Note: I have developed a set of slides in PowerPoint to use in delivering this sermon. If anyone is interested in having the PowerPoint file I will send it directly by email. Email me at sam@srmccormick.net to request it, with the word "slides" in the subject line and "God of this World" in either the subject line or the body of the message. Allow 2-3 days for me to respond.
The god of this World
I. Introduction
2 Cor 4:3-4 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Questions begin to pop:
•Who - or what - is the “god of this world?”
•Is he a living character, or an evil force within ourselves?
•In what way is the “god of this world” a fitting description?
•Are we who live in this world under his power?
•Is God in control, or is Satan the ruler of the realm we live in?
An overarching question: Since God is the only God, how can another be the god of this world?
?Dan 4:35 “the Lord is God and there is no other.” -Moses
?2 Chron 6:14 “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth” - Solomon
Satan is not God, nor a corrupted deity. Neither is he the opposite, or counterpart of God. He is a created being in rebellion against God.
1. What does Paul mean by “the god of this world?”
“god” is from theos , (I) in the religion of the Greeks, which included multiple gods denoted "deity," although not referring to the God in heaven we know.
There have always been false gods – entities and non-entities who pretended to be God (Roman emperors for example), but there is one true God. Today we are examining one such usurper.
By comparing various passages and characteristics, we see the same entity also called:
?Prince of the power of the air. Eph 2:2 As the prince of the power of the air he is “the spirit that works in the children of disobedience.” (Cf Eph 5:6, Col 3:6)
?Prince, or ruler, of this world – John 12:31-32, John 14:30
?Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons – Matt 12:24-30 (Jesus refers to him as Satan)
?Beliel, who has no accord with Christ (2 Cor 6:15)
?The dragon, called Satan, the devil, the serpent, Rev 12:9
In the interest of time, we will not discuss each “handle,” but you can note the references and see that the same designs are common to all names.
2. Definitions of words used to describe the god of this world.
? “Satan” is from satanas (G4567), a Greek form derived from the Aramaic (Heb., Satan), "an adversary." In the New Testament, the word is used to designate (a) the adversary of God and Christ, (b) God’s people, and (c) mankind.
?“Devil” is from diabolos (G1228), "an accuser, a slanderer" (from diaballo, "to accuse, to malign"). It is one of the names of Satan.
?“Belial” is a Greek word of Hebrew origin, meaning “worthlessness,” or “extreme wickedness and destruction.”
?Human nature or intellect – nous, which, speaking generally, is the seat of reflective consciousness, comprising the faculties of perception and understanding, and those of feeling, judging and determining. Rom 7:23,25; 12:2; Col 2:18; 1 Tim 6:5; Tit 1:15
3. A living character, or force within?
This last definition raises a question. Is the god of this world a living character with consciousness and a will--or do the descriptions refer figuratively to a compartment within ourselves--the human nature that battles against the divine nature? That question is not the main thrust of our inquiry today, and the effect on us is the same either way, but for reasons we will discuss in a few minutes, we will take notice that this world’s god is represented Biblically in both ways.
As a living character:
?Those descriptive terms we have already mentioned: Prince, or ruler, of this world, Prince of the power of the air
?Job’s tormentor - Job chaps 1 & 2
?Jesus’ tempter - Matt 4:1
?The enemy who sowed tares - Matt 13:28 (an enemy has done this)
?The one who obtained permission to sift Peter “like wheat” while Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. Luke 22:31-32
A liar and the father of lies and thus “father” of the Pharisees - John 8:44
?Beelzebul, king of demons – Matt 12:24,27
?A roaring lion - 1 Peter 5:8
?The dragon who makes war in heaven – Rev 12:9
As the enemy within:
?That which defiles a man come out of him – Matt 15:11,18-20
“What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.”
?If your eye (or hand) offend you Mat 5:29-30
“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
?Lust, when it is conceived – Jas. 1:14-15
“Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”
?Sinful passions work in the members of our bodies - Rom 7:5
“For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.”
