The Devil: Liar, Murderer, and… Instrument of God?

by Harold Ristau

The resurrected Jesus triumphs over Death and the Devil. Detail from Law and Gospel: Lucas Cranach, c. 1539.

At the end of a war, the conquering armies often encounter rebel forces continuing to wreak havoc on innocent civilians. Although defeated, attacks by these sore losers attempt to convince the world that they have power, even though they have none. In the same way, the Devil and his evil minions, have been defeated by the weapon of our Lord Jesus Christ’s cross at the great battle of Calvary. Their power over us is “finished” and Christ is victor over death, sin, hell, and Satan, but these enemies behave as if they still had power over us. God Almighty permits them this freedom until the second coming of Christ, when “the great dragon and ancient serpent” (Revelation 12:9) will forever be cast away. On the Last Day, we will experience victory over all the forces of hell. In the meantime, we live by faith, believing though not seeing.

C.S. Lewis, in his book The Screwtape Letters, reminds us that the topic of demons ought not be entered upon lightly: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” On the one hand, many explore the topic for the wrong reasons. Curiosity can lead us to dabble in dangerous practices that invite demons into our lives. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. On the other hand, many dismiss the subject, as if the Devil and the demons posed no real threat to modern man. Some Christians believe that demonic phenomenon can be explained by science or psychology, while others think that, if they exist, they are exclusively active in “non-Christian” societies. However, demonic oppression and possession are not phenomena confined to the ancient world. And with the decline of true Christianity, increasing popularity of the occult, and the celebrations of various spiritualities in a multicultural society, be prepared for new waves of demonic activity even in a prosperous country like Canada.

One of the most effective strategies of the Devil in destroying Christian souls remains convincing us that he does not exist.

Childish and unbiblical images that picture the Devil as a comical character with a pointed tail and horns are dangerous to our physical and spiritual health, since they make light of the Devil’s threat and influence. Yet, still, he “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). It is unfortunate that many churches avoid the ancient words of the baptismal rite that proclaim our spiritual deliverance from the Devil through the “exorcism” of Holy Baptism. All people are born “possessed,” in a sense, by the Devil—that is to say, we are under the power of the Devil—and are rescued by the grace of our Father, transferred from the kingdom of darkness “to the Kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). Yet one of the most effective strategies of the Devil in destroying Christian souls remains convincing us that he does not exist or, at least, isn’t nearby.

Remember that the ministry of angels is to dwell near God’s people and keep them safe from harm and danger, as well as announcing God’s message to His people on occasion, similar to the ministry of pastors. Well, demons are angels “gone bad.” They are “fallen” from the beautiful and loving relationship established by our wonderful God. They are rebels who wanted to become their own gods by living lives unto themselves, separate from their Creator. Thus, from our first ancestors until this present day, they tempt us human creatures to do likewise.

As all creatures are unfulfilled outside of a relationship with their creator, so too these creatures have been miserable since their rebellion, lacking peace and suffering eternal frustration. To compensate for their hopelessness, they pretend that they have power over Christians and are rulers over aspects of God’s creation. Masquerading as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), the Devil even pretends that he is the good guy, that he offers you ministry, and that his minions can help you in life. Many Christians compromise their salvation by turning to spiritual mediums, reiki, voodoo, and fortune tellers—to name a few practices—for wisdom and empowerment.

Demons are masters of one thing: lies. And lies are powerful because they contain kernels of the truth, and are thus particularly believable and dangerous. The Devil is, after all, the “liar who deceives the whole world” (John 8: 44; Revelation 11:9). As a false messenger he is highly skilled at twisting the truth of God’s Word: namely, who God is and who we are. The Devil lies about our status as sinners: convincing us that we are morally superior to others, and don’t need church, or its holy means through which to commune with our Creator. He whispers that we can be our own pastors, our own shepherds, our own Christs, our own gods. And he lies to us about our status as saints. Satan, “the adversary” (1 Peter 5:8) and “accuser of God’s people” (Revelation 12:10) is particularly good at accusing us of our sins. He lies about the value that we have in Christ, tempting us to dwell on our sins, as if they were unforgiven, and insisting that God’s unconditional love for us is a fraud.

