The Victory At Calvary

The Victory at Calvary

Introduction:

A As we talk/understand Spiritual Warfare must start & end at the cross of Christ.

1 Satan has no right, authority over the believer no matter what he may claim or contend.

a He is a trouble-maker, trespasser on God’s earth and has claimed to be the king of this Earth.

aa He’s not my king, master, lord, object of my allegiance or my loyalty.

bb To believe He is the king of this world is treason to the Cross because Jesus refused to bow down & worship Satan in the wilderness (Matt. 4.8-10)

cc Doing so, He could avoided the cross, betrayal, rejection, despisement.

b Most of see the cross for the sacrifice Christ made for our sins, demonstration of God’s unconditional love for us (Certainly true.)

aa But there was an unseen cosmic spiritual war waged that day.

bb On Calvary Jesus defeated Satan, came off the cross victorious over the devil and his demonic brood .

c God gave the verdict of Satan’s crime in Eden at the fall of man and found him guilty.

aa The judgment was given in Gen. 3.15.

bb The judgement was implemented on Calvary.

cc As strong as the devil is, has been overcome and defeated by one stronger!

2 The devil has never been nor will he ever be equal in power with God.

a Some say, “I can’t overcome the temptation of the devil. The devil’s got a hold of me and won’t turn loose. The devil makes me do bad things.”

aa Those who say/think/believe these things do not fully understand what took place at calvary.

bb The powers of darkness were conquered at the cross.

b This conquering crescendos in Colossians 2.15.

B At calvary, all of Satan’s hate toward mankind, God, the Messiah erupted.

1 Satan had been trying to kill Jesus for the last 33 years before the Crucifixion.

a At His birth he tried using the tyrant Herod to give all the boy babies under 2 years of age. . . failed.

b He tempted Jesus in the wilderness to stray off the Father’s plan . . . failed.

c He set before the Lord the lusts of the flesh, eye, and the pride of life . . . failed.

d He tempted Jesus’ body, soul, and spirit and Jesus overcome with the Word of God!

2 Jesus came to save you, but make no mistake He came here to do battle with Satan.

a He came from heaven to earth, invaded the sphere of Satan’s influence/territory.

aa He came unwelcomed by the masses and hated by Satan.

bb He came to overcome the enemy!

b In Jesus inaugural address at the synagogue in Nazareth He quoted Is. 61.1

aa Jesus saw humanity as bound, blind, brokenhearted and bruised and behind enemy lines.

bb He saw the disastrous effects of Satan’s control on peoples lives, health, well-being.

3 Through Jesus ministry He was constantly confronting the forces of hell and casting them out!

a He opened the eyes of the blind and He’s still opening the eyes of those blinded by Satan.

aa He still sets the captive free.

bb Jesus saw the destructive power of Satan and did something about it! (Hallelujah!)

b The Bible is full of verses that reveal the true meaning of why Jesus came to the world.

aa 1 John 3.8; Heb. 2.14

bb When He was arrested, Jesus said to His arresters, Luke 22.53.

cc The world Jesus ministered in was a world dominated by Satan: 1 John 5.19

c The apostle Paul had no doubt about what took place on the cross (not just redemption of sins but defeat of the devil).

aa Col. 2.6-15, gives us the spiritual picture of what happened in the cosmic war that raged on Calvary.

bb Paul shows us this in three main things that happened at the cross that the natural eye couldn’t see.

I The Cross Disarmed Satan

A Ever since the fall of man in Eden, humanity had been bullied, enslaved, bondage, held hostage, reigned over.

1 Jesus came to spoil the devil’s plans. (Col. 2.15)

a “Disarmed” means “to spoil,” “to strip,” or “to rob.”

b The word is in the aorist form which means it’s a one-time-deal that will not be repeated. Once and for all disarming!

aa The devil isn’t getting a rematch; the battle has been forever decided.

bb The word picture in Col. 2.15, is of a fallen enemy who has been stripped of his sword, armor, shield, position, and wealth.

c Scripture teaches us that Satan as lost all his rights and authority over all those who have bowed at the foot of the cross and received the precious blood of Christ as atonement for their sin.