In Genesis 3, we learn that suffering in all its’ forms entered the world at the time of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. There was no suffering in the world until the time that Adam and Eve yielded to Satan’s temptation to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God had commanded them not to eat. He had provided many other trees in the garden from which they could eat, but He told them that they must not eat the fruit of this one tree, or they would surely die.
At the point in time when Adam and Eve yielded to the devil’s temptation and ate the fruit which God had forbidden them to eat, sin came into the world. With sin came suffering and death, which are the consequences of sin.
In Romans 5:12-19, the Apostle Paul taught about the fall of man. He explained that just as sin came into the world through one man, Adam, and this one sin of Adam’s brought death and condemnation to every man, so also through one Man, Jesus Christ, and His one act of righteousness, God’s grace would overflow to many, resulting in justification that brings life.
Satan, or the serpent, would strike the heel of Jesus, but Jesus would crush the head of Satan. This prophecy was made about Jesus in Genesis 3:15, and it was fulfilled in His victory over Satan at Calvary, “and by His scourging we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Everything that Jesus suffered, He suffered as a result of the activity of Satan. And at the same time, everything that He suffered came about according to the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God the Father (Acts 2:23).
Likewise, all the sufferings that touch our lives as God’s people are the result of the activity of Satan. He acts directly by causing such things as various physical infirmities, and he also acts indirectly through his temptation of men. If he acts through an unbeliever, then he is acting through those who belong to him, who are his children (John 8:42-47). They are slaves of sin, and their lives are characterized by sin and self-seeking.
Jesus described Satan as a thief, who comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy. This is the bad news. However, for believers there is Good News: Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and He did so in order that His people may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). This good news was accomplished for us through the sufferings that He endured, according to His Father’s will for His life.