Does the devil serve a vital purpose? 

What was the point of Jesus dying to break the stranglehold of the devil over our world when it’s pretty obvious the devil is alive and well and still having huge influence on people? And if, as John 16:11 states, the devil “now stands condemned,” why hasn’t God stopped him having any further influence?

It’s because God created the devil for our benefit, which continued after Jesus defeated the devil too – as in 1 Corinthians 5:5, for example, when Paul told the Corinthians to “hand over the man charged with sexual immorality to Satan.” So Satan served a vital purpose in a man’s life – for a vital benefit too, “so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.”  

And the same for Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7, who “was given a thorn in my flesh a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” So Satan served a vital purpose in the life of an apostle, but again for a vital benefit, “so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (9), enabling him to “delight in weaknesses, for when I’m weak then I’m strong” (10). 

And the same for Jesus in Matthew 4:1 when he was “led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.” So Satan even served a vital purpose in Jesus’ life, also for a vital benefit, because “the devil left him” (11), proving that “serving God only” (10) puts the devil to flight. 

And it was only after “Satan entered Judas” in John 13:27, that Judas became “seized with remorse” for the first time in his life, on realizing he’d “betrayed innocent blood” (Matthew 27:3-4), because up ’til then Jesus had meant little to him.

But wasn’t it also risky creating the devil? And especially creating him “crafty” in Genesis 3:1, because the serpent could make a blatant lie believable and irresistible. He captivated Adam and Eve with the idea that “you will be like God” (5), with the power to decide good and evil for themselves. 

And it worked so easily that one cannot help wondering why God would create such an effective deceiver, who’s still “prowling around like a roaring lion looking for people to devour,” 1 Peter 5:8, while cleverly  “masquerading as an angel of light,” 2 Corinthian 11:14. But “Was the devil really God’s idea?”….(next blog)