Omniscience, knowing all things, is something the Bible only attributes to God (1 Cor. 4:5; Heb. 4:13). Since the Bible says that all things that exist were created by God (Col. 1:16-17), it follows that Satan is a created being. God cannot sin or cause to sin, so it is implied that Satan was created good and chose to do evil. Many have defined evil as simply the absence or opposite of good.

The Bible says nothing specifically about how Satan became evil, but it must have happened at some point. Throughout the whole Bible, Satan is depicted as one who tempts man to sin. If Satan is not omniscient and cannot tell what we are thinking, how does he know how to operate in our individual lives?

Matthew four proves that he knows the Bible, and the Bible tells us the three major avenues of sin (1 John 2:15-17). He has had the advantage of thousands of years of observation of human behavior. He knows mankind’s basic weaknesses. He also has angels (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:9), and who knows what role they play in his having privy to our personal lives and in observing what we are each prone to do?

Yet, Satan does not ever make us sin, despite what the old comic, Flip Wilson, jokingly contended. We choose to sin based on our own fleshly desires (Jas. 1:13-15). We sin, not as the result of Satan manipulating the mind, but as the result of giving in to sinful lusts. Satan can no more make us do wrong than God will make us do right. We should simply remember that we never have to sin (1 Cor. 10:13).

Satan does not whisper in our ears or play with our minds. However, he is actively seeking souls to devour (1 Pet. 5:8). The good news is that he cannot do anything unless we allow him. James says we can make him flee from us by resisting him (Jas. 4:7). Satan can not read your mind. He cannot manipulate your mind. He can only see what you reveal. Let us be careful to reveal the right sorts of things and thereby protect ourselves from this roaring lion.

Neal Pollard