Satan is not divine

The Bible makes it clear that there is only one God (Mal 2,10; Ephesians 4,6), and he is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Satan does not possess the characteristics of deity. He is not the creator, he is not omnipresent, not omniscient, not full of grace and truth, not "the only mighty one, the king of kings and lord of lords" (1. Timothy 6,15). Scripture indicates that Satan was among the created angels in his original state. Angels are created ministering spirits (Nehemiah 9,6; Hebrews 1,13-14), endowed with free will.

Angels carry out God's commands and are more powerful than humans (Psalm 103,20; 2. Petrus 2,11). They are also reported to protect believers1,11) and praise God (Luke 2,13-14; Revelation 4, etc.).
Satan, whose name means "adversary" and whose name is also the devil, led perhaps as many as a third of the angels in a rebellion against God (Revelation 1 Cor2,4). Despite this apostasy, God is gathering “thousands of angels” (Hebrews 1 Cor2,22).

Demons are angels who "remained not in heaven, but left their dwelling place" (Jude 6) and joined Satan. “For God did not spare even the angels who sinned, but cast them into hell with chains of darkness and delivered them up to be held for judgment” (2. Petrus 2,4). The activity of the demons is limited by these spiritual and metaphorical chains.

The typology of Old Testament sections such as Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 indicates that Satan was a particular angelic being, one speculating that it was an archangel standing in good standing with God. 

Satan was "blameless" from the day he was created until iniquity was found in him, and he was "full of wisdom and handsome beyond measure" (Ezekiel 28,12-15).

Yet he became "full of iniquities," his heart was haughty because of his beauty, and his wisdom was corrupted because of his splendor. He gave up his holiness and ability to cover in mercy and became a "spectacle" destined to be destroyed (Ezekiel 28,16-19).

Satan changed from the Bringer of Light (the name Lucifer in Isaiah 14,12 means "bringer of light") to "power of darkness" (Colossians 1,13; Ephesians 2,2) when he decided that his status as an angel was not enough and he wanted to become divine like the "Most High" (Isaiah 14,13-14).

Compare that to the response of the angel John wanted to worship: "Don't do it!" (Revelation 1 Cor9,10). Angels should not be worshiped because they are not God.

Because society has made idols of the negative values ​​that Satan promoted, the Scriptures call him the "god of this world" (2. Corinthians 4,4), and “the mighty one who rules in the air” (Ephesians 2,2) whose corrupt spirit is everywhere (Ephesians 2,2). But Satan is not divine and is not on the same spiritual plane as God.

What Satan is doing

"The devil sins from the beginning" (1. John 3,8). “He is a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth; for the truth is not in him. When he speaks lies, he speaks from his own; for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8,44). With his lies he accuses believers "day and night before our God" (Romans 12,10).

He is evil, just as he led humanity to evil in the days of Noah: the poetry and aspiration of their hearts was only evil forever (1. Mose 6,5).

His desire is to exert his evil influence on believers and potential believers to draw them from the "bright light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2. Corinthians 4,4) so that they do not receive a "share in the divine nature" (2. Petrus 1,4).

To this end, he leads Christians to sin, just as he tempted Christ (Matthew 4,1-11), and he used insidious deceit, as with Adam and Eve, to make them "from simplicity toward Christ" (2. Corinthians 11,3) distract. To achieve this, he sometimes disguises himself as an "angel of light" (2. Corinthians 11,14), and pretends to be something it is not.

Through lure and through the influence of the society under his control, Satan seeks to induce Christians to alienate themselves from God. A believer separates himself / herself from God through his / her free will to sin by yielding to sinful human nature, following Satan's corrupt ways and accepting his considerable deceitful influence (Matthew 4,1-10; 1. John 2,16-17; 3,8; 5,19; Ephesians 2,2; Colossians 1,21; 1. Petrus 5,8; James 3,15).

