baked, chewy, chocolate chip cookies, you might be tempted to come over. If I, with an angry tone in my voice, called you a stupid idiot and told you I despised you, I think I would be able to incite an emotional, if not a physical, response from you. On the other hand, if a man whispers in a woman’s ear, among other sweet enticements, that she was a desirable, gorgeous creature with unsurpassed beauty, he might well move her heart amorously. These actions would all be precipitated through ideas conveyed through words.

Ideas conveyed through the medium of words have great power. Just as a man can influence another man through words, God influences us through the agency of His revealed Word. And, by the way, we also influence God through our words in prayer (Phil. 4:6).

Therefore, satan works through words and the ideas these words convey, to move us to act upon our own lusts. James said, “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14,15). Notice that it is our own lusts that entice us. When satan tempted Eve, he did so through the medium of words (Gen. 3:1 – “and he said unto the woman…”) because she saw that the tree was good for food and a tree to be desired (Gen. 3:6).

Observe how this works in the following examples. Luke states that satan entered into Judas’ heart (Luke 22:3). How did he enter Judas’ heart? Directly and immediately? No. Judas was already a thief at heart (John 12:6). When he saw the precious ointment being used to anoint Jesus instead of being used to line his own pockets, he balked (John 12:1-5). But notice, when he finally realized his own transgression, Judas said “I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood” (Matt. 27:1-5), indicating his own culpability. In the same way, Peter asked why satan had filled the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira to lie to the Holy Ghost (Acts 5:3). But in verse 4 he asks why they, themselves, had conceived this thing in their own hearts.

How exactly satan initially prompts people, the Bible does not explicitly say. He used Peter’s fears to tempt Christ not to go to Jerusalem (Matt. 16:23). In His response, Jesus said Peter did not savor the things of God but the things of man. We also know that God works in this world through His divine providence (i.e., using natural laws to bring about His purposes) to aid us, otherwise there would be no efficacy in prayer (Matt. 7:7). The working of satan in this world could never be anything more than what God is doing.  The Bible says that angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will be the heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14). There is spiritual activity going on at a level we do not normally or naturally comprehend (Rev. 12; II Kings 6:16,17; etc.). As Christians, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12).  But one thing is clear: neither the Holy Spirit nor satan work directly upon the human heart.

 

(More on this issue later)
Eric L. Padgett