on 7 June 2023
Dear all at IPC,
We’re thinking this month on what is the motivation of the Devil having seen his origin and his defeat in previous months.
What is he aiming at?
The way the bible describes him is helpful to us in this – the word Satan means adversary. He is the evil one; the prince of the power of the air; the prince of darkness; the god of this world; Beelzebub; the tempter; the old Serpent; the Dragon; the Father of lies. All these titles show him to be the enemy of God. He is the opposer of all that is good and the great promoter of evil. His aim is to be a rival; his motivation was to displace God. It was pride that drove the devil to fall.
It’s seen clearly in the final temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:9. He shows the Lord Jesus the kingdoms of this world and glory and says “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” We can question the legitimacy of whether he’d be able to keep his promise but what is clear is the devil desires to be worshipped.
Satan has been described as the Ape of God as he imitates God. Herman Bavinck makes the point – “When God builds a church, Satan adds a Chapel, over against the true prophet, he raises up a false prophet, over against the Christ, he poses the Antichrist.. Satan himself appears as an angel of light” (Reformed Dogmatics III:139).
He desires to be worshipped. His longing to displace and even dethrone God as we’ve seen previously, is utterly futile. He is defeated, he knows he is defeated and doomed. His craving for worship will never be met. It is why it makes those who will follow the Devil utterly foolish – it is in the words of Romans to worship the creation rather than the creator. Wonderfully Jesus withstood the temptation where Adam and Israel failed, he emerged triumphant from the wilderness. In the rest of Jesus‘ ministry we again and again see Satan seeking to disrupt, distort and destroy, to wreak havoc. Jesus mastery over the devil and his demons is one of the hallmarks of his ministry
The Lord Jesus says of him, “He 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. Of course we see this first played out in the garden of Eden when he speaks with Eve and interacts for the first time with a human being. Revelation 12:9 identifies “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.”
He comes to Eve in the garden – he distorts the clear word of God, casts doubt on the character of God, denies the truth of God’s word, disrupts God’s creation and death follows in his wake. Adam and Eve quite literally fall for it. There are half truths, insinuations, accusations and disturbances. In many ways he plays his hand in Genesis 3 and the rest of Scripture just amplifies from there what the devil does. In this we see Satan’s approach again and again with his ultimate desire to usurp God, to displace him.
His aim however is unfulfilled and utterly futile. He is defeated and he knows he is defeated and doomed. The Lion roars but is on a leash.
He has power but it is limited. He tempts people to sin, he plucks the word of God from the hearts of those who hear, he has blinded the eyes of many unbelievers. But all of this is done under God’s sovereignty and authority. He wants to take as many with him as he can to the fate of destruction. But his aim of usurping and replacing God – his motivation of being worshipped – has been devastatingly destroyed. He’s on borrowed time.
Again we are confronted with mysteries and we marvel at the providence of God. Whilst allowing the devil’s existence, the Lord displays his sovereign mastery over him. Incredibly and ultimately the devil serves God’s purpose.
Our finite minds cannot comprehend this, but God’s good plans will be fulfilled even when it comes to Satan.
Your Minister and friend,
Paul