Where Did Satan Come From? (notes from James Flanders)

Who created Satan? Unless he has existed from eternity past, then the answer must be that God created him. If God created him, then did God create him to do what he has done? Or did the adversary somehow override the will of God? If he did override or thwart the will of God, would that mean that it would be possible for him to do it again? If so, how much peace could we ever experience?

Have you ever wondered about questions like that? I have.

Here's some more for you to consider. What if God created Satan to do exactly what he has been doing? Is it possible that the events which transpired in the Garden of Eden could have been part of God's plan from the beginning? If so, why would he do that?

Below you will find a written transcript of an audio program recorded recently by James Flanders in which he tackles some very difficult questions which most thinking people have had to wonder about.

Below the transcript I will provide a link to the audio. You might want to listen to the audio teaching while reading the notes. This is definitely thought provoking stuff.

"Who Made That Guy?" (evil part 2)

Allright… We know that sin came into the world through one human being… right?

That is widely taught…. Round the globe….

We’ve all heard that. One man brought sin into all humanity… But let me ask you… Iis that where sin originated? By that I means, was that man the cause that brought the effect called sin into the world?

I think this is a good question and to answer it, let’s look past that person as I ask you another question.

Was there anyone or anything else in the garden before Adam sinned?

Yes. It was the serpent, right?  He was there BEFORE Adam sinned.

So we could say that sin is FROM the devil.

Sounds good, but should we stop there? Or can we go further?

Let me ask you something. Is the adversary… the devil… an eternal being who has always existed in eternity past?

Or is the adversary a created being???

My friend… just as Adam was a creature… a created being… Scripture teaches that the adversary is also a created being.

So if the adversary is a created being… Who created him???

Hhhhmmmmm….

Think about it. The devil, you could say led Adam into the fall…. tempted him to sin… and the devil is a created being…. Which would mean that either he was created to be the adversary from the beginning… with that objective for him in his creation. Or it was influenced from outside of him. Or it was something he did to himself. Which is this?

Now regardless, think about this. There always has to be a cause for every effect. So what or who would have caused the devil to be who the devil is… and adversary who would enter the garden to do what the devil did?

Did God’s creature somehow slip from God’s intended purpose?

Was God’s will and plan thwarted?

Some would say “yes that has to be.” But then let me ask you, what kind of God would God be? One whose will and desire is thwarted by a creature that he himself made.

Let me give you a verse for your consideration. It’s one that kinda blew my mind the first time I ever paused and gave it some serious thought. It’s a verse that throws a monkey wrench into a lot of popular orthodox doctrine about satan and God’s creative purpose.

It’s 1st John chapter 3 verse 8. Jot it down. 1st John chapter 3 verse 8.

Here’s how it’s worded in the Concordant Literal New Testament:

“from the beginning is the Adversary sinning. For this was the Son of God manifested, that He should be annulling the acts of the Adversary.”

I love that last part. Christ came to annul the acts of the Adversary.

But did you hear the first part? It doesn’t say that the adversary went through a transformation at some point and began to sin. It says from the beginning is the adversary sinning. From the beginning he is actively sinning.

By the way, if you missed our last study, we talked a lot about the word sin.  We looked at evil and asked the question “Has God ever sinned?” Well, we’re going to be considering that again today.

Realizing that the word sin means to miss the mark, to not hit the target you are aiming for, to fall short, to fail to hit your objective.

Scripture tells us that God is love. It also tells us that love never fails. I believe God has never missed the mark.  God has never sinned. In all that was created things were put in place exactly as He aimed to put them to do exactly what He aimed for them to do. Or else, God would be a sinner because He would have been missing his own objective… He would have missed his mark.

If you missed that teaching… please give it a listen after we wrap up today.

Let me read you this same verse from a common translation.

1st John chapter 3 verse 8…. From the New King James.

“for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

Again, from the beginning he has sinned. From the beginning. Apparently it has been by God’s design that he would be doing what he is doing.

By the way, again keeping in mind that sin means “missing” I believe at times the devil misses the point because he has thought that he has been victorious as he has plotted and planned… even by Christ being crucified… I’m sure that he thought “Hey I’ve got it!”  Nope, he missed it. Christ rose from the dead.

Through it all he was actually accomplishing what Father had planned.

