1 John 3:8b: For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
Jesus lived the most purposeful life in human history. As you read through the Gospels, you see a man who is intentional in everything He did. He offered His goodness, His wisdom, His compassion, His power, and His love to everyone He encountered – no exceptions. He also was never afraid to tell people of the truth of the condition of their souls. He had no problem telling people about their sin even without knowing them. This omniscient capability – the ability to know all things – was likely at first unsettling. Time and time again, He demonstrated there are no secrets with God. Importantly, He revealed that God is not only aware of their sins, but also, He is ready to forgive them should they be confessed. He proved that He holds the key to the shackles of condemnation of sin.
Today’s verse outlines one of Jesus’ primary purposes of His first visit to Earth – to destroy the works of the devil. What were those works? They were, and still are, countless, but they can be summed up in two areas. The first area was the introduction to deception and lying. Starting in Genesis 3, Satan challenged the truth of God’s Word, and He’s been doing this ever since. God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18), so what He says is true. Therefore, any challenge to the truth must be a lie. Jesus said in John 8:44 that there is no truth in Satan. Jesus, being the truth (John 14:6), came to destroy the deceptive works of the devil. Jesus noted this purpose in John 18:37, “I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.” The only answer for a lie is the truth.
The second works of the devil Jesus came to deal with was the inevitable fruit of those who believed the lies of Satan. The end game of Satan’s lies and deceptions is to get people to sin. He knows that sin causes death of not only the body, but also the soul. (Romans 6:23) Therefore, Jesus came to offer a way to escape soul death, which is eternal separation from God. Sin is an offense to God, so He sets the terms to which He will forgive those offenses. Sin to a holy God is extremely serious. To magnify the gravity of sin to God, He set up a sacrificial system – something had to die – blood had to be shed. Without this blood, there is no remission, or forgiveness of sin. (Hebrews 9:22)
God’s only begotten Son became that sacrifice for all of humanity. God the Father looked through all of human history and saw rejection of Him. Yet, out of His deep love for what He created – out of deep compassion of our weak mindedness being so eager to believe Satan’s lies, He chose to offer His Son on a cross to make it possible for people who choose to believe in Him to be saved from the works of the devil. Jesus’ resurrection is the exclamation point of His victory over Satan. Goodness wins out over evil. Love beats hate. Truth triumphs over lies and deception. Hope is real in Jesus Christ.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a participant in this victory. Your eternal destiny is secure. However, your circumstances may continue to be very painful, very lonely, and causing you to doubt God’s love for you. Satan may have lost the war, but he is still seeking to cause pain and suffering upon God’s children. We must remember if Jesus’ crucifixion came with great purpose, the suffering that we are experiencing may also have great purpose. As we rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal glory with God, we become a wonderful testimony to the power of God. We can show to those around us the power of Christ’s victory on the cross. Despite the devil’s best efforts to inflict pain, we can live in such a way to show others there is hope available to those who believe in the One who destroyed the works of the devil. That is a purposeful life lived.