?Desires of the flesh – Eph 2:3
“we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
?Jealousy and strife are fleshly, or carnal ways –
1 Cor 3:3 “you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?”
?Rom 7:17-24 – the war between members and mind
?Must crucify, or put to death, self (the flesh’s appetites, messages, and ways.
Rom 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
There can be no doubt that there is a resonance between Satan and our fleshly nature.
These representations of the force of evil bring to mind the observation of the cartoon character Pogo several decades ago:
There are forces within us that work against our highest interest. If we reward those urges, we become our own worst enemy.
4. In this life, you are a walking civil war. Christians want God to work in our lives to accomplish his purposes, but we don’t really want him to do it in a way that messes up our own plans. Even when we pray, isn’t our prayer often for God to fulfill our desires?
Inside every person lives a “me,” a “self.” The god of this world and all his workers are targeting the “me” inside, offering the world’s goods, pleasures, and indulgences. He did so to Jesus, offering him all the kingdoms of the world.
Satan, the devil, operates on THE SELF within us in a way that is slanted the same as natural promptings and urges that come from our members and carnal urges and thoughts, cultivating the fields that yield to the attitudes and actions he desires: pride, greed, lust, pleasure, hatred, resentment, self-praise, self-pity, etc. These are things that can live inside us, surrounding God’s rightful place at the center of our being.
Layers of self hinder us from enthroning God in the center of our souls.
It is these layers of SELF that God peels away in the surrendered Christian as he cultivates the divine nature that he first demonstrated in the person of his son Jesus, and now makes us partakers by way of his great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4).
II. What is the domain of the god of this world?
The bible often shows “this world” in opposition to God. It refers to the world’s values and offerings--the enticement to seek after things that are not eternal, which corrupt the soul of the man, who is designed to be an eternal creature.
The god of this world is “god” to those who are “of this world.” 2 Cor 4:4 (text)
?John 8:23-24 to the Pharisees: "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.
?John 18:36 to Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."
?1 Cor 3:19 – “the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God.”
?Eph 2:1b-2 – “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world…”
?1 Jn 2:15 – “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
?1 Jn 2:16 – “For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world.”
?John 1:10 - Jesus was “in the world,” but the world did not know him.
?John 9:5 “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
?Joh 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
?Rom 12:2 “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind (nous).”
?Php 2:15 “that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”
If our affections are set on this world, we are in the domain of this world’s god.
III. What are his powers, and how are his powers exercised?
?I am not sure we can produce an inventory of Satan’s powers, but we know from one of his names – diabolos meaning devil – and various scriptures that his aim is to be the accuser of man. Satan’s primary power is to accuse, for in so doing he challenges both the one he accuses and God, who wants to save that person. The rest are methods to gain that with which to accuse. He seeks to do that by influencing your choices. He cannot make you do anything. Right or wrong, you make the choices. The choice to do right is always available, though sometimes difficult.
To acquire accusations, he works through the most vulnerable parts of the SELF in you:
1. He excites our selfish tendencies using many tricks.
?Lies - Deceived Eve, led her and Adam into disobedience.
?Blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor 4:4). Faith thwarts Satan’s power.
?Disguises himself as an “angel of light.” 2 Cor 11:14
?Offers prosperity (ref. temptation of Jesus – remember that he is a deceiver)
?Persecution – the fleshly self within us wants to avoid danger, fear, pain, and death.
?Unworthiness – suggests we are too defiled to be of interest to God.
?Evil government - wields power through corrupt or oppressive governments? Yet we are to submit to such governments, even those who do not honor Christ, as the Roman government did not. The truth is that God’s work is not done at its best through such evil governments, and can be done effectively in spite of them.
?False religion – designed for pleasure. Led God's people into idolatry and the ruin of their nation.
?Entertainment - Satanic lyrics in rock music, etc.
?Mocks the faith of the believer before the world and before God.
