I heard a song this morning that caught my theological attention -
Battle by Chris August, here are a few of the lyrics -
There's a battle between good and evil
And it's raging inside of me
There's a struggle - it's God and the devil
It's Love against the Enemy
To the credit of the author, he says the battle is inside of him, not that God is actually struggling against the Devil. I do think many people envision a true fight between God and the Devil and just assume that good/love/God will win out over evil and the Devil. In reality, is God ever the slightest bit taxed by the Devil? Is God ever engaged in any kind of struggle? Can the creator of all things find Himself being worn out by one of His creations?
Absolutely not -
Job 41:11 Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?
Everything under heaven is Mine.
Job 42:1 Then Job answered the Lord and said: 2 “I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
Jer. 32:17 ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
Psalm 115:3 But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
Acts 17:24 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
Eph. 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
Rev. 4:11 “You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”
Why would God create things that would appose Him and His will? I can't be sure of all reasons, but clearly it is not any sign of His weakness, nor does it suggest that he is in any kind of "struggle" - ever! What we do know is it all exists, by His hand and for His glory!
Rom. 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
35 "Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
Very good point, and great Scripture reinforcing it. Much comfort can be taken away from this as well, in the knowing that the One who has adopted us into His family through Christ Jesus has All power, and the absolute final say so about what goes on in His universe. With so much danger and uncertainty all about us, such a beautiful, firm foundation to stand on.
ReplyDeleteAlso, while I'm sure the devil is a powerful foe who without Christ's atonement for us and subsequent indwelling of the Spirit would surely devour us, we give him way too much credit for our struggles and failures. I believe that the Bible tells us our biggest problem is our own prideful, selfish, idol producing flesh. Thankfully, the cure for both foes is the same-Salvation through Jesus, and sanctification by His Spirit in conjunction with His Word!!! tj