Christ’s Victory…Already and Not Yet
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sent from Heaven (Jn 3:16; 6:29), came and waged war against the adversary, Satan. Lucifer is the chief secessionist and agitator among demons in rebellion against God their Creator (Prv 16:4). The devil is a false angel of light in a world of darkness (2 Cor 11:14), the head of the spiritual forces of wickedness (Eph 6:12). Jesus called him, “the father of lies (Jn 8:44).”
In his pride, arrogance, and gasconade, the failed usurper of the throne of God took up his abode upon the earth (Jn Lk 10:18; 12:31; Rev 12:9). Thus, God placed his image and likeness here, as a visual reminder to the “god of this world” that he is doomed. No one, including the dragon of old (Ezek 29:5; Jer 51:34), can escape the ubiquity of the omnipresent God.
Regardless, the kingdom of this world, the domain of darkness (Col 1:13), appears to be under the dominion of Satan (Acts 26:18). Even Jesus called him, “the ruler of this world (Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).”
The world is filled with sin. Sin is lawlessness (1 Jn 3:4). The lawless one enticed the very first image bearer, Adam, to join him in his insurrection against God (Gen 3). Man, whom God created and to whom He gave dominion over the earth, was deceived by the serpent, and became his slave. Man was in bondage to Satan and sin (Rom 6:6, 17). Man also subjected himself to death (Rom 3:23; 5:12; 1 Cor 15:22). This remains the plight of Adam’s posterity, too.
No scheme of man or devil is outside the scope and scrutiny of the omniscient (1 Jn 3:20), omnipotent God (Rev 19:6). In His predetermined plan (Acts 2:23), God would be glorified in the display of His perfect attributes. He is the Author and Hero of His own story. He has put in place the perfect drama, being manifest in both realms, the physical and the spiritual.
The prime antagonist in this cosmic drama has resisted his Creator from the beginning. We might say, “The wicked one is playing his part.” The Author of the story never loses control of the story for obvious reasons. “The devil is God’s devil,” as Martin Luther said.
The showdown between rival kings had an appointed day, a specific place, and a climactic event. We remember it as, “Good Friday.” It might better be labeled, “Victory Day” or “Day of Triumph” for education and exaltation purposes. In addition, the sad moniker, “Easter,” could be titled, “Victory Parade Day.” These days are memorials to remember the triumph of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, over the prince of demons, our debt of sin, and death itself (Col 2:14–15).
Ironically, it was the Law of God that gave the enemy his stronghold. More specifically, it was man breaking God’s Law that kept the sons of Adam in chains. Man has lived under God’s just condemnation since the fall (Jn 3:18). The deceiver enticed man to sin and then sin some more. Men loved the darkness of sin because it was their nature (Jn 3:19; Eph 2:3). The evil hearts of men have no bounds to practice their evil deeds (Gen 6:5; Jer 17:9; Is 64:6; Rom 3:10–12), except from God’s Law (Ex 20; Dt 5).
For this reason, guilty sinners, at enmity with God (Rom 5:10), share in the hatred the evil one has for God (Rom 1:30; Jn 7:7; 15:18–19). The children of the devil have no hope in this world of darkness (Eph 2:12; 1 Pet 3:10) because they are simply waiting for their day in court, in order to hear their sentence of eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Mt 25:41, 46; Jude 7; Rev 20:14–15).
All people everywhere and from every age must appear before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10), who is the righteous judge of heaven and earth (Acts 17:31; 2 Tim 4:1; 1 Pet 4:5). His judgment is just and unchangeable. The day of final judgment is yet in the future (Rev 19:11–21), but we also look back to Victory Day as a day of judgment for God’s people, who no longer live under the condemnation of the Law (Rom 8:1).
As our great high priest (Heb 4:14; 9:11), Jesus Christ offered himself, as an acceptable sacrifice to God (Acts 17:31), as the unblemished Lamb of God (Jn 1:29; Heb 4:15; 7:26). His atoning sacrifice served as a substitution in the place of God’s chosen people (Eph 5:25; 1 Pet 2:24). The death of Christ on the cross, in fulfillment of the Law (Mt 5:17), was the saving grace for His people (Eph 2:8–9), as full payment for their sins (Col 2:14). It was also the death knell for the prince of darkness.
No longer could the slave master keep God’s elect in fear of death (1 Cor 15:54–55). Death was conquered because sin was effectively dealt with, by the precious blood of the Lamb (Heb 9:22; 1 Pet 1:19), who took away the sins of His people around the world and across time. The Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world (Rev 5:6, 12), has executed an eternal redemption (Heb 9:12), in accordance with an eternal covenant (Heb 13:20), by laying down His life for His sheep (Jn 10:11, 15), whom He loved and gave Himself for on Victory Day (Eph 5:25).
Sin is defeated. Satan is defeated. The world is overcome. The Gospel is unstoppable, but the intrigue remains. Although the war is over, not all of the victors have been notified. The promise of God is that He will lose none of His (Jn 10:28–29; Rom 8:35–39), whom He knows by name (Jn 10:14; 2 Tim 2:10; Rev 17:9). In the end, the full number of saints will be accounted for, having been gathered in the resurrection (Jn 5:28–29) and from the uttermost part of the earth (Mt 24:31).
In His good pleasure, God willed to save a people for His own possession from before the foundation of the world (Tit 2:14; 1 Pet 2:9). Having lost the image of God in Adam, God decreed that image would be restored in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:29), who secured victory over His enemies (Jn 16:33), at the cross of Calvary. Jubilant, those who have their place in His triumphant parade bear witness of His excellencies (Acts 1:8; 2 Cor 2:14; 1 Pet 2:9).
Those who overcome the world (1 Jn 5:4), with the Spirit and faith afforded to them by God’s grace (Mt 3:11; Acts 5:31; Eph 2:8–9; Phil 1:29) are manifesting a fruitful fragrance (Gal 5:22–23). This is the smell of a sweet life, abundant and eternal (Jn 10:10; 17:2), for those who belong to Christ (1 Cor 3:23). It is the fragrance of defeat and death for those who are perishing in unbelief (1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15; 4:3).
Rebellion against the sovereign God is vanity and a lost cause (Eccl 1:2). It is a lost cause because of the victory of the Lamb…on Victory Day, now and forever.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
March 19, 2021
