Someone commented on one of our articles about Satan. They said that many people, both believers and non-believers, feel that Satan holds the upper hand in life over Christ. Many reasons exist that could lead one to believe the devil has the world in his hands. Nothing could be further from the truth. What humanity witnesses on a day-to-day basis as Satan winning, I’ll provide some additional proclamations that would challenge the notion. I wouldn’t say he’s winning by any means. He’s not even losing.
In fact, Satan lost. When? First, he lost when he rebelled against the Living God. That’s the first “L.” The second huge loss took place through Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross at Calvary. Jesus snatched the keys of death and Hades from Satan. With that, people now have a way to access God’s peace and intimacy through the risen Savior. Then why does it seem like the devil has the upper hand in life? It seems that way because (1) he knows he has little time left (Revelation 12:12) in influencing this side of eternity, and (2) the devil remains consistent on his path of destruction (John 10:10; Job 1:7, 2:2).
Some may ask, “Why doesn’t God do something about what’s happening in the world?” He did. First, let’s remember that Jesus Christ reigns as Lord over all things. Second, after His death and resurrection, Jesus sent the world His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, or God the Spirit, the third Person of the Triune Godhead, holds a distinct function on earth. So today, Jesus lives among us through the Holy Spirit, but only through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior does His Spirit live in us. The Living God sometimes chooses to work through people, sometimes alongside people, and other times outside of the influence of people.
For example, a Christian, having the Holy Spirit living in them, can demonstrate God’s love and forgive the same way Jesus did. The Lord can then empower or work upon this same Christian (because teaching and preaching are spiritual gifts) to preach a sermon on love and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit, through the Christian, then convinces listeners (by working upon the heart) to come to faith in Christ by allowing Him in their hearts to believe. Yet, the Lord, in His omnipotence, works self-sufficiently to wake the Christian and the listeners up, who depend on God to see the new day. Only then can the Christian love and forgive like Jesus, preach the Gospel, and the listeners hear the message to consider eternal life.
With that said, God provided enough to the world to ensure the world looks the way it should, despite the existence of Satan and His influence in the world. The Lord God gave us Himself. In the book of Genesis, the Lord told Cain to do and live right, while exposing a tactic of sin. God told Cain that sin “crouches” at his door (Genesis 4:7). Sin doesn’t display itself as a loud and formidable opponent. Comparable to 1 Peter 5:8, sin, like Satan, takes a clandestine approach to trap and devour the lives of people. It desired to control Cain’s life, but God commissioned Cain to master and control sin’s advances. The Bible also tells us to resist and flee from sin (1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Timothy 2:22, James 4:7). Today, sin holds an attractive appeal to the eye of those mastered by sin. Rejecting Jesus Christ and the Bible also holds significant popularity. Society encourages sin. The media aims to normalize it. People make excuses for it. The world embraces it.
Sin seems and feels good until it leaves you empty, left to address the dire consequences or irreparable damage, ones that can take years to repair if even possible. But that does not matter to those who have handed their calling from God to take dominion on the earth over to Satan. What Jesus rejected in the wilderness, the world has freely accepted. Those in submission to the flesh and its desires can only crave the wrath placed on the flesh after the Fall in Eden—to surely die and return to the dust (Genesis 2:17, Genesis 3:19).
So, when we see a world that seems like Satan is winning—he’s not. The world continues and aims to find value in digging itself into the same hellhole that Satan and his demons put themselves in and will not get out of. Satan isn’t winning. For every prince answers to a king—and Satan still answers to the King of kings. Yet, despite Jesus giving us everything we need to master sin and overcome Satan, the world, unfortunately, has decided that it’s best that they, not Christ, surrender and bow to this defeated foe. Remember, Satan always broadcasts a counterfeit reality. Jesus Christ has the victory now and forevermore.
©2025 Probe Ministries
Terrence Harris
Terrence A. Harris is a Christian writer and Bible teacher who serves as Communications Manager at Probe Ministries. He is passionate about helping believers understand God’s Word, stand firm in biblical truth, and live out their faith with confidence.
What is Probe?Probe Ministries is a non-profit ministry whose mission is to assist the church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview and to equip the church to engage the world for Christ. Probe fulfills this mission through our Mind Games conferences for youth and adults, our 3-minute daily radio program, and our extensive Web site at www.probe.org.
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