The Works of the Devil Destroyed
(No. 1728)
DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, JULY 1, 1883,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy
the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8.
IN this chapter John makes a sharp and clear division of mankind into
two classes–he gives not even the slightest hint that there is, or
ever was, or ever can be a third class. He describes men as being the
children of God or else the children of the devil and tells us how the
two classes are made manifest (see verse 10). Now, this distinction
would not have been drawn by John so sharply if it had not existed, for
he was a man of a most loving heart and gentle spirit, and if he could,
somewhere or other, have found a space for neutrals, or what I call,
"betweenites," or people who come in midway between saints and sinners,
I am sure he would have done it. No one could suspect John of lack of
charity and, therefore, as he was convinced that no middle position was
possible, we may be quite clear upon that point and at once dismiss
every theory which is meant to flatter the undecided.
At this day the world is still divided into children of God and
children of the Evil One. This distinction ought never to be forgotten
and yet thousands of sermons are preached in which it is quite
ignored–and congregations are commonly addressed as if they were all
the people of God! How shall we preach the Truth of God if we begin by
assuming a lie? Yet to assume that all our Hearers are Christians is to
begin with an error! Is it not highly probable that men will be built
up in falsehood if the very Truth which is addressed to them is stated
in a false way? No, my Hearers, we cannot talk to you as all the people
of God, for you are not! Some of you are the children of the Wicked One
and though it may not be pleasant to be told so, yet it is no business
of ours to please you! Our duty is to preach so as to please God and
benefit the souls of men–and that can only be effected by an honest
enunciation of matters of fact.
There is a definite and fixed line, in the sight of God, between the
living and the dead, between those who are born-again and those who
abide in their fallen estate–between the spiritual and the carnal,
between the believing and the unbelieving! There is a gulf fixed
between the two orders of men, which, blessed be God, can be passed,
but which, nevertheless, divides the whole race as though a vast chasm
had opened up in the in midst of them and set them apart from each
other, separating them into two camps. This important distinction ought
to be observed in public prayer. And this is a point in which we are
dissatisfied with most liturgies, because they are necessarily composed
with the view of suiting both saints and sinners and, as a necessary
result, they are not suitable for either!
The joyous notes of confidence which are becoming in the children of
God are left out because the ungodly could not use such expressions of
exultant faith while, on the other hand, the wailing notes which are
most suitable to anxious souls are put into the mouths of men who, by
the Grace of God, have long ago found their Savior. Men walking in full
fellowship with the Lord are not correctly described as "miserable
sinners"–neither is it theirs to pray as if they had never found
pardon and life in Christ Jesus! It is impossible that public prayer
should be suitable for a mixed congregation unless a portion of it is
evidently for such as fear the Lord and another portion for such as do
not fear Him. I suppose it would be difficult, if not impossible, to
compose a liturgy for common use upon strictly truthful principles–and
yet that order of public prayer which ignores the distinction between
the regenerate and the unregenerate must inevitably be mischievous to
the souls of men! In this matter the servant of the Lord must discern
between the precious and the vile, or he cannot be as God's mouth.
If this distinction is to be thought of in preaching and in public
prayer, it should be especially considered in our personal religion. We
ought to know whose we are and whom we serve. We ought to know the
differences, which the Lord has made by Grace, and whether or not He
has made us to differ from the unrenewed. Every man in trade wishes to
be sure of his position, whether he is prospering or not. And surely we
ought, each one, to know our position in that one
great enterprise of life which, if it finds us bankrupt at the last,
must leave us so forever! It is of the utmost importance for a man to
know whether he has been enlightened or abides in darkness; whether he
is the slave of sin or the Lord's free man. Each man should know that
he is either saved or lost, pardoned or condemned–he may not sit down
in peace in the deceitful hope that though he may not be a child of
God, he is, nevertheless, no heir of wrath, for it cannot be–he is one
thing or the other at this moment!
