WHO IS SATAN?
- By Frank Ehinze
"From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
- Matthew 16:21-23
A lot of times, we have described Satan with a black robe or attire, ignoring the scripture that says in 2 Corinthians 11:14,
"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."
There was never a time that the bible described Satan as an ugly man who comes in black attire. A man who sees the devil from this angle can easily be confused. Know this, Satan is simply that thought or idea that is against the will of God, which is the idea of the Cross, and the Gospel of Christ. Let's see what the Bible says about this.
From our opening verse, Peter seemed not to do anything wrong. He was only trying to be positive, unknown to him that he can seem positive but miss it. Satan is not recognized by positive or negative appearance. He is recognized when how good he appears is against how true God's Word is said.
Jesus only told them of how He must suffer and and die. It didn't sound good or positive, but it was the will of the Father, and that was what mattered. The will of the Father may not look good, but it's for good; Satan's appearance will always look good, but not for good. He is the thief that comes good, but for the purpose of stealing, killing and destroying.
Now, after Jesus had said all that, Peter excused him and began to rebuke those statements Jesus made, telling Him that He shall not die. You know that kind of thing when someone says I'm dying,t and you begin to rebuke the statements and confess positively in such person's life, telling him, you shall not die but shall live to declare the word of the Lord, no power can take your life, your life is hid in Christ and Christ in God, quoting all manner of good scriptures. That was exactly what Peter was doing.
I believe Peter deserved an accolade for such positive confession. But look at Jesus' response to him, get behind me you Satan. Why will God refer to Peter as Satan after all the positive and scriptural confessions? Here is the gist. Who is Satan?
Satan is that thought in your head that seems good but not the will of God. The will of God was that Jesus died. It means, any other idea that was against the death of Jesus was from Satan, no matter how good or right it seemed.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, God's will was accomplished in our lives. Now His present will for us is that we walk in the idea of what He has done for us on the Cross. Therefore, God's will for you is that He has made you His righteousness, and that you walk in this consciousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). Satan is that thought that tells you that you are not righteous, there is none righteous, our righteousness is like a filthy rag. Also, God has called you Holy according to His will in 1 Peter 2:9. Satan is that thought that tells you that you are not holy, you need to work for it. Also, God's will and finished work for you is that there is no sin to your account, God does not count your sins, He has cancelled them all (2 Corinthians 5:19). Satan is that thought that tells you to roll on the floor for hours, begging God to forgive you of all your known and unknown sins. Satan is simply that thought or idea that is against the will of God, which is the Gospel of Christ. Get Him behind you, and accept the Gospel of Christ.
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