When it comes to the conflict between God and Satan, we often think of it as a battle between two equals. But such is not the case at all. It is not a fair fight. God always has the upper hand and wins in the end. In fact, He has already defeated the devil with Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection. The head of the serpent has been crushed we could say and the rest of him will be stomped when Christ returns. It is important for us to understand that while Satan indeed is our cunning and dangerous enemy who “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8), he is limited in what he can do.
He is limited first by being a creature. Satan is not like God. He is not omnipotent or all powerful as God is. He is not omniscient, knowing everything like God does. He learns from careful study and observation of us. Not from reading our inner thoughts. Remember he is a fallen angel. So, he would not know anything more than any other angel or created being for that matter. And he is not omnipresent as God; being everywhere at once. We know this to be the case because when he shows up to the meeting of the angels that took place in Job 1, the devil responds to God’s question of where did he come from or basically, what had he been up to, with “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it” (v. 7). He had to “roam” and “walk” about on the earth, indicating that he is not every place at the same time. He has to travel to different places much as we do. Probably none of us have had the devil himself torment us or tempt us. More likely, it has been one or more of his demons who “roam” and “walk” about on the earth as well.
Satan is also limited by God’s sovereignty or reign over him. One thing else we notice in Job’s account is that the devil is not able to do anything without God allowing him to. When Satan challenges Job’s faithfulness, claiming that it is only on account of the many blessings the Lord has bestowed upon the man that he serves Him, we see God grant the devil permission to affect all his possessions. But He sets a boundary that the devil cannot cross in doing so. That boundary is touching Job himself. He tells him, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand, only do not send forth your hand towards him” (Job 1:12). God certainly had the power to stop Satan from messing with Job’s stuff, servants, and children. He has stopped other evil actions from taking place (Genesis 20:6; 31:7). If God didn’t have the power to stop the devil in anything he does, He wouldn’t be God and Satan would be more powerful than Him which clearly is not the case as seen by Satan’s continual failures to thwart or stop God’s plans. So, it must be said that everything Satan does, God has had to permit him to do so. Then, after Satan literally wrecks all of Job’s possessions and the man still does not sin or give offense to God (v. 22), he challenges God to afflict Job with physical pain, thinking that will cause him to turn against the Lord (2:4-5). Once again, God has to grant the devil permission to attack Job’s health. And, even then, God sets a boundary for the devil that he cannot kill him (v. 6). Likewise, Jesus says to Peter in Luke 22:31, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat.” Notice that Satan had to DEMAND to do this to the disciples. He couldn’t just outright carry it out. God remains in complete control over all things, including the devil and his dastardly deeds. He is subject to God’s sovereign rule as is the rest of creation, though it is unwillingly for him of course.
This is why Martin Luther referred to Satan as being “God’s devil.” God has him basically on a leash, only allowing him to go so far. This doesn’t mean that the devil isn’t dangerous then. A dog on a leash still can bite and do great harm. Nor does it indicate that God approves of everything the devil does and condones his wickedness. As Habakkuk 1:13 says, speaking of God, “Your eyes are too pure to see evil, and You cannot look on trouble.” James also makes this clear, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone” (James 1:13). However, God does delight to take the evil Satan intends to do and turn it around to bring about the greater good of His purpose. Joni Eareckson Tada points out, “God permits what he hates to achieve what he loves.” We find countless examples of this throughout Scripture. For instance, God’s allowance of Joseph’s brothers to carry out the wicked jealousy of their hearts against him to bring Joseph to a place where he would in essence save his family so that they would be preserved through the famine for the promised seed of the Messiah to still come through them. Joseph even acknowledged such looking back when he told his brothers, “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). We also have Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” he writes about in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Whatever this was, he describes it as being “a messenger of Satan to torment me-to keep me from exalting myself!” (v. 7). Now, here’s the interesting thing. Does Satan want to keep us from exalting ourselves? Of course not! He’s the pinnacle of pride. It’s the very reason he was kicked out of heaven in the first place and arguably his chief characteristic (1 Timothy 3:6). Paul recognized that while Satan was behind this “thorn in the flesh”, God had allowed it in His sovereignty for a different purpose than Satan himself had. God desired to keep Paul humble as it could be so easy for him to become prideful on account of this vision he had of heaven that he just described earlier in the chapter. And the greatest example of this of all would have to be God’s allowance of Satan to enter in Judas Iscariot’s heart to influence him to betray Jesus for Him to go to the cross and save His people (Luke 22:3-4). Surely the greatest good (salvation) being brought about as a result of the greatest evil ever committed (the murder of God’s own dear beloved Son).
What a comfort it is for us to know that God holds the reins over what the devil does and seeks to turn upside down what he intends for evil against us to bring good out of it. As Randy Alcorn has said, “If God can use for good ‘a messenger of Satan,’ then surely he can use for good a car accident or your employer’s unreasonable expectations.” I honestly don’t know how we could ever bear the evils taking place all around us and what we specifically may face without such a truth. If the all wise good and loving God isn’t sovereign over the devil and evil, I would fear any alternative. But, thankfully, we can rest assured that He remains on His throne and is not taken surprise by anything the devil does and is not powerless to stop it or redirect it. And how great is it that He can turn what is meant for evil into good and even permit it to occur in order to be used for His much greater better purposes? Only our God can do that. Which is another reason why He alone deserves our praise and worship. This truth should bring us to our knees in humility and trust of Him, especially when dealing with the devil and his evil in this world.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Lee
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