He has sinned from the beginning. So there is a creature… the adversary… satan… and to him Scripture traces back all sin. Sin has been what he’s been about from the beginning. But, he is a created being made by God.

So again, what we’re inquiring about… what we’re asking… Was the devil created to do exactly what he has done? Has he been fulfilling the purpose that God has for him in the economy of God?

Or as some teach… did something slip through God’s fingers or was the adversary was self-made, somehow thwarting God’s plan?

Man, that’s scary. If he thwarted it once, he could thwart it twice… couldn’t he?

And if God created Satan to be the adversary… and to sin from the beginning… Am I right in saying GOD has never sinned? Was it a sin for God to create a being who you could say plunged humanity into death and sin?

WELL…. That would depend on God’s intention. Man, is this dizzying stuff or what?

Was it God’s intention that sin should invade the universe? Or did sin invade the universe due to some error on God’s part?

Now remember, sin was defined as “to miss.”

If sins entrance was a mistake…. Or outside of God’s intent… If it wasn’t what He aimed for in creating satan, that would mean that God missed the mark, He didn’t hit His goal. Then God by definition of what sin is… would be a sinner!

Now keep thinking this through… Since so much of the world of religion paints the picture of sin and the fall not being the will of God or part of the plan of GOD… then the very fact that HIS creation fell… would mean that GOD sinned! He missed His own target!

My friend, that cannot be!

Now let me try and drive this home a little more intensely.

If God created Satan perfect and his defection away from perfection was a surprise or disappointment to God… Then to be really blunt… God could not be all powerful… and again to be really blunt, God failed to accomplish his goal… He missed his target… God fell short… God would be the one who sinned, because He set out to create a flawless creature who turned out bad. See, there is no one else in charge of that failure, except God because God is God.

But listen… I know I’m repeating myself a lot, but this is such important stuff.

God is love. Love never fails. God never misses His target. He always accomplishes His will.

Therefore, we think about these things… In the economy of GOD… Within the framework of God’s ultimate… big plans… Sin itself… the introduction of it through the adversary who was created by God must be an essential part in God’s purpose… Or else it would never have entered into being.

Think about it. Unless it was an essential part of God’s purpose He would have never allowed it to enter into being.

If what has happened from the beginning was not God’s plan… And His plan was thwarted… we would be in a terrifying place not knowing if there could be some creature who could thwart God’s plan again absolutely disrupting everything.

Are you understanding this?  It’s a tough topic but it’s absolute important for us to wrap our minds around it.

Scripture tells us that the lamb of God was slain from before the foundation of the world. A better translation is that the Lamb was slain from the disruption of the world.

That’s telling us that cross of CHRIST was not some afterthought. It was not part of Plan B because Plan A fell apart. No, that’s not it at all. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Think of it this way…

Looking at the beauty of creation as Scripture tells us we can look at creation and it reveals to us certain aspects of God… His power… His wisdom… It testifies of the glory of GOD. But it doesn’t testify everything about God’s glory. There are other things God had to make aside from the natural beauty of the universe.

Think about it… And we brought this up in our last study… How could God ever display love, which is what HE is… GOD IS LOVE!!! How could He ever show that to the universe, without there being in this universe seeds of hate that have been sown?

See, it’s a contrast.

Light is only understood because we have experienced darkness.

There can be no Savior without sin. And from before the disruption of the world, Christ was crucified… from the perspective of God… it was part of the plan. There can be no reconciliation without enmity or separation.

Last time we read several verses in Romans chapter 11 together. One of them was verse 32, which tells us: “God locks all up together in stubbornness so that he can be merciful to all.”

What’s that mean? God needs to have objects of mercy in order to demonstrate His mercifulness.

Another translation words it this way:  “God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.”

Let those words sink in.

Again, God would have no one to show mercy to without first committing humanity to disobedience.

“God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.”

He wanted all of us to be objects of His mercy, so He created everything to go the way it went.

Wow!

I’ve been reading a very challenging book… called “The Problem of Evil” by A.E. Knoch. My friend Clyde recommended it to me. Thank you Clyde for disrupting everything I’ve ever thought about everything.

This book is anything but light reading.

I want to share with you a couple of paragraphs, which are really a couple of the lightest paragraphs I’ve read in this book. It’s from page 21. Listen carefully.

