155. From Power of Satan to God
Acts 26:18c And from the power of Satan unto God….
The third promise of Paul’s commission to preach the Gospel to Gentiles is that they will be turned from the power of Satan unto God. The word for power is actually the Greek word for “authority;” authority = the right to rule. All people were once (and still are, if unbelievers) under the legal authority of Satan because he has the authority over every sinner. Satan has the right to rule the lives of sinners, for sin surrenders authority to him. God cannot legally take that authority away from Satan as it is his right as long as we sin.
However, the sin is taken away by the death of Christ on the cross, and because of Christ Satan no longer a right to rule the lives of those whose sin is forgiven. He will lie and shout that he has a right to ruin our lives, but the Gospel says, “No!” The Gospel says we are liberated and are now under the authority of God. God has the authority over our lives: when He says, “I forgive you, you are free,” it is true and indisputable.
Living under the authority of God is obviously far better than being under the authority of Satan. Satan is all evil and has only hurt and harm in intention; God is all good and does everything for our good and our benefit. Jesus has wrested authority from Satan and gave the authority of our lives to God. This is Good News, for the Good Lord only has our interest and welfare in mind. When we believe in Jesus we willingly submit to the authority of God. The more the Holy Spirit convinces us to submit everything to God the more our life will go well. We can embrace the authority of God and enjoy His benevolent rule.