The devil… was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 NIV.

Why does Jesus choose such a designation for the Devil? What was he trying to say?

Because on the face of it, the Devil’s primary sin was pride and selfishness, arrogance and ambition. Not murder.

So why does Jesus call him a murderer from the beginning?

No doubt Jesus always chose his words carefully. This statement would be no exception. In employing the word murderer Jesus is saying much, and it fits exactly with what we know about the Devil’s attack on God and his nature, the issues in the Great Controversy.

For the Devil’s main charge was that God was not who he claimed to be. The Devil attacked God’s very nature, claiming that God was not the benevolent Creator he said he was. Instead the Devil portrayed God as hostile and hateful, authoritarian and arbitrary, cruel and capricious.

The Devil used what we would call “character assassination.”

No wonder Jesus called the Devil a murderer from the beginning. For the accusations he made against God were tantamount to attempted murder—trying to systematically destroy the character and personality of God himself.

Indeed, the accusations were worse than a physical assault, for in employing his subtle means, Satan sought to discredit God—to not only challenge his authority, but to deny God’s very goodness, truth and right.

As some know only too well, when your character is attacked, it can seem worse than an attempted murder. The result can leave you feeling more than physically dead. If you end up shunned by friends and family, you perhaps wish you were dead.

Jesus identifies Satan as a murderer from the beginning—and we can see why. He then goes on to explain in more detail. The issue is not over an attack with a physical deadly weapon, but with something just as dangerous: the perversion of truth. In making up his accusations, the Devil had to lie. He had to reject the truth, and pervert the understanding of and motives behind God’s attitude and actions.

In doing so, he had to convince himself of his warped view of reality. In believing his own propaganda, the Devil ended up totally believing a lie, to the extent that Jesus says there is “no truth in him.” He became truthless and lieful.

Consequently the Devil became the exact opposite of God—acting for evil and deceitfully, misrepresenting and counterfeiting—so that error became truth for him, and truth, error.

How do you deal with such a situation? How do you work with someone whose view of reality is exactly 180 degrees out? How do you try to convince someone who is totally self-convinced?

How do you deal with someone who is 100 percent a liar?

God worked long and hard, that’s sure. Not by argument, but by demonstration. But in being so self-convinced, the Devil could see in every action of God an attack on himself. Eventually, and not without much suffering, God has to give up, for nothing works. Like those mentioned in Romans 1, God gives up—because they have exchanged the truth of God for a lie…

For “what may be known about God is plain,” for “since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” Consequently we are “without excuse.” Romans 1:19 NIV.

There’s no excuse for not seeing the truth. That we may choose to not see, to reject, to pervert the truth does not mean there is no truth. But in choosing to deny truth the result is that our thinking becomes futile and our foolish heart are darkened. While we may still claim to be wise, we become fools. (see Romans 1:21, 22).

Ultimately God gives up on all who reject truth in this way (Romans 1:24, 26, 28), allowing us to deprave our minds and to experience the consequences of turning error into truth.

But the conclusion is eternal and unchangeable: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie.” (Romans 1:25 NIV).

© Jonathan Gallagher