“Shall God’s affections remain forever pent up in His own bosom? Shall He never taste the sweet response of love? Then all He needs is a perfect universe, where His creatures have no need of Him and His gracious ministrations. But if He wants the deep satisfaction of requited love, and desires to impart to His creatures the delicious sense of His fatherly affections, then there must be distance, distress, and condemnation, to form the field for the exercise of His favor.”

“Since sin must enter into this scene and play its part, since it is essential in God’s purpose, and absolutely under His control, since it will eventually change the universe from cold, independent creatures into a loving family circle, and God from a distant creator into an affectionate Father, it was by no means a mistake (or sin) on God’s part when He created a creature who should not only commit sin but scatter it in all creation.”

That’s some heavy stuff.

Now, let me make a point I’ve made several times over the last couple of days.

We have to believe that it was NOT a mistake for God to create Satan… and that the adversary has in reality… even though it doesn’t always look this way… he’s been accomplishing the purposes of God.

Again, it’s super hard for us to grasp, but, if this is Not the case… If GOD did not intend that Satan would sin… and that Satan transformed or did something on his own outside of the will of GOD… if Satan did it of his own initiative… thwarting God’s plan and twisting God’s design… Then God failed. God missed His own mark. And again, by definition, that would make God a sinner.

And by saying that… let me be kind of bold in saying this… Traditional doctrine… what’s called orthodoxy does make GOD a sinner… who missed the target he was aiming for.

As hard to grasp as all of this may be because of our religious programming… and our need to unlearn a LOT… as we continue to learn the truth of Scripture…

My friend… GOD IS TRULY GOD… and He is working in and through everything as he wills.

And hold on… Here it is… He created the adversary to do exactly what the adversary has always done.

Now let me give you a few verses to chew on.

In Isaiah chapter 54 verse 16 God speaks and says:

“Behold, I have created the blacksmith
Who blows the coals in the fire,
Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
And I have created the spoiler to destroy.

What? Any destruction in the world must be the work of the devil because he is called the destroyer!

Yep, but who created the destroyer?  God!

God credits Himself for creating the one whose purpose on this planet is to bring destruction.

The adversary… the destroyer didn’t create himself. God takes credit for creating him.

In John chapter 1 as it speaks of creation it tells us that ALL came into being through the Word… everything that exists is due to him creating it… and that same word became flesh and dwelt among us.

Everything that exists… He made.

In Colossians chapter 1 we’re told that through CHRIST all things were made… all things in the heavens and all things on earth… all things visible and invisible… thrones… and principalities, dominions, lordships and authorities. Uh, would that include the devil? The adversary? Yes.

In Ephesians chapter 2 it tells us that it does. And it also tells us that in Ephesians chapter 6.  The devil is mentioned as it speaks of principalies and powers… and… you know that passage.



The point of this is… It’s not like the movies and it’s not like what were so often presented in religious circles.

People get the idea that there are two great powers struggling to be supreme… One good… and one evil. There’s God and the devil and they’re arm wrestling and sometimes the devil seems to have much bigger arms. And so they’re fighting back and forth and it never really deals with the issue of where the evil one came from. “Who knows? Let’s not even try to think about that.”

That view is not true…  and I’m glad because it’s very very scary because ultimately, it paints a picture of a feeble God whose will can be thwarted.

On the other hand, if we look at God truly being God creating all things, and working all things according to the council of His will, we see something grand and glorious.

We see a God who in His perfect knowledge knows that the way things were created was the way it had to be… in order to truly ultimately reveal the greatness of who HE is… and even more than that, for our own benefit… for us to enjoy to the utmost… and to experience and to relish what is to come… when ultimately we could say… things are set right. Or as it says in 1st Corinthians chapter 15, “When God becomes all in all” and when the works of the devil are all destroyed… and death is destroyed… it’s going to be wonderful! At the end of the ages… oh my goodness!!!

Without everything being as God has made it we wouldn’t be able to relish and enjoy what is to come.

My name is James Flanders. Thanks for listening. Be blessed my friend… be blessed.
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Here is a link to site which has many audio teachings from Flanders including the one above:

http://www.salvationofall-av.org/indexEN/Flanders/Flanders.htm