The Nature of Satan
Satan, the great deceiver, is sometimes regarded as a lesser figure in today’s world. Some Christians might even believe that Satan can’t really affect us or our lives, and that he is powerless in the modern world. However, in scripture there is evidence of how much Satan was able to influence and affect people. Looking at a well-known passage from the Gospel of Matthew, we can see how Satan works and how much of this world Satan governs.
Matthew 4:1-2
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.
We see here how Jesus, led by the Spirit, went into the wilderness and fasted. I believe Jesus did not go into the desert in order to be tempted, but he went to go into prayer. A Jewish man going into seclusion and fasting was common in those days. Because Jesus is God, and God knows all, Jesus knew what was coming. He prepared for his upcoming sparring match with Satan by praying and building His spiritual strength. It is here, that we can see a part of the nature of Satan.
Matthew 4:3
And the tempter came and said to him, If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread
Satan knows that man needs food and water, and when the need for these goods would be at its height, Satan strikes! Satan tries to tempt Jesus by not only challenging His divine being, but also reminding him of his human need to eat. Satan challenges Jesus at the point when a normal man would welcome the stones being turned into bread. A normal man, after forty days and forty nights of fasting, would be dead if not for the Holy Spirit keeping him alive. Still, who would argue against the fact that a normal man would be very hungry after such an experience. That is why Satan came to Jesus. He wanted to treat Jesus like a normal human, but as Satan knows, Jesus has the power to do anything. If Jesus was feeding Himself and 100 disciples in the desert, He very well could have made stones become bread. Jesus did not do it, because Satan treated Him as if he was a normal human. If Jesus would have done as Satan said, Jesus would have been denying His divine nature, calling Himself a normal human. Jesus rebukes Satan:
Matthew 4:4-6
4 But he answered, It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple
6 and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, and “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
Here, we see that Satan is capable of traveling across space. In addition, if Satan is able to set Jesus upon a pinnacle of the Temple, then Satan must be able to fly. This keeps with our belief that Satan was a chief angel serving in Heaven, before his sin of pride caused him to be cast out along with other angels. Because Angels have no physical bodies, they can roam the Earth and Heaven as God wills them. In Satan’s case, he can roam the Earth until he is thrown into the fire at the Final Judgment. In this passage, Satan tries to make Jesus question His Father, that is, to tempt. If Jesus were to cast Himself down, that would be asking His Father for more proof that He is God!
Imagine, if Jesus were to doubt His Father was God. That would call into question all things in nature and all things that God has created. Once again, it is a human trait to question and probe for evidence. However, for Jesus, being one God in three persons, there is no room for question. Jesus would be denying His divine power, just as in the first challenge by Satan.
We see how Satan can use Scripture to make us question. Satan knows scripture, and he knows humans are always looking for proof of God. This can be seen as challenging our spiritual strength. Can we survive a challenge to our spirituality? If we act as Jesus did, we can! We must study scripture in order to get closer to God, and come to an understanding of them. This is the way Jesus beats Satan, in this temptation.
Satan is the epitome of every person on this Earth that uses pieces of text and confusing analogies to make true believers doubt our Holy Scriptures. Satan, after all, is the great deceiver, it is his nature to twist our scriptures for his own uses. Jesus again refuses to give into Satan’s temptation, rebuking him with scripture:
Matthew 4:7-9
7 Jesus said to him, Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 And he said to him, All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.
Here, we see what Satan governs on Earth. Satan has the power to hand Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world, if only Jesus would worship him. Satan has many vices and treasures with which he can tempt us, but Jesus already has His kingdom in Heaven, and is in the process of establishing it on Earth. Of course, this is in opposition to Satan’s control of the Earth. We can see how Satan becomes bolder, asking that Jesus break His greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind (Mat 22:37).” Not only must Jesus break His own commandment, but Jesus must also give up His status as God, by worshiping another being as if he were God. We can also see that Satan is willing to give up his place in the world, in order to get Jesus to declare him God. It would be a smart move, because as Jesus worships Satan and is given the Earth, Jesus would be giving the Throne in Heaven to Satan! Once again, Satan is appealing to a human desire for greed and power. This challenge also requires Jesus to make Himself less than what He is. Jesus handles the adversary easily:
Matthew 4:10-11
10 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.”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Just this small passage can teach us so much about the nature of Satan and how much he governs in this world. Satan can try to tempt us by offering things our bodies need, making us deny who we are as Christians. Satan will challenge us, tempt us using scripture, and appeal to our human nature. Satan is bold, and can offer us anything in the world that we can imagine. Satan is willing to do anything, in order for us to deny our God and deny our place as God’s children.
But, as Jesus did, we have the power to rebuke Satan. As Jesus did, we can command Satan to go away from us, through the power of His name. Remember, Satan can try to use scripture against us. Jesus beat him through a perfect knowledge of those scriptures. If we remember scripture as Jesus did, Satan cannot harm us. If we keep true to our Christian beliefs, and prepare ourselves by staying in prayer, nothing can stand against us and our Almighty God!
Buzz
