“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20)
This promise from the apostle Paul is rich in biblical imagery. It harkens all the way back to the very first Messianic prophecy of the Bible. Satan had just led Adam and Eve into sin, brining unimaginable pain upon humanity and God’s curse upon the earth. But, upon Eve’s testimony, God turned to the devil who had taken the form of a serpent, and said: “I will put hostility between you and the woman, between her Seed (the Messiah) and your seed. He will crush your head but you will bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
In the world of the Bible, the head was of premier importance among the body’s members, while the feet were least. This meant that the wound inflicted upon the woman’s Seed would be negligible, while His wound against Satan would be catastrophic. Satan’s head would be crushed under the foot of Jesus. This took place in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) and throughout Jesus’ ministry (Luke 10:18). But, more specifically it took place at the cross. Paul would write that through the cross Jesus defeated and disarmed the spiritual forces of wickedness (Colossians 2:15). Jesus described His ministry as subduing a strong man (Satan), binding him, stripping off his armor, and taking away all his possessions (the captive souls of sinners – Luke 11:20-22). Hebrews 2:14 says that by His death (which outwardly looked like a defeat) Jesus rendered the devil powerless. Therefore, Jesus’ advent into this world was an invasion of Satan’s kingdom. He bound Satan, took away his armor, and delivered his captives.
But “our being delivered from Satan” isn’t enough for Jesus. Christ is determined to place our feet on the neck of the devil. Yes, Jesus will make us victorious over the one who used to tyrannize us. An illustration of this is found in Joshua 10:22-26. There Joshua had captured five of the kings of Canaan – the enemies Israel was commanded to destroy. He had kept them prisoner in a cave until the battle was over. Then, at the end of hostilities, Joshua brought the kings forth, made them lay face down, and ordered his commanders to place their feet on their necks. Now, Joshua and his commanders were all former slaves. They only knew humiliation and servitude. These Canaanite kings were like towering giants to the commanders. It felt more natural for them to bow down to kings. Joshua wanted them to personally experience the victory which the LORD was giving them over their enemies. And it’s the same with us. Christ commands us to resist the devil and to take up the sword of the Spirit and do battle against Satan (James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10-18). We are not to be passive, but active warriors. Christ wants us to personally experience our own victory over Satan.
REFLECTION
- According to James 4:7 what’s the primary means of resisting the devil?
- According to 1 John 5:4-5 who is the person who overcomes the world?
- What divine weapon does God provide, which Jesus also used against Satan?
- Let’s be active warriors of Christ, using God’s word and faith as our weapons.
