Does Satan Know Scripture?
Satan appears to know Scripture, even though he does not obey God. Why would a fallen angel who rejects God use the Lord’s own Word against him? Surely Scripture is only powerful for the forces of Heaven? Yet Scripture is the great weapon of the theological world, and each side wields it.
That is part of what complicates our discernment as believers; if two people are arguing about the Bible, each one employing evidence from within its pages, how can we know which one is correct? People use the Bible as a weapon for evil instead of for glorifying God. Therefore, how can anyone safely wield the Word or trust it?
Satan Quoted Scripture to Jesus
Matthew 4 recounts Satan’s efforts to tempt Jesus when he was at his weakest, in the wilderness at the end of a 40-day fast following his baptism. Satan urged Jesus to turn a stone into bread, to worship him and be granted power in return, and to jump from the cliff because God “will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:6; Psalm 91:11).
Satan is not misquoting God’s Word; he is misusing it. John Piper warns that “Satan does not always try to ruin faith by saying, ‘The Bible isn’t true.’ He often tries to destroy our faith by affirming some passage and using it to lead us into disobedience.”
As Sam Bierig explains, Satan is the greatest liar there ever was. Nothing he says can be trusted. “If his mouth is moving, he is lying. He is the original liar and, therefore, the father of lies. Every lie was and is birthed in him.” The words Satan used in the wilderness came straight from Scripture, yet Piper warns that the Prince of Darkness “studies how to distort [Scripture] and pervert it by plausible misinterpretations. Yes, they must be plausible. He is not so happy when his sub-demons put absurd misinterpretations into our head because they are far too easily corrected.”
The Purpose of Satan’s Deception
Satan deceives so that he can implant doubt into a believer’s mind, disturb someone’s peace in Christ, negatively impact his or her influence for the Kingdom, or lead an individual into apostasy. Most of his work is done by employing ordinary people to make sin look and sound harmless, or to argue against the reality of sin.
To tempt Christ, however, Satan appeared in person. His purpose was to undermine Christ’s ministry as it began and steer him away from the Father’s path. The next three years would not have happened if Jesus had sinned; he could not have taken our punishment at Calvary. Satan’s method was to suggest that the foundations of our faith are uncertain – to manipulate Christ using God’s Word against him, but how?
His temptations had to sound like truth from the mouth of God. After all, when Jesus was attacked with absurdity, his answer was rhetorical and easy. He did not even need the power of Scripture to form a retort. Mark 3:25-27 recalls how the Pharisees accused him of being in league with the devil: “Does it make sense to send a devil to catch a devil, to use Satan to get rid of Satan?” (The Message) However, how could Jesus argue effectively against something that sounded plausible? Moses drew water from a rock after all (Exodus 17:6) – why not quell his hunger from a rock too?
Jesus’ Defense against Satan’s Distortion of Scripture
John Piper assures us: “the word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17)? Yes! And indeed it is. What did Jesus say when Satan quoted Scripture? He said: ‘Again it is written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”’ (Matthew 4:7). He quoted Scripture against Satan’s use of Scripture. He knew the Bible better than Satan.” Jesus knew that God’s purpose was to glorify himself, not merely to quench thirst or save a child’s life (Jairus’ daughter for example, Mark 5). We can trust Jesus, and he trusted the Word.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ is One with God. And Jesus’ great weapon against both the possibility of sin and the intentions of Satan was the same Word, applied properly, obediently, and with power.
Satan knew what the words were, he even knew what they really meant. God’s Word can easily be misapplied and twisted to sound the way a person wants it to sound. Jesus was hungry and tired, and his weakness could have predisposed him to submit to Satan. But he used Scripture to withstand and rebuke Satan.
How Satan Uses Scripture Today
Satan infects the minds and hearts of some who profess to be Christians. When pastors teach semi-truths which draw listeners away from the protective boundaries of the Lord’s true teaching, that is Satan using Scripture through the mouths of ordinary people. Distortions often begin with Satan’s question in the Garden: “Did God really say” (Genesis 3:1).
