THE MORE WE IGNORE GOD AND AVOID PRAYER, THE MORE EVIL OUR WORLD WILL BECOME

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We Need to get to the point of Desiring God

Have you ever wondered:

Who Owns the World?

Here’s what the devil actually said to Jesus at the temptation in the wilderness that creates the question we were just asked: “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me’” (Matthew 4:8–9).

“God considered it wise, as part of his curse on the world after the fall, to give Satan a huge power in this world.”

And here’s Luke 4:5–7: “And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, ‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’” 

My first answer is that if Jesus had worshiped Satan, of course Jesus would have abdicated his divine authority. He would have ceased to be God. If he were worshiping the devil, he wouldn’t be God. The devil would be God. Satan would then give him the whole world and still control the world because Jesus would not be God. He’d be Satan’s lackey. All of this, of course, did not and could not happen. Satan, as usual, was a fool to suggest it. He’s an idiot. He’s always saying stupid, half-true things.

All Power by Permission

But notice the words of Luke 4:6. Satan is not the ultimate authority in the world because, in Luke 4:6, he admits this: “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me.” By whom? God. In his sovereignty, God considered it wise, as part of his curse on the world after the fall of Adam and Eve, to give Satan a huge power in this world.

But he doesn’t have ultimate power. We’re not dualists. We don’t think there’s God and Satan duking it out for power in the universe. God is God, not Satan. Satan’s not God. All Satan’s power is by permission. He has no autonomy to do anything God does not permit for infinitely wise purposes.

Audio Transcript Matthew 4:9 and in Luke 4:6, what authority is Satan talking about? Is he lying that he has authority to give? Or does he truly have authority over the earth? If so, what is it, and how does this relate to God’s complete sovereignty over all things?” Full article and audio

Interview with  John Piper

Founder & Teacher, desiringGod.org

REMEMBER: EVIL ITSELF CANNIT BEAR EVIL

MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON THOSE WHO ARE IGNORANT ABOUT THE THINGS THAT ARE COMING UPON MAN