Scripture Reading: Romans 16:17–20
Turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Romans chapter 16. Romans chapter 16. And I want to read verses 17 through 20. So just a very short portion of God's Word from the last chapter of Paul's great epistle to the Romans.
Just a few verses and then my remarks this evening will be confined actually to just one verse or to be open and honest just a part of one verse. So Romans chapter 16 and verses 17 through 20. Hear this word of the Lord. Now I beseech you, brethren, Mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which he learned, and turn away from them.
For they that are such serve not our Lord Christ, but their own belly. And by their smooth and fair speech, they beguile the hearts of the innocent. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I rejoice therefore over you, but I would have you wise unto that which is good and simple unto that which is evil.
And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, thus far the reading of God's word.
Introduction
My text this evening is that phrase, it's really a sentence, toward the end of those verses, actually just before or just prior to that benediction that appears there. And here the Apostle Paul writes, and the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet. shortly. Now this verse, these words are a part of a section that in some ways appears out of place. And they appear, the words appear out of place because of what Paul has written in the opening verses of Romans chapter 16, this great magisterial epistle that is devoted to the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
It's really, in many ways, Paul's magnum opus. And as he comes to the end of it, he sends his greetings to various people within the church whom he knows. Now, Paul had never been in Rome up to this point. The people that he knew, Which was a little unusual, as I mentioned this morning in another context, that Paul ordinarily would send or write an epistle to a church or to churches where he had been.
More often than not, churches that he had established. But Rome was established a little bit differently. It was the center of the Roman Empire. People moved there for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which would be greater opportunities, work, and those sorts of things.
It was the hub, the center of everything. And so along with a great many people, Christians would move there as well. And there are a number of people mentioned here that appear in other places in the New Testament. The second thing that is a little unusual about the city of Rome was that because it was so large, This text would seem to indicate that instead of one church per city, which you find in other places, Paul writes to a church.
And we don't know how large the church is, but wherever they met it was large enough, or the church was small enough that they could all meet together. But that was not the case in Rome. It was rather large, transportation would have been difficult, getting from place to place. And so there were these various churches.
And in fact, Paul uses the word church, several times in the context, and then he uses the word household as well, which is a kind of euphemism speaking of a church that meets in someone's home. So we must not think of them as Bible studies or cell groups or something along that line, but these were individual churches. And Paul sends his greetings, he's delighted with them, he thanks the Lord for them. He sends his greetings, he is pleased at the growth and the advancement of the kingdom of God, and then in verses 17, and actually he returns to that in verse 21.
But in this paragraph in between, Paul draws attention to something else that goes on in the life of the church or churches, and it begins somewhat abruptly. That is, there's this transition that is somewhat abrupt, And it seems to deal with difficulties and troubles and problems and disaffection and division within the church. And then even the role of the evil one. And it doesn't seem to fit in some ways thematically, doesn't seem to fit ideologically.
I mean, it's somewhat abrasive following all of those greetings. And it doesn't seem to fit either. as we think of Paul's interest in evangelism and so forth. And yet what's really and truly interesting about verse 20 is that even though Paul issues a series of imperatives, watch out for this, be careful of this, be on your guard against people that come in and would be disruptive and all of that. In verse 20, there's no imperative.
There's no command. Again, you have these greetings and greet one another with a holy kiss. And then there's this shunning, this beware, watch out. Again, a series of commands having to do with difficulties that face most churches at one time or another.
And then there's this great statement in which there's no imperative, there's no command, there's nothing to do. It's merely an announcement. Look at it again, in this context, and the God of peace. shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. That's amazing.
It stands in stark contrast to what has already been said. It's again surprising for several reasons. It's surprising that the God of peace should crush anyone. After all, isn't God love?
God is love. So there's a certain surprise here that God is going to crush anyone or anything. And then the second surprise is that the crushing should be under our feet. Who are we?
For one thing, we have no power. We have no strength. And besides all that, aren't we told to love our enemies? So there's Another surprising piece or element to this.