Because Satan is a master at perverting God’s Word, we ought never listen to him. Notice how Jesus never engages in conversation with the Devil and demons but simply silences them or keeps His words short, even when they speak something true (see Matthew 8:29)! Even the Bible can be misused. Jesus Himself faced this during His temptations when the Devil quoted Holy Scripture to Him. Just because someone “preaches the Bible” doesn’t mean they are a solid and biblical Christian preacher. Be especially wary if they tell you things that you like to hear! Faithful pastors are rightly rigid about rebuking false doctrine since these lies are particularly destructive.

The Devil flees from Jesus after He resists temptation, while angels wait to minister to Him: Jan Swerts, mid 19th-century.

The Devil is not only skilled at misusing God’s teaching but also in abusing all of God’s gifts. Because, he creates nothing, even the notion of demonic “possession” is misleading. Nothing belongs to him. Certainly, he wants to possess houses, objects, and most importantly, people, but in actuality he can only occupy them for a moment. At the end of the day, he can create nothing nor possess anything. Instead, he is a thief—like a squatter in another man’s apartment. He only has as much power over us as we permit him.

That is why our baptismal identity is crucial to counselling or caring for those who are physically oppressed or possessed by demons. For baptism, as Luther reminds us in the Small Catechism, “works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation”—salvation won for us “not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that [we] may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom.” The Holy Spirit has made our hearts Christ’s home through the means of grace. This is the message to which all Christians ought to daily return.

Our baptismal identity is crucial to counselling or caring for those who are physically oppressed or possessed by demons.

In the end, the ultimate purpose of these enemies and their lies is not to possess you for a moment, harass you for a while, nor depress you for a season, but to destroy you in both body and soul. They want you to join them in their eternal misery now and forever. Thus, the Devil is a “murderer” (John 8:44) who “enslaves people by the fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

St. Michael Vanquishing Satan: Raphael, 1518.

In my own personal experience with the ministry of deliverance, I have found that many who are physically oppressed or possessed by demons seek the aid of Christ out of personal desperation in this life. In other words, they want to be free from the Devil but they don’t want to belong to God. But that option does not exist. For good or for ill, we all belong to somebody. And worldly “freedom” from everybody and everything is actually more like hell than heaven. Some seek freedom via suicide. Others seek freedom by avoiding their brothers and sisters in Christ. And so, there are worse things than possession. I would rather that a sinner be plagued by one thousand demons throughout the week and find him seeking God’s grace and mercy at the altar of Christ during the Sunday morning mass, than be entirely delivered and healed from his oppression only to never step foot into the church again. Not one of us is better off restored from our ailments if our healing results in a less active spiritual life with Christ, as we find Him incarnate among us in Divine Service.

Thus, when the Devil’s schemes drive us back to seek God’s mercy, we see how he serves as a divine instrument. He remains a servant of God whether he likes it or not, and God can use even him to lead us to cling more tightly to Jesus Christ and His holy cross. God’s love for us is so great that He even uses the demons for our own good—to the Devil’s eternal frustration (Luther even calls him “God’s devil” at one point). Even St. Paul refers to “a thorn in the flesh”, “a messenger of Satan” sent to “trouble” him so that he “would not become arrogant” (2 Corinthians 12:7). And God used that for his good. God uses all things—sufferings, trials, tribulations, and all sorts of evil—to bring us to, and keeps us in, the one true Faith.

When we feel ourselves defeated by the Devil, we can have great hope that God can use even that evil to bring us back to our Saviour, Lord, Friend, and King, Jesus Christ and Him crucified for our salvation and forgiveness. In Him, we remain victorious, in spite of our feelings, beliefs, or experiences. To Him be glory and honour.

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Rev. Dr. Harold Ristau is Assistant Professor of Theology at Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario.

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