Everyone is under the wrath of God unless he has believed in Jesus and
so has become accepted in the Beloved. There are two seeds and only
two–the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent–and you, my
Friend, belong to one or the other! John sums up the vital distinction
when he writes, "He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the
Son has not life. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world
lies in wickedness." Let this stand as the preface of the sermon, for
the spirit of it will run through my whole discourse. And now I come to
the words of the text itself– "For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil."
We shall speak of four things–the works of the devil. The purpose of
God. The manifestation of the Son of God. And the experience within
ourselves of the meaning of this text. Oh, for the aid of the Holy
Spirit, that we may think aright and speak with power!
I. First, then, let us say a little upon THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL. This
very strong expression is descriptive of sin, for the preceding
sentence so interprets it. I will read the whole verse–"He that
commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy
the works of the devil"–that is, that He might destroy sin. This name
for sin is, first of all, a word of detestation. Sin is so abominable
in the sight of God and of good men that its various forms are said to
be "the works of the devil." Men do not like the idea of having any
connection with the devil and yet they have a most intimate connection
with him until they are made anew by the Spirit of God.
When it was supposed in a superstitious age that a man had commerce
with the devil, he was abhorred or feared and, most properly so–he
that is in league with Beelzebub has forfeited all right to honor. Yet
let every man know that if he lives in sin, his actions are called by
the Holy Spirit, "the works of the devil." Satan is "the spirit that
now works in the children of disobedience." Think of that, you ungodly
ones! The devil is at work in you–as a smith at his forge! Is it not a
shocking thought that if I am living in sin, I am the bond slave of
Satan and I am doing his work for him? If the devil is in the heart,
the whole life will be, more or less, tainted by the presence of that
arch-enemy of God and man! Do not laugh at sin, then! Do not dare to
trifle with it! It is dangerous and deadly because it is of the devil,
from whom no good thing can ever come. Oh, if men could but see the
slime of the serpent upon their pleasurable sins; the venom of asps
upon their dainty lusts and the smoke of Hell upon their proud and
boastful thoughts, surely they would loathe that which they now delight
in! If sin connects us with the devil, himself, let us flee from it as
from a devouring lion. The expression is a word of detestation–may it
enter into our hearts and make sin horrible to us!
Next, it is a word of distinction–it distinguishes the course of the
ungodly man from the life of the man who believes in the Lord Jesus. He
that is of God does the works of God–his life is the work of God–it
is a life which has much that is God-like about it and he is upheld by
the power of God, the ever blessed Spirit. But the ungodly man's life
is very different–he lives for himself, he seeks his own pleasure–he
hates all that oppose him, he is up in arms against the Lord and His
Truth–and all that is pure and good. His spirit is not the spirit of
God, but of the Evil One. There is a radical distinction between the
gracious and the graceless–and this comes out in their works–the one
works the works of God and the other the works of the devil. I know
that this doctrine is not pleasant, but it is true and, therefore, it
must be plainly stated.
I hear one say, "Look at me! Am I a child of the devil? I may not be
much of a saint, but I am no worse than many of your professing
Christians." I answer that may be the case, for professing Christians
are sometimes horrible hypocrites! But what has that to do with you?
Ah, my Friend, their perishing will not help your salvation! If you are
not trusting in Christ and living under the power of His love, you may
be as good as any hypocrite, or even better, and yet you may be widely
different from a real Christian! If you have not the life of God in
you, you cannot do the works of God! The mineral cannot rise into a
vegetable by itself–it requires another touch from the creative hand!
The vegetable cannot rise into an animal unless the Creator shall work
a miracle and, even so, you, as a carnal man, cannot become a spiritual
man by any spontaneous generation–the new life must be imparted to you
by the quickening Spirit!
The distinction of your works from those of the real Believer in Christ
is as great as that between the works of the devil and the works of
God–and this may show you how great the distinction of the natures
must be by which these different fruits are produced! The language
before us is, next, a word of descent. Sin is "of the devil." It came
from him. He is its parent and patron. Sin is not so of the devil that
we can lay the blame of our sins upon him, for that is our own. You
must not blame the Tempter for tempting you to do that which, without
your will, he could not make you do. He may tempt you, but that would
be no sin of yours if your will did not yield to the temptation. The
responsibility lies with your will. The devil has plenty of sin of his
own to answer for and yet he is often made a packhorse to carry loads
of evil which are none of his!