And then the third surprise is that the crushing will happen soon. It appears to most of us that there's not much crushing of Satan going on. As a matter of fact, he seems to have free reign. Things seem to be getting worse rather than better.
So here is Paul shifting gears radically. And then there is this statement, which prompts us to think and ponder and actually wonder, what is it that Paul is saying? Well, I think it's a great text. And my interest in preaching from it this evening is to encourage you, to encourage you as a body of the Lord's people, as a body of the Lord's faithful people, as a kind of island, an island of righteousness, an island of a godly desire, an island in the midst of great wickedness.
Not that this city is any more wicked than any other city or where I live, but I think you know what I mean. It's a great text, a great text in which Paul says, and the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The defeat of Satan along with all of his works is absolute. There is no question about this taking place.
God will in fact triumph over all evil in all places, including a triumph over the evil one. God is warlike. Christ is warlike, and at some level the Christian, again, reminding ourselves that we are to love our enemies, the Christian also is warlike, each acting to crush the very same enemy, Satan himself. Now what does all of this mean?
How does it work itself out? And how may we derive some encouragement from this text?
The Person Who Crushes Satan
Let's look at it under several headings. The first of all, or first of all, or the first thing is the person who crushes Satan. Who is it? Well, the text tells us the person is the God of peace.
Now, when we think of peace and crushing, they seem to us to be opposite concepts. Furthermore, it is God who is described here as the God of peace. What is peace? Well, we tend to think in modern terms rather than biblical terms.
We think of the absence of strife, the absence of war, the absence of turmoil of one kind or another. But the New Testament idea is taken from the Old Testament in which there's a common biblical idea or notion.
God of Peace: Biblical Meaning
Peace in the scriptures is not negative in the absence of something, but it's positive in the presence of something. It's prosperity, wholeness, soundness. And especially as God bestows it, it is spiritual soundness, wholeness, and blessing. And so whether we think of peace with God, which is reconciliation, or the peace of God and that tranquility that we experience, or even the peace that the Spirit of God brings into the context of the church, all of it taken together is prosperity, spiritual prosperity.
Every spiritual blessing, Paul tells us elsewhere, has been granted to us, given to us, bestowed upon us. in Christ Jesus. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 13. God is the source of all spiritual prosperity. Again, seen at each and every level of that prosperity.
Robert Haldane writing in the 19th century said, God is the God of peace because he it is that is the author of all the peace that his people enjoy. Were it not for the overruling power of the Lord, his people would have no rest at any time in this world. No peace of conscience, no peace within the church, within the context of the people of God, no peace within the heart. There'd be no peace whatsoever at all.
And the text here tells us that this peace comes from God. God is the author of peace. He's the one who does the bruising, and in doing the bruising, he brings peace. Or we could say, in bringing peace, it also necessitates the bruising of the evil one.
Think of how many places in the New Testament where God is referred to as the God of peace. Romans chapter 15 and verse 33, one of the benedictions. One of the interesting things about Romans, Romans is very long. It's Paul's longest epistle.
And as he comes toward the end of chapter 14 and moves into chapter 15, he gives a benediction. And then it's almost, and benedictions are usually the last thing that anyone pronounces. And then it's almost as if Paul thinks of something else, and he adds something else, and then he gives us another benediction. And then he says to himself, well, wait a minute, there's something else I need to say to these people.
And then he says something else, and then he adds a benediction. So there are a whole series of benedictions in the book of Romans. And in Romans chapter 15, verse 33, which is the last verse of that chapter, We read, now the God of peace be with you all, amen. That's a fitting benediction.
It's a powerful benediction. It's one that I will use from time to time. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 23, as Paul mentions the whole matter of sanctification. It's the God of peace who sanctifies you and me. He sanctifies us wholly and completely.
The God of peace does that. Second Thessalonians chapter 3 in verse 16, now the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all. And then again, there's that great benediction in Hebrews chapter 13 in verse 20, now the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep.
So again, God is the God of peace, he's the Lord of peace and the source of all peace. And it's interesting that this person who brings peace, the text tells us, will bruise or crush Satan under your feet.
