Yours is the victory.

The serpent’s head, the church’s hope, and the cosmic triumph of Christ.

John Ritto Penniman, “Christ Tempted by the Devil”

A version of this article originally appeared on 1517.

Within the concluding chapter of St. Paul’s magnum opus letter to the Romans, the bulk of which is an index of greetings and recommendations, is a sudden warning regarding false teachers. “I appeal to you, brothers,” says the apostle, “watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ” (Rom. 16:17–18). While these words of caution might seem out of place, at first, they are in perfect alignment with Paul’s overall purpose: (1) to include the Roman congregation in the ongoing spread of the gospel (Rom. 15:22–29) and (2) to integrate the Romans into the divine resolve of God to remake the entire cosmos in righteousness and peace. Paul alludes to this in Chapter 8 when he says that the whole created order is yearning for a Redeemer (Rom. 8:20–22). Adam’s sin, of course, was not just about a foolish decision he and Eve made. Adam’s sin fractured God’s creation.

Indeed, what God called “very good” was blemished by rebellion, lust, pride, death, and darkness; and sin has dominated the terrain ever since. But in the immediate aftermath of Adam and Eve’s rebellion, what did God do? He guaranteed that the mastermind behind sin and death would one day be defeated. “I will put enmity,” the Lord declares, “between you [the serpent] and the woman and between your offspring [Satan’s offspring] and her offspring; he [Eve’s offspring] shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). This is the first-ever announcement of good news, the protoevangelium, which, interestingly enough, comes on the heels of mankind’s sin. Additionally, it is announced as a threat to the serpent himself, ensuring his eventual defeat. God’s promise to undo the debacle of man’s sin was first declared as an ultimatum to the Evil One. In other words, the death blow for death and darkness was first declared right after death and darkness first entered the world. The late D. G. Barnhouse puts it this way:

The Gospel, which is about to be outlined in a grand prophetic statement, is first directed to Satan. Men first heard the Gospel by overhearing it spoken to Satan . . . The first time that a human being ever heard the Gospel, the good news about redemption, he heard it as an eavesdropper.” (161–62)

Despite what the devil thinks, he has never had the upper hand. God Almighty, in the totality of his wisdom and grace, has always been infinitely ahead of whatever scheme Satan has tried to pull off. Therefore, on the very ground where his beloved creation was tainted by the sins of his esteemed image-bearers, the Creator insists that sin and death would not have the last word. That “ancient serpent” and blasted dragon (Rev. 12:9) would one day have his head “bruised,” that is crushed. This, to be sure, is the abiding hope of all who believe in Christ alone and, as Paul says, would be accomplished through the ministry of the Roman congregation. “The God of peace,” he writes, “will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20). God’s cosmic determination to leave Satan and his cronies utterly in the dust is tethered to God’s called-out assembly of sinner-saints.

Paul’s words heighten the stakes of the Christian life in ways that are hard to fathom. God is going to crush Satan through who? But before the Romans were overwhelmed by this daunting task, Paul reminds them that they would not be alone in this endeavor to break into pieces the devil’s plots. “All the churches of Christ greet you,” he announces (Rom. 16:16). It wasn’t Rome against the world, it was Rome, Ephesus, Philippi, Corinth, Colossae, and “all the churches of Christ” against sin and death. As the Roman Christians were united to Christ in the gospel, so, too, were they united to all the other Christians in “all the churches of Christ” as well. Indeed, by incorporating the church of Rome into the larger work of the gospel, they were made to understand their place within the broader scope of the advancement of the gospel of the kingdom.

Accordingly, following his encouragement regarding the unity of all the churches, Paul exhorts the Romans to maintain that unity by watching out for anyone who might try to divide them (Rom. 16:17–19). He wants them to be wary of anyone who is causing divisions and creating obstacles. “Mark and avoid them,” he says. Anyone who was stirring up dissent or making up stumbling blocks for Christ’s brothers and sisters was to be resisted outright. These dissenters or scandal-makers could be identified by their “smooth talk” and fancy rhetoric, which would make it seem as though they were Christ’s servants when, in reality, they were only serving “their own appetites” (Rom. 16:18). By teaching that which was “contrary to the doctrine” that they had received, these dissenters would reveal just how self-serving and self-consumed they really were.

Consequently, the most likely culprit for any case of division within the church would be a departure from “sound doctrine,” that is, the advancement of something other than what God had given his church through the Word of the Cross. The “doctrine” that Paul has in mind is nothing less than the message that mankind’s tragic need and utter helplessness are only eclipsed by the hope of Christ crucified and risen again. Once the church departs from that message, it abandons its mission and reason for existence. God has one means of salvation. There is only one way in which broken and sinful humans like us can be made right with him. This, of course, is through Christ alone and his work on the cross. Unity is preserved, then, insofar as the church marks and avoids anyone who is preaching or promoting something different.

This is how seriously Paul considers the issue of church unity. After all, the devil’s first move in the Garden was to get God’s people to depart from what God actually said; and to believe something contrary to what they had been taught. Therefore, no matter how spiritual the teacher might sound, if he offers something contrary to the Word, he is nothing but a pawn of Satan (2 Cor. 11:13–15). This doesn’t mean that they are “satanic” or that they are unregenerate, necessarily; but it does mean that they are playing right into Satan’s playbook. He delights in division, scandal, gossip, and dissension. He loves it when he can get the church to start fighting amongst itself; when he can worm his way into a church community and disrupt what they are doing for God by getting them to focus on something else. He divides by distraction and he distracts by division.

Therefore, it might seem small and innocuous, but the more the church squashes division whenever and wherever it rears its nasty head, the more it demonstrates that darkness can’t and won’t win. Every time the church resists the urge to fall prey to some other divisive doctrine or false teaching we are foreshadowing the final bruising of the serpent’s head. Indeed, God uses the faithful service of his saints to anticipate his Son’s ultimate triumph over sin and death. The church’s purpose is to point others to that victorious announcement that Satan’s defeat has already been foreshadowed through Jesus’s death and resurrection. God’s promise to “once and for all” crush the head of the serpent was guaranteed when his Son rose from the grave on the third day. In other words, the outcome isn’t in question. It is settled. It is finished. Christ has won and those who belong to him not only share in his victory but share the hope of that victory with others. “Our victory,” R. C. H. Lenski says, “is made a continuation of Christ’s” (923).

Accordingly, as the church sojourns through a world riddled with darkness and hopelessness and saturated in dissension and division, its purpose remains apparent. The Body of Christ should be known for its unity around the message that death’s defeat is sure because of Christ alone (Rev. 12:11). “God is the victor,” contends Ernst Käsemann, “who destroys Satan in such a way that the community shares in the triumph” (418). “Our battles,” D. G. Barnhouse reiterates, “have all been won for us by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross” (4:3.168). This is what establishes the church as an outpost of hope in a hopeless world. Indeed, this is the only thing the church has to offer — namely, real hope emanating from a real person who is really going to rid the cosmos of sin and death. No matter how tenuous our surroundings or troublesome our conditions, darkness cannot and will not prevail. Press on, church. Yours is the victory through Jesus Christ your Lord.

Works cited:

Donald G. Barnhouse, Expositions of Bible Doctrines Taking the Epistle to the Romans as a Point of Departure, Vols. 1–4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982).

Ernst Käsemann, Commentary on Romans (London: SCM Press, 1980).

R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 1961).