Who's the Devil?: Satan was created
Read More Looking Up
Read More Upward Glances
I love Legos. As a kid, if I wasn't playing with my slingshot or toy guns outside, I was playing with my Legos inside. I love how open Legos are. I could create any other toy I wanted from them. A bucket full of Legos was the only toy I ever needed because Legos let me create, and I could do anything I wanted with the things I built. Interestingly, I could never create another me.
Even as far as artificial intelligence has advanced in recent years, we, as a species, have yet to create anything that can rival the creativity, intuition and learning power of humans. It seems to be a rule of being that the created is always inferior to the creator.
I'm beginning an examination of just who the devil is. We have this enemy who goes by several names, and it behooves us to know just who he is and what his role is in the world. The first thing to know about Satan is that he was created by God and is, therefore, subordinate to him. The same way my Legos were not greater than me, Satan is not greater than God.
God is not only the creator, but he differs from us in our own creativity because he was not created by anything like we were. Moses, who used to speak with God "face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11) said, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God" (Psalm 90:2). In more modern, philosophical terms, we would render "everlasting to everlasting" as "from infinite past to infinite future." God is infinite in every sense. He is, but he has no beginning or end. That isn't true for any other being in existence. You and I each had a beginning. All the angels had a beginning, including Satan.
And every beginning comes from God. The first verse of the Bible says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Everything has its origins with God. "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:3).
If this is true, and it follows that nothing is greater than its creator, then nothing is greater than God who is the creator of everything. Not even Satan.
There's a popular misconception about our enemy that Satan and God are opposed but equal. The myth goes that neither is able to overpower the other, and because they have diametrically opposed values and goals, they are locked in this never-ending battle between good and evil in which neither ever really wins.
This system of thinking is called "dualism." The dualist version of God who is not powerful enough to overcome evil and is only able to radiate good, squishy, lovey-dovey feelings is worthy of neither worship nor the title God. Nor is it the God the Bible describes. The Bible describes a God who is actually able to do something. More than that, he is able to do the best thing, even when that means allowing evil for a time.
The dualist God is a fiction.
In reality, God created Satan. Ezekiel 28:15, speaking directly to Satan, says, "You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you."
If we accept the rule of being that the created is not more powerful than the creator, then we must accept that Satan is not even close to equal with God in any way. He is not more wise. He is not more intelligent. He is not more powerful. He is in no way able to anything outside of what God allows. Satan even required God's permission when he dismantled Job's life. In Job 1, God says, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person" (Job 1:12). God allowed Satan's activity, but restricted it, and Satan obeyed God's restriction. When Satan ruined Job's health in the next chapter, it was again because of God's allowance and subject to God's restrictions. God said, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life" (Job 2:6), and thus Satan was prevented from actually killing Job.
Evil, if not yet eradicated altogether, is always at least limited and bounded by God's goodness. God is still good even when we and Satan are not. God is still most loving and most powerful in the face of our evil as well as Satan's evil.
I cannot imagine any biblical discussion on who Satan is that does not begin here with the simple fact that Satan is created and subject to God's authority. That means the good one wins. He could snap his fingers now and eradicate evil altogether, but that would mean getting rid of you and me in the process. He loves us too much for that. Instead, he has a better plan that, unfortunately, includes tolerating evil from Satan and us for a time.
In every conversation about Satan, take heart. God created Satan and will someday defeat him.