The Knock-Out Punch: Satan's Defeat at Calvary

Colossians 2:15 - "Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."

I read an account of a boxer - "Mysterious" Billy Smith - who went into a San Francisco bar with a sports writer named Wilson Mizner. Billy was always looking for a fight and started brawling with the longshoremen at the bar. While Billy was fighting everyone else, Wilson found himself in the corner, pummeling one man who simply wouldn't fall. Five minutes passed with Wilson continuing to fight the same guy.

Finally, Billy looked over and called out, "Wilson, leave him alone! I knocked him out five minutes ago!" Billy had hit that guy so hard that he became wedged upright between two pieces of furniture. The man appeared to be standing, but he had actually been knocked unconscious.

This perfectly illustrates satan and his work today. He has already been knocked out by Jesus. While we often think of the cross as a place of physical suffering, which it was. However, something spiritual also occurred. The cross was not merely a place of suffering - it was a place of triumph.

The Message paraphrase of Colossians 2:15 states that Jesus "stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets." Jesus put them back in their place. That original prophecy in Genesis 3:15 declared there would come a day when the seed of the woman would crush Satan's head. Jesus destroyed Satan's authority over humanity.

When you read the Bible from cover to cover, you realize Satan's ultimate destiny. He is defeated and finished, yet he sometimes appears still upright, like that knocked-out man.

As Christians, we needlessly fear satan's work in this world. While there is indeed a battle, it's a battle already fought and won by Christ. You don't battle for victory; you battle from victory.

Satan is defeated, his head has been crushed, so for the child of God, we need not fear him. Praise the Lord!

Reflection Question: Are you fighting for victory or from victory? How would your battles change if you truly believed Satan was already defeated?

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that the battle has already been won at Calvary. Help me to stop fighting for victory and start fighting from the victory Jesus has already secured. When the enemy seems to be standing against me, remind me that he's already been knocked out by the cross. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from "Reigning Through Christ" (Ephesians 1:19-23): https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/qzggtfz/7-reigning-through-christ-eph-1-19-23