TEXT:
‘You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror’ (James 2:19 NLT).
Satan, also called the devil, is viewed sometimes as a fun character, a figment of the imagination or a powerful supernatural being, depending on what a person believes.
Jesus referred to him as the prince or ruler of this world (See John 14:30), but he is nothing in comparison with the God who created him, this world and everything in it! Many Christians live in fear of the devil when they do not need to. Today’s Teaching will help them not to, as we look at several things Satan does not want Christians to know that he knows.
1. Satan knows who Jesus really is – ‘If you are the Son of God’ (Luke 4:9).
Satan was tempting Jesus to do something spectacular in order to gain the world’s attention. He certainly knows who Jesus is, because Jesus created him.
Wherever Jesus went demons would cry out, ‘I know who You are’ (Luke 4:34, 41). They knew He was the Christ, God’s only Son. The world doesn’t know who Jesus really is and Satan wants to keep it that way. ‘Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God’ (2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT). The role of Christians is to evangelise and tell them.
Satan deceives people into thinking there isn’t a God and the resurrection of Jesus is a myth, when all the time he knows both are true. Jesus said about Satan, ‘He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies’ (John 8:44 NLT). How much better to believe in Jesus who is, ‘The way, the truth and the life’ (John 14:6).
2. Satan knows he cannot go beyond what God has allowed him to do – ‘All right, you may test him, the Lord said to Satan. Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically’ … ‘All right, do with him as you please, the Lord said to Satan. But spare his life’ (Job 1:12, 2:6 NLT).
Bible scholars consider the book of Job to be one of the oldest books in the Bible. It contains the account of Job, a righteous man who believed in God, being attacked for no reason by the devil. Satan cannot get at God, so he seeks to attack and inflict misery on people (especially believers) who have been created in the image of God. Jesus said that Satan comes, ‘To steal, and to kill, and to destroy’ (John 10:10).
When God spoke highly of Job, Satan immediately said he could get Job to curse God. God gave Satan permission to destroy Job’s family and possessions, but Job refused to curse. God then allowed Satan to attack Job’s health, but still Job refused to curse.
Satan wanted to destroy Job totally, but could not go any further than God had decreed. When Job came through his great trial, God blessed him with double and Satan was power-less to stop the blessing.
We cannot fully understand why God allowed Satan to attack Job, but through it all God showed Himself to be true and Satan to be a liar. This should encourage us if we are going through something similar.
3. Satan will know when his time of freedom is about to end – ‘Therefore rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them [in the presence of God]. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you in great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time [remaining]!’ (Revelation 12:12 AMP).
Kicked out of the heavens to the earth, Satan knows he will only have a short time left before he is bound during the millennium reign of Christ.
When Satan tries to accuse you and remind you of your past, remind him of the divine removal service, ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us’ (Psalm 103:12). Then remind him of his future, ‘Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulphur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever’ (Revelation 20:10 NIV).
Finally, thank God for your future!
Yes, our world is in a mess and things will get worse before they get better, but in the end there will be a new heaven and earth, filled with God’s righteousness.
In Part 2 we will study four more things Satan does not want you to know he knows and they will really help you to be a strong Christian.
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