5.10 The Purpose of the Adversary
In the previous section, we examined some of the common modern misconceptions of Satan and how the Bible instead portrays him as the adversary, accuser, tempter, and deceiver.
The previous section left two crucial questions unresolved:
- Why would God permit such a being to exist at all?
- If God desires truth, righteousness, and holiness, why would He allow opposition, accusation, temptation, and testing to exist within the world?
Christians have proposed many answers throughout history. In this section, we will look at the consistent pattern that emerges throughout Scripture:
Adversity repeatedly reveals what is hidden within a person.
Pressure reveals loyalties.
Temptation reveals desires.
Criticism reveals ego.
Success reveals motives.
Suffering reveals beliefs.
The adversary’s role is to expose what is hidden through opposition, accusation, temptation, and testing.
Because people cannot truly know what they believe until they observe their own actions under the weight of suffering.
The Adversary Exposes What is Hidden
The earliest biblical depictions of Satan help illustrate this principle.
In the Book of Job, Satan challenges the assumption that Job is faithful because he genuinely loves God. Satan argues that Job’s righteousness exists only because he has been blessed and protected.
Satan’s challenge is:
Would Job remain faithful if those blessings were removed?
Likewise, in Zechariah 3, Satan appears as an accuser standing against Joshua the high priest. Joshua is described as wearing filthy garments, symbolizing guilt and impurity. Satan points to what is wrong.
In both stories, the adversary functions as an exposer.
- He challenges.
- He questions.
- He accuses.
- He brings hidden things into the open.
Job’s faithfulness is tested.
Joshua’s condition is revealed.
In the Bible, the adversary functions less like an executioner and more like a prosecutor presenting evidence before a court.
Whether one interprets Satan as a fallen angel, an agent of God, a spiritual being, a symbolic representation of destructive ideology, or something in between, the pattern remains remarkably consistent:
The adversary attempts to unmask that which is unseen.
Biblical Examples of Adversity
People often say that adversity builds character.
Scripture frequently presents a slightly different picture:
Adversity discloses character.
The test itself does not automatically make someone wise, faithful, humble, or mature. Instead, the test reveals what is already present beneath the surface.
Consider several examples.
Abraham
Abraham is tested when God commands him to offer Isaac, the son through whom God had promised to build a nation. Isaac represents Abraham’s future, God’s promises, and everything Abraham hoped to become.
The test reveals whether Abraham’s ultimate trust rests in God’s gifts or in God Himself.
The Test: Will you trust God with your future?
Israel
After leaving slavery in Egypt, Israel enters the wilderness. Although physically free, the people repeatedly struggle with fear, complaint, idolatry, and distrust.
The wilderness becomes a place where God attempts to teach His people responsibility and what it means to live as His covenant nation. Israel must learn that true freedom is more than escaping oppression; it is learning to live faithfully.
The Test: Will you serve God if you are given more freedom?
David
David spends years fleeing from King Saul, who repeatedly attempts to kill him. More than once, David has the opportunity to kill Saul and seize the throne for himself.
Instead, David refuses to take power by unrighteous means. Through years of waiting, he develops patience, restraint, humility, and trust in God’s timing before becoming king.
The Test: Will you wait faithfully on God’s timing, or seize what is not yet yours?
Peter
Peter confidently promises never to abandon Jesus, yet later denies even knowing Him three times during Jesus’ trial.
His failure exposes his fear and overconfidence. After Jesus restores him, Peter becomes a humbler, wiser, and more compassionate leader.
The Test: What will failure make of you?
In each case, the adversity reveals something that was previously hidden.
Revelation is often painful. But in every case, it is valuable.
Revelation of Character
We can now return to the questions that began this section:
- Why would God permit an adversary?
- Why allow opposition, temptation, accusation, and testing?
While Christians have proposed different answers throughout history, Scripture points to revelation of character as the primary purpose of the adversary. Again and again, adversity exposes what is hidden within a person.
Without an adversary, there is no testing.
Without testing, there is no revealed character.
Without revealed character, there is no self-awareness.
Without self-awareness, there is no room for repentance.
Without repentance, there is no refinement.
Without refinement, there is no maturity.
The revelation itself does not guarantee transformation. Being exposed is not the same thing as being changed.
Some people harden themselves.
Others learn.
Some repent.
Others refuse.
The choice remains theirs.
In this way, adversity often becomes one of the primary tools through which human beings come to know themselves, recognize their need for change, and move toward greater maturity.
Encountering The Adversary
This kind of revelation is often painful because it may expose faults, weaknesses, and divided loyalties.
But the revelation alone does not heal a fragmented person; it only exposes the fragmentation.
Which leads us to another question:
How should one respond when encountering the adversary?
The Gospels present Jesus as one who demonstrated how human beings should respond when faced with adversary, accusation, temptation, and deception.
In section 5.11, we will look at Jesus’ authority over evil spirits.
