No Higher Power
Can God be sovereign over Satan when the world seems entirely under the Devil’s control? Absolutely!
A cursory look at the world might suggest that Satan, not God, controls everything. Wars, human trafficking, rampant crime and exploitation—to name just a few evils—argue against God’s sovereignty over the Evil One, whom the apostle Paul called “the god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4).
How can God be sovereign over Satan when the whole world seems so wicked? To answer this question, we need to go back to the beginning of creation.
Genesis 1—2 describes God’s creation of the universe; its inhabitants; and especially Earth, our home. At the end of days three, four, and five, God affirmed His creation was good; and on day six, He called it “very good” (1:31). So far, His creative work, including humankind, was untouched by evil, yet vulnerable to it.
Genesis 3 records the fall of humanity, when Satan through the serpent caused Adam and Eve to sin. Both ate of the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (3:6). Sin entered the world, infected humanity, and brought death. At this point, it appears that Satan usurped God’s rule and overturned His sovereignty. But God’s plan remained in place. God held all parties accountable and promised Satan’s demise (v. 15).
Satan’s Boundaries
The extent of God’s sovereignty over Satan is revealed in the account of a man named Job, a devout worshiper of God. In the opening of the book of Job, all the “sons of God” (angels), including Satan, presented themselves before the Almighty (Job 1:6–7).
God specifically drew Satan’s attention to Job (v. 8) and permitted Satan to act against Job, but with a clear limitation (vv. 9–12). Finding himself unable to cause Job to sin, Satan then received God’s permission to harm Job physically—but not to kill him (2:1–6).
Satan can only act within God’s will, even when inflicting terrible destruction and pain on humanity. It is beyond the scope of human understanding to grasp the fullness of God’s purpose for allowing such evil. But the Bible teaches that He both allows it and restricts it. There is no higher power than God. He has absolute sovereignty over sin and over its originator, Satan.
At the Cross
Perhaps the clearest, most powerful demonstration of God’s sovereignty over Satan is the cross. If we did not know that God planned to redeem humanity through the death of His Son, we might think Satan won the day when Jesus was crucified. But appearances can be deceiving.
Satan orchestrated Jesus’ arrest (Mt. 26:47–50), trials, condemnation, and crucifixion; but it is obvious that Jesus allowed all these things in order to fulfill His Father’s will (v. 39). He could have called on angels to deliver Him (v. 53). But God’s plan was that Christ should die for our sins and rise from the dead.
The apostle Peter declared, “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23, ESV). Satan’s intent was to destroy God’s Son and thwart God’s plan; but instead, Satan became the instrument of its fulfillment.
Jesus’ resurrection testifies to God’s sovereignty, winning the day and defeating the worst that Satan could accomplish (Mt. 28:1–6; Acts 2:24).
In the Demon Realm
In response to persecution, the early believers gathered for prayer, addressing God as “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them” (Acts 4:24).
They didn’t question God’s sovereignty, despite the difficulties they faced. Rather, they trusted in it because His authority and power as Creator were evident, and all plots against Him were futile (vv. 25–26). Their confidence was in God’s control of life’s circumstances, including the crucifixion and their persecution (vv. 27–28).
Even before the crucifixion, Jesus demonstrated victory over Satan by resisting the Devil’s temptations (Mt. 4:1–11), in contrast to Adam, who succumbed. God’s plan to redeem humanity was on track and is another expression of His control over the Evil One.
In fact, throughout Jesus’ ministry, He exercised authority over the demonic realm, which Satan leads. But Satan could not prevent Jesus from delivering people under demonic control (8:28–34; 9:32–33; 15:21–28).
The apostle John wrote that the indwelling Holy Spirit in believers is greater than Satan, “he who is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4). This is the basis of our confidence that we can overcome opposition from “the whole world” that “lies under the sway of the wicked one” (5:19). God’s sovereignty in the spiritual realm is our protection against a powerful enemy and his accomplices.
In History
Scripture also reveals God’s sovereignty over the nations that Satan uses to accomplish his purposes—and yet fulfill God’s. Even the procession of empires that have dominated Israel and at times have sought to exterminate the Jewish people are subject to God’s authority, especially to God the Son (Dan. 7:13–14).
In the days of ancient Persia, Satan tried to use Haman to destroy world Jewry; but God had placed the Jewish maiden Esther in the palace as queen and used her and her cousin, Mordecai, to thwart Haman’s plan (book of Esther).
In the days of the Roman Empire, Satan used Hadrian to disperse Israel, rename Judea and Samaria as Syria Palaestina, and rename Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina. This attempt to erase the Jewish nation failed. God preserved His people in their dispersion, despite many attempts to exterminate them, one of which was through Satan’s instrument Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust of World War II. Six million innocent Jews were murdered, but they survived as a people. Then God resurrected the nation in 1948 and has protected the State of Israel through many terrible wars of survival.
Satan cannot overthrow God’s plan for Israel or His redemption of humanity through Israel because God is sovereign over all powers, including over the Evil One. This fact is particularly clear in the authority of God’s Son, Jesus Christ (Mt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20–22; Col. 2:10).
In the Future
The final testimony to God’s sovereignty over Satan lies ahead. In the future seven-year Tribulation, the Antichrist, Satan’s most powerful agent and one he will energize directly, will rise to world domination (Dan. 9:24–27; cf. Rev. 6—19).
He will demand universal worship and conquer everything before him. In his persecution of all who oppose him, he will especially persecute the Jewish people. Without divine intervention, they would be destroyed (Zech. 14:1–2; cf. Rev. 12:13–17).
At this critical juncture, Messiah Jesus will return to Earth to defeat the Antichrist and his armies, overthrow Satan’s proxy, and rescue His Chosen People (Zech. 14:3–21; cf. Rev. 19:11–21). He will destroy the armies amassed against Him (Rev. 19:21) and capture the Beast (Antichrist) and False Prophet, both Satan’s agents, and cast them alive into the Lake of Fire, the place of final torment and judgment (v. 20). God’s sovereignty over Satan will be displayed gloriously. But one more display is yet to come.
In the End
Having defeated the Antichrist and his armies, Jesus will establish His Kingdom on Earth for 1,000 years. Satan will be incarcerated during that time, with no access to humankind (20:1–3).
At the end of the 1,000 years, Satan will be released to test humanity. Sadly, as the final proof of mankind’s total depravity, he will amass an enormous following of people who reject God, even though they have lived in a perfect world with Jesus ruling righteously from the throne of David.
The Evil One will persuade his hordes to attack Jerusalem, the seat of Jesus’ authority (vv. 7–9). Immediately, fire from heaven will consume the attackers; and Satan will be hurled into the Lake of Fire for eternity (vv. 9–10).
Satan’s attempts to overthrow God finally will come to an end. God will reign supreme in final judgment (vv. 11–15) and inaugurate the new heaven and new earth (chaps. 21—22).
No matter what schemes or initiatives the Evil One uses, the result will always be the same. God will always defeat Satan and demonstrate that He alone is in control. This truth should comfort believers facing Satan’s wrath and assure them of their eternal security (Rom. 8:31–39).
Our responsibility is to submit to God and resist the Devil, as James commanded, with the promise that Satan will flee (Jas. 4:7). Let us live in the victory that Christ, our Sovereign, has won for us.
