Joy Checked and Joy Encouraged

    “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:17-20).

    The Lord our God would ever have us rejoice in him and in his goodness. Indeed, true believers are described as a people who “rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” We are commanded to “rejoice in the Lord alway.” This joy, true, spiritual joy, “joy in believing”, is joy that is in the Lord and arises from the knowledge of his grace. We should always rejoice; but that admonition is tempered with “in the Lord”.

    Luke 10:17-20 gives us an example of our Saviour teaching his disciples to rejoice in him, his grace, and his providence; but not in other things. The Lord Jesus had sent seventy of his disciples out preaching the gospel. Here they have returned with exuberant joy. I want us to learn four things from these verses. May God the Holy Spirit inscribe these four lessons upon our hearts. They will serve us well as we seek to serve our Master in this world.

    First, we are all too easily puffed up with pride. We must not blame these disciples too severely for their excitement and joy. Who would not be elated by such experiences? Yet, the report these men made, and the Master’s response to it seems to suggest that their joy on this occasion needed to be tempered with more grace than they displayed. There was apparently much false fire mingled with their joy. There was too much of self in it.

    “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (vv. 17, 18).

    Young soldiers, with their first taste of victory, are often lifted up with far too much self-confidence and self-congratulation. The Lord Jesus seems to have read this evil in their hearts. Therefore, he seems to say to them, “Calm down a little. What you have seen and experienced is not your doing, but mine.” “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” long before you were born (Revelation 12:3, 4; Isaiah 14:12-17). He foresaw and promised Satan’s fall through the preaching of the gospel (Matthew 16:18). He had come specifically to topple Satan’s throne in the hearts of men (Ezekiel 28). He had come to bind the old serpent.

    Yet, as I said, we must not be too severe with these men. Every faithful gospel preacher wants success. We all want to see the Word of God run swiftly and run well. We long to see Satan fall, sinners converted, and Christ triumphant over the hearts of men. Such desires are right and good. But, when the Lord condescends to grant us a little usefulness in this great work, we tend to forget that we are only instruments by which he works (1 Corinthians 3:5-7). We can do nothing! Our hearts are easily depressed when we see no success, and easily elated when we taste success. There are few who can, like Samson, kill a lion without telling of their feat (Judges 14:6).

    Paul’s warning to Timothy is well-founded and should be constantly heeded (1 Timothy 3:6). It is the gospel we preach, not the ability we possess to preach it, that is the power of God unto salvation (1 Corinthians 1:18-24).

    Second, Satan is an enemy under the complete dominion and control of our great Saviour. He who saw Satan fall is the one who felled him! He cast Satan out by his death on the cross, binding the Deceiver by his almighty power as Lord over all, lest he continue to deceive the nations (Revelation 20:1-3). He causes Satan to fall every time he saves a sinner by his omnipotent grace (Matthew 12:29; John 12:28-32).

    While it is exciting and joyous to see Satan’s power broken, we ought rather to expect it than be surprised by it (Ezekiel 28:11-19). Satan does not and cannot move without our Master’s permission. Yes, he walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour; but he is a chained lion, without power, a lion with neither fangs nor claws to harm God’s elect. He is God’s devil, not God’s rival!

    Third, I pray that our God will graciously teach us that nothing can ever hurt us. Our Saviour’s promise is as clear as it is great: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (v. 19).

    Without question, God’s servants during this apostolic era were given special powers, gifts which no man has possessed since that day. So the words of this verse are to be taken literally, insofar as those men were concerned (Mark 16:18; Acts 28:3-5).¹¹

    Yet, this 19^th verse is our Saviour’s promise to us as well. Understand the serpents and scorpions as figurative representations of the power of the enemy. The Lord Jesus here promises us that satanic power will never harm God’s elect (2 Timothy 3:1-14). Neither the poison of sin, nor the sting of the scorpion, nor the bite of the serpent shall hurt God’s elect. Neither the poison of false doctrine, nor the sting of persecution, nor the serpent of hell shall harm one of God’s own (Romans 16:20). Indeed, “Nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Psalm 91:9-13; Proverbs 12:21; Isaiah 3:10; 11:8, 9; Hosea 2:18; Romans 8:35-39). No enemy can hurt us. Satan cannot hurt us. Sickness shall not hurt us. Trials shall not hurt us. Wicked men shall not hurt us. All our sorrows and woes shall never hurt us. Death shall not hurt us. Yes, at last, even sin itself shall not hurt us (Revelation 21:4).

    Fourth, in all things and above all things, we ought always to rejoice in God’s electing love. Here is a cause for true joy! “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (v. 20). There is a book called the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 13:8; 17:8). In that blessed book all the names of God’s elect were written before the world began. Eternally, immutably, forever written in heaven!

    God’s election is our security. Yes, we are secured by the blood of Christ, by the seal of the Spirit, and by the gift of grace. But all these things are the result of and flow from God’s electing love (Jeremiah 31:3). And that electing love ought to give us constant joy before our God. As it caused David to dance before the ark (2 Samuel 6:12-21), our election to eternal life ought to make our hearts dance with joy before our God. It was his election by the grace of God that comforted David on his death bed (2 Samuel 23:1-5); and it is election that comforts God’s saints in all ages as they leave this world.

    Is your name written in heaven? There is only one way anyone on earth can ever know whether his name is written in this book. The only way a sinner can know that his name is written there is by faith in Christ. I know that my name is there because I believe on the Son of God, and God has declared, “he that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life.” “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).