Crushing Satan

Crushing Satan
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May 1, 2011

Romans 16:20 (ESV): The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

What a great verse of scripture. The fact that God has that much power over Satan in our lives should cause us to rejoice. But wait a minute, hasn't God given that authority to us, the Church, to crush Satan under our own feet? If that is true, what does this verse mean?

THE AUTHORITY GIVEN TO THE BELIEVER

Luke 10:17-19 (ESV):

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you."

Our authority over Satan began with Jesus giving authority to His own disciples as they entered their ministries. It is the same authority given to us in the great commission as we enter our own earthly ministry. What we are to do in the name of Jesus is to preach the gospel, lay hands on the sick and see them recover, receive protection from harmful things on earth, and cast out devils (Mark 16:15-18).

The apostle Paul is also a great example to us of our authority over Satan through the name of Jesus. Paul cast a devil out of a woman possessed with an evil spirit of fortune telling (Acts 16). He also was the object of God's power in Ephesus as handkerchiefs and aprons were taken from his body as he preached and evil spirits departed from people and diseases left their bodies (Acts 19).

We can rejoice in our power and authority over Satan. Because the same power that Jesus used and the same authority He used over Satan has been given to us to use in our daily lives.

THE AUTHORITY RETAINED BY GOD

So, what did Paul mean (who used the authority given to him over Satan) when he told us God would soon crush Satan under our feet? What is the difference in the verse in Luke and the verse in Romans?

Romans tells us of an authority God has reserved for Himself. We can take care of Satan's control in our lives and that of our family and church. But, we cannot demand Satan be gone from our city, country, or the planet on which we live. That is reserved for God in the future.

We are told that Jesus will remain in heaven until Satan becomes His personal footstool (Psalm 110:1, Hebrews 1:13). Yet, Ephesians chapter two tells us Jesus has already placed all things under His feet. The feet Satan is placed under at this moment is the Church. We are Jesus' present feet, taking the gospel into all the world. Yet, one day Satan will be physically placed under the very feet of Jesus Himself. On that day, the Father will do what we have been unable to do throughout the Church Age. He will rid our cities, country, and planet of the very presence of Satan. The devil, his demons and all unbelievers will be sent to hell for one thousand years to await their final and eternal destination, the lake of fire.

TODAY AND TOMORROW

So in your daily life, when you command Satan to turn loose of your health, your finances, your physical body and his dealings in your church, you might want to remind Him of this verse in Romans.

One day Satan, and it won't be long, you will not only be under my feet, but God will crush you once and for all under the feet of Jesus Christ. My eternity is with God in heaven. Your future is to be forever banished from His presence in hell and the lake of fire!

Precepts

This month we are offering the CD, Understanding Authority (CR0607). To order, call 1-800-284-0595. Learn more about the authority you have in Christ so you can walk in even greater levels of authority in your daily life.

Everything we have in the Christian life comes through "spoils." Jesus Christ stripped Satan of his power. Before demons, angels, God, and all of heaven and hell, Jesus made an open show of Satan and declared victory! Now it is time for us to walk in the authority we have been given as a result of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. This month we are offering Capturing the Spoils of War (CDVL08), which will give you greater understanding of the authority Jesus has given to you and to me.

God Bless You,

Bob Yandian