However, it is important to remember that Satan and his demons, including all of Satan's temptations, are subject to God's authority. God allows such activities because it is God's will that believers have the freedom (free will) to make spiritual choices (Job 1 Dec.6,6-12; Mark 1,27; Luke 4,41; Colossians 1,16-17; 1. Corinthians 10,13; Luke 22,42; 1. Corinthians 14,32).

How should the believer react to Satan?

The main scriptural response of the believer to Satan and his attempts to lure us into sin is to “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4,7; Matthew 4,1-10), thus giving him “no room” or opportunity (Ephesians 4,27).

Resisting Satan includes prayer for protection, submitting oneself to God in obedience to Christ, being aware of our attraction to evil, acquiring spiritual qualities (what Paul calls putting on all the armor of God), faith in Christ, who through the Holy Spirit takes care of us (Matthew 6,31; James 4,7; 2. Corinthians 2,11; 10,4-5; Ephesians 6,10-18; 2. Thessalonians 3,3).

Resisting also includes being spiritually alert, "for the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1. Petrus 5,8-9).

Most of all, we put our trust in Christ. In 2. Thessalonians 3,3 we read, “that the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and protect you from evil". We rely on the faithfulness of Christ by “standing firm in the faith” and dedicating ourselves to Him in prayer that He will redeem us from evil (Matthew 6,13).

Christians should abide in Christ (John 15,4) and avoid engaging in Satan's activities. You should think about things that are honorable, just, pure, lovely, and reputable. (Philippians 4,8) meditate instead of exploring “the depths of Satan” (Rev 2,24).

Believers must also accept the responsibility to take responsibility for their personal sins and not blame Satan. Satan may be the originator of evil, but he and his demons are not the only ones who perpetuate evil because men and women of their own will have created and persisted in their own evil. Humans, not Satan and his demons, are responsible for their own sins (Ezekiel 18,20; James 1,14-15).

Jesus has already won the victory

Sometimes the view is expressed that God is the greater, and Satan the lesser God, and that they are somehow trapped in eternal conflict. This idea is called dualism.
Such a view is unbiblical. There is no ongoing struggle for universal supremacy between the powers of darkness, led by Satan, and the forces of good, led by God. Satan is only a created being, totally subordinate to God, and God has supreme authority in all things. Jesus triumphed over all of Satan's claims. By believing in Christ we already have victory, and God has sovereignty over all things (Colossians 1,13; 2,15; 1. John 5,4; psalm 93,1; 97,1; 1. Timothy 6,15; Revelation 19,6).

Therefore, Christians need not be unduly concerned about the effectiveness of Satan's attacks against them. Neither angels, nor powers, nor authorities "can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8,38-39).

From time to time we read in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles that Jesus and the disciples whom He specifically authorized cast out demons from people who were physically and / or spiritually afflicted. This illustrates Christ's victory over the forces of darkness. The motivation included both compassion for those who suffer and an authentication of the authority of Christ, the Son of God. The casting out of demons was related to the alleviation of spiritual and / or physical ailments, not the spiritual issue of removing 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).

No longer will Satan shake the earth, shake kingdoms, turn the world into a desert, destroy cities, and keep humanity locked in a house of spiritual prisoners4,16-17).

“Whoever commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God appeared, to destroy the works of the devil" (1. John 3,8). By provoking the believer to sin, Satan had the power to lead him or her to spiritual death, that is, alienation from God. But Jesus sacrificed himself “that by his death he might destroy the one who had power over death, the devil” (Hebrews 2,14).

After Christ's return, he will remove the influence of Satan and his demons, in addition to the people who hold onto Satan's influence without repentance, by throwing them once and for all into the Gehenna lake of fire (2. Thessalonians 2,8; Revelation 20).

ending

Satan is a fallen angel who seeks to corrupt God's will and prevent the believer from reaching his or her spiritual potential. It is important that the believer be aware of Satan's tools without preoccupation with Satan or demons, so that Satan does not take advantage of us (2. Corinthians 2,11).

by James Henderson


pdfSatan is not divine