Command 14: Seek God’s Kingdom
Study Question
Command Index
Q: God created man to have fellowship with Him on earth and throughout eternity. Why, then, would He allow Satan to set up an opposing kingdom and deceive whole nations into following him to eternal destruction?
A: The very nature of God is love, and the nature of love requires that the one being loved have free choice in whether to accept or reject the love that is offered. God controls the universe, but He has given man the ability to make choices. Those who make right choices experience the power of God and the reward of eternal life. Those who make wrong choices experience sorrow and eternal death.
The kingdom of Satan is, in itself, a demonstration of the free choice of love. Satan was fashioned as a beautiful creation of God’s splendor but chose to reject God’s love and be his own boss. Paul affirms that everything that happens is under God’s control as he responds in His foreknowledge to the will of people. “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory” (Romans 9:21–23).
Another reason God allows Satan’s kingdom to exist is to cause believers to be continually aware of their need for God’s protection, provision, and direction. Our need for the Lord increases our love for Him.
The ultimate purpose of God’s overall plan is “that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).
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This study question and answer is adapted from the Commands of Christ, Series 2, book. For further study, this book may be purchased from our Online Store.