What You Must Know to Live in Victory

Luke 10:17-19

When Jesus left the glory of Heaven and came to live among us, His first priority was to pay the price for our redemption. But victory was something else He provided, and to restore that, He had to fix a certain legal transaction from almost the beginning of time.

The zenith of God’s creation in Genesis 1-2 was His forming man in His own image and commissioning him to be caretaker and keeper in the Garden. Adam and Eve were meant to rule and reign there. God sovereignly established Adam’s dominion.

But when Adam and Eve rejected God’s authority, they legally lost theirs—to Satan—until a Savior could come and righteously restore what they transferred to the devil. That’s the transaction that needed fixing. No victory is possible without it.

Jesus came to redeem mankind and recover man’s lost dominion. True to character, God didn’t just snatch authority from Satan and hand it back to Adam. It had been lost by a man, and it would be regained by a Man, the second Adam—the Lord Jesus.

In His ministry and sacrifice on the cross, Jesus delivered us from the bondage of Satan, and we can live in victory.

●       We faced spiritual death, yet He made us alive (Colossians 2:13).

●       We were drowning in spiritual debt (Colossians 2:14), yet with His blood He paid in full (1 John 1:7, Romans 8:33).

●       Jesus ended Satan’s dominion, defeating him through the cross (Colossians 2:15).

●       Jesus made a public spectacle of Satan’s kingdom (v.15).

●       Jesus triumphed over Satan in His cross (v. 15).

Jesus not only paid your debt in full but also humiliated Satan and his dark kingdom, stripping its powers like you would the medals from a general. Having no more power or dominion, Satan was shamed and made a show of. Next time you think about Satan, think: shamed, subdued by the cross.

God has given us kingdom authority.

“All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:18-19).

Victory is our starting point, not our destination.

We don’t pray for victory; we pray from victory. We already have it. We stand in victory.

But Satan isn’t going to roll over and play dead. We must come against him in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Don’t fight the wrong enemy.

Ultimately, our battle is not with Washington, the White House or Hollywood. They’re tools the enemy uses but not our targets. We’re wrestling against “principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

We must learn to exercise our spiritual authority.

Even though Satan is defeated, we still engage in spiritual warfare because Satan’s defeat must be appropriated.

Think of it this way:

●       Was Jesus’ death for sin absolute? Yes (1 John 2:2).

●       Is the whole world saved? No. Only those who appropriate it (John 3:18).

●       Our sins are paid for on the cross. We go to Hell not for our sins but because we don’t appropriate what has already been done.

●       It’s the same with Holy Spirit power. God has poured out the Holy Spirit, but His power must be appropriated.

●       Forgiveness of sin and Holy Spirit power are absolute, but you must appropriate them.

●       Satan’s defeat is absolute, but you must appropriate it. You must say, “I’m going to take my authority in the Lord Jesus. I appropriate it. I stand on it, and I come against Satan’s dark kingdom.” 

Be walking in fellowship with the Lord.

Don’t just sally forth against the devil if your heart is not clean and right with God. Even as God’s child, if you dare to come against Satan with the heart of a rebel, you’ll be in serious trouble. You must be in a personal relationship with God.