In The Light There Can Be No Darkness

Over the past few months, I’ve been privileged to learn more about God– the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth. As I’ve learned more about Him and His mighty power, I developed a curiosity to dive even deeper into His powerful Word.

One question I’ve always wondered is, “Where did Satan come from?” If God created all things, did He create the Devil? Was Satan a “fallen angel?”

By opening my mind to what God says in His Word about this subject, I could better understand our Lord’s purity and goodness.

In John 1:5, we learn exactly who God says He is.

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

Everything God creates is righteous. God’s creations originate from light; therefore, He could not have produced the devil, who brings forth evil and resides fully in darkness. But at the same time, Satan could not have created himself because that would rival the power of God. And the Lord’s might is unparalleled– so that leaves the question, “Where did the devil come from?”

If we go back all the way to Genesis chapter 1, we can recognize that God never formed the darkness during creation. His words created the light and separated it from the existing blackness.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.”

The Bible clearly tells us that everything God created was righteous. So, if God’s creations are a product of light and integrity, how could darkness ever manifest in our lives? The answer is free will.

While God created everything to be good, it is also true that He gave each of His creations independence to make decisions. As we see in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had the freedom of choice. Their pivotal decision to disobey God introduced sin into the world and separated mankind from God’s pure nature. Satan’s work began only after Adam and Eve chose something other than God– which, in this case, was the potential to be on God’s level.

So if it’s free will that gives Satan his ultimate grasp, what if it was also free will that led to Satan’s origination?

In 2 Peter 2:4, we get a glimpse into God’s judgment. Even angels who reside in Heaven and have seen God’s face can choose to depart from the realm of glory and perfection. On judgment day, they, too, will stand before the Lord again.

“For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment.”

How could angels give up their heavenly dwelling for a life of destruction and damnation? In the same way, we can choose to walk away from eternal life with God when we deny His will. God’s judgment remains the same for us as for the angels who have seen Him face to face.

Putting this all together, we have a much clearer picture of who God says He is and everything Satan is not.

Satan does not challenge God, for God is the creator of all things. All things which are true and all things which are light. So if God created all things, then He must have created angels. And if God gave his creations free will, the angels could ultimately choose to retreat into immorality and sin. And if darkness is the opposite of light, once an angel decided to leave the light, their only choice was darkness. Thus Satan’s origination happened only after separation from God and has since been confined to a reign of wickedness and iniquity.

As beautifully as it has been written from the beginning of time, God’s light and grace still protect us from eternal death.

In Colossians 1:13-17, we are reminded of just how lucky we are to have a loving Father who sent His only Son to become the light of the world and deliver us from the weight of darkness.

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 

And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

This passage not only reminds us of the comprehensive, all-encompassing throne our mighty Father reigns on, but it also reminds us of how small Satan will always be compared to the Lord.