The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Paul is closing his letter to the Romans. He has laid out the doctrines of justification, sanctification and glorification. Through faith we are declared righteous by Christ’s blood on our behalf, made holy by Christ and we will soon be risen with Him in newness of life. The later, glorification, is the least spoken doctrine in Romans, but it is, indeed, taught:
Romans 8:28-30 (ESV)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
As Paul now ends this book he gives us one more important look at the glorification doctrine. Not only will we be glorified, but we will also, through the peace of God, be with Christ to crush Satan under our feet. It is amazing that in the end, not only does God saves us, but He will also use us to give the final blow to Satan’s rule and dominion. We have read in Paul’s words to the Ephesians that the peace of God is a weapon. It is given to us in the arsenal God to equip us in our walk with Him. We are to take up the whole armor of God and stand in Christ’s power having put on ...
Ephesians 6:15 (ESV)
..., as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
So we are taught in these two passages that the peace with have with God (Romans 5:1) is not only a defensive weapon as in the armor of God, but also an offensive weapon we will use to crush Satan’s head. Satan wants to create disharmony, animosity, hostility, and bedlam; not just between us and God but between us and everyone else. That was is first strategy from the beginning. He wanted to disrupt the peace that Adam and Eve had in the garden. He succeeded by causing them to disobey God. They then blamed each other for their mutual failings. All inward fighting is oriented in Satan’s lies and deception after he succeeds in enticing us to disobey God. Jesus came to restore peace between us and God. Jesus came to restore peace between us and others. That peace with God is extended to have peace with each other. This is why we take up the armor to our feet of the readiness given by the gospel of peace. The gospel is about restoring peace with God and with each other. When walk with God in peace we can defend ourselves from Satan’s attacks. This is why peace is on our feet as a weapon. When we are in harmony with God, walking in obedience, we have the peace of God to defend us against Satan’s attacks. We now read, in the above passage, that in the end, our glorification with Christ, we will have one last participation with Christ to crush Satan under our feet. The defensive weapon will, in the end, become an offensive weapon. Having peace with God, in the end, is walking in fellowship with Him as Christ returns to set up God’s kingdom. Satan will be crushed. He will be crushed under our feet as we are joined in peace with God, through Christ’s finished work. Anytime there is disharmony it is because Satan has caused disobedience in our walk with God. Peace is a defensive and offensive weapon to be used to defeat Satan’s desire to disrupt that peace with God. We are to use what God has given us to defeat him. Waking in obedience to Christ enables the peace of God to defeat the enemy of God. Walk in peace!
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