The Problem of Evil and Omnipotence in Theology
The tension between divine omnipotence and the existence of evil has occupied Christian theology since its earliest centuries, rooted in the biblical affirmation that God is all-powerful yet evil persists in creation. Job's confession acknowledges God's omnipotence over nature and supreme justice in all dealings [3], establishing the scriptural foundation that God's power extends without limit. Yet Scripture equally insists that God "cannot be the subject of" temptation and that evil "does not come from God" [1], creating the theological puzzle: if God is omnipotent, why does evil exist, and how can He be absolved of responsibility for it?
The Biblical Framework
The New Testament locates the origin of temptation and evil not in divine causation but in creaturely rebellion. James 1:13 explicitly states that God neither tempts nor can be tempted, and that temptation "comes from lusts" [1]—from disordered human desire. The devil emerges as "the author" of temptation [1], a personal agent whose activity Scripture traces through specific acts: Satan's incitement of David's census (1 Chronicles 21:1), his temptation of Christ (Matthew 4:1), and his influence over Judas (John 13:2) [1]. This framework preserves divine holiness while acknowledging a real adversary whose power, though derivative, operates within the created order.
The scope of Satan's authority receives striking expression in the temptation narrative. When the devil offers Christ "all this power" and "the glory" of the world's kingdoms, he claims "that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will, I give it" [5]. Here Satan "sets up himself to be the God of this world, and the sovereign disposer of it," asserting that the true God "had left it to his arbitrary disposal" [5]. Whether this claim represents truth or deception, it reveals the theological problem: evil exercises real power in history, yet Christian orthodoxy cannot grant Satan ultimate autonomy without compromising monotheism.
The Mystery of Iniquity
Paul's language of "the mystery of iniquity" (2 Thessalonians 2:7) captures the hiddenness of evil's operation within providential history. This "counterwork to 'the mystery of godliness'" describes anti-Christianity "latently working, as distinguished from its final open manifestation" [2]. The term "mystery" in Scripture denotes not permanent secrecy but that "which is for a while hidden, but in due time manifested" [2]. Evil thus operates under a kind of divine permission—restrained yet active, concealed yet destined for exposure. Satan's final effort will come "just as at His" appearing [2], suggesting that evil's intensification paradoxically serves the purposes of redemptive history.
Revelation's imagery of binding and sealing reinforces this theme of divine sovereignty over evil's duration and scope. When an angel shuts Satan in the abyss and sets "a seal upon him," the text emphasizes a "surer seal to keep him from getting out than his seal over Jesus in the tomb" [4]. Satan's binding "is not arbitrary, but is the necessary consequence of the events" preceding it [4]—the legitimate judgment that follows from Christ's victory. This suggests that evil's permission and its limitation both flow from the same divine governance, though the mechanics remain opaque to human reason.
Theodicy's Limits
The Reformed tradition, represented in these sources, typically refuses to resolve the tension by diminishing either divine sovereignty or evil's reality. Job's response models the appropriate posture: confession of God's omnipotence and justice alongside acknowledgment of human "vileness" and "incompetence to deal with the wicked as a just judge" [3]. The text applies "purpose" ambiguously to both divine intention and "evil devices" [3], hinting that the same events may serve multiple agencies without collapsing moral distinctions.
The problem intensifies when considering that "the earthly-minded" [6] actively align themselves with the beast's authority, suggesting that evil's persistence involves not only satanic agency but human complicity. The Church itself risks becoming earthly when it loses its heavenly orientation [6], indicating that the problem of evil cannot be externalized to cosmic forces alone. Human freedom, satanic rebellion, and divine permission form a nexus that Christian theology describes but does not fully explain, preserving the mystery while insisting on God's ultimate justice and power.
Sources
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Temptation — God cannot be the subject of -- Jas 1:13. Does not come from God -- Jas 1:13. Comes from Lusts. -- Jas 1:14. Covetousness. -- Pr 28:20; 1Ti 6:9,10. The devil is the author of -- 1Ch 21:1; Mt 4:1; Joh 13:2; 1Th 3:5. Evil associates, the instruments of -- Pr 1:10; 7:6; 16:29. Often arises through Poverty. -- Pr 30:9; Mt 4:2,3. Prosperity. -- Pr 30:9; Mt 4:8. Worldly glory. -- Nu 22:17; Da 4:30; 5:2; Mt 4:8. To distrust of God's providence -- Mt 4:3. To presumption -- Mt 4:6. To worshipping the god of this world -- Mt 4:9. Often strengthened by the perversi”
- 2 Thessalonians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 2 Thessalonians 2:7: the mystery of iniquity--the counterwork to "the mystery of godliness" (Ti1 3:16). Anti-Christianity latently working, as distinguished from its final open manifestation. "Mystery" in Scripture means, not what remains always a secret, but that which is for a while hidden, but in due time manifested (compare Eph 3:4-5). Satan will resort to a mode of opposition more conformed to the then imminent "appearing" and "presence" of the Saviour, and will anticipate Him with a last effort to maintain the dominion of the world [DE BURGH], just as at His ”
- Job (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Job 42 (introduction): JOB'S PENITENT REPLY. (Job 42:1-6) In the first clause he owns God to be omnipotent over nature, as contrasted with his own feebleness, which God had proved (Job 40:15; Job 41:34); in the second, that God is supremely just (which, in order to be governor of the world, He must needs be) in all His dealings, as contrasted with his own vileness (Job 42:6), and incompetence to deal with the wicked as a just judge (Job 40:8-14). thought--"purpose," as in Job 17:11; but it is usually applied to evil devices (Job 21:27; Psa 10:2): the ambiguous w”
- Revelation (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Revelation 20:3: shut him--A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and ANDREAS omit "him." set a seal upon him--Greek, "over him," that is, sealed up the door of the abyss over his head. A surer seal to keep him from getting out than his seal over Jesus in the tomb of Joseph, which was burst on the resurrection morn. Satan's binding at' this juncture is not arbitrary, but is the necessary consequence of the events (Rev 19:20); just as Satan's being cast out of heaven, where he had previously been the accuser of the brethren, was the legitimate judgment which passed on him through”
- Matthew (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Matthew 4:8: And saith unto him, all these things will I give thee.... This is more fully and strongly expressed by the Evangelist Luke. Luk 4:6. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will, I give it--all shall be thine. In which words he sets up himself to be the God of this world, and the sovereign disposer of it: he pretends it was delivered to him by the true God, who had left it to his arbitrary disposal; and that he could invest Christ with the power and government of it, and ”
- Revelation (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Revelation 13:12: power--Greek, "authority." before him--"in his presence"; as ministering to, and upholding him. "The non-existence of the beast embraces the whole Germanic Christian period. The healing of the wound and return of the beast is represented [in regard to its final Antichristian manifestation though including also, meanwhile, its healing and return under Popery, which is baptized heathenism] in that principle which, since 1789, has manifested itself in beast-like outbreaks" [AUBERLEN]. which dwell therein--the earthly-minded. The Church becomes th”