Mother Eve taught us that art when she said, "The serpent beguiled me
and I did eat." And since then men have become wonderfully proficient
in the science of excuse-making, frequently imputing their own guilt to
the devil's guile! Yet sin, in a sadly true sense, does come of the
devil. He first introduced it into the world. How or when he, himself,
first sinned and fell from being an angel of light to become the
Apostle of Darkness we will not conjecture. Many have thought that the
pride of his lofty station, or envy of the foreseen glories of the Son
of Man, may have overthrown Him. But, at any rate, he kept not his
first estate, but became a rebel against his Lord and the active
promoter of all evil. Being expelled from Heaven for his wickedness, he
desired to wreak his revenge upon God by alienating the human race from
its obedience.
He saw what an interest the Creator had taken in man and, therefore,
judged that he could grieve Him greatly by seducing man from obedience.
He perceived that the Maker, when He formed the earth, did not rest.
When He had made the birds and fishes, He did not rest. When He had
made the sun, moon and stars, He did not rest. But when He had
fashioned man, He was so well content that He then took a day of rest
and consecrated it forever to be a Sabbath. Thus was God's unresting
care for man made manifest. "Surely," said the Evil One, "if I can turn
this favored being into an enemy of God, then I shall bring dishonor
upon the name of the Most High and have my revenge." Therefore he
alighted in the garden and tempted our first parents, thus opening the
gate by which sin entered into the world with all its train of woe.
In that sense sin is truthfully described as being the work of the
devil. He brought the flame which has caused so great a burning. Since
then he has been, in some degree, the author of sin by often tempting
men. I doubt not that he suggests to many a sinner the delights of the
flesh and the pleasures of self–and that he shuts the eyes of
conscience to the Truth of God and hardens the heart against the
threats of God. Under these influences men doubtless rush into wild
extravagances of evil, willingly yielding themselves to be led captive
at his will. Doubtless, Satan not only suggests sin to men, but as one
spirit influences another spirit, he influences men strongly towards
that which is evil and blinds them against that which is good. "Lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One," is a prayer
which plainly connects the Evil One with temptation, as we know as a
matter of fact that he is connected with it. This is his constant
employment, to be tempting, one way or another, the sons of men. Hence
sin is the work of the devil, but not so that it excuses us–it is our
work because we willingly yield–let us be thoroughly ashamed of such
work when we find that the devil has a hand in it. May Almighty God
deliver us from the mighty spirit of Evil!
Consider, next, that we have here a word of description. The work of
sin is the work of the devil because it is such work as he delights in.
What are the works of the devil? They are such actions as are like he
and exhibit his nature and spirit. Open your eyes and you will surely
see "the works of the devil"–they are everywhere in this poor world.
The earth is defiled with his horrible productions. How delightful it
is to take a survey of the works of God. The wise men say, "The works
of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure
therein." I heard of a good man who went down the Rhine but took care
to read a book all the way, for fear he should have his mind taken off
from heavenly topics by the beauties of nature. I confess I do not
understand such a spirit–I do not want to do so. If I go into an
artist's home, I do that artist a displeasure if I take no notice of
his works under the pretext that I am quite absorbed in him!
Why not enjoy the objects in which our heavenly Father has set forth
His wisdom and power? There is nothing in any of the works of God to
defile, debase, or carnalize the soul. Delight yourself in all your
heavenly Father's handiwork and make it to be a ladder by which you
climb to Him! But what a very different contemplation is that which
lies before us in the works of the devil! Ah, me, what a picture for a
painter here–the works of the devil! Yet surely, brush and color would
altogether fail. Oh, Evil One, how cunning are your works–in malice
have you made them all! The earth is full of
your abominable things! Look abroad in the world and you see
atheism–men made by God deny His existence! They could not stand
upright and speak if He did not enable them to do so, and yet they cry,
"There is no God!"
