Understanding God - 8

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Thanks be to God for another opportunity to communicate with you and share with you thoughts from God's Word!

UNDERSTANDING GOD 8

We continue with our focus on "Understanding God". In recent times, we started a sub-series on "The Sovereignty of God". Thus far, we have explored the rule of God and the basis of His sovereignty. In addition, we began to consider the extent of His sovereignty, and this we will further explore.

The Place of Satan
Some people, including ministers of the gospel, believe that God is not in control of things happening on the earth. They reason thus: If God is ruling the earth (or is in control) why is there so much trouble everywhere? Why is there so much injustice? Consequently, they conclude that Satan, referred to as "the god of this world" is in charge.
In resolving the matter, we need to consider four basic truths:

(1) Satan is the god of this world and the spirit that works in the children of disobedience (2 Cor.4:4, Eph.2:2). He rules the "world", the sphere of the children of disobedience. But he neither rules the earth nor the children of obedience. Even in considering his role as "the god of this world", there is the need to strike a balance, as established in the Scriptures. Satan’s rule over the unbelieving world cannot be absolute. The reasons for this are as follows:

*"The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof: the world and they that dwell therein" (see Psa.24:1, Ac.17:28-29).
*Satan’s rule over unbelieving men is subject to God’s greater claim over all men. Jesus has paid the price for the salvation of ALL men, and has possession of the keys of Hell and death, thus greatly restricting Satan’s rule (see 1Jn.2:2, Rev.1:18).
*The choice of an individual plays a significant role, as it weakens, strengthens or breaks the rule of Satan over him. However, notwithstanding the choices that men make, the rule of God over them is never broken.
The One who frustrates the tokens of liars and makes diviners mad, who makes use of vessels of wrath as well as vessels of mercy and who, in His time, judges the living and the dead, still holds the reins of authority (see Isa.44:24-25, Rom.9:17-23, 2 Tim.4:1).

(2) Satan and his fellow fallen angels have been judged and sentenced (Jn.16:1, Mat.25:41). However, the timing for the execution of their sentence lies in the future (Mat.8:29, Rev.12:12).

(3) Relative to Christ and His Church, God has given Satan a place of subjection. The combined understanding of the first two chapters of Ephesians is that Christ has been "raised" above every principality, power, might, dominion and "every name
that is named" and that the Church is seated in the very place of authority, "in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (see Eph.1:19-23, 2:5-6). This is confirmed by the very words of Christ: "Behold I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Lk.10:19, Mk.16:17, Jam.4:5).

(4) Satan has God’s permission to do a limited and temporary work on the earth. It is for this purpose that the sentence passed on him has not been executed. He knows that the time allotted to him is short and he intends to make the most of it (see Mat.8:29, Rev.12:12). 1 Cor.10:13 teaches that God will not allow a man to be tempted beyond his ability. We know that God does not tempt men (see Jam.1:13, Mat.4:1, Mk.1:13). And yet we are made to understand that He restricts the level to which a man is tempted. The implication is that He allows or permits certain things while He disallows or refuses other things.

This is well illustrated by His dealings in the life of Job, as recorded in the first two chapters of Job.
The sequence of events that preceded the affliction of Job is as follows: (a) Satan presents himself before God; (b) God boasts about Job; (c) Satan throws a challenge to God concerning Job and (d) God permits him to tempt Job, but tells him how far he may go: "Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand…" (Jb.1:12). This sequence of events is repeated when Satan discovers that he has failed to accomplish his objective. But this time around, he throws a bigger challenge to God, and God extends the scope of temptation: "Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life" (Jb.2:6).

If we may carry the thought a bit further, we need to know that there are times when God plays a more active role. For instance, Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil (Mat.4:4, Lk.4:1-2). Likewise, Paul was given a thorn in the flesh, something that most people have failed to understand. First, we need to consider Paul’s testimony: "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee" (2 Cor.12:7-9).

In addition, we need to consider the questions that arise, and the appropriate answers to those questions:
*Who gave the thorn? It was the Lord, who also refused to take it away, even though Paul asked him to.
*Whose messenger was it? It was "the messenger of Satan." We do not need to know, in specific details, how the thorn manifested. For our present purposes, all we need to know is that it was a messenger of Satan.
*What was the purpose for the thorn? To keep Paul humble.
*What was the wisdom of putting up with it? "My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (v.9).

The implication is that Satan exists and operates by God’s permission. He is on the loose, but not out of control. He is like a dog on a leash. The reins by which he is controlled are in the hands of God. In fact, the Bible teaches that, at the onset of the 1,000-year rule of Christ, an angel will apprehend him and lock him up in the Bottomless Pit (Rev.20:1-3).
This is consistent with God’s vision for the millennial reign of Christ. Afterwards, he will be released for a while to fulfil his last assignment, which is two-fold: (a) to serve as a final test of man’s commitment to God and (b) to deceive the rebellious into carrying out one final act of rebellion, thus luring them into God’s final ‘bowl’ of earthly judgement (Rev.20:7-9). On this note, we move on to consider the place of creation in relation to the sovereignty of God.