Let’s start the John Piper series titled 9 Powers of Satan That Are Not Ultimate

“Providence over Satan’s Delegated World Rule
Satan is sometimes called in the Bible “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), or “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4), or “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), or a “cosmic [power] over this present darkness” (Eph. 6:12). This means that we should take him seriously when we’re told in Luke 4:5–7:

The devil took [Jesus] up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”

Of course, that is strictly true: if the Sovereign of the universe bows in worshipful submission to anyone; He would have elevated that one as the sovereign of the universe. But Satan’s claim that he can give the authority and glory of world kingdoms to whomever he wills is only a half-truth. No doubt he does play havoc in the world by manoeuvring a Stalin or a Hitler or an Idi Amin or a Bloody Mary or a Genghis Khan or a Saddam Hussein into murderous power. But he does this only at God’s permission and within God’s appointed limits……God’s providence, shows how God’s all-pervasive governing of all things glorifies Christ, and is spectacularly good news for those who trust him.

This is made clear repeatedly in the Bible. For example, Daniel 2:21: “[God] removes kings and sets up kings,” which means he could today remove any tyrant anywhere, any time he chooses. And he could have done so at any time in history. And Romans 13:1: “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” And when the kings are in their God-appointed place, with or without Satan’s agency, they are in the sway of God’s sovereign will, as Proverbs 21:1 says: “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.”

Therefore, the satanic power behind the nations, which God grants in some measure, is governed by God. Satan and his rulers do not move without his permission, and they do not move outside God’s decisive providence.” [How assuring this should be to each of us as we are faced with increasing tyranny and injustice of men!]

Providence over Demons and Evil Spirits
Satan has thousands of cohorts in supernatural evil. They are called “demons” (James 2:19) or “evil spirits” (Luke 7:21) or “unclean spirits” (Matt. 10:1) or “the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). We get a tiny glimpse into demonic warfare in Daniel 10, where the angel who is sent in response to Daniel’s prayer says, “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me” (Dan. 10:13). So apparently the demon, or evil spirit, over Persia fought against the angel who was sent to help Daniel, and a greater angel, Michael, came to his aid. But the Bible leaves us with no doubt as to who is in charge in all these skirmishes. Martin Luther got it right:

And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him.

We see glimpses of those “little words” at work, for example, when Jesus comes up against thousands of demons in Matthew 8:29–32. They were oppressing a man and making him insane. Jesus spoke to them one little word: “Go.” And they came out of the man. There is no question who is Sovereign in this battle. Though demons disobey God’s written commandments in Scripture, they do not disobey when he addresses them directly with the decisive command of his power. “He commands the unclean spirits, and they obey him” (Mark 1:27). God’s providence holds sway over Satan’s angels. This is as true today as it was when Jesus walked the earth”—John Piper

Remember this same authority has been bequeathed to each believer. Use it and don’t back off. Selah.

Pastor Afolabi Oladele