John Piper "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" Chapter Nine

“[Christ] commands even

the unclean spirits,

and they obey him.”

MARK 1 : 2 7

He himself likewise

partook of [flesh and blood],

that through death he might destroy the one

who has the power of death,

that is, the devil.

HEBREWS 2 : 1 4

THE GLORY OF RESCUING SINNERS, NOT REMOVING SATAN

The Saving Sacrifice of Jesus Christ

Excerpts from the Chapter:

“The glory of Christ is seen in his absolute right and power to annihilate or incapacitate Satan and all demons. But the reason he refrains from destroying and disabling them altogether is to manifest more clearly his superior beauty and worth. If Christ obliterated all devils and demons now (which he could do), his sheer power would be seen as glorious, but his superior beauty and worth would not shine as brightly as when humans renounce the promises of Satan and take pleasure in the greater glory of Christ.”

“It is a proper and excellent thing for infinite glory to shine forth; and for the same reason, it is proper that the shining forth of God’s glory should be complete; that is, that all parts of his glory should shine forth, that every beauty should be proportionably effulgent, that the beholder may have a proper notion of God. It is not proper that one glory should be exceedingly manifested, and another not at all.…

Thus it is necessary, that God’s awful majesty, his authority and dreadful greatness, justice, and holiness, should be manifested. But this could not be, unless sin and punishment had been decreed; so that the shining forth of God’s glory would be very imperfect, both because these parts of divine glory would not shine forth as the others do, and also the glory of his goodness, love, and holiness would be faint without them; nay, they could scarcely shine forth at all.

If it were not right that God should decree and permit and punish sin, there could be no manifestation of God’s holiness in hatred of sin, or in showing any preference, in his providence, of godliness before it. There would be no manifestation of God’s grace or true goodness, if there was no sin to be pardoned, no misery to be saved from. How much happiness soever he bestowed, his goodness would not be so much prized and admired.…

So evil is necessary, in order to the highest happiness of the creature, and the completeness of that communication of God, for which he made the world; because the creature’s happiness consists in the knowledge of God, and the sense of his love. And if the knowledge of him be imperfect, the happiness of the creature must be proportionably imperfect.” – Jonathan Edwards quote.

The above is a direct quote from John Piper’s “Desiring God”, Appendix 3 “Is God Less Glorious Because He Ordained That Evil Be?” – Jonathan Edwards on the Divine Decrees. Page 350 in the aforementioned book.

“Christ must have a very high stake in the ongoing existence of Satan, because, even though he has the right and power to annihilate him now, he defeats him in stages at the cost of his own life. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). But how did he do this? Hebrews 2:14 gives one answer: “He himself likewise partook of the same things [human nature], that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” In other words, Christ became human so that he could die, and by dying “destroy” the devil. This means that Christ’s aim in defeating the devil must be something different from the mere removal of Satan’s deadly influence. He could have accomplished that with one command: “Go to hell!””

““He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15). In what sense did he disarm Satan’s “rulers and authorities”? Satan still blinds (2 Corinthians 4:4) and tempts (1 Thessalonians 3:5) and deceives (Revelation 20:3) and casts into prison (Revelation 2:10) and takes captive (2 Timothy 2:26) and destroys flesh (1 Corinthians 5:5). He does not look disarmed or destroyed. How then is he disarmed by the death of Jesus? One answer is that the death of Jesus nullified the damning effect of sin for all who trust in Christ. The weapon of soul-destroying sin and guilt is taken out of Satan’s hand. He is disarmed of the single weapon that can condemn us— unforgiven sin.”

“Now without sin and law to condemn and accuse and oppress us, Satan is a defeated foe. He is disarmed. Christ has triumphed over him, not by putting him out of existence, but by letting him live and watch while millions of saints find forgiveness for their sins and turn their back on Satan because of the greater glory of the grace of Christ. It was a costly triumph. But God’s values are not so easily reckoned. If God had simply terminated Satan, then it would not have been so clear that God is both stronger and infinitely more to be desired than Satan. God wills for his glory to shine forth not only through acts of physical power, but also through acts of moral and spiritual power that display the beauty of his grace with lavish colors. To take sinners out of Satan’s hands by virtue of Christ’s sin-bearing sacrifice and his law-fulfilling obedience to the Father was a more glorious victory than mere annihilation of the enemy.”

 

A P R A Y E R

Heavenly Father, we are sobered that you would regard the glory of your Son so highly that it would be worth the ongoing existence of Satan to make it fully known.

We are ashamed that we have murmured about the battles of life when we should have made every effort to magnify your Christ-exalting reasons for giving the enemy so much leash.

Forgive us for failing to see your holy purposes.

And now, O God, by the blood of your Son, our Savior, give us victory over Satan.

Grant us to see and savor the superior worth of Christ.

Let us shame Satan by making much of Jesus.

Grant us to glory in the work of the cross.

Help us to cherish the finished work of Christ that disarmed Satan and took the sting out of death. Teach us how to fight by faith against the power of sin, in the confidence that Christ has purchased our forgiveness and secured the triumph of all who trust in him.

Turn every evil design of the devil into sanctifying schemes of love.

Deliver us from his deceptions.

Keep the beauty of Christ clear in the eyes of our heart.

Make us instruments of Satan’s defeat until you come and slay him by the breath of your mouth. Make us valiant in delivering others by the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, your great Gospel.

In Jesus’ name we pray,

amen.