Study 9 Objective: Who or what is Satan, and why do Christians need to beware of him?
Above all, we place our trust in Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 informs us that “the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one”. We rely on the faithfulness of Christ, being “steadfast in the
faith” (1 Peter 5:9), and commit ourselves wholly to Him in prayer that He will deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:13. Christians should abide in Christ (John 15:4) and avoid being reoccupied with the activities of Satan. They should meditate on the things that are noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report (Philippians 4:8) instead of exploring ‘the depths of Satan” (Revelation 2:24). Also, believers need to accept responsibility for their own personal sin and not blame Satan. Satan may be the originator of evil but he and the demons are not alone in perpetuating it, because men and women out of their own volition have fashioned their own evil and continued in it. Human beings, not Satan and his demons, bear the responsibility for their own sin (Ezekiel 18:20; James 1:14-15). Reflection: Do you sometimes blame Satan for your life situation? What is the problem with doing so? How does the faith of Jesus Christ protect you from the evil one? Jesus has the victory already
The view is sometimes expressed that God is the greater god and Satan the lesser god, and that somehow they are locked in everlasting conflict. This idea is called dualism. Such a view is not biblical. There is not an ongoing struggle for universal supremacy between the forces of darkness, led by Satan and the forces |
of good, led by God. Satan is only a created being, completely subject to God, and God is supreme over all things. Jesus has triumphed over any and all claims of Satan. We have already victory through faith in Christ, and God is sovereign over everything (Colossians 1:13, 2:15, I John 5:4, Psalm 93:1, 97:1, 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:6).
Therefore Christians need not be unduly anxious about the effectiveness of Satan’s attack on them. Neither angels nor principalities nor spiritual powers “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). From time to time in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts Jesus and those whom He authorizes specifically to do so cast out demons from some who are physically and/or mentally afflicted. This illustrates the victory of Christ over the forces of darkness. The motivation includes both compassion for the afflicted and attestation to the authority of Christ, the Son of God. The casting out of demons was related to the relief of mental and/or physical affliction, not to the spiritual issue of the removal of personal sin and its consequences. (Matthew 17:14-18, Mark 1: 21-27, Mark 9:22, Luke 8:26-29, Luke 9:1, Acts 16: 1-18). Satan will no longer make the earth tremble, and shake kingdoms, and make the world into a wilderness, and destroy the cities, and keep humankind locked up in a house of spiritual prisoners (Isaiah 14:16-17). “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Through enticing the believer to sin, Satan had the power to lead him or her to spiritual death, that is, alienation from God. However, Jesus sacrificed Himself that “He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). |