Trust in Christ is not a passive thing; it’s an active thing. It’s like putting up a shield and holding it up. That active trust in Christ actually extinguishes all the flaming darts of the evil one, according to Paul in Ephesians 6.
So, that’s another way that Paul had in mind for the church in Rome of them crushing the head of Satan — going back to that reference in Revelation 12 to the blood of the Lamb.
It’s through our being cleansed by the blood of Jesus that Satan is defeated, as well as through our testimony or confession. We confess Christ; we do. We are involved in crushing Satan’s head when we walk in obedience, when we grow in holiness — we crush Satan.
Remember, Satan is the ruler of this world where we are called not to deliver this world, lives where we are called not to get entangled in civilian affairs. We are called to overcome sin, called to live lives worthy of the calling we’ve been given.
This is all done by the empowering of the Holy Spirit, and that’s where Paul’s chapter in this letter, chapter 8, Life in the Spirit, really comes in. He indwells us, he gives us life, he gives us victory. He gives us victory over death.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And so, the Spirit is the other element here. He is the one who enables us to do all this.
Put the armour on every day. Don’t get entangled in the world—that’s what the devil wants. He is the ruler of this world; he wants you to be preoccupied with the gods of this world, the images of this world, the words of this world, the disregard this world has for the Lord’s Day, the dishonouring of parents that this world is involved with, the murder of this world, the lusts of this world, the covetousness of this world, the lies of this world.