The Word 'Bruise' Defined
This word crush or this word bruise means literally to rub together, even as someone might rub grain together, to separate the chaff. from the grain itself. It's a word that's used in a number of different contexts. It can be translated crush, grind down. When the tables of the law were thrown down by Moses from Mount Sinai and they were crushed, they split into what we might say 1,000 pieces.
In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, that's the word that is used there. In Isaiah chapter 45 and verse 2, there is a reference to shattering the gates of brass. Think how difficult that would be. Brass, a metal, but it's shattered into these hundreds and thousands of tiny little shards.
It's used in the New Testament to refer to bones that are broken, and broken in such a way that they're shattered or crushed in a way that would be difficult to repair. So it's a word that's often used. But the important point here is that it is the God of peace who will crush Satan. And it's interesting that Satan, the definite article is attached to Satan.
And Satan means adversary. And what Paul is saying here is it is the adversary of the believer shall be crushed into a thousand pieces. The adversary will no longer be an adversary, no longer be the accuser of the brethren. And by the way, if this text tells us anything at all, It tells us that Satan is no friend of yours.
You may think, and often young people think this way, that once I get out from under Dad and Mom, once I get a chance to live on my own, I'm free. And I can do anything that I want. And I can do all of those things that Dad and Mom have told me repeatedly not to do. But let me assure you that this adversary of yours, Satan himself, who would lure you into that frame of mind, is not your friend.
He will crush you if the Lord Jesus does not crush him for you. Well, the illusion here, of course, is to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, the seed of the woman, the seed of the woman whose heel would be crushed, but the serpent whose head would be bruised or crushed. And so we're getting ahead of ourselves. But what the Apostle Paul is alluding to here, of course, is that this crushing cannot take place and will not take place and has never taken place apart from the mediation of the Lord Jesus.
So who is the one who crushes, who bruises, who destroys? It is God himself.
The Place Where Satan Is Crushed
Now secondly, notice with me from the text, and this is truly interesting, the place where Satan is crushed. Now I've just alluded to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, the first gospel promise. the introduction of the covenant of grace. Satan's head will be bruised or crushed and the seed of the woman will have his heel crushed. In other words, what Satan does will not be final and complete.
Satan himself, however, will be destroyed completely, a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. We all recognize that. And so we would expect the Apostle Paul to say, and the God of peace shall bruise Satan through Christ shortly. But he doesn't say that.
I mean, it's certainly true. It's an element of truth for that. And we'll come to that in just a moment, but notice the place where Satan is crushed. Under your feet?
Under whose feet? Well, Paul has been writing to churches. He's greeted churches. A whole list of them here in Romans chapter 16 and verses 1 through 16.
The church in this house and those who meet here and those who meet there. He's addressing the people of God and he's addressing the people of God who meet regularly as the people of God in assemblies gathered according to biblical teaching. And so the place where Satan is crushed is somewhat surprising. Satan is crushed in the church.
As the seed of the woman has bruised Satan, So his people will through Christ likewise bruise him. It is not that we shall bruise him, we don't have that power, but God shall do it. Yet he shall not bruise him under his feet, but under our feet. So the church has a responsibility and the church has a role.
And that's why I said early on that it is my goal this evening to encourage you as a church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is a part of your calling. How does that work itself out? How is it that the church is involved in and the recipient of this great crushing that God does?
Well, there are a number of things.
Satan Crushed Historically at the Cross
First of all, Satan is crushed historically. God gave victory to his people at the cross. We talked about the cross this morning and the necessity of the cross and Jesus' death, his decease, his exodus taking place at the cross and to some degree what that meant and what that means for us. God gave victory. crushed him for us at the cross.
Listen to these words from Colossians chapter 2, having forgiven all our trespasses, having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and he hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. Now notice this phrase, having despoiled principalities and powers, that's Satan and demonic hosts, having despoiled them, stolen from them power and authority, stolen from them their ability, having despoiled them, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. It is through our union with Jesus Christ that Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15 comes into reality. And Satan has been crushed and he has been crushed for us and in our union with Jesus Christ we have participated in that crushing.