These devices are aimed at the layers of self that wrap innermost part of our soul.
2. Results of these methods:
Using such methods, all aimed at the SELF within, Satan has:
?Engineered the fall of mankind from the blessed state in the garden
?So corrupted man that God once destroyed all save Noah's family
?Made Sodom and Gomorrah so putrid they were destroyed
?Fueled the fires of wars
?Harmed lives by all kinds of sin—people using and discarding other people, sexual sins, unwanted pregnancies and their aftermath, addictions, etc.
?Orchestrated the corruption of the church in practically every age through self-seeking, self-serving men who labor to control others for their own gain and glory.
IV. Who is in control of this world we live in?
Since we live in a world glutted with evil and evildoers, we must ask, “who is in control—God, or Satan?”
1. “God is in control.” We hear people say when someone has narrowly escaped calamity and loss, that he happy outcome proves that “God is in control.” If that is true, what does it mean?
?That God controls every action in the world?
?That God controls that in which he desires to intervene?
?Simply that God’s power exceeds Satan’s?
?How does “God in control” relate to man’s free will?
?Does God carve out a niche in which Satan is allowed to operate unhindered?
?If God is in control, how does “the god of this world” operate at all?
In some sense, it is true that God is in control of everything.
?Psa 103:19 – the Lord rules over everything
?Eph 4:6 - one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Nothing can defeat or thwart God’s absolute will, but often his principles, pleas, and warnings are violated and ignored, suggesting that Satan’s will, or even man’s, are stronger. That tell us God does not control everything. Some things he leaves to human choice.
2. God does not move the controlling levers and turn the wheels to manipulate every aspect of our lives. God is not the direct cause of everything that happens. Clearly, he does not choose the paths of mass murderers, pedophiles, or Pharisaic religionists. If he works his will absolutely and uses his control to thwart every advance by Satan, we would see ONLY good outcomes, or ones that appear good to us.
3. “God is in control” means that he controls the life that is surrendered to him, granting requests that are consistent with his larger purposes. But just how he decides to grant one wish and deny another, as he certainly does, is beyond our available information and beyond understanding.
We may say the same when calamity strikes, such as an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant explosion in Japan. In 2005 at least one TV evangelist sought to explain Hurricane Katrina as God’s punishment for the sinfulness of New Orleans. But I have many friends in New Orleans. Some lost homes and suffered with no evident connection to the sinfulness associated with the city. Those who appoint themselves as the explainers of God’s actions leave unexplained why such a catastrophe did not come upon Las Vegas, San Francisco, or Hollywood.
To attempt to account for God’s actions is to step into the shoes of Job’s friends. They were only guessing, and were wrong because they hadn’t read chapters 1 and 2. And when Job questioned God about his actions, God answered, "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” Job 38:1
Let us not “darken counsel” like Job’s friends, who did him no service.
“We may know the ways of God only insofar as he has revealed and explicitly explained them to us.
When disappointment, hardship, and calamity strike, how can we tell if it is God’s discipline, or tempering and training, or testing – or if it is of evil origin?
We cannot tell. We can only decide how we respond to it – to doubt, fear, and rebel--or love, obey, and trust him who never once did us any wrong, and never will.
When we feel that God has turned away from us, and we wonder why, we may later see that God held us and guided us in paths we didn’t know were there, and worked things out to his satisfaction – often a better outcome than we imagined, or were praying for. His is over the god of this world. He acts on his own terms, in his own time, and doesn’t have to explain it to us.
Rom 8:28 “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
V. Has a change occurred in Satan’s status?
?Is the serpent’s situation different in our age than when he tempted Eve?
?Is Satan’s power stronger or weaker than in the past?
?Is he bound now? Has he been, or will he be?
?If he is bound, why is sin all around us?
?Has he been released from his prison (Rev 20:7)?
1. A summary view of Satan’s origin, phases of existence, and destiny may be represented somewhat chronologically this way.