Into what a condition must an intelligent mind be brought before it can
vent such folly! Surely this must come from that arch-fiend who, above
all things desires, that there should be no God! See, also, how much
there is of ignorance abroad, a leaden night of ignorance of God and of
His Son. Is not this the work of the Prince of Darkness? Note, also,
the abounding unbelief of the Truth of God which would be believed at
once if men's minds were pure–of the Truth of God which is salvation
to those who accept it and yet is rejected by many as if it were
injurious to them! From where does all this indifference to God and His
Grace come? And what is the origin of all this plague of doubting which
is now upon us? Is it not of the same character as that which abode in
the serpent's heart when he whispered, "Has God said?" and, again, "You
shall not surely die." Here is he, who was a liar from the
beginning–till producing a host of lies against God Himself!
What is this idolatry which we see everywhere abroad, not only among
the heathen, but among those who call themselves Christians–the
worship of visible symbols instead of the spiritual adoration of the
unseen Spirit? It must have come from Satan, who has made himself the
god of this world, setting himself up to be God's rival. Things offered
to idols are offered to devils, for a mere idol is nothing in the
world–its evil lies in its representing a principle which is opposed
to the one true, invisible God. The superstitions which degrade
humanity–which are an insult to our manhood–all these are most
pleasing to Satan and approved by him. And so they are fitly described
as "the works of the devil." And what, my Brothers and Sisters, is
blasphemy–that common profanity which pollutes our streets? Who could
have taught men wantonly and for no purpose whatever, to use the foul
and filthy language that is so common nowadays? This must be the speech
of pandemonium, the dialect of Hell!
And what is pride, my Brethren, pride in a creature that will die?
Pride in a sinful worm?–the pride of dress, the pride of life, the
pride of talent? What are those haughty looks? What are those
presumptuous words? What are those contemptuous glances–what are all
these things but works of the devil? He whom Milton describes as
thinking it "better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven"–he surely
is the great fomenter of all pride among mankind! As for deceit, so
current everywhere and, worst of all, religious deceit, formalism and
hypocrisy–from where come these but from the bottomless Pit–from him
who transforms himself into an angel of light? Are not all liars his
dear children? My list is long enough–but I see a numerous brood
hatched beneath the wings of hate–envy, strife, wrath, bitterness,
malice, revenge. These are as fiery flying serpents in this wilderness,
inflaming men's blood. I see these accursed evils rousing nations into
war, dividing communities with discords, embittering families that
otherwise might be full of love.
Yes, making men to be the worst enemies of men–these all come from him
who is a murderer from the beginning and is the aider and abettor of
all hatred and strife. What a busy being he has been! How he has toiled
incessantly, day and night, to set up a kingdom of hate in opposition
to the empire of eternal love! With what diligence has he smothered the
world with a pall of darkness so that men sit down to weep and rise up
to torment one another. Ah me, what mischief this unclean spirit has
worked! His works are evil, only evil and that continually! He has led
the human race to become accomplices in his treason against the God of
Heaven, allies in his rebellion against the sovereignty of God Most
High. The works of the devil make up a black picture–it is a thick
darkness over all the land–even a darkness that may be
felt.
II. But now, secondly, and much more joyously, let us consider THE
PURPOSE OF GOD–"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that
He might destroy the works of the devil." Ring out sweetly all the
silver bells of earth and all the golden harps of Heaven–God has
purposed that the terrible work of the devil upon the earth shall be,
every atom of it, destroyed! Yes, mark that word, "destroyed!" Not
limited, nor alleviated, nor neutralized, but destroyed! Oh, Brothers
and Sisters, what could you and I do against such a power as Satan–so
malicious and so strong–and withal so cunning and subtle and apt to
deceive? Who among us can loosen his works and cast his cords from us?
But if God has purposed it, verily the purpose of Jehovah shall stand!
If this is the Divine decree, tremble, O Tophet, and you, Beelzebub,
for there shall come an end to all your works if God has purposed to
destroy them!