Satan Crushed Judicially in Justification
Secondly, Satan is crushed judicially in our justification. That's what this epistle is all about. It's an epistle that is devoted to the doctrine of justification on account of Christ alone through faith alone. It's all about justice and judicial and legal deliverance.
Again, listen to these words now from Romans chapter three, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime in the forbearance of God for the showing, I say, of his righteousness in the present season. Justification has to do with righteousness. And our accuser says, not righteous. God says, because of Christ, righteous through Christ alone.
That he, for the showing I say, of his righteousness at this present season, that he might be just and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus. This statement It's a sort of a logical extension and logical conclusion of what Paul says as early as Romans chapter 3. There is in our justification the demonstration, the showing forth of God's righteousness and of his pardon all at the same time. And the accuser has nothing more to say.
He's crushed. So Satan is crushed historically. He's crushed in our union with Christ. He's crushed judiciously, excuse me, judicially.
Satan Crushed Experientially in Security
He's crushed experientially in our experience. Think of Romans chapter eight and verses 37 through 39. Think of how Paul, speaks as he describes our safety and our security. And he says actually earlier, he says, who shall separate us from the love of God or the love of Christ?
Tribulation, anguish, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, He quotes the Old Testament, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. We're about to be slaughtered. And then Paul goes on and he says, nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors, hyper conquerors, super conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, again, another reference to the evil one, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, another reference to demonic forces, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can separate us. He's crushed. For us, God has crushed him and that's a part of our Christian experience, no matter how low we get, no matter how great our struggles, no matter the sorrow or the difficulty, nothing, nothing can separate us, even the evil one himself.
Satan Crushed Ecclesiastically in the Church
As well, Satan is crushed ecclesiastically, that is in the church, not only for the church, but in the church as well. Paul has been talking about dissension here and he's warning the church to be aware of dissension and those who would lead away the faithful if they could. But here Paul says through this promise, the work of Satan in and through those spreading dissension will not prevail. Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against his church.
Church exists today. More than 2,000 years after that statement, it's been attacked. I suspect this congregation has been attacked. Most congregations have been attacked, but you're still here.
Down through the centuries, Ebionites, Gnostics, Arians, and a whole host of others have sought to destroy the church. God is the author of peace and he rules in the midst of his enemies. We ought to take great comfort in that. That God rules in the midst of his enemies and his people rule in the midst of their enemies through this God of peace who has crushed and who continues to crush the evil one.
God's presence in the church is a reality. You may not feel that presence in any sensate sense. In fact, what you're feeling probably right now is excessive heat, not the presence of God, but he's here. Where two or three are gathered together, he's there in the midst, he's here.
He loves his church and he protects his church and he crushes the efforts of the evil one in the context of his holy churches. Satan is crushed under the feet of believers as his strategy to destroy the church is detected and his people oppose that.
Satan Crushed Evangelistically and Eschatologically
Satan is crushed evangelistically every time a sinner is converted. Satan loses another one. He's crushed. His efforts are destroyed.
And Satan finally is crushed at the end of days, eschatologically. He's not a sovereign. He's not going to win. And God, who is the God of peace, who brings spiritual prosperity, does so through the crushing of the evil one.
Calvin wrote, Christ has once defeated Satan, but Satan is ever ready to renew the battle. Paul, therefore, promises them the ultimate defeat of Satan, though that is not always evident when the contest is being fought. We need to be men and women of faith and believe that word of God and not merely what we perceive or think we perceive with the naked eye. Well, it is the God of peace who crushes, and it's interesting that he crushes by bringing spiritual prosperity.
Secondly, the place, it's in and through the church, for the church and in and through the church. There is a responsibility that we have in this crushing activity in darkness. Faithfulness is the evidence of our identifying with the God of peace.
The Nearness of Satan's Crushing
But the third and final thing is the proximity. That is the nearness of Satan's crushing. Notice that the text says that the God of peace shall bruise or crush Satan under your feet shortly. How short is shortly?