1.Satan is not eternal, but was created at some time before his appearance to Eve. Ezek. 28:13-15
2.He was in the garden of paradise, where the tree of life stood. Gen 3:1
3.In Job’s lifetime, Satan came “before the Lord” among the sons of God, but clearly had access to earth and ability to interact with its inhabitants. Job 1:6, 2:1
4.He is seen “cast down” or “falling from heaven.” Luke 10:18, Rev 12:9
5.He is seen “bound” for a thousand years. Rev 20:2-3 (not a literal interval, but a long, indefinite time)
6.He is released for a short time, and resumes deceiving nations. Rev 20:7-8
7.He is thrown into the lake of fire, to be tormented forever. Rev 20:10
2. Where is Satan now in this anthology? This question has confounded eminent scholars from the time John wrote it, and continues to stimulate vigorous, sometimes acrimonious debate. I do not place myself above those giants of the faith in every age since the apostolic period who have offered their analysis, but out of the vast morass of educated offerings I do have the audacity to offer the following as my understanding of how things pertaining to Satan have advanced, and where they stand now. It draws heavily on Revelation chapters 12 and 20. I admit that I cannot explain every figure and symbol in those passages. But I believe the essence of what I have to say is true and consistent with scripture and history. Whether it is the true interpretation of those scriptures you may consider for yourself.
Read Rev 12:7-13 and 20:1-10. I believe these two passages describe the same events and period, presented in parallel, compatible symbols. Both see use the same terms (the dragon, the old serpent, called the devil and Satan), and both show Satan thrown down.
In Rev 12 he is cast out of heaven to the earth, as there is no more any place for him in heaven (v8-9). The war is led by an angel named Michael. The key to Michael’s victory (v11) is:
?The blood of the Lamb
?The testimony of the brethren
?The willingness of martyrs to die for the gospel
The victory that hurled Satan from heaven to the earth is the saving work of Jesus, from his conception in the body of a peasant girl in Nazareth who found favor with God, through his life, death, and ascension to the Father’s right hand.
In Rev. 20, Satan is cast into a “bottomless pit,” or abyss, by an angel with a key to the pit. I believe the angel is identified as Michael in Rev 12:7, and the key to the bottomless pit is the gospel, which serves as a seal over Satan (v3), so that he may “deceive the nations no more.” Viewed from the vantage point of heaven, to which Satan clearly had access, being cast down to earth could be described as an abyss. The word does not mean a literal bottomless pit, per se, but “an abyss,” or “the deep.”
There are several lakes in Bottomless Lakes State Park in New Mexico, near Roswell. They are not bottomless, but whereas they are small lakes that look like they would have a depth of perhaps 12 to 15 feet deep, some of them are almost a hundred feet deep, ergo the name. For one who had experienced heaven’s glory, such a destination as the earth can be seen as an abyss, to which Satan was figuratively dispatched when expelled from heaven down to earth. And it was the gospel, its proclamation, and people’s belief in it that brought about his fall.
3. In Luke 10, as an advance harbinger of this gospel, Jesus sent out 70 of his disciples into the cities and towns, bringing news of the kingdom of God. When they returned to him, reporting that even “devils” were subject to them in Jesus’ name, listen to what he told them:
“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
Satan’s fall from heaven was associated with the missionary activity of the seventy, the beginning of Jesus’ work of freeing the world from the iron grip of its adversary.
4. Satan is bound
The dragon (Satan, the devil) is thrown down, his power on the believer eliminated or counteracted by the power of the gospel. He can no longer deceive the earth’s nations entirely. The world was once under his lordship, but now he is confronted with an enemy he can never defeat – the gospel, which nullifies the accusations he would bring upon God’s elect. His charges fall flat because their sins are removed.