The work which lies in this purpose is assuredly a Divine work. The
Lord who can create can certainly destroy. Destruction lies in the hand
of Omnipotence and is a prerogative of the Eternal One. Destruction of
forces so terrible must come only from the Lord. What could you and I
do in this business? Ourselves originally under Satan's power,
ourselves
destroyed–could we destroy the Destroyer? The image of God in us has
been marred by the work of Satan! Could we restore that image? Enmity
to God has been created in our hearts by Satan–could we, while yet
enemies, tear out that enmity? No, another hand must make us friends–a
hand outside of us. That which has been done by the powers of darkness
must be undone by the Eternal Light, or else it will remain forever. It
is a Divine work–this destruction of the works of the devil–and
herein lies our hope of its being accomplished.
And there is, to my mind, about it the idea of a conquering work. When
are the palaces and the fortifications of great kings destroyed? Not
till the kings, themselves, have been overthrown in a fair fight. When
their power is broken, then it is that the conquerors raze the castle
and burn the stronghold! Glory be unto Jehovah, it is His purpose to
win such a victory over the Prince of Darkness that every work of his
shall be destroyed! "Come, behold the works of the Lord, what
desolations He has made in the earth; He breaks the bow, and cuts the
spear in sunder. He burns the chariot in the fire." Your right hand, O
Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces. Our Almighty Champion has come
forth with a shout of victory to divide the spoil with the strong. The
arch-enemy is vanquished and, therefore, his works are to be destroyed!
This means also a complete work. The product of evil is not to be cut
down for a time and left to grow again. The tree of the forest is
felled by the axe, but the root remains–and at the scent of water it
will bud and send forth branches. But the purpose of God is utterly to
destroy the works of the devil and destroyed they shall be! In the
heart of man, when God begins His work, He does not cease till He has
utterly destroyed all sin, yes, the very tendency and possibility of
sin! And then He conducts the purified spirit up to His right hand,
having neither spot or wrinkle, nor any such thing. In the world, also,
do not doubt it, oh you soldiers of Christ who are ready to turn your
backs in the day of battle–He will yet drive sin out of its
entrenchments–the habitations of cruelty shall become the temples of
adoration!
All people shall bow before the Lord and there shall be a new Heaven
and a new earth in which dwells righteousness. Up from this poor planet
there shall ascend, like smoke from a great golden altar of incense,
the perpetual hallelujahs of a ransomed race, redeemed by blood and
power from all the rule of the enemy! Glory be to God, He has purposed
it and He will accomplish it! It is a complete work and a conclusive
work, for the Lord Jesus will so break the head of the old dragon that
he shall never again wear the crown! Christ has come, not to fight a
battle with Satan which shall continue throughout all ages, but to win
a victory which shall so crush the power of evil that it shall not
molest the world again!
The powers of darkness upon this earth hang out their flags and ring
out the clarions of victory, but they are too fast. Wait a little while
and He that will come, shall come, and will not tarry! And when He
comes, He shall lead captivity and the reign of captive goodness and
truth–and love shall be established forever and ever! Rebellion shall
not rise up a second time. Oh, how glorious is the text–"For this
purpose the Son of God was manifest, that He might destroy the works of
the devil." Sin, in every shape and form, the Lord shall destroy from
off the face of the earth forever!
III. Thirdly, our text plainly tells us how this is to be done–By THE
MANIFESTATION OF THE SON OF GOD.
"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested." The work of the devil
was so clever; the foundations of it were so deeply laid and the whole
thing had such a semblance of omnipotence about it, and was, indeed, in
itself so strong, that no champion was found in Heaven or on earth that
could hope to destroy it. It never entered Satan's thoughts that God,
Himself, could deign to suffer and to die. He said within himself–"If
I can make man to so offend God that He must justly be incensed against
him, then I shall have done the work effectually. If I can make man a
rebel, God's infinite holiness cannot overlook his rebellion and He
must punish him! And so I shall have made for God a perpetual race of
enemies and He will have lost the love of myriads of His creatures."
