We had a little drama in Sunday school yesterday. It can be interesting when a particular person is there, who, to put it delicately, operates on a different plane of reality than the rest of us. I’ll call him Jim (not his real name) to protect his identity.During the discussion, people were weighing in on how some people prosper in this life despite not living in God’s will. One commenter was explaining that the devil rules the world because man turned over the title deed by his disobedience in the garden. He noted that the devil is called the god of this world (alluding to 2 Corinthians 4:4). At about that point, our dear friend Jim jumped up from his seat exclaiming that Jesus had prayed to God, Lord of heaven and earth (alluding to Matthew 11:25) and did we mean to tell him that we didn’t have dominion over the devil and that I’m not going to sit here listening to these lies. Then he left the room.Now, my question is
Great subject! Satan has indeed been given a lot of influence in the world by sinful mankind, so much so that 1 John 5:19NKJV says, We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. This obviously refers only to those who are willingly subject to his power. The Son of God is seated at the right hand of the Father, waiting until His enemies be made his footstool (Ps. 110:1, Mk 12:36, Heb 10:12-13, etc.). Nowhere in Scripture do we see anything to indicate that Satan is now in possession of the title deed to the world. The Adversary is
This is the Devil seeking to deceive and tempt Jesus to sin.Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” (Luke 4:8)As Genesis 3and the rest of Scripture demonstrates, we can never and must never trust what Satan says, as if he would ever be interested in speaking the truth. Everything he does and says is deceptive. Jesus went so far as to say of Satan, There is no truth in him.You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because
simply put…
no, man never had title deed to the earth. as amply illustrated, the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.Man was placed in the garden for the purpose of cultivating and to keep guard over (Gen 2.15).In essence he was a co-laborer, along with the woman, with God.Paul later uses this analogy in 1 Cor 3.1f.Finally, as Jesus told Pilate he had no authority over Him unless it had been given him (John 19:11), then it stands to reason the prince and power of the air, the god and ruler of this world can only do so because he/she/it has been given such authority and power________________God-HonoringChrist-CenteredBible-BasedSpirit-Led
Jesus referred to him as such. ?????? John 12:31(NASB95) 31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now
Matt. 11:25At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father,
While I am not familiar with everything on the following website, and can’t vouch for everything they say, I found the following article to be a good summary of the rulership of Satan in this world: http://www.gotquestions.org/Satan-god-world.html
Tom,According to Thayer, in the specific passages which you cited, the ruler (Archon in Gk) of this world refers to the ruler of the irreligious mass of mankind.
You are right about there being a downside.Death, destru ction, mayhem..________________
You aren’t Jim, are you?
I didn’t ask the guy who used the phrase
Miss Bonnie, I pray the love of God will prevail in your Sunday School Class if people in your class are more important than who’s right or wrong in scripture interpretation.
OK….(so as not to assume anything)….the problem of evil?How did it get here?And to be clear…is it your position that everyone who has wrestled with theodicy embraces Manichaeism? The problem of evil, as I understand it, is the problem of sin. My view, which I derive from Scripture (like we all do, I think), affirms libertarian free will, and denies completely the idea that God is complicit with evil, ever. The Almighty is absolutely holy, and in no way a cause of evil or sin.
I didn’t ask the guy who used the phrase
We actually have a very small class with some wonderful people. I think everyone took it in a stride. The guy who walked out is a very unique person, and I think everyone takes that into account. And I could elaborate on that, but this is the internet for all to see, so I’ll just leave it at that. Thanks for the prayer.