Satan As Conquered Enemy
In Romans 16:20 Paul expresses his victorious confidence that “the God
of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” The influence of Genesis 3:15
is clearly to be seen here. But whereas Genesis 3:15 speaks of the seed of the
woman striking the head of the seed of the serpent, Paul speaks of “the God of
peace,” not Christ, who will defeat the enemy. In speaking of God as the
subject and Satan “under your feet,” Paul seems to be blending Genesis 3:15
with Psalm 110:1 and/or Psalm 8:6. The latter is the more likely text being
echoed here, since it speaks of God placing the created order under the
superintendence of humankind. On this reading Paul would be saying that in
defeating Satan, who leads and epitomizes creation in rebellion, God will be
restoring to the children of the Last Adam (the “seed of the woman”) their role
of dominion and eschatological shalom. That this will happen “soon” (en tachei) may be an indication of
Paul’s confidence in the coming triumph of God. But it may also arise from his
confidence that believers in Rome will soon experience divine victory over the
present threat of “those who cause dissensions and offenses” and “deceive the
hearts of the simple-minded” (Rom 16:17–19).
While the Gospels point to the defeat of Satan in the cross and
resurrection (cf., e.g., Lk 22:1–6, 53; Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), Paul looks
back to Christ’s triumph at the cross over the “principalities and powers” (Col
2:15; cf. 1 Cor 2:6–8). It is difficult to imagine that Paul would not have
affirmed a proleptic triumph over Satan at the cross, for he speaks confidently
of the defeat at the cross of the personified powers of sin, death, flesh and
even the Law (see Triumph). Moreover,
texts such as Galatians 1:4 (“he delivered us from the present evil age”) and
Colossians 1:12 (“he has rescued us from the power of darkness”) imply a defeat
of Satanic power reminiscent of God’s victory in the Exodus.
But this defeat, though real, is only provisional. Satan is still a
potent and aggressive force of evil seeking to thwart and upset the work of God
in Christ. In the present Paul encourages his churches to look forward to the
final crushing of Satan (Rom 16:20) and to rely on divine faithfulness and
power, for “he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one” (2 Thess
3:3). In Ephesians 6 the theme of divine weaponry, an image also employed in 1
Thessalonians 5:8 and Romans 13:12, is developed in memorable fashion (see
Arnold). Paul points out that the enemy of the church does not consist of
“flesh and blood” enemies (like those of the old Israel). God’s people are now
engaged with enemies in the form of principalities, powers and “the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12). These powers are under the
direction of their leader “the devil,” whose schemes (methodeiai) they carry out against the church. While Israel was
organized and regulated as the army of God in the wilderness, dependent on the
victorious power of Yahweh, the church is outfitted in spiritual weaponry and
finds her strength in the Lord and in the power of his might (Eph 6:10). With
the “shield of faith” believers can “quench all the flaming arrows of the evil
one” (Eph 6:16). (Daniel G. Reid, “Satan, Devil,” in Dictionary
of Paul and HIs Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and
Daniel G. Reid [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993], 866)
