I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Romans 16:19-20
God’s promise has always been to crush the devil. In the garden, God says to the serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Theologians get quite excited about this verse in Genesis because it’s actually the first reference in the Bible indicating that God will send a Saviour. “He will crush your head” finds its fulfilment in these words, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). The woman’s offspring would eventually bring a Saviour into the world who would defeat the devil. We know that Jesus achieved this on the cross.
Now, it’s up to us to believe that Jesus has indeed won the victory, sometimes in spite of the way circumstances look. If we trust God when things are tough it will frustrate the devil’s plans. Paul uses the word, “soon” to encourage believers to persevere. We never know how close we are to success. We have to be more patient than the devil.
Notice success is achieved by the God of peace. We don’t whip up our own peace because Jesus gives us his peace. He said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). Jesus gives us peace. We hang on to his peace, knowing that the God of peace will crush Satan.
