should you and I be terrified of Satan? No. His power is limited and will end. We never need to be deceived by or give in to the Devil’s temptations. God is always ready to provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
But When you ask what power satan has its tricky to understand because he actually has very little, but he does have authority over the world right now, and he also knows we live in a sinful world… so the fact that he has authority over the world, and we live in a sinful world (death, deca...
should you and I be terrified of Satan? No. His power is limited and will end. We never need to be deceived by or give in to the Devil’s temptations. God is always ready to provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
But When you ask what power satan has its tricky to understand because he actually has very little, but he does have authority over the world right now, and he also knows we live in a sinful world… so the fact that he has authority over the world, and we live in a sinful world (death, decay, sickness and disease work in his favor) and he is a master liar… makes this world hard to navigate…
However we do have power over the enemy… hold on I thought you said he had authority over the earth… he has limited authority for a limited time…but we still have power over him to rule and reign… even while here on earth.
Think of it this way… Jesus was the first example of what a “born again” believer should be like. He came as a man, led by and empowered by the Holy Spirit… he lived victoriously and with power over sin and satan… so what exactly is satans powers while he has authority over the earth… limited? yes, but what power does he actually have during this time?
I like the way RC Sproul puts it….
Satan’s authority and power are limited and subordinate to the authority that is vested in Christ. Christ right now is the king of this earth. His kingdom is invisible, and not everybody acknowledges it. People are giving more allegiance to the prince of darkness than to the Prince of Peace, but that is an act of usurpation on the part of Satan. His power is restricted, limited, and temporal. What has happened briefly is this: The power and authority of Satan has been dealt a fatal blow by Christ. The Cross, the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and the Ascension tremendously weakened any power or authority that Satan enjoyed, but it didn’t annihilate him. That will come later, when Christ completes his work of redemption with the consummation of his kingdom. All things will be brought into captivity to him, and every knee will bow to him, including the fallen angels, who will bow in submission to his authority.
Are you confused yet? Well here is the biggest power satan has… he is a liar!
Satan is a liar. The apostle John calls Satan the one “who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).
THAT MEANS WE ALL FALLL TO HIS DECEPTIONS AT TIMES…
The devil and his demons tell two main lies to unbelievers and two primary lies to believers.
Here’s the lie to unbelievers:
- “God doesn’t care about sin. In fact, there might not even be a God. Live your life and do as you please.”
- “You are too bad for God to ever love and forgive you. You are doomed. Just accept it. - in fact he doesn’t even really care about you… he’s too busy, he is out of range out of touch.
But to believers, the devil and his demons say:
- “You’ve been saved, so it doesn’t matter how much you sin. You can do what you want. Don’t worry, because God will forgive you.”… and its true, but not true… yes you are forgiven… but does that mean you are untouched and unjudgable? And do you think you can’t lose your salvation… I don’t think you can lose it, but I do think you can walk away from it.
- “You just thought you were saved. Do you really think God can forgive all the bad things you’ve done?” Satan lies to us regarding Gods ability to forgive, and redeem… as if his work on the cross was limited…
Do you see the similarities between these two sets of lies? The devil may be deceptive and sinister, but he’s not that creative. His essential motive is to get you to believe that God is not the answer to your problem with sin.
Satan is not dumb, but he is stupid. He’s not powerful but he is authoritative, he is not creative - he cannot create, but he can copy and mimic to perfection… but its still a copy… it is still a fake and a forgery.
So what is our defense… well if his true power or strategy is to lie… then our best defense is to know the truth…
what does scripture say in John 8:31 and 32
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
We are to be in his word and know it, and we are to know Jesus who is the truth… and the truth will set you free…
This is not talking about salvation, but rather about freedom from satans lies.
Know him, know it and be free from the liar and his lies.
