Can Satan tell the Truth?
Can Satan, the evil one, the devil, tell the truth? Now that is a very interesting thought, in that we live in a world that does not talk much about this created being. If he knows the truth, and I believe that can be proven then does he ever tell the truth? How did he become Satan, was he always evil, does he have a plan that includes you and me?
In the book of Genesis 3:14, we see a serpent talking and tempting Eve. What was it about, it was about “Truth”, God had commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, all others were ok. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God said, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” So the serpent shows up, and he is not called, Lucifer, not the devil, nor is he called Satan. But he has the character of the devil. What does he say to Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’? Eve tells the serpent what God has said and this is his reply, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Did they die, 1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” Also look at Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” That is the first account in Scripture of something evil, tempting man. As I stated earlier the serpent had the attributes of Satan, and we will see more of this. To make any other claim would be to add to Scripture, and God has made clear the danger of doing so.
Satan does show up in the book of Job, we do not know the author, but we can know God breathed it and put it on paper by a man. Many scholars regard it as the oldest book in the Bible. Job 1:6 states the following, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” What happens when Satan shows up in heaven, God asks him what he has been up to. The conversation goes like this; “The Lord said to Satan, ‘From where have you come?’ Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil.” And you know the rest of the story, Satan ask God, “Does Job fear God for no reason?” So God gave Satan the ok to mess with all of Job’s stuff, but not to touch Job. I hope you got that part; Satan had to get permission to mess with Job.
My desire is to make clear that Satan or the devil comes at us with many schemes, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” Paul is warning you and me to be on guard of men who would add to God’s written word, men who take freedoms with the Scriptures; in verses 13-14, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” Do you like to read the end of the book to see how it is all going to come out; God has given us that, but he has also told us more about this enemy of ours in Revelation 20:2, “And he sized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, …” Then what, what did he call Satan, that ancient serpent, the one that was in the Garden with Eve. He was not Lucifer, he was that ancient serpent, and God called him the devil and Satan. Does God have a plan for Satan, you better believe it, and it is stated in Revelation 20:10, “and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
In the book of John 12:31, Jesus said; “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.” Who is Jesus referring to as the ruler of this world? In John 14:30, Jesus also refers to the ruler of this world. Satan either has or will be given the power to control the “Man of Lawlessness”, I believe that is referring to Anti-Christ. This will only happen after the Holy Spirit, the “Spirit of Truth” is removed from the earth, or the body of Christ is removed. Look at 2 Thessalonians 2:7, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.” Look at verse 9, “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”
Many want to tell us that Satan is a paper tiger, but in Hebrews 2:14, it is written, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” Jesus came to destroy the one who has the power of death, and he tells us that being is the devil. The good news is that Satan no longer has that power; it was removed at that cross. In John 18:37, Jesus tells us why he came into the world, and that was to bear witness to the truth. We have all read that truth will set us free, and that’s what Jesus did, look at 1 John: 3:8-9, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed (Jesus) abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning.” How long has he been sinning, from the beginning?
What about man’s authority! In the book of beginning, Genesis 1:28, “And God blessed them, And God said to them “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. This authority was given to Adam in the beginning. No one knows how long it was before Adam and Eve sinned, but after he sinned his role changed. You can read what God said to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:16-19. This I know that man was no longer in fellowship with God, his desire became for self and God said he chose a new father, the devil.
Does Satan have authority over this world? He has made this claim; in fact, he made it to the Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 4:5-6, “And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you, I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.” What did Jesus do, remember Jesus is truth, He does not just know the truth, Jesus is truth. This was Jesus reply; “It is written, ‘you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” Jesus did not tell Satan he was a liar, that the earth was under man’s authority, in fact, the real temptation may have been the return of this authority, that was delivered to Satan, without a cross. We do know that it is not written that God gave Satan authority over the earth, but it is implied that Adam delivered this authority to Satan.
I would be negligent if I did not state the following, the Scripture states; there are only two types of people on this earth, those who have God, as their Father and those who have the devil, as their Father. John 8:42-44, Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” I am sure you just got the answer to the title question. Satan is a liar; he has nothing to do with truth. Who is “Truth”, the God-man, Jesus!
You and I and all who have lived since Adam have needed to be set free from the control of Satan. Paul is on trial before King Agrippa and he is telling the king what happened to him on his journey to Damascus. He is explaining how he was going with the authority and commission of the chief priests, to persecute Christians. He is telling how he met Jesus on that road and how he was converted from a killer of Christians to a follower of Christ. In the book of Acts 26:15-16 and 18, And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which I will appear to you, verse 18, “to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
Satan may be a paper tiger to some but he has done a great job of blinding the minds of unbelievers. Look with me at 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” So he is the reason many are blinded to the gospel and he also is an adversary of everyone who claims the name of Jesus Christ. Look how he challenges the ones who are in Christ. You and I are told to put on the whole armor of God so that we will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:12, “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.” And once more we are told to take up the whole armor of God so that we will be able to stand. I do not know about you but that does not sound like I’m in a fair fight. The Scriptures are very clear that this battle is against rulers, question, who are they and who do they rule? Against the authorities, once more what authorities and who do they have authority over? If Satan is just a paper tiger with a big bark and no bite, what and who are these cosmic powers over this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. We better get dressed in the armor that God has given us for this battle. It is armor for the unseen world and it is armor for the seen also. You cannot see the armor but the demons and Satan can, you cannot see the armor but the angels and the Lord Jesus Christ can. Get dressed each morning for this cosmic battle, it is real and if you are in Christ, you have the right to this armor.
The authority that was lost or given to Satan at the fall has been returned to Christ. But it is His authority, not yours. The Scriptures state the following in John 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It requires all men to come to this truth, without it the only father they have is the devil. But to those who have believed and received the free gift of forgiveness of sins by faith in God’s only Son, and by the blood he shed for their sins, they only have authority as they abide in Christ. The New Testament from beginning to end tells us we must abide in Christ, He has given us all we need to live life, for He is life, and He is our life. But we must abide, look at John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in me.” When we enter into Christ, we get all He has to give, we cannot get more, and He has given us Himself.
The Christian life is not about your authority but about your choices! I am reading “The Rest of the Gospel by Dan Stone and David Gregory and it is an excellent book on letting Jesus live the Christian life in you. He is the only one who can live it. The following quote from page 161, “But God purposely created us with the possibility of choice, and we reap the results of our choice. We never escape that – then or now. In God’s love, He lets us choose. He says, “If you want to go the way of the world, go. If that’s where your love and affection is, you go. But you’ll reap what you have chosen.”
Does that mean all is not of grace? No. God does do it all. Only He can live the life. And only he can work in us, enabling us to be willing cooperators with Him. But He has left us a role. Our role is availability. We are available to the Lord to live His life through us. What Mary said to the angel Gabriel applies to every believer: “Behold, the bond slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). That’s availability. Mary was willing. God was the one who did it.
Our availability releases God’s ability. So, we trust the Lord to do it through us.”
My prayer is that this is a clear account of who Satan is. What authority and power he has been given. And only we who have bowed our knees to the Lord Jesus Christ recognize that all authority is in Christ. Never forget that the choices you make determine what you reap.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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