Or how long is shortly? Some of us have been waiting for a very long time. And again, we look at the efforts of the evil one and the seeming effect of that in the world and we seem very small, very weak, almost impotent to hold off the efforts and the work and the strategies of the evil one. Well, this word is an interesting word, and it's capable of two different translations.
Most of our translations probably say something along the lines of the way that I read the text, that this will happen shortly. And when we think of that which is short, we think in terms of time. And the word is used that way. It actually is used in reference to time.
And so we might get discouraged thinking, well, 2,000 years have passed and we haven't seen a whole lot of this go on. Or we might say, well, the Lord counts days differently than we do, and a day is like 1,000 years in the sight of the Lord, and so maybe he's counting time a little bit differently, all of which may be true.
"Shortly" as Certainty, Not Only Time
But the word has another meaning. And it refers or can refer not so much to time as to technique. And if the word refers to technique, then what Paul is saying is this, that the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet, surely, certainly, seamlessly, without a doubt. The emphasis is not so much then on as upon certainty.
And I think that's actually what it means. And the promise has to do less with time and the unfolding of time. And it has far more to do with the certainty, the sovereignty, if you will, of God's action. That this, in fact, has taken place. is taking place and will take place until the Lord Jesus returns again.
There is nothing to hinder God in the accomplishment of His purpose for us. Christ, the seed of the woman, crushed the head of the serpent at the cross. The church will now, through Christ, crush Satan likewise. And believers here are urged and encouraged to engage themselves in the battle and to sustain the combat.
God is at work and God will be at work and he chooses to do that through his churches. And that means through this church as well as others. God gives to his people then a promise. A promise given to you.
Satan is no sovereign. The vanquished is no victor. Evil is not eternal. And the devil and all his works are being overthrown, despite what we think we see, and will be overthrown.
Or, to reverse that, the devil and all his works will be overthrown, and in fact are being overthrown right now. And God's peace allows for no appeasement, no truce with the works of the evil one. It is only through the destruction of evil that true peace, reconciliation, tranquility in the heart, and peace within the context of the Church and the members of the Church In other words, peace at any level is attained. Peace is attained only as Satan is continually being crushed.
Putting it differently, nothing is ever to be gained by siding with the evil one and his works. Nothing will ever be gained by siding with him. It is the exclusive prerogative of God to bestow saving peace, to bestow every spiritual property, to give us spiritual prosperity. He is the God of peace.
He is the only one who produces all of those elements of peace, reconciliation, peace with God, real spiritual prosperity. And he does all of that in the church and at the expense of evil and the evil one. And so Paul reminds us here and urges us here to look to God alone and solely to the means that he has appointed for peace. Our only security is in God and what a security it is.
And our duty is to seek it from him in the very midst of a troubled and sinful world. Remember the words from the prophets or in the book of the prophets, there is no peace, says my God to the wicked. Peace belongs, prosperity belongs to the people of God. William S.
Plummer, writing in the 19th century, the southern Presbyterian said, he can give a peace which earth and hell cannot destroy, as stable as the everlasting mountains. Oh, that men who are like the troubled sea would come to him for rest. Come, sinner, to the Lord Jesus. Come to God, the God of peace. for rest, and in that rest, Satan himself, all of his works and all of his effort is crushed.
Christ is the victor, and his churches, his holy churches, are the victorious ones.
Closing Prayer
Father in heaven, we thank you for the promise of your word, and for this Perhaps strange word when we first hear it, sandwiched in the very midst of a number of other words and verses and exhortations. But here is a word of promise for us, that the God of peace crushes and will crush, certainly, surely, definitely, Satan, our adversary. And he does so even now. through the work of grace in the church, through the church, for us, for your people. Send us on our way rejoicing this evening and reflecting upon this great truth.
And again, we pray that should there be any at all, young or old, still estranged from Christ, that you might lay hold of them, that you might help them to find you as you lay hold of their hearts and lives and give to them, we pray, repentance and faith. For we pray these things in Christ's name, amen.