“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
that He might destroy the works of the devil
The word “works” indicates the apparent accomplishments and achievements of the world system, the spurious infernal achievements of a blasphemer. The devil’s works are diverse. He is the purveyor of “evil deeds” (Jn 3:19), “unfruitful works of darkness” (Ep 5:11), “wicked works” (Co 1:21), and “dead works” (He 9:14).
The word “destroy” conveys the ideas of loose, dissolve, disintegrate. The idea is to destroy or reduce it to ruin by tearing down or breaking into pieces. The devil accuses Christians before the Father but Jesus came to dissolve this work of blaming Christians. When we slander others, we do his work. Christ will destroy that work. That is the future work of Christ. His past work against the devil destroyed his world system in principle. Satan is not cast down yet.
The last book of the Bible gives the doom of the devil. That is why he hates the book of Revelation. It tells of the defeat of the devil, how it will all end for him and his followers. That is why he sets forth the propaganda that you cannot understand the book of Revelation.
Re 12:7-11, 7 “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon [the devil]; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.’”
PRINCIPLE:
The purpose of Christ’s first coming was to dissolve the works of Satan.
APPLICATION:
The child will inevitably be like his parent. Believers will be like God, and unbelievers will be like Satan.
A vital relationship with Christ provides a new nature that counteracts sin in our lives. The divine nature in the believer inspires him to please the Lord. New birth generates a new orientation to life. This inner, renewed entity cannot sin. It is contrary to its very nature.
Our new life in Christ does not come from religion or morality. The devil attempts to get his followers to be righteous without God. It springs from new life. Therefore, the new nature cannot commit an act of sin. Inhibition to sin comes from a new capacity implanted by God. This seminal principle orients to an entirely different domain than our sin capacity. Our old nature can commit sin, and that is why we must confess sin as Christians (1 Jn 1:9).