He did not know the boundless love and wisdom of Jehovah! Even his
angelic intellect could never have conceived the matchless plan of
atonement by a sacrifice, propitiation by substitution! The blessed
fact of the Son of God becoming manifest in human flesh and dying in
human form–to destroy the works of the devil–entered not into a
creature's mind. Yet this was always in God's purpose, for the better
display of His Divine attributes. Behind, under and over the works of
the devil, the Lord had always the design that this evil should be
permitted that He might baffle it with love and that the glory of His
Grace might be revealed! My text has in it, to my mind, a majestic
idea, first, of the difficulties of the case–that the Son of God must
necessarily be manifested to destroy the works of the devil. And then,
secondly, of the ease of His victory.
Have you been abroad at midnight when darkness has been all around you,
dense and palpable? Not a star was visible, the moon had forgotten to
shine. You could scarcely see your hand when you held it before your
eyes. The blackness seemed to be not only above, beneath and around,
but also within you! You were embedded in a thick, heavy, sensible
ebony mass. How could all this be scattered? What power could lift up
the veil and scatter the mass? Lo, in the east old Sol has lifted up
his head and the black walls have vanished! Not a speck remains! The
works of darkness are destroyed by the manifestation of the light! That
is the thought of the text–"For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested." Rising up from His Divine retreat in the silences of
eternity, Christ appeared in human form and scattered and utterly
destroyed the works of darkness!
Let us see how this was done. First, Christ's manifestation, even in
His Incarnation, was a fatal blow to the works of Satan. Did God come
down to men? Was He Incarnate in the Infant that slept in Bethlehem's
manger? Then the Almighty has not given up our nature to be the prey of
sin! Despair may not be! If one is born on earth who is Divine as well
as human, then peace be unto you, O race of Adam! Hear you not the
song, "Glory, joy to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill
toward men"? It cannot be that the race is given up to perpetual night
if the Son of God is manifested in such fashion as this!
Next, look to the life of Christ on earth and see how He there
destroyed the works of the devil. It was a glorious duel in the
wilderness when they stood feet to feet–the champions of good and
evil! How dexterously the Evil One played his weapons! How cunningly he
tempted the Christ of God! But the Lord Jesus used the sword of the
Spirit and, "It is written!" "It is written!" "It is written!" struck
home till the Evil One spread his dragon wings and fled away, for he
had found his victor. Evil spirits had taken possession of human forms!
Legions of devils were established in men! But the Lord Jesus Christ
had only to speak and away they fled, glad to leap into swine and rush
into the sea to escape from His Presence! They knew that He had come
who was ordained "to destroy the works of the devil."
All our Lord's preaching, all His teaching, all His labor here below
was in order to the pulling away the cornerstone from the great house
of darkness which Satan had built up. But oh, dear Friends, it was in
His death that Jesus chiefly overthrew Satan and destroyed his works!
Satan built upon this–that man had become offensive to God and God
must punish him–that punishment was his hope for the continuance of
alienation. Behold, the august Son of God takes the offender's place!
Marvel of marvels, the Judge stands where the criminal should have
stood and is "numbered with the transgressors!" Behold, the wrath of
God falls upon His Well-Beloved and Jesus suffers, that He may
reconcile man to his God and heal the breach which sin had caused!
The deed was done! Man is no more offensive to Heaven, for one glorious
Man's boundless merit has put away the demerit of the race! Jesus has,
by His unutterable beauties, removed the deformities of all who are in
Him. By His obedience unto death the Law is vindicated, justice is
honored, Grace is glorified! Man, accepting this great Sacrifice, loves
and adores the Father who ordained it–and so the works of the devil in
his heart are destroyed! Our Lord's rising again; His ascension into
Glory; His sitting at the right hand of the Father; His coming again in
the latter days–all these are parts of the manifestation of the Son of
God by which the works of the devil shall be destroyed! So, also, is
the preaching of the Gospel.
