THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE OF THE CHURCH AS THE NEW MAN
Message Three
The Victorious Christ
Scripture Reading: 1 John 3:8; John 12:31; Heb. 2:14; Acts 2:24; Eph. 4:8; Rev. 1:18; 19:11
I. In His earthly ministry the victorious Christ defeated the devil and destroyed his works—Matt. 4:1-11; 1 John 3:8:
A. For Him to accomplish His ministry for the kingdom of the heavens, the Lord Jesus had to defeat God's enemy, the devil, Satan—Matt. 4:1, 11:
1. This He had to do as a man; hence, He stood as a man to confront the enemy of God—vv. 3-4, 6-7.
2. The devil's temptation of the first man, Adam, was a success; his temptation of the second man, Christ, was an absolute failure—v. 11.
B. In His ministry on earth, the Lord Jesus destroyed the works of the devil—1 John 3:8:
1. In 1 John 3:8 the Greek word translated "destroy" may also be translated "undo, " or "dissolve. "
2. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might undo and destroy the sinful deeds of the devil, that is, condemn, through His death on the cross in the flesh, sin initiated by him, the evil one; destroy the power of sin, the sinful nature of the devil; and take away both sin and sins—Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:14; John 1:29.
II. In His crucifixion the victorious Christ cast out the ruler of this world, destroyed the devil, caused the rulers and authorities to be stripped off, and nullified death—12:31; Matt. 27:51; Heb. 2:14; Col. 2:15; 2 Tim. 1:10:
A. In His work on the cross, Christ cast out the ruler of this world and judged the world—John 12:31:
1. The ruler of this world was cast out when Satan was cast out by Christ's work in His death.
2. Simultaneously, the world system related to Satan was judged—1 John 5:19.
3. The base of Satan's rebellion was shaken, and the strongholds of Satan's earthly kingdom were shaken—Matt. 27:51.
B. In His crucifixion Christ destroyed the devil—Heb. 2:14:
1. In verse 14 the Greek word translated "destroy" can also be rendered as "bring to nought, make of none effect, do away with, abolish, annul, discard. "
2. In His humanity and through His work on the cross, Christ has destroyed the devil—John 3:14.
C. In His work on the cross, Christ caused the angelic rulers and authorities to be stripped off, to be made a display of openly, and to be triumphed over in the cross by God—Col. 2:15:
1. Colossians 2:15 portrays the warfare that took place at the time of Christ's crucifixion.
2. God openly shamed the evil angelic rulers and authorities on the cross and triumphed over them in it—v. 15.
D. Through His devil-destroying death, Christ nullified death, making it of none effect—2 Tim. 1:10.
III. The resurrection of the victorious Christ declares that He is victorious over death—2:8:
A. It was not possible for the Lord to be held by death—Acts 2:24:
1. The Lord Jesus is both God and resurrection, possessing an indestructible life; death cannot hold Him—John 11:25; Heb. 7:16.
2. The Lord Jesus defeated death and rose up from it.
B. The resurrected Christ is "the living One, " and He has "the keys of death and of Hades"—Rev. 1:18:
1. As the living One, the Lord became dead, but now He is "living forever and ever"—v. 18a.
2. The resurrected Christ has the keys of death and of Hades; death is subject to Him, and Hades is under His control—v. 18b.
IV. In His ascension the victorious Christ "led captive those taken captive"—Eph. 4:8:
A. The Amplified New Testament renders He led captive those taken captive as "He led a train of vanquished foes":
1. Vanquished foes may refer to Satan, to his angels, and to us the sinners.
2. This indicates Christ's victory over Satan, sin, and death; in His ascension there was a procession of vanquished foes, led as captives from a war for a celebration of Christ's victory—2 Cor. 2:14.
B. As believers, we are now in the heavens, for when Christ ascended to the heavens, we were in the train of captives led by Him to "the height"—Eph. 4:8:
1. Christ has released us from the usurping hand of Satan and brought us to the heavens where we are now sitting, not as captives but as sons of God and members of Christ—2:6.
2. In His ascension the victorious Christ has brought us to the highest place in the universe—v. 6; 4:8.
V. The victorious Christ will come as the fighting General with His army to fight Antichrist, the kings under him, and their armies at Armageddon—Rev. 19:11-21:
A. Christ is "called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war"—v. 11:
1. Christ is faithful and true both to God and to those who believe in Him—v. 11a.
2. In His faithfulness He defeats and destroys those who oppose God and persecute the believers.
3. He is also true in carrying out God's economy and in caring for those who believe in Him.
4. He is righteous, and in righteousness He will defeat Antichrist and judge the rebels who follow him—v. 11b.
B. The fighting General, the Warrior, is the Word, and His fighting will be the speaking of the word of God; as the Lord fights, He speaks for God and expresses God—v. 13; 2 Thes. 2:8.