Ⅲ
Satan has his kingdom, the authority of darkness—Matt. 12:26; Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13:
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Satan has his authority (Acts 26:18) and his angels (Matt. 25:41), who are his subordinates as rulers, authorities, and world-rulers of the darkness of this world; hence, he has his kingdom, the authority of darkness (Col. 1:13).
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Satan is the ruler of this world and the ruler of the authority of the air—John 12:31; Eph. 2:2:
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The spirit (v. 2), in apposition to the authority of the air, refers to the aggregate power, the aggregate of all the evil angelic authorities, over which Satan is the ruler.
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When we were dead in offenses and sins (v. 1), we walked according to “the age of this world” (v. 2), the modern appearance, the present course, of the world, the satanic system.
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The rulers, the authorities, and the world-rulers of this darkness are the rebellious angels, who followed Satan in his rebellion against God and who now rule in the heavenlies over the nations of the world—Dan. 10:20.
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This indicates that the devil, Satan, has his kingdom in which he occupies the highest position and in which the rebellious angels are under him.
Ⅳ
Through His ministry on earth and His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus was victorious over Satan—1 John 3:8; Matt. 27:51-53; Col. 2:14-15; Heb. 2:14:
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In His earthly ministry the victorious Christ defeated the devil and destroyed his works—Matt. 4:1-11; 1 John 3:8:
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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:
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This He had to do as a man; hence, He stood as a man to confront the enemy of God—vv. 6-7.
ｂ
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.
２
In His ministry on earth the Lord Jesus destroyed the works of the devil—1 John 3:8:
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In 1 John 3:8 the Greek word translated “destroy” may also be translated “undo” or “dissolve.”
ｂ
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.
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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:
１
In His work on the cross, Christ cast out the ruler of this world and judged the world—John 12:31:
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The ruler of this world was cast out when Satan was cast out by Christ’s work in His death; simultaneously, the world system related to Satan was judged—1 John 5:19.
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The base of Satan’s rebellion was shaken, and the strongholds of Satan’s earthly kingdom were broken—Matt. 27:51.
２
In His crucifixion Christ destroyed the devil—Heb. 2:14:
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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.”
ｂ
In His humanity and through His work on the cross, Christ has destroyed the devil—John 3:14.
３
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 by God—Col. 2:15.
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In His work on the cross, Christ nullified death, making it of none effect, through His devil-destroying death (Heb. 2:14) and death-swallowing resurrection (1 Cor. 15:52-54)—2 Tim. 1:10.
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Through the gospel of the kingdom, God brings people under the ruling of the heavenly authority so that they may become His kingdom, those who are ruled by His authority—Matt. 24:14; Rev. 1:5-6.
Morning Nourishment
1 John 3:8 …The Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.Heb. 2:14 …That through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil.
Other than our Lord Jesus Christ, no one is an overcomer. “The Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “He [the seed of the woman] will bruise you [the serpent, Satan] on the head” (Gen. 3:15). Christ is the Victor. He is the One who has destroyed the works of the devil and the One who has bruised the serpent’s head. Christ has overcome. If we acknowledge this fact continually and join ourselves to Christ, we will overcome continually. Satan is the most afraid of our continually speaking this word of our testimony (Rev. 12:11), acknowledging Christ as the Overcomer. Such a word of testimony will drive Satan away. Christ has overcome. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! (See Mark 1:24, 27; 3:11.) (CWWN, vol. 1, p. 99)
Today’s Reading
The cross at Golgotha is the place where Satan and his power is defeated. The victory at Golgotha is still effective today. “Stripping off the rulers and the authorities, He made a display of them openly, triumphing over them in it [the cross]” (Col. 2:15). “Through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14). Man may consider the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion as His failure, yet that was the very place of His victory. In the world, there is no way to determine the victor before the two armies have engaged one another and fought the battle. The Lord was crucified on the cross, and He resurrected from the dead. He went into death, fought with death, overcame the power of death, and then emerged victorious over everything. It would be impossible to say that the Lord has overcome Satan if He had not died and resurrected. This is why the Lord had to die—to fight with Satan, he who has the might of death, and overcome him. The Lord’s resurrection is the proof of His victory. When Christ was advancing toward Golgotha, He said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the ruler of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). Satan was defeated at Golgotha. All those who want to fight against Satan elsewhere are destined to fail. Other than at Golgotha, Satan is always victorious. He was defeated only at Golgotha, and he was defeated at Golgotha forever. Hence, all those who are joined to the Lamb of Golgotha, who stand on the basis of His victory at Golgotha, not attempting to gain another new victory but expressing the one unique victory in the present battle, will overcome. Defeat comes when one trusts in the self, but victory comes when one stands on the ground of Golgotha. Golgotha is the place of victory! Golgotha is our home! What can cause us to fear?We are the Lord’s messengers declaring the victory at Golgotha and Christ as the Victor. “To whom I send you, …to turn them…from the authority of Satan to God” (Acts 26:17-18). The victory at Golgotha is still effective today; Jesus the Savior is still the Victor. Satan is still the defeated one; he is powerless toward us. Hence, we all must turn away from the authority of Satan to God.
Christ is the Overcomer. When we are in Christ and are joined to Him, we will also be the overcomers. We can overcome every day because the Lord has said, “Behold, I have given you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy….The spirits are subject to you” (Luke 10:19-20). “In My name they will cast out demons” (Mark 16:17; cf. Acts 16:18; 19:15). Apart from the Lord, we can do nothing. We should abide in the Lord all the time. If we do everything in the Lord’s name, Satan will be defeated continually. (CWWN, vol. 1, pp. 100-101)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” ch. 8; Life-study of Matthew, msg. 11; Life-study of John, msg. 26; Life-study of Acts, msg. 10; Life-study of Colossians, msg. 23; CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “The Divine Economy,” ch. 7