If we want to destroy the works of the devil, our best method is to
manifest more and more the Son of God! Preach up Christ and you preach
down the devil! All kinds of reforms are good and we are on the side of
everything that is pure, honest, temperate and righteous. Still, the
best Reformer is the Christ of God! The one medicine for man's moral
sickness is the Cross and nothing but the Cross. Preach the Crucified
Savior! Preach the Incarnate God! Preach Christ full of forgiveness and
love, reconciling the world unto Himself and you have applied the best
remedy to the sore! Only let it never be forgotten that Jesus destroys
the works of darkness by His Spirit. It is the Spirit of God who puts
Divine energy into the sacred Word of God. When the Spirit manifests
Christ in a man–the works of darkness are destroyed in that man! When
Christ is manifested in a nation–the works of Satan begin to fall in
that nation! And in proportion as the Holy Spirit shall more and more
reveal Christ to hearts and consciences, bringing them into obedience
to the faith–in that degree shall the works of Satan be destroyed!
Lastly, on this point, our blessed Lord is manifested in His eternal
power and kingdom as enthroned in order to destroy the works of the
devil, for "the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name
shall be called Wonderful, The Mighty God, The Father of the Ages." He
is such a Father and the age is made to feel His forming hand. Kings,
presidents, parliaments, poets, leaders and such like these are visible
powers–but there is, over them all, an invisible power. A late
philosopher asserted that over all the confusion of affairs he could
see a power over all which works towards righteousness. There is such a
power! There is a King of kings and a Lord of lords! And who is He? It
is He of whom we read, "The Father has committed all things into His
hands."
He is ruling! He is reigning even now and, despite our unbelief, things
are moving on! God is being glorified! His kingdom is coming! The
ultimate destruction of evil on the earth is sure and the eternal reign
of the right and of good is certain. "The Lord reigns; let the earth
rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof." Enthroned at the
right hand of the Eternal, Jesus sits, the Man of Love, the Crucified!
He has reassumed His eternal Glory and Sovereignty, and without His
bidding shall not a dog move his tongue! The dominion is with the Son
of God and He shall end the reign of evil. Glory be to His name forever
and ever!
IV. Lastly, I would come close home to each dear friend as we utter a
few words of inquiry as to THE EXPERIENCE OF ALL THIS IN OURSELVES. Has
the Son of God been manifested to you to destroy the works of the devil
in you? Come to the point and look at yourself! At first there was in
your heart an enmity to God, for, "the carnal mind is enmity against
God." Is that enmity destroyed? Has the love of God in Christ Jesus
appeared to you in such a way that you can truly say you no longer hate
God, but love Him? Though you do not love Him as you wish to do, yet
your heart is toward Him and you desire to be like He and to be with
Him forever. This is a good beginning–the Son of God has destroyed
your enmity–you have seen the love of God in Christ and your rebellion
against God has ceased.
The next work of the devil which usually appears in the human mind is
self-righteous pride. The man says, "I am no enemy to God! I am
righteous! If I am not perfect, yet I am tolerably good. God, I thank
You that I am not as other men are. I do this and I do that, and I do
not do the other." This is our natural boasting, but the Son of God
destroys it! Has the Son of God destroyed all your self-righteousness?
It is a precious lot of rags! But we so constantly practice the art of
patching and mending that we dream that we are clothed in royal
apparel. Have all those rags gone from you? Has a strong wind blown
them right away? Have you seen your own natural nakedness? Why, if I
were to talk about my own righteousness, I would be a fool and a liar
in one! I have no righteousness of my own! I dare not dream of such a
thing!
Is that your case? Then the Lord Jesus Christ has been manifested to
destroy in you the works of the devil! That is a pretty name for your
righteousness, is it not? It deserves that name, for the best
righteousness of man, when it is set up in opposition to the
righteousness of Christ, deserves small compliments–it is one of the
works of the devil. When the Lord has destroyed self-righteousness in
us, the devil generally sets us forth another form of his power–and
that is despair. "Ah," he says, "you see what a sinner you are–God
will never be reconciled to you! There is no forgiveness for you!" Oh
that ever he should have the impudence to make a man believe so gross a
slander of such a God as ours, whose very name is Love and who gave His
Son to die for sinners!
