WHO HE IS SATAN AND HOW DOES HE OPERATE

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (I Peter 5:8)

Our enemy is known by various names; Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Apollyon (napoleon). It doesn’t matter by what name you know him by, he is our enemy, he hates us and he wants to destroy us. It is because of this we should know who he is and how he operates.

“Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31).  These were Jesus’ words before his death on the cross which would bring salvation to His people and also defeat Satan. From the moment of Jesus’ death, Satan was judged, defeated, and radically limited in his power. Satan came to steal, kill and destroy God’s creation.

The first thing we should know is that the devil cannot force us to sin! James 4:7 says, “Therefore submit to God, resist the Devil and he will flee from you.” It is because of this that no one can truly say, “The Devil made me do it.” He can tempt and seduce us to sin, but he has no power or ability to make us commit the act of sin. With every temptation that Satan presents, God provides a way of escape (I Corinthians 10:13). If we choose to yield to the temptation, our sin is the result of our fleshly lusts and desires.

The bible teaches that because God created us with free will, no one, not even the Devil has power over us to make us sin. Free will is a gift from God that cannot be removed (Romans 11:29). Satan cannot overtake a person’s will without them entering into a covenant relationship with him. A person would have to voluntarily permit Satan to control them. The only way that he can get us to sin is through temptation or deception. The Bible emphatically teaches that if we resist him he will flee.

The word of God teaches that only God is omnipresent, He can be in many places at the same time, (Jeremiah 23:24). The Devil does not possess this attribute. He is limited to one place at a time. It is because he is very active in the world, that many think he is everywhere. Satan has power and a vast legion of fallen angels at his command, an army of demonic spirits that do his work for him. Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (the air).” 

Satan is called the "prince of the power of the air" in Ephesians 2:2. He is the "ruler of this world (age)" II Corinthians 4:4; John 12:31. This is not to suggest that he rules the world completely; God is still sovereign. God, in His infinite wisdom, has allowed Satan to operate in this world within the boundaries He has set for him. When the Bible says Satan has power over the world, we must remember that God has given him domain over unbelievers only. The children of God are not under the rule of Satan (Colossians 1:13). Unbelievers are caught "in the snare of the devil" (II Timothy 2:26) and lie in the "power of the evil one" (I John 5:19).                                       

When the Bible says that Satan is the "god of this world," it is not saying that he has absolute authority. It is conveying the idea that Satan rules over the unbelieving world in a specific way. The unbeliever follows Satan’s agenda: "The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (II Corinthians 4:4).

Another thing that we should know about the devil is that he cannot do anything without God’s permission. God is sovereign over all things; He is in control of everything in this world, even Satan is under God’s rulership. In Job chapter one, we see that Satan had to present himself before God and he even had to ask for permission to torment Job. The truth is that Satan has to ask God before he can do anything. We can rest on this tremendous truth that nothing can happen to us without God’s permission first. And, even if God permits it, He is with you, His hand is on it, and Satan can only move in the parameters that God has set. Your destruction is not part of it. The only part of a believer that Satan can influence is our human part (our flesh). Satan holds dominion over that carnality which he gained through Adam and Eve’s sin (Romans 6:16; Colossians 1:13).

Before Jesus’ victory on the cross, possession by demons was prevalent in biblical times. We know this because Jesus cast out many demons during his ministry. Demons could possess a person at will as there were no limits to their liberty. Jesus’ victory on the cross eliminated their liberty to possess a human being and Satan, nor can his demons no longer possess a person unless they invite them to do so. Satan and demons no longer hold this right to enter uninvited in and out of a person at will.

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:14-15). Satan now is very limited in the length and extent of his power. He cannot accomplish anything without a person’s co-operation.

One great misconception that people have of the Devil is that he has access to our thoughts, our minds. The scripture tells us in I kings 8:39 that only God can know our hearts. The devil (the deceiver) will try to make you think that he has greater powers than he does. The battlefield is the mind, and this is where we need to be vigilant to discern from where our thoughts and actions are motivated.

Without God’s permission, Satan has no power or authority to do a single thing. He cannot search or know the human heart. Satan is a created being who is subservient to God, his power is limited. Know your enemy so you can withstand anything that he might throw at you.

One great truth and promise from the Word of God is that Satan cannot win. Romans 16:20 says; “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet” Satan is a defeated enemy. The battle is not ours, but God’s, and He has given us everything we need to withstand the enemy’s attacks. We have authority over him through Christ Jesus.