Spiritual Mythbuster

I was listening to a recording of one of our retired officers who was invited to preach recently on the topic "Maintaining a healthy spirit, soul and body", and was thrilled to be reminded of the distinction between our spirit (that which communicates spiritually with God) and soul (our mind, intellect, will and emotions). But the greatest lesson I learned was that "satan is not the opposite of God". Too often Christians live with the mythical mindset that satan (meaning 'adversary' or enemy of God) is as powerful as God. The arch enemy of God is not an evil opposite or 'reflection' of God!

Consider the enemy's limitations . . .

• He is not self-existent. He is created.
• He is not sovereign.
  satan rules a domain of demons, but he does not rule beyond the bound of that confinement of rule which God has given him.
  satan never has cast off the government of God, since the rebellion totally failed. He has been exiled to the earth and the domain around it (Ephesians 2:2).
  satan’s chain stretches just so far and God allows him to go that far and no further. He operates completely within the sphere of God’s allowance (e.g. Job 1:12; 2:6; Luke 22:31-32).
  God even uses satan to His own ends (2 Corinthians 12:7).
• He is not omnipotent (all-powerful). He is powerful, yes, but not all powerful (1 John 4:4; Revelation 12:8; 20:2).
• He is not omniscient (all-knowing).
  satan is a 'fallen' angel and angels don’t know everything (1 Peter 1:11-12).
  There is no indication in Scripture that satan can read our thoughts. But he’s pretty good at predicting our behavior, because he’s an expert on human nature.
• He is not omnipresent (everywhere at the same time). He’s fast, but not omnipresent.
  Being a creature who dwells on earth, satan cannot be in more than one place at a time. Job 1:7 makes it clear that satan roams here and there. He was thrown to earth in a war with Michael and other angels and "lost his place in heaven" (Revelation 12:8). If satan can "lose his place," then he is not in every place.
  But satan is the head of a network of subordinate devils who make his influence felt all over the earth (Matthew 12:24).

So let's not live a moment longer by the myth that satan is somehow the opposite of God. He is not, and never will be, an 'equal opposite' of God ~ "Christ is all, yes, all in all".

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV) ~ "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."