“May the Force be with you.”
Whether you’re a diehard Star Wars fan or have never seen a single film in the franchise, you’ve almost certainly heard this phrase. It has become a cultural touchstone to the degree that May 4 is annually celebrated as Star Wars Day, based on the wordplay “May the Fourth be with you.”
In the films, the phrase is used as a kind of blessing, much like we might say “good luck” or “go with God.” Within the lore of the franchise, the Force is a cosmic, impersonal energy that pervades the universe and binds all life together, with a light and a dark side that are in perpetual conflict and balance. George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, based the idea on dualistic and pantheistic concepts from various Eastern religions and philosophies.
As Christians, we may recognize that such a belief system, real or fictional, contradicts the scriptural teaching of a sovereign God. In practice, however, we may still fall prey to a similar way of thinking. Perhaps without realizing it, we may feel as if God and the kingdom of darkness were equal and opposite adversaries engaged in a conflict whose outcome was uncertain.
Our current cultural moment, with its polarization, outrage, and uncharitable culture warring, betrays the presence of such assumptions, especially among professing believers. More than ever, we need to strengthen our hearts with scriptural truths of a God who is sovereign over light and dark and everything in heaven and on earth.
Sovereign Creator of all things
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day. (Genesis 1:1–5)
Virtually all ancient religions had a creation account involving wars between gods, monsters, and elemental forces representing good and evil. Religions of the Ancient Near East typically featured a divine champion of the gods who triumphed over the primordial ocean depths and its monstrous denizens, which symbolized primal evil.
By contrast, the scriptural account of creation is unique in presenting a sovereign God who is the creator and ruler of all things. This God is distinct from creation but is omnipresent and has absolute authority over everything in it. There were no cosmic wars involved; God simply spoke everything into existence. He didn’t need to triumph over the primordial depths; he simply made them, shaped them, and set their boundaries by the power of his word. In place of a chaotic struggle, the creation account in Scripture presents a tableau of God’s serene majesty.
Ruler over the spiritual realm, good and evil
“Very well,” the Lord told Satan, “he is in your power; only spare his life.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. . . . His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept only good from God and not adversity?” Throughout all this Job did not sin in what he said. (Job 1:6–10)
The book of Job is part of an ancient literary genre known as wisdom literature. Rather than providing simple answers, the genre invites readers to work through thorny issues, in Job’s case, the problem of suffering.
The opening scene is in heaven, with the spiritual beings, including Satan, presenting themselves before God’s throne. Through a series of interactions, God permits Satan to destroy Job’s belongings and family, then finally Job’s health.
As a created being, Satan is nowhere near an equal adversary to God. In each step of afflicting Job, he can only go as far as God allows. In effect, the image is like that of a vicious dog on a leash held by God, who restricts and relaxes the leash as he sees fit. In the words of Martin Luther, “Even the devil is God’s devil.” Both Job and the narrator acknowledge God as the ultimate source of Job’s sufferings. Neither Job nor the reader is given a reason beyond the fact that God is wise and sovereign and calls us to trust him.
All creatures serve God’s purpose
The Lord’s anger burned against Israel again, and he stirred up David against them to say, “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.” So the king said to Joab, the commander of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the troops so I can know their number.” (2 Samuel 24:1–2)
Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to count the people of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan and bring a report to me so I can know their number.” (1 Chronicles 21:1–2)
These two passages offer fascinating parallel accounts of an event late in David’s life. At this point in Israel’s history, with God having established a stable and prosperous kingdom under David’s rule, conducting a military census amounted to an act of unbelief. As at other times, the sins of the people prompted God to seek an occasion – in this case, the illegal census – to bring down his judgment on them.
According to the first passage, God stirred up David against the people by ordering the census. According to the second, it was Satan who rose up against Israel by inciting David to call for the census.
So, who was it, then? Just like in the story of Job, it was both. All God’s creatures, including Satan, serve God’s purposes, even if their motives are against God. This is true of wicked people as well as evil spirits. Jesus described his impending crucifixion as the will of his Father, but also as the hour of his enemies and the dominion of darkness. At Pentecost, Peter portrayed it as God’s determined plan and foreknowledge carried out by lawless men (Luke 22:39–42; 52–53; Acts 2:22–24).
Author of all situations, good and bad
“I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I am the Lord, who does all these things. . . . Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one is like me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.” (Isaiah 45:7; 46:9–10)
God began his creation by making a world of darkness into which he introduced light. From that point on, light and darkness became symbols of order and chaos, wisdom and folly, truth and error, knowledge and ignorance, good and evil. However, contrary to dualistic philosophies ancient or modern, light and darkness aren’t equal and opposing forces in balance. In every sense, light and darkness are both created by God and under his control.
There’s a field of philosophical and theological enquiry known as theodicy, concerned with justifying God or “getting him off the hook,” so to speak, for the bad things that happen. Through the prophet Isaiah, however, God declared that he is the author of both success and disaster, of prosperity and calamity. He has planned it all from before creation, and it will all take place according to his will. He is the sovereign God and there is no one like him.
Moreover, because God is the source of all goodness, wisdom, and truth, light will always and completely triumph over darkness. As in the beginning, when God spoke light into the primordial darkness, so at the right time God sent his Son into the world, the source of all life and light, which the darkness cannot overcome (Genesis 1:1–5; John 1:1–5).
Jesus has authority over evil spirits
“What is your name?” Jesus asked him. “Legion,” he said, because many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to banish them to the abyss. A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged him to permit them to enter the pigs, and he gave them permission. The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. (Luke 8:30–33)
During his earthly ministry, Jesus had numerous confrontations with demons and unclean spirits that were tormenting various individuals. None of these confrontations were heated battles between equally matched opponents. They rarely lasted more than a few moments, and their outcome was never in doubt. The demons always recognized Jesus as the Son of God Most High, and they knew that he had absolute authority over them. They knew that their time was short and they dreaded the prospect of Jesus’ coming judgment on them.
The most vivid of these encounters occurred when Jesus crossed over into the gentile territory opposite Galilee. There he met a demon-possessed man with superhuman strength who skulked among the tombs, naked, crying out, and cutting himself with stones.
The man said his name was Legion – after a Roman military unit of 4,000 to 6,000 men – because many demons had entered him. Despite their numbers, they begged Jesus to send them into a nearby herd of pigs, which they promptly drowned. With a single word, “Go!” Jesus drove this demonic multitude out of the man and restored him to his right mind.
Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth
Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)
After Jesus had risen, he made an appointment to meet with his disciples on a mountain in Galilee, where he gave them the Great Commission. Some of them still doubted, so Jesus gave them the ultimate motivation by telling them that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him by his Father.
This passage is so familiar that we might be tempted to gloss over it, but we mustn’t do that. Instead, we need to digest these words, to roll them over in our minds, hearts, and imaginations. Jesus has complete authority over everything in creation. Together with his Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus created all things, maintains all things, and rules all things. The physical universe and everything in it from atoms to galaxies to people, as well as the spiritual realm of angels and demons – all are held together by his powerful word.
None of this is to suggest that we take the powers of darkness lightly. The Scriptures and Jesus himself warn us to watch and pray, and they remind us that we’re involved in spiritual warfare. Nevertheless, the outcome of this battle doesn’t depend on us, nor is it ever in doubt. Our efforts may best be described as a mop-up operation, following in the footsteps of Jesus, who has already won the war.
As followers of Jesus, we not only have the encouraging truth that he is Lord over all reality. We also have his assurance to be with us always, even to the end of the age. Thus equipped, we can engage our polarized, angry, ungracious cultural moment with grace and truth, just as our Lord did before us.
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