God’s Devil - Part 2: The Devil’s Place

Our study will be guided by the necessary fact that we need to come to a much better understanding of the spiritual adversary we know as Satan. We will study his beginnings, his interference into human life as well as his constant effort to deter the birth and growth of the Gospel. But prior to beginning our study in depth, we must take an initial time to prepare ourselves for the next portions of this study by considering what is the true place Satan occupies within creation.

Lucifer, his original name meaning “bearer of light”, was the most beautiful angel created. His position was among the top levels of God's kingdom until iniquity was found within him and he led a rebellion against God within heaven. This moment of his sinful rebellion was also his moment of defeat. Any power he would exercise after this moment would always be subject to God's will and decree. From eternity past, he has moment by moment suffered the humiliation of knowing that he could never be the master of his own existence or power.

We should boldly understand that whatever mischief Satan is allowed to do, it is always appointed by God for the ultimate service and benefit of the saints who are the Lord's children. Our Lord's eye is ever upon him. After his first moment of disobedience, his failure and final doom were sealed. At the cross he was defeated spiritually, for there Christ was guaranteeing that at least a part of fallen humanity would be purchased out from the kingdom of darkness to share in eternity the kingdom of light. He will be defeated eternally when he is thrown into the lake of fire for at that moment he will be forever given over to eternal torment which will be known by all who belong to God, and his pain will be endless.

It has been said that those who are born again take the devil seriously. We, as believers, must take him seriously, very seriously. Any distortions as to whether he is real that creep into our thinking will play directly into his hand and desire. It has also been said that his greatest victory has already been won as most modern believers are unsure that he actually exists. A portion of those who do accept his existence hold a more dangerous thought that he can act independently of God and that God only becomes involved in what Satan does when we, in prayer, ask Him to do so.

We should take note and be reminded of Martin Luther's teaching that the

“devil is God's devil”. Blessed are those who are convinced that this prince of this world has become the slave of the Prince of Peace.  

Our study will give an overview of the career of Satan and his dealings with the Almighty.

We will trace his fall from an exalted position to his defeat by Christ and to his ultimate shame and final contempt. We will focus again upon the fact that we who have been translated from darkness into light are able to stand against him.

Our first premise is that God has absolute sovereignty within His universe.

This means that even evil is a part of the larger plan of God.

We should be convinced that unless we grasp how the devil fits into God's scheme of things, we will find it far more difficult to stand against the conspiracy waged against us personally and his growing influence in our culture. Only when we stand in awe of God will be understand that it is unnecessary to stand in awe of the devil. The greater our God, the smaller our devil. We do not have to wait until we see him cast into the lake of fire to rejoice in his defeat. Satan gets more power as we give it to him. 

Satan is exactly as strong as we believe him to be. Because the chosen people believed that Jericho was unconquerable, it was. The citizens of Jericho saw it differently. They were afraid of the chosen people and puzzled why it took forty years for them to come against their city. Joshua and Caleb knew that God had removed His protection of Jericho as we are taught in Numbers 14:9. It was not the strength of the city but it was the unbelief of the chosen people that postponed the victory. If we believe Satan is invincible, he will conform to that expectation. That is why we must never see Satan in our mind's eye without seeing God.

Our second premise is that God uses our conflict with Satan to develop spiritual character within us. These struggles give us the opportunity to have our faith tested. Our spiritual warfare is our classroom where we learn about the ugliness of sin and about the chastisement of God. Along with His grace and power. He could have banished Satan to another planet or cast him quickly into the lake of fire. He chose to use the devil, giving him a role in the divine drama where our souls must fight before they rest. While the enemy is ruthless, he is fully under the control of the Lord and may only do as he is bidden.

The Bible teaches us that the devil has great power but that it is forever limited by the purposes and plan of God. It is a picture of a proud being who has already been humbled and his greatest asset in his war with us remains our own ignorance.