“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” – Genesis 3:15

Scripture reading: 1 John 3:1-10

Ask most Christians why Christ came into the world and their answer will be in terms of the forgiveness of sins. And they’re correct. As John himself says in our passage: ‘You know that he appeared in order to take away sins’ (v. 5).

But that’s not all the Bible says about the ministry of the Lord Jesus. In fact, the first gospel promise in Genesis 3:15 is couched, not in the language of forgiveness, but in the language of conquest. The Israelites sang on the shores of the Red Sea, ‘The Lord is a man of war’ (Exodus 15:3). The Lord Jesus came into this world to destroy Satan (Mark 1:24), to drive him out (John 12:31), or, as John says, ‘The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil’ (v. 8).

It is no surprise that before Jesus’s public ministry He encountered Satan in the wilderness, nor that the first miracle recorded in Mark’s gospel is the freeing of the man with the unclean spirit. Jesus has come to defeat our enemy, to crush the head of the serpent.

How does He do that? Satan’s power over us is our sin, but if the Lord Jesus can deal effectively with sin’s condemning and enslaving power, Satan’s authority is broken. This our Lord did in His death on the cross. He paid the penalty sin deserved and, in so doing, He takes away our sins and destroys the works of the devil. Thanks be to our Champion!

Suggestions for prayer

Thank God that Jesus Christ has delivered us from the tyranny of the devil. Pray that by the Spirit we would not give in to our defeated enemy’s temptations. Pray for listening ears and receptive hearts as we listen to the voice of our Saviour tomorrow.

Rev. John van Eyk began his ministry in Cambridge, Ontario as a Church Planter and Minister of the Riverside Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. After 13 years there, he served almost 10 years in the Tain/Fearn congregation of the Associated Presbyterian Churches in the Scottish Highlands. John has served as Senior Pastor of Trinity Reformed Church (United Reformed) in Lethbridge, Alberta since 2017. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. It is also available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.