The devil has free will – and so have we; Angels: Day 077

The devil has free will – and so have we

God made Satan good, says St. John of  Damascus. He fell into evil by his own free choice, not because of the nature God gave him. And we also have free will.  The devil can attack us with temptations,  but he never has the power to overwhelm us unless we give it to him.

Out of those angelic powers, the one who was set over the earthly realm to guard the earth was not made wicked by nature. He was made good, and for good purposes, and his Creator put no trace of evil in him. But he did not keep up the brightness and honor the Creator had given him, and—by his free choice— was changed from being in harmony with his own nature to going against it. Thus he became angry with God and decided to rebel against him. He was the first to leave the good and become evil…but along with him went an innumerable host of angels under him, who followed him and shared his fall. They were of the same nature as the angels, but they became wicked, turning away from good to evil by their own free choice.

Thus they have no power or strength against anyone except when God, as part of his plan, allows it—as he did against Job ( Job 1:12) and the pigs mentioned in the Gospels (Mark 5:13). When God allows it, they have their way, and they can change into any form they like.

So all wickedness and all impure passions are their work. But while they have been given the liberty to attack us, they do not have the strength to overcome any- one. We have it in our power to receive the attack or not. That is why unquench- able fire and everlasting punishment have been prepared for the devil and his demons and all who follow them.

We should also remember that the fall is to the angels what death is to us: there is no possibility of repentance for them after the fall, just as there is no re- pentance for us after death. –St. John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, 2.4

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .

If the devil and his demons are constantly attacking me, am I choosing to resist or to succumb? What choices have I made just today that were victories for the demonic powers?

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord, deliver me from every temptation of the devil, and send your Spirit to guide my will.

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