Satan the father of lies

GOD HAS SPOKEN OF HIS ENEMY

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ”All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, ”Be gone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve'” (Matthew 4:8-10).

In the same passage where Jesus speaks of worshiping God alone, we see a great spiritual struggle. There is another person who wants to have the worship that belongs to God. He is called "Satan," which means "Enemy." What sort of enemy is this? How does he work? And why does the all-powerful God even let such an enemy continue to fight against Him?

THE FATHER OF LIES

Though the Bible speaks often of this enemy, it does not say much about how he began. Since God created all things, Satan must also have been made by God. However, the Bible clearly shows that God is good (Mark 10:18). All that God makes is good (Genesis 1:31; James 1:17). Therefore, it would seem that Satan, like any other creation, had a good beginning. If so, he turned from good to bad, from truth to lies. Jesus said,

He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in 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 (John 8:44).

The description "father of lies" suggests that Satan was the first to lie. He did not "hold to the truth."

Satan tries to make himself look like an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). But he is the leader of the angels who rebelled against God (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6). They are part of his "kingdom" (Matthew 12:26). His rebellion can be clearly seen when he tries to take God’s place, seeking worship that belongs to God alone (Matthew 4:9). 

WAR IN HEAVEN...WOE TO THE EARTH!

Satan, of course, cannot get God to make a mistake.

"God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one" (James 1:13).

It has always been fully in God’s power to destroy Satan at any time. Indeed, the complete defeat of Satan has been foretold in passages like Revelation 20:10. But God has allowed Satan to continue to rebel for a while. Why does God allow this struggle? The reasons are not all clearly revealed. However, God has revealed that the struggle is very serious.

An example of this can be found in Revelation 12, which describes "war in heaven." God’s angels, led by the angel Michael, fought against Satan and his angels. God’s angels were much stronger. They threw their enemies out of heaven. Then the struggle continued on the earth.

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world— he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him… But woe [great trouble] to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short! (Revelation 12:9,12).

"Woe" means "trouble." This is a warning to us that the earth has become the battleground. 

A STRUGGLE THAT CALLS FOR CHOICES

Yet man does not have to be a victim, trapped and crushed between these two powerful armies of angels. For God has made us "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27; James 3:9). Each of us has a spirit or soul which lives beyond the death of the body (Matthew 10:28). We can also make real choices about which side we serve.

Joshua told his people that they had to make a choice between the true God and false gods.

Choose this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15).

Much later, Jesus said,

If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God… (John 7:17).

Mary was one person who chose the good (Luke 10:42). Pressure—called "temptation"—to do wrong is a necessary part of this world (Matthew 18:7). But 1 Corinthians 10:13 shows that the follower of God does not have to give in to temptation. These Scriptures show that people must make a choice between God and Satan, good and evil.

It is true that God commands us to worship Him. He demands our full love. But He does not force this love from us. Notice how the book of Deuteronomy, which commanded love for God (6:5), also makes it part of a choice (for our good):

I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

God is not interested in pretended love or in forced love from us. He could have made a machine for such kinds of "love." Instead He made people with spirits and hearts that can love Him freely and willingly. Jesus said that God actually "seeks" such "true worshipers," who "will worship the Father in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24).   

A STRUGGLE OVER WORSHIP

When we compare Matthew 4 with John 4, we understand that the struggle is about worship. God—because He is the true God—deserves and rightfully seeks true worshipers (John 4:23-24). The enemy, Satan, seeks to take that worship away from God. Satan wants such worship for himself (Matthew 4:8-10).

The Old Testament story of Job is about worship. The devil could not accept the fact that Job was a true worshiper of God. The word devil means "accuser." Satan again earned that name. He accused Job of false, selfish reasons for worshiping God. Satan also accused God of protecting Job from any hard tests. Because the struggle is a serious one, with real choices, God allowed Satan to test Job (Job 1:12; 2:6). However, God stayed in control, always limiting Satan’s power to do harm. Satan took away Job’s wealth and family. Yet still Job "fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, … 'blessed be the name of the Lord'" (Job 1:20-21). Even painful illness could not change Job’s mind. Nothing could force him away from the choice to do right. Nothing could stop him from worshiping the true God.  

SATAN ATTACKS THE WORD OF GOD

Since Satan is not permitted to force us into wrong worship, he tries to fool us into it. He tries to deceive and mislead us. He knows that God is truly honored and loved when we obey God. For obedience treats God as the King He is. So Satan first attacks the word of God.

Notice how he lied to the first people. The snake told Eve that God was mistaken in saying that death would come to those eating the wrong fruit (Genesis 3:4). He also used Eve’s natural desires. The fruit looked "good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise" (Genesis 3:6). Eve, and then Adam, followed Satan into disobedience. As God had warned, their sin brought death into the good world, and with it much suffering (Genesis 2:17; 3:16-19).

"Death" for sin means more than the end of the body’s life. It means the end of the human spirit’s closeness and life with God. Thus Romans 5:12 says,

Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…

Why did death spread to all people? "Because all sinned"! Clearly, Satan’s lies have done terrible damage to all of us. As Revelation 12:9 says, he "leads the whole world astray." Among his many tools are leaders who claim to speak for God and for truth, but who mislead the people.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).

Though God has spoken very clearly, these false teachers turn people away from God’s word. Some try to stop the people from learning God’s word for themselves. Others pretend to teach it, but they "twist" or change its meaning (2 Peter 3:16).

They do this so that they can follow what their "itching ears" want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This reminds us that we should test every teaching by what the Bible actually says.

Why would anyone teach things that are against God’s word? Some may do it selfishly—for money and power. Others may be holding to old, respected "traditions" of their people. Whatever the reason, most do not fully realize the harm they are doing. As Proverbs 21:2 says, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes." Satan can so blind us that we think we are right, when we are quite wrong. Jesus warned His apostles of just how far Satan would go.

Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God (John 16:2).

This shows how fully Satan deceives, and how fierce the spiritual fight is.   

THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST

What hope do humans have against such a clever enemy? Our fleshly eyes cannot even see these spirits that hate us.

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 (Ephesians 6:12).

ERV: Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places.

Satan and his angels are powerful spirits. The truth of the matter is that, even with our power of choice, we would have no hope if God did not help us. In Ephesians 6:10, Paul says that the way to win the fight is to "be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power." In the same passage where the apostle John warned about false prophets, he went on to comfort and assure followers of Jesus:

He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

Satan cannot beat God. When God uses His great strength in us and for us, then Satan cannot defeat us either! Jesus came for this purpose.

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

Jesus sent His apostles as special messengers to tell this Good News. As He sent the apostle Paul, Jesus said to Him,

… I am sending you 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 [made holy] by faith in me (Acts 26:17-18).

ERV for Acts 26:18: They can have a share with those people who have been made holy by believing in Me.

LET'S SUM UP

Our world has become the scene of a great spiritual war between God and Satan. Because man is made in God’s image, he may choose whom he will worship and serve. Satan uses lies, deception, and our own desires. Through these he gets us to choose his own evil way—rebellion against God. However, God’s power is far greater than Satan’s. Through Christ God has made the way for us to join Him in victory over this enemy.

Our worship, and our full obedience, belong only to You, eternal King. Yet often we have failed to honor You. Turn us from Satan’s darkness to Your light. Help us to find forgiveness, and a place among Your own special people, through Jesus Christ…