We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

jesus defeats satan

Thankful that God Outsmarted Satan

Concerning the cross, Paul wrote that God’s intent was “that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places … in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Eph 3:10-11).

One dimension of this “rich variety” is rarely discussed in Christian circles today, but it played a vital role in the theology of the early church. In a nutshell, I’m referring to the fact that God actually outsmarted Satan and his legions with the result that they ultimately brought about their own demise. Paul wrote in another letter, “None of the rulers of this age understood [God’s secret wisdom], for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8).

Perhaps blinded by their inability to understand love, even those demons who seemed to know who Jesus was could not understand why he had come to earth (Lk 8:21), an ignorance apparently shared by higher demonic powers (“rulers of this age”) as well. Since his early attempt in the desert to tempt Jesus into collaboration with his evil kingdom had failed miserably (See Matt 4), Satan, along with his rulers, apparently set about to seize what they thought was a moment of vulnerability and had Jesus crucified.

The greatest irony in all of history, however, is that Satan and his minions were all the while playing right into God’s hands, precisely when they thought they were striking a decisive blow against him. In a genius stroke of military planning, God seems to have tricked Satan into signing his own death warrant. The cross was God’s plan, but it was carried out by “the rulers,” and thanks to those foiled rulers, it brought about Christ’s, not Satan’s—victory.

It seems that God used Satan’s insatiable lust for more to take away what Satan had already acquired (his captives). The “foolishness” (1 Cor 1:18) of the cross thus made fools of God’s opponents and demonstrated God’s wisdom in liberating his children from their captivity.

This reading was the most popular view of the cross in the postapostolic church. Sometimes they called it the “fishhook theory,” because it portrayed Christ as “bait” that God used to “hook” Satan. God used Satan’s evil to bring about Satan’s own demise. This constitutes a central dimension of “God’s wisdom, secret and hidden.”

Because of this, God “has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-14).

Satan has been defeated, and the sin that gave him authority over us has been canceled. Hence we have been “rescued” from one kingdom and transported into another. We have, in a word, been literally “saved” (Eph 2:5, 8).

And for this, we give thanks.

—Adapted from God at War, pages 255-261

Image by Lawrence OP via Flickr.

Related Reading

When Repentance is No Longer Possible

A concerned follower of ReKnew recently asked me to explain a puzzling passage, and since I am asked this question with some regularity, I thought I’d share with all of you. Here is the passage in question: Hebrews 6:4-6. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have…

If Creation is Created in the Middle of Cosmic Warfare, How Can God Call It All Good?

In this episode Greg discusses creation, in the context of cosmic warfare, and considers how God could call it “good.” Links: Greg’s book: “God at War“ http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0022.mp3

New Testament Support for the Warfare Worldview

Warfare in Jesus’ Ministry The theme of God striving to establish his sovereign will (his Kingdom) on earth over and against forces that oppose him is prevalent in the New Testament. In keeping with the apocalyptic climate of the time, there are many references to angels at war with God, demons that torment people, and…

Baby Universalism and Reasonable Infanticide

 Here’s a perfectly random brain stimulator: In contemporary western Christianity it is almost universally assumed that deceased babies automatically go to heaven. I call this the doctrine of “baby universalism” (similar to “canine universalism” = “all dogs go to heaven”).  There are a few scriptural passages that can be used to support this perspective (e.g.…

Thankful for the Passion of God

The classical view of God has held that God is impassible, meaning he is above pathos (passion or emotions). The main reason the church came to this view was that, following the Hellenistic philosophical tradition, they associated emotions with change while believing God was above all change (immutable). Moreover, experiencing emotions implies that one is affected by…

Kingdom Revolution

To properly understand an action, you need to interpret it in the light of the social context in which it takes place. For example, if we were to hear about a white male offering his seat at the front of a bus to an African American woman, we would probably interpret this as a nice…

Topics: