Sacred Secret Unveiled

16, 17. What did “the sacred secret of the Christ” involve?

¹⁶ The apostle Paul wrote extensively about “the sacred secret of the Christ.” (Ephesians 3:2-4; Romans 11:25; 16:25) This sacred secret had to do with the true “seed” that would eventually crush the original serpent, Satan the Devil. (Revelation 20:1-3, 10) The secret involved the fact that Jesus was the first and primary member of that “seed” but that he would be joined by others, “joint heirs,” first from the Jews and then from the Samaritans and the Gentiles, to complete the number of that “seed.”​—Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:16, 19, 26-29; Revelation 7:4; 14:1.

¹⁷ Paul explains: “In other generations this secret was not made known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by spirit.” And what was that secret? “Namely, that people of the nations should be joint heirs and fellow members of the body and partakers with us of the promise in union with Christ Jesus through the good news.”​—Ephesians 3:5, 6; Colossians 1:25-27.

18. (a) How does Paul show that time was needed to reveal the meaning of “the sacred secret”? (b) How would this revealing affect the understanding about “the original serpent”?

¹⁸ Paul was impressed that he of all people should be used to declare “the good news about the unfathomable riches of the Christ and should make men see how the sacred secret is administered which has from the indefinite past been hidden in God, who created all things.” Or as he put it to the Colossians: “The sacred secret that was hidden from the past systems of things and from the past generations. But now it has been made manifest to his holy ones.” Logically, if the secret regarding the “seed” was finally revealed, it would also involve the complete unmasking of the great Adversary, “the original serpent.” Evidently, Jehovah did not choose to make the issue with Satan paramount until the coming of the Messiah. And who better to unmask Satan than the Seed, Christ Jesus himself?​—Ephesians 3:8, 9; Colossians 1:26.

Jesus Exposes the Adversary

19. How did Jesus expose the Adversary?

¹⁹ Early in his ministry, Jesus roundly rejected the Tempter with the words: “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’” (Matthew 4:3, 10) On a different occasion, Jesus exposed his slanderous religious enemies who had murderous intent toward him by denouncing their promoter and exposing him as the power behind the serpent in Eden, saying: “You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie.”​—John 8:44.

20. What basis did Jesus have for exposing Satan?

²⁰ How could Jesus be so sure in his denunciation of Satan? How could he know him so well? Because he had coexisted with Satan in the heavens! Even before that one had proudly rebelled against the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, Jesus, as the Word, had known him. (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15, 16) He had observed his crafty actions through the serpent in Eden. He had seen his subtle influence upon the fratricidal Cain. (Genesis 4:3-8; 1 John 3:12) Later, Jesus was present in Jehovah’s heavenly court “when the sons of the true God entered . . . , and even Satan proceeded to enter right among them.” (Job 1:6; 2:1) Oh, yes, Jesus knew him to the core and was ready to expose him for what he was​—a liar, a murderer, a slanderer, and an adversary of God!​—Proverbs 8:22-31; John 8:58.

The Gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke show that Christ Jesus was directly tempted three times by Satan, and each time Jesus rejected him, using Scripture. Why did Jesus answer him from the Hebrew Scriptures? Because Satan came to him misapplying those very Scriptures in order to make him sin and fail as the Son of God, the promised Seed.​—Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13.

2. How do we know that Jesus did not imagine his encounters with Satan?

² Obviously, Jesus, a perfect man, did not imagine these encounters. (Hebrews 4:15; 7:26) He was confronted by the same one who was the power behind the serpent in Eden, his own former angelic brother who ages before had rebelled and now was out to thwart the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. Satan wanted to break the integrity of the promised Seed. Wise to his crafty acts, Jesus firmly rejected the Tempter. What was Satan’s reaction? “So the Devil, having concluded all the temptation, retired from him until another convenient time.” Clearly, Jesus did not retire from himself! Satan, frustrated, left him, “and, look! angels came and began to minister to [Jesus].”​—Luke 4:13; Matthew 4:11.

3. What does one historian say about the significance of the existence of the Devil to Christianity?

³ Reasonably, one historian comments: “To deny the existence and central importance of the Devil in Christianity is to run counter to apostolic teaching and to the historical development of Christian doctrine. Since defining Christianity in terms other than these is literally meaningless, it is intellectually incoherent to argue for a Christianity that excludes the Devil. If the Devil does not exist, then Christianity has been dead wrong on a central point right from the beginning.”a That conclusion presents a challenge for every person on earth today. Do you recognize the existence of an invisible enemy who is out to subvert God’s sovereignty and man’s allegiance?

Satan’s True Identity

4. How did a perfect spirit creature become Satan?

⁴ Satan is a powerful spirit creature, originally created by God as an angel, a spirit son with access to Jehovah’s heavenly court. (Job 1:6) However, Satan exercised his free will in opposition to God; with cunning he led Eve and, through her, Adam into disobedience and death. (2 Corinthians 11:3) Thus, he became Satan, meaning “Adversary”​—a rebel, a demon, a manslayer, and a liar. (John 8:44) How appropriate is Paul’s expression that “Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light,” when in actual fact he is a ‘world ruler of this darkness’! (2 Corinthians 6:14; 11:14; Ephesians 6:12) By enticing other angels to rebel, he led them out of God’s light into his own darkness. He became “the ruler of the demons.” Jesus also identified him as “the ruler of this world.” Obviously, in order to be a ruler, he has to exist as a created spirit person.​—Matthew 9:34; 12:24-28; John 16:11.

5. How clearly is Satan identified in the Christian Greek Scriptures?

⁵ While Satan is rarely mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures, he is fully exposed in the Christian Greek Scriptures​—so much so that we encounter the name Satan there 36 times and the word Devil, 33 times. (See Comprehensive Concordance of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.) He is also identified under other names and titles. Two of these were used by John at Revelation 12:9: “So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth.”​—See also Matthew 12:24-27; 2 Corinthians 6:14, 15.

6. What is the meaning of the word “Devil”?

⁶ Here in Revelation appears the Greek word di·aʹbo·los, translated “Devil.” According to Greek scholar J. H. Thayer, it literally means “a calumniator, false accuser, slanderer.” (Compare 1 Timothy 3:11; 2 Timothy 3:3, Kingdom Interlinear.) W. E. Vine describes the Devil as “being the malignant enemy of God and man.”b

7. Why can Satan concentrate his efforts on Jehovah’s people?

⁷ The great Adversary is not idle. (1 Peter 5:8) Perhaps that is why a proverb says, “The Devil finds work for idle hands to do.” He is out to subvert all genuine Christians. (2 Timothy 3:12) And he can concentrate on Jehovah’s people for one simple reason​—he already has the rest of the world in his power! (1 John 5:19) Today’s world is Satan’s world. He is its ruler and god, whether people recognize it or not. (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4) As a consequence, he will resort to every crafty or subtle act or suggestion in order to subvert Jehovah’s people, either individually or collectively. Let us examine some of the ways he operates.​—Mark 4:14, 15; Luke 8:12.