But, if the Lord Jesus Christ has been manifested to you, despair has
gone–that work of the devil has been all de-stroyed–and now you have
a humble hope in God and a joy in His mercy! Though you speak,
sometimes, with bated breath, yet your doubt is about yourself, not
about your Lord. You know whom you have believed and you know that He
is a God that passes by transgression, iniquity and sin. Thus three
sets of works of the devil are gone already–enmity is gone;
self-righteousness is gone and despair is gone. What next? Have you any
unbelief in your heart as to the promises of God? That is a favorite
work of the devil–unbelief is one of his darling children. Now, I
beseech you, do not say, "I must always feel this unbelief." No! Down
with it! Christ was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. Grind
your cutlasses and cut down these doubts!
All mistrusts must die. Not one of them must be spared. Hang them up
before the face of the sun! Jesus has not come that He may lock up our
sins and keep them quiet, hidden away in a dark corner. He has come to
destroy them. Israel was not to make a league with the Canaanites, as
they unwisely did with the Gibeonites–they were to sweep out the
entire race, root and branch! Thus must sin be exterminated and
extirpated. Cry to the Lord Jesus Christ that you may never tolerate
the sin of unbelief and look upon it as a pitiable infirmity! No, it is
a grievous sin–war to the knife with it– the Son of God is manifested
that it may be utterly destroyed. Happy is that man who no longer
doubts his God, but exercises the Abrahamic faith which staggers not at
the promise through unbelief!
Do fleshly lusts arise in your heart, my Brothers and Sisters? In whose
heart do they not arise? The brightest saint is sometimes tempted by
the foulest vice. Yes, but he yields not. By the Grace of God, he says,
"Christ is manifested to de-
stroy the works of the devil." He will not play with these things and
dally with them, and let them be his Delilah, for he knows that they
will cost him his eyes, even if they do not ruin his soul. He cries,
"Away with them!" It is not meet, even, to mention these vile
things–they are works of the devil and to be destroyed! My Brothers
and Sisters, do you quickly become angry? I pray God you may be angry
and sin not, but if you are of a hasty temper, I entreat you to
overcome it. Do not say, "I cannot help it." You must help it, or
rather, Christ must destroy it. It must not be tolerated. Does your
anger ever intensify into hate? Do you ever feel envious of those who
are better off than yourself, or better than yourself? Does that envy
ever lead you to think harshly of them, to indulge yourself in
suspicions that are groundless concerning them?
Oh, for the sword of the Lord and of Gideon! Slay all these Midianites,
for Christ is revealed on purpose to clear the heart of the whole brood
of them! God is Love and he that dwells in love dwells in God–and hate
and sin must not live! Every form of evil must fall! Destruction is
meted out to them all. Every idol must be broken. Oh, Brothers and
Sisters, there is to be in every true Believer the ultimate abolition
of sin! What a prospect this is! The cutting up of the very roots of
evil! The sooner the better. The day shall come when every child of God
shall be transformed and transfigured into the likeness of Christ–and
shall be without fault before the Throne of God. This is already
foreshadowed upon us, for the outlines are drawn in the fact that we
hate all sin and long after perfect holiness. The great Father has put
His mark upon the lump of clay and we can see from the rough draft that
He will fashion it and form it into the perfect image of His dear
Son!
After that image we are struggling. It is begun in us by the power of
the Spirit of God and He will not fail nor be discouraged till the
purpose of God shall be accomplished and all the works of Satan in us
shall be destroyed! This robs death of all dread–the prospect of being
totally free from sin makes us welcome, even, the grave, if by that
road we are to come to the home of the perfect! Meanwhile, let us seek
after sanctification. Let us labor after holiness and let us abound in
it to the glory of God. Despite our failures and mistakes let us pursue
holiness! Taking it by the heel, let us keep close to it. So may the
Lord enable us for Jesus' sake. Amen.