Did God really say you cannot live together before getting married? Did God really say polyamory is a sin? Did God really say that we must not attend a seance and read Tarot cards? Or Satan uses legalism to shame us into “good” behavior: you must observe the Sabbath on Sunday or you are a sinner and you must fast at certain times to be a real child of God. If you commit a sin, you must do something to make up for it – true repentance is not enough. Distorters use God’s Word to oppress others or to exalt themselves and their desires. They question what he has said in order to justify sin.
They also take Scripture out of context to craft a specific message to do with a specific agenda or to declare how God wants us to be happy, that he is “for” our position. The prosperity gospel is one example. Christian Nationalism is another. So are the queer and feminist versions. The true gospel is about Christ – about how he is good and glorious, about how he deserves our worship and how we are sinners in need of a Savior who is Jesus Christ alone.
Satan’s “minions study individuals and then seek to tempt and twist them in accordance with particularized patterns of sin. They cater and concoct a seemingly irresistible elixir of poison just for you. Television, social media, fast food, biology, age, and gender are all thrown into the recipe.” Sam Bierig’s explanation tells us that Satan’s tactics are subtle and personal. If you come from a New Age background and want to keep using Tarot cards or talking to psychics, the Devil’s minions will suggest that it is fine to do those things even though God has said “no.” (See Acts 16, 2 Chronicles 33, Leviticus 19.)
The Evil One will encourage people that, since Christ turned water into wine, there is nothing wrong with drinking excessively. He hung around with sinners, therefore, continuing habits that promote licentiousness is okay, even if one is being dragged into sin instead of bringing others to Christ.
New Bibles supposedly profess the updated, progressive, “real truth,” as though the ESV, CSB etc. were translated with an oppressive agenda in mind. These Bibles were not translated from previous Bibles with their socially acceptable ways of thinking about women and slavery, but directly from extant ancient texts which glorify God and teach about Jesus. New Bibles, however, try to change what God has said to become more culturally relevant, even though “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
How to Protect against Satan’s Distortions of Scripture
Firstly, as John Piper counsels, “Do not believe everyone who can quote you a text. History is strewn with cults who twisted the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16).” If you have a trusted and knowledgeable Christian friend or a pastor you can rely on, talk about the issues that are bothering you, especially where you feel a conflict between cultural thinking and Biblical teaching.
Know the words, actions, and intentions of Jesus so that you can tell the difference between God-glorifying and self-glorifying positions. Christ joyfully submitted his life to save us and to obey the Father (Hebrews 12:2). Following Christ is not meant to make us “happy” or to ensure we live our best lives now. The Christian life is not easy.
Even though there are false teachers from within the church, take some time to find a church that preaches the gospel. We are called to be relational and “stir one another up to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). We cannot understand God or glorify him in a vacuum. Avoiding people out of fear exposes our faithlessness – the belief that God will not give us discernment if we ask for it. We will meet liars; the Holy Spirit will help us when we do.
Pray that the Holy Spirit would expose lies and highlight truths. Trust the Spirit to guide and protect you. If someone’s position raises a red flag for you, test their ideas against the full context and heart of God’s Word. Read every day and read in context rather than memorizing pithy verses. Piper encourages us to “read widely in the Bible and ask yourself continually how this part fits with that part and that with this. It is when the pieces start to fit together that we are most secure from distortion.”
Ultimate Power
Christ is more powerful than Satan. He has the ultimate power to expose his lies. Use this power to protect yourself, by calling on the indwelling Holy Spirit for discernment, by calling on the Father in prayer, and by soaking up every word of truth Jesus spoke. Get to know his words but, better still, get to know Jesus – his motivations, his heart. When you know his purpose and your own purpose in life as his faithful follower, you more easily detect the Evil One’s motives and methods when Scripture is misused. You might even be used by God to lead someone else away from Satan’s lies.
Sources
https://www.mbts.edu/2019/10/10-truths-about-a-liar-a-biblical-theology-of-satan/
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/satans-bible-knowledge
https://biblehub.com/study/chapters/matthew/4.htm
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Alex Raths
Originally published January 21, 2025.
