Let’s go back and look at the incident of Lucifer’s fall in Isaiah 14:12-15, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”  In essence, the Lord did not create Satan.  He created Lucifer.  The name Lucifer means “the morning star”, or as he is called here, “son of the morning.”  This certainly speaks of his splendor and brightness with which he shone above all other created beings.  This is the only time in the Bible that we find the word Lucifer.  After his fall, we read words such as Satan, the devil, the serpent, Beelzebub, etc.  The word Satan means “adversary.”  That is obvious in the first time we read Satan’s name in 1 Chronicles 21:1, “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.” 

It is undoubtedly true that when the Lord created Lucifer, he knew that one day he would rebel and sin against God.  We read in Isaiah 46:9-10, “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.”  We have the witness of the Apostle Peter in his words to the Lord Jesus in John 21:17, “Lord, thou knowest all things…”  Yes, the Lord absolutely knew that Lucifer would sin.

Why, then, did God create Lucifer?  The question of how God can be all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good at the same time, and still allow Satan to exist can be quite perplexing.  I know I will not exhaust this question with my answer, but I will attempt to share with you my thoughts concerning the introduction of sin into the world and why the Lord allowed it.

Sin is a terrible thing.  As exhibited by Lucifer, sin is rebellion.  It is going against God’s will to do our own will.  The Lord wants us to “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” (Romans 12:9).  The Lord wants us to love and obey Him and His perfect will.  It is only the presence of the option to sin that will allow us to obey God’s will.  Otherwise, there is no act of obedience.  There would be no choice but to obey God.  Sin exposes our nature and our hearts.  Sin also exposes God’s love, patience, glory, and honor. 

Romans 5:12 tells us, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”  Sin entered the world when in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve rebelled against God and partook of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil…against God’s direct orders.  Of course, it was Satan, that old serpent, that enticed Eve to eat and then she gave to Adam and he ate also.  Because of sin, man died.  Because of sin, we all die.  Adam and Eve had the opportunity to obey God, but they chose to disobey and “death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” 

“But God…”  We read that expression over 40 times in the Bible.  Here are a few examples:

* Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

* Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;).”

* Psalm 49:15, “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.”

Because of sin, we all have been sentenced to eternal death.  BUT GOD.  God intervened with His undeserved and unlimited grace and sent His Son into the world to die for our sins so that through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we might be saved and live with Him forever.  What a precious savior we have that he loved us and gave Himself for us.

If there was no sin in the world:

* We would not have the opportunity to obey God. 

* We would never know what forgiveness was. 

* We would never experience such a depth of God’s love for us. 

If there was no sin in the world, we would still know God as our creator, but we would not experience His saving power and know Him as SAVIOR! 

Why did God create Lucifer even though He knew that he would rebel and sin against Him?  So that we could know God in a far deeper way than we could ever have known Him.  (417.6)