Our View
Human life is full of struggles. Since the fall, we have had to toil for food, shelter, clothing, etc… and have had no end of disasters (natural and from man) to train us in conflict. Even close friends and loved ones will argue about things over which they disagree.
Because of this, we tend to produce stories (books, movies, etc…) that tell tales of conflict, where the protagonist must overcome the many schemes of the antagonist and, having suffered much, eventually arrive victorious.
Because this is our view of the world, it would be natural for us to assume that struggle exists between all beings where their natures are in conflict. Because God is good and Satan is a liar, murderer, tempter, etc… there must be some epic, cosmic battle between the two. Right?
What Has Been Revealed
When it comes to questions like this, it’s important to remember that our view isn’t just our day to day experiences. God has revealed things to us through prophetic messages, which have been recorded to us in scripture. Also, Jesus revealed to us his father completely in the flesh when he came.
On the topic of God’s relationship to unclean spirits, we have an encounter of Jesus (the Son of God in flesh) interacting with demons who (through possession) have also taken on flesh in Mark 5.
And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.
Mark 5:2
If we take the typical view found in the stories men tell, we would expect Jesus to engage in some epic struggle with this man. After all, he is God in flesh and the demons have taken the flesh of a man. If this were Roman mythology, he would certainly have to battle this evil spirit! This spirit made the man strong enough to break chains (verse 4). It wasn’t just one demon either. It was a whole legion of them (verse 9). What a tough fight for our protagonist!
Except this isn’t some story about men fighting other men or even false gods raging against each other. This is a story about the one true God of all creation interacting with his creatures.
And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
Mark 5:7
And so we see the demons come begging for mercy.
Asking for Permission
Not only do the demons beg for mercy, but they demonstrate that they cannot even seek to flee apart from Christ’s permission.
And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
Mark 5:10-13
Not exactly what we would expect from our fiction is it? Good versus evil, God versus demons, and they come bowing and scraping, asking for permission even in how they obey his command to leave the man.
However, this really shouldn’t surprise us. This isn’t even close to the first time we see this interaction. Thousands of years before Jesus became incarnate, Job detailed for us Satan presenting himself in the court of God, asking for permission as well.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
Job 1:6-12
Satan certainly became an adversary to Job in the following chapters. He was as terrible an enemy as man could possibly have. However, he was never in contest with God. While his desire is to harm Job and God’s desire is to bless him, Satan still ultimately respects the restrictions that God places upon him throughout the whole book!
Even though his nature is contrary to God’s, yet still he serves God. Not only in his obedience but also in his schemes. While he means Job evil, God means to glorify himself and bless Job through what Satan does to him. This isn’t the only time we see the forces of evil taking orders from God either.
Unclean Spirits and Kings of Israel
During the reign of Saul, the very first King of Israel, we see this interaction.
Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.
1 Samuel 16:14
When God’s time had come to replace Saul with David, we see him not only lift his Spirit from Saul but also send a harmful spirit upon him. This assignment drove Saul crazy to the point where he sought to kill David multiple times. It’s not that God forced Saul to attack David, but rather that he allowed a spirit who desired to do so the room to work according to his plan.
Later, Ahab (another king of Israel) would need to be dealt with as well. Again, God allows an unclean spirit to perform as it desires according to his plan.
And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”
1 King 22:19-23
You see, while God himself does not deceive anyone (every word he speaks is true) and he doesn’t torment people (it is from him that every good and perfect thing comes) spirits who do desire to do those things ultimately still answer to him and fulfill his purpose for them.
For Our Good
Why would God allow us to be tormented and lied to by unclean spirits, even by Satan himself, who God calls a liar and murderer?! Why did God even create cunning serpents, lying spirits, etc… in the first place?! The hard truth is, that it is for our good!
The hardships of this life demonstrate to us, his creatures, what we can only learn through experience. Experiencing the hardship of lies shows us the value of truth. Suffering produces character. We become more like Christ through our trials. He allows, in his plan, for wicked spirits (and men, but that’s another topic) to come into our lives because it is what is best for his people.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
There will come a time when there will be no room for sin, when all pain and suffering will be destroyed. When that time comes, there will be no room any longer for those who’s nature is opposed to God. This is why God redeems for himself a people. In our sinfulness, we wouldn’t belong in that world any more than Satan. However, through Christ, we are being made new.
These unclean spirits serve a purpose in this time and that is to be adversarial to us. However, we will be as free of them as we are of ourselves when Christ returns and sets all things right. Until then, we must seek the one being who has a perfect nature so as not to be led astray by any deceivers. Seek God. Trust him, and you’ll never have to worry that you will be tricked by anything!