Both passages recognize the world as having been long in the grip of paganism and hedonism, except for the Hebrews, and the religious practices of their leaders and many worshipers became meaningless, a mere camouflage for evil hearts. Thus Satan had a global reign in the earth’s nations for many centuries. If it seems that evil is running rampant in the world today, try to imagine a world where there was no antidote for its poisoning result. Until Jesus there was no remedy for sin, and in the main, people did not care about pleasing God. This is of course not in the absolute use of the term, but general language. Of course there were exceptions, but generally speaking, all the world’s nations were in the hands of Satan. If, during the present era, the devil “blinds the minds of unbelievers,” it was more emphatically true before the gospel’s influence was felt.
Within a fairly short time, Chritianity spread through Asia Minor, southern and eastern Europe, then the entire continent. In the centuries that followed, the gospel was proclaimed everywhere so that practically to the ends of the earth, the gospel is heard and believed. Today, the gospel now enjoys free range over large parts of the earth, and has been heard and believed on every continent, in every nation on earth. The gospel’s spread did not come cheap – the gospel was bought with the blood of God’s own son and its spread was at the cost of martyrs’ blood.
The influence of the gospel upon the thought and life of mankind cannot be overstated. Christians exert a tremendous good influence upon human life. My view rests on the global truth that the gospel (God’s power for salvation), when coupled with man’s belief in it, to the point of death if required, far reduces and eventually eliminates Satan’s power; therefore he is bound by it. He is bound by the truth that there is a remedy for man that nullifies his accusations.
6. What power does Satan have now?
Rev 12 shows us that Satan has exited heaven, where he was accusing “the brethren.” Rev 20:1-3 shows us that Satan’s power is curbed and his influence curtailed with respect to one distinct sphere of activity: “that he should deceive the nations no more.” That capability lies outside the reach of the great chain with which he is bound. Infiltrated by believers in the gospel, entire nations will not fall before him—many in those nations will bear witness to Christ’s work of salvation, at the cost of their lives if necessary. During the thousand years there will be no return to the conditions that existed globally before the incarnation of Christ.
Though Satan is thrown down and “bound” by the angel’s key—the gospel—and men’s proclamation of it, he is not completely powerless. The devil is not bound in every sense, nor his influence completely destroyed. Within the space in which he is permitted to exert his evil influence, he rampages furiously.
A vicious dog securely bound by a long and heavy chain can do great damage within the circle of his imprisonment. Outside that circle, however, the animal can hurt no one. Satan has some room to maneuver, both in the lives of believers and unbelievers. Otherwise Christians would never sin. Though he cannot deceive entire nations any more, he can persuade people to disbelieve the gospel, or try to drive them to renounce it. Part of what God’s will for us is that we should believe and obey him in the presence of the capability--even amid temptation and desire--to disobey. The realm where Satan is allowed to exercise is to attempt to influence human choice. Those who choose for God are outside Satan’s reach. God’s power is greater, and he can sustain us and intervene in our best interest.
1 John 4:1-4 “greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.
7. There remains in this analysis a final brief chapter. Satan is to be released from his prison (Rev 20:7-10). This can mean nothing other than that he will gain some degree of influence he does not possess while bound. Perhaps there lies ahead of us a time when the gospel will again be suppressed by persecution, evil governments, or apathy, and Satan will once again be free to pursue a career of leading entire nations into every form of evil, as was the case before Christ entered the human realm. But he will not succeed, as this will touch off a war of apocalyptic proportion, and fire from heaven will come down and devour the believers’ adversaries. Not literal war, but figuratively describing a ferocious conflict and a final end of the god of this world.
We know Satan’s destiny. Following this last great conflict, he is to be thrown into the lake of fire, to be tormented forever. May God grant that we not share his destiny.
Countless souls who would otherwise be in the power of the god of this world have found salvation through the gospel, God’s power to save. Obedience to the gospel is very simple. Believe in Jesus, the son of God as the Savior, turn away from evil, and be baptized for the remission of sins, and you will be a child of God, a new creation freely forgiven, and recipient of the Holy Spirit. If you allow it, God will peel away the layers of self and come into your heart, and live there.
