When we talk about God, we use
terms like Almighty, Omnipresent, Holy, Loving, All-knowing and Sovereign.
These are what we call attributes of God. They describe different characteristics that
are true of Him.
In Isaiah 40:12-18 God
says this about Himself:
12 Who else has held the oceans in
his hand?
Who has measured off the heavens
with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the
earth
or has weighed the mountains and
hills on a scale?
13 Who is able to advise the Spirit
of the Lord?
Who knows enough to give him advice
or teach him?
14 Has the Lord ever needed
anyone’s advice?
Does he need instruction about what
is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
or show him the path of justice?
15 No, for all the nations of the
world
are but a drop in the bucket.
They are nothing more
than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth
as though it were a grain of sand.
16 All the wood in Lebanon’s
forests
and all Lebanon’s animals would not
be enough
to make a burnt offering worthy of
our God.
17 The nations of the world are
worth nothing to him.
In his eyes they count for less
than nothing—
mere emptiness and froth.
18 To whom can you compare God?
What image can you find to resemble
him?[i]
There is no one like our God.
When we say Sovereign
we point to the fact that He rules. He
rules everything. There is nothing
outside the authority of His rule.
When we say Almighty we point to the fact that all power
comes from Him, is under His control and there is no limit to His power.
This is the God who is on our side.
The enemy is not even remotely able to overcome, overpower,
outsmart, trick, surprise, capture, harm, frustrate, confuse or in any way
approach the greatness of God.
The enemy is a creature.
He was made by God.
This is what God says to Satan:
12 “You were the model of
perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the
garden of God. 14 I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian.
You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire.
15 You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the
day evil was found in you. 16 Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you
sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you,
O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was
filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your
love of splendor. So I threw you to the ground and exposed you to the curious
gaze of kings. 18 You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your
dishonest trade. So I brought fire out from within you, and it consumed you.
(Ezekiel 28:12, 13, 14-18, NLT)
This passage explains the origin of the devil.
He was a mighty angelic guardian. He had access the mountain of God. Then his
heart was filled with pride and his wisdom was corrupted because of his love of
splendor.
We know that God will expose him to ridicule.
We know that God will seat Jesus on the
throne of David in spite of the devil’s best efforts to keep it from happening.
Why does God even allow a fallen creature like the devil to continue to
exist? I do not think that I know all
the answers. However, I want you to
think with me.
In the book of Revelation, chapter 20 tells about a thousand
years when Jesus will reign on the earth.
For this period of time the devil is chained and locked in a dungeon. At the end of the thousand years, he is let
out of the dungeon. True to his nature the
devil immediately sets about deceiving the nations. He gathers a great army to fight against the
Lord.
Why would God do this?
He has the devil captive.
The
earth is full of peace and prosperity.
Why would God turn the devil loose?
We could ask the same question about
why God let Job suffer.
God does not
answer all the questions. But, if we look at
Revelation and at Job, we see that God wanted Job to love and serve Him because
He is God, not for the things He gives.
God will turn the devil loose knowing the devil will deceive, and
this has to be the point.
Will people
stand fast?
Will people love God and not
just love His gifts?
Hebrews 11:6 tells us that the way to please God is
faith.
Abraham pleased God because of
his faith.
Hebrews 10:38 says, “And my righteous ones will live by
faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” (NLT)
From this I take it that part of God’s purpose in letting the
devil exist is so we have to make a choice.
I do not think that this is the whole story, and I believe when God
wipes away all tears and does away with all suffering we will understand more
of why He has done what He has done.
However,
in the present there will always be those who hate God and those that love God.
The point is that the devil is a creature and is
therefore limited.
He is not like God.
He cannot be in all places at once. He
does not know everything. He is not
all-powerful.
We do know that the devil is organized.
Ephesians 6:12 tells us: “For we do not wrestle against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic
powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly places.” (ESV)[ii] The
rulers, authorities, cosmic powers and spiritual forces listed here are grades
or ranks of demons.
In Daniel 10 there is recorded an interaction between an
angelic messenger and Daniel. Verse 20
says, “He replied, "Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to
fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the
spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come.” (NLT)
There is a spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia and there
is a spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece.
Here we see organizational structure and planning on the part of the
devil.
He also has helpers.
In Revelation 12:9 we are told the devil
and his angels are cast down to the earth.
In verse 4 of chapter 12 in describing the dragon we are told, “Its tail
swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.” In
combination with Daniel 8:10 we understand that possibly one third of the
angels of heaven followed the devil when he fell.
In Matthew 25:41, Jesus tells us that hell was prepared for
the devil and his angels, alluding to the fact that the devil has helpers.
While the devil is not all-powerful and present everywhere,
his organization and large numbers of helpers make his presence felt everywhere
and his power great by force of numbers.
1 John 5:19 tells us, “the whole world lies in the power of
the evil one.” This is not because he is like God in any way.
He controls the world by force of numbers,
organizational structure and evil intelligence, in much the same way as humans might seek to gain control of the world.
The devil’s main tools are deceit and temptation.
He works in our thoughts. He and his helpers are
somehow able to whisper to us in our own voice so that we think the thoughts
are our own.
Along with this trickery, there is the fact that the devil and his
helpers were originally angels. Therefore, they come to us acting like they are
angels.
The Apostle Paul tells us this in the book of 2 Corinthians. In the church at Corinth, there were men who
entered in boasting of their own greatness so as to preach and teach for profit
and to gain a following. The Church in
Corinth was soon in a mess.
In writing
to correct the problems, Paul says:
13 These people are false apostles. They are deceitful
workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 But I am not
surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no
wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.
In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.”
Here we see the fact that Satan disguises himself as an angel
of light. And, we also see that his
servants disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.
Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against
spiritual forces of darkness.
No matter how great, powerful, clever and devious the devil is;
he is not worth comparing to our God.
He is a creature.
His rebellion has failed.
Jesus rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of
the Majesty on High.
Our victory is complete.
The Bible in all truth says, “Little children, you are from
God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in
the world.” (1 John 4:4, ESV)
One final thought:
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus
is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father
loves his children, too. 2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and
obey his commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his
commandments are not burdensome. 4 For every child of God defeats this evil
world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle
against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
Our faith in Jesus is the victory. No matter what trap the devil has you in, God
can deliver you today.
Cry out to Jesus.
Talk to Jesus right now.
Where the battle has gotten too close to home ask Jesus to come in and
take over.
[i]
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188. All rights
reserved
[ii]
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by
Crossway Bibles
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