Question:
Why did God create Satan? Does this mean that God is responsible for all sin?
Answer:
God did not create Satan any more than He created alcohol, whisky, or beer. God made Lucifer a shining angel of light and gave him the most glorious position a creature could possess. He was one of the beings closest to God’s throne. The description of this angel can be found in the twenty-eighth chapter of Ezekiel, where he is represented under the symbol of the king of Tyre: “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering: the sardius, the topaz, the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, the carbuncle, and gold. The workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was in thee; in the day that thou wast created, they were prepared. Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth: and I set thee so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteousness was found in thee.”
God made Lucifer, just as He makes man and every other intelligent, rational creature in His dominion, a being of free will with the power to choose. That must be the case to obtain acceptable service. It would not be meaningful service to a king if all his subjects obeyed solely because they had no choice. Excellent conduct may be observed in many prisons, but that conduct is not genuine, as those individuals are bound to prevent wrongdoing. If Lucifer had been created as a mere automaton, one who must necessarily do right, he would be no more than a machine. Such a creation could bring no satisfaction to God. God desires willing service, a service born of choice; thus, He made Lucifer, as He made each of us, a free moral agent who could choose or refuse.
Around every moral intelligence in His universe, God places a sacred circle designated for that soul, and Omnipotent Power will not enter this circle to compel that soul to do right. That soul must make a choice. God said to Israel, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live.” The same choice was set before Lucifer. While we do not fully understand how sin entered his heart, we know that the perversion of God’s blessings is sin. There was not a single evil thing in the universe as it came from the hand of God; all evil arises from the distortion of good. Every faculty that Lucifer possessed could have been utilized to glorify God and bring abundant blessings back to him, but he chose to use them for himself. He sought glory for himself instead of giving glory to God. As expressed in the chapter of Ezekiel, we’ve already quoted, “Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.”
To have perfect service, God must take the significant risk of sin. Only through this risk can character be formed. However, alongside the risk of sin, the Lord made provision: “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” In God’s great plan, there was salvation for Lucifer even after he became the adversary Satan, had he accepted it. But he continued to reject every manifestation of grace. The human soul may do the same if it chooses. Alternatively, it can turn from sin, yield everything to God, and find grace sufficient for every time of need.
