1 John 3:8 He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested… I. THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST'S INCARNATION — the Son of God was manifested. 1. The propriety, to whom this work of subduing the devil and destroying his works, properly belongs; that is God. (1) He only had right to do it; whether we consider Him either as the Judge, or as the party wronged. (2) He only had strength and power to effect this destruction of Satan's works. 2. The appropriation of this work. It is ascribed to the second Person in the glorious Godhead; to the Son of God. And that the Son of God should undertake this work, there are two congruities. (1) The first congruity is grounded upon His relation, in that He is the Son of God. And suitable to this there were two works of the devil to be destroyed; and none so fit to do it as the Son of God. (a) The first work of Satan, was to make us degenerate from our original, and to become the children of the devil; that was our woeful condition (John 8:44). This work must be destroyed by our spiritual adoption; that rescues us out of that cursed family, and reduces us to a new sonship, makes us become the children of God. Now, who so fit to make us adopted sons as the natural Son of God? (b) The second work of the devil was the defacing and destroying that holy image of God, in which we were created, and so stamping upon our souls that blemish of the devil's similitude. Now, who so fit to deface the image of Satan, and to repair the blessed image of God upon our souls, as the Son of God, who is the lively express image of God the Father (Romans 8:29)? (2) A second congruity is grounded upon that special attribute which is ascribed to the Son of God; that is, the attribute of wisdom. Well, did craft and subtlety ruin us? Here is wisdom of God to restore us (1 Corinthians 3:19). 3. The manner of effecting this work, the dispensation observed in it, theft is called here His manifestation. (1) It is a manifestation, that is the representation of that which was before, but did not appear before. (2) Christ's incarnation is the appearing of Him, who before was invisible. (3) Christ is now really and actually exhibited to the sons of men; before He was promised only, but now that promise is fully performed to us. (4) This degree and temper of His manifestation was thus ordered and proportioned for these considerations. (a) This manifestation under the veil of His flesh was fitted for our capacity, we could not otherwise have beheld Him. We can fix our eyes upon the sun when it is under a cloud; we cannot do so when it is in its full splendour. (b) This manifestation was under the veil of the flesh to make way for the exercise of faith; and faith was to have a principal part in the work of our redemption. And the property of that is to believe that which we see not. And therefore, that our faith might have what to believe, he concealed His Divinity under the veil of His humanity. (c) His manifestation was under the veil of the flesh, as the fittest way to conquer and destroy the devil. (i) It was a fit way to requite the devil, He wrought our ruin by a counterfeit incarnation, appearing to our first parents in another habit; and Christ works Satan's ruin by a real incarnation.(ii) This was done to bring on the devil to this encounter, by which he might be destroyed. He durst not have assaulted our Saviour appearing in His glory. II. THE WORK AND EMPLOYMENT OF OUR INCARNATE SAVIOUR. It was "to destroy the works of the devil." The fruit and benefit of our Saviour's incarnation hath other expressions in Scripture (Matthew 18:11; 1 Timothy 1:15; John 6:41; John 10:10). These are all comprehended in this of St. John, it was "to destroy the works of the devil." 1. What is that which Christ sets Himself against and opposes? They are the works of the devil. So then, in general, the work for which Christ came into the world is a spiritual work, to oppose spiritual wickedness. The gospel is conversant in mortifying of sins, not in invading of possessions, as Bernard speaks. (1) See the extension of the object that Christ comes to destroy. (a) Sin, that is the work of the devil. (b) Death, that is the work of the devil; and Christ destroys both. (2) The limitation. That which Christ came to destroy is the works of the devil, those and only those. The works of God, those Christ came not to destroy, but to preserve and restore, to improve and better them (Isaiah 58:12); the souls of men, to recover them; the lives of men, He came not to destroy, but to save (Luke 9:56). It must teach all undertakers of works of destruction to carry a steady hand in so perilous a work. They had need of three caveats; (a) Look to thy warrant and authority. Every man is not to be a destroyer, even of those things that deserve to be destroyed. (b) Take heed you mistake not a work of God for a work of the devil. (c) When these two works meet in one — the work of God and the work of the devil — then separate the precious from the vile, discern and distinguish them. 2. The opposition which Christ makes against the works of the devil. It is called a destroying. It is a full word, of great vehemence and intention. Christ came not only to abate the power of Satan, and to bring him under, as Saul did with Agag, or the Israelites did with the Canaanites: spared their lives, but subdued them only, and made them tributaries. It is charged on them as a sin (Psalm 106:34). No; sin and Satan are to be devoted to utter destruction. Not only restrain sin, but root it out and destroy it. And that we may do this, we must beget in us a destroying affection. What is that? Hatred — a double hatred. (1) Hatred of enmity, that must be against the devil; hate him with a perfect hatred. (2) Hatred of abomination, that must be against sin, the work of the devil. These two, the hatred of emnity against Satan, and the hatred of, loathing, and antipathy against sin: that will make us imitate the work of Christ, in destroying of sire And this Christ doth in three degrees, till sin be utterly destroyed. (a) He destroys the condemning power of sin by purchasing the pardon of sin, and confers this upon us in our justification. (b) He destroys the dominion and reigning power of sin by inspirations of His grace, thereby mortifying sin in our sanctification. (c) He destroys the very being of sin; roots up the bitter root of sin by His final and finishing grace in our glorification. Thus do thou — (i) Sue for the pardon of sin. (ii) Strive against the power of sin. (iii) Long for the final abolishing of sin. III. THE DESIGN AND INTENDMENT OF THIS WORK: "For this purpose." 1. This destroying of sin and Satan and so the rescuing of us from both, was His intention. He foresaw our fall, and pitied our misery, and forecasts our recovery: His eternal thoughts of grace and mercy were employed about us. 2. This work was His primary intention. The main end of His coming into the world was to destroy Satan and to free us from his bondage and captivity. 3. This destroying of Satan's works is His effectual and real intention. Did He purpose it? Then surely He will accomplish it, and effectually perform it. (Bp. Brownrigg.) Parallel Verses KJV: He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. |
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