Ephesians 6:10 – “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” NKJV

  

I would suggest that the real Battle in Jesus’ Infinite Victory was fought in the Garden of Gethsemane.  This is where Jesus went through the agonies of which we read.  The Bible account only scratches the surface but are hints as to what was going on inside.  It was the Agony that was producing clots of blood which oozed from his pores.  The entire gamut of emotions raged in His being.  No human had every experienced what He was experiencing.

Hebrews 5:7, “In the days of His flesh when He offered up His prayers and supplications with loud cryings and tears…”  [Gethsemane].  “He prayed to Him that was able to save Him from death.  Who was heard because of His piety.  Although He was a Son, He learned obedience in the things He suffered.”  It was in Gethsemane Jesus faced and learned an Obedience He had never faced before.  He faced a CHOICE.  He saw Himself becoming SIN, our sin.  “He who knew no sin…” Now that one is going to take our sin on Himself and the entire sewer of human evil is going to meet and focus in Him.  That is incredible!  Jesus accepted that in Obedience.  In fact, Isaiah 53 tells us, “It pleased the LORD to bruise Him…The LORD laid oh Him the iniquity of us all.”  In Obedience, Jesus took our Iniquity.

Imagine the one who knew no sin standing before the throne of heaven accused of breaking every law and of unlove.  He stood before the courts of heaven AS SIN.  This is not a game.  It is not changing hats.  IT IS REAL.  Jesus faced the full hatred of the devil and the worst hell can hurl at Him.  He is, for that moment, under the devil’s power because sin is upon Him and that places Him in the hands of the devil.

Remember He is not standing there as one individual but the entire race.  He is going to meet the Lie and meet him unrestrained not as Job where the devil has restraints and could not kill Job.  This is the only time Jesus cried not, “My Father” but “My God” and followed that with “why has Thou forsaken Me?”  Jesus knew that no one had ever been or would ever be as dead as He at that moment.  He OBEYS “for” us and “as” us to save us.

Let me give you something more.  This is not a picture that we readily grasp.  Someone takes our place and what happens to them happens to us.  Remember the story of David and Goliath.  There was basically as a stalemate between the Israelites and the Philistines.  The challenge was “Let ONE champion come out and whoever wins would win for the entire nation.”  When Jesus went into Gethsemane He is ALL OF US.  He is the entire race!  Whatever happens, to Him happens to us.  The cup Jesus was given was to restore fellowship to God for the entire race.  This is ULTIMATE OBEDIENCE.  Jesus is forsaken by the Father. He lost all sense of the presence and love of the Father. It was the awful darkness of rejection and He experienced the Father’s wrath against sin.  In the midst of all that He OBEYS!  I truly do not believe we grasp what happened and view it romantically as a nice story.  It was horrendous!

The Cross was the place of the Curse, the Curse of Eden and the Curse of the Law.  Satan is drawn to this one.  I am convinced that Satan did not understand the Other Law that if one dies for another they all go free.  He only saw a potential victory.  When Jesus was placed on the Cross it was the Father saying to the devil, “Do your worst.”  When Jesus died on the Cross evil had done its worst and it failed.  Jesus is still there because He was the sinless sacrifice for sin and by His victory we all can go free!  The devil’s power and authority have been broken.  The First Adam gave Him control the Last Adam took it back. 

 When Jesus rose from the dead, death was now dead.  Satan was totally stripped of his authority and power.  Ephesians 1:19 – “The working of the strength of His might, which He brought about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority and power, and dominion, and every name that is named.”  Colossians 2:15 – “When He had disarmed the rulers, and authorities He made a public display of them having triumphed over them.”  Revelation 5:6 – “I saw a Lamb as it had been slain.  And He came up to the Throne and He heard the multitudes upon multitudes of the ages saying, worthy is the Lam.  For thou, hast redeemed us by thy blood…”

    WE ARE FREE!   Free by the Blood of the Lamb!  Philippians 2:8 – “Unto Him was given a Name which is above every name.  That at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue confesses that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  Jesus not only said the devil was the “strongman” but that the “strongman” could be BOUND and then His possessions taken.  Jesus took us from the devil…  Revelation 20 describes the Cross as the devil being bound.  He no longer has power.  The Psalmist said, “You have broken the teeth of the evil one.”  That is the picture of a shepherd.  When wild dogs or other animals would attack the shepherd would take his staff and break out their teeth.  They may continue to scare the sheep but cannot harm them because they are toothless.

Not only did the Last Adam defeat the devil but He brought forth a New Race (New Creations in Christ) filled with the Glory of God.  He brought forth a new race of Lovers!  Therefore, there are two races in the world.  Those who only go back to the First Adam and those who miraculously come forth from the Last Adam.  This new race finds themselves in the midst of a hostile world that would destroy them but if we are in the FINALLY, we are reminded that the world we face is a DEFEATED ONE!

You do not continue to try to win what you have won.  You do not continue to try to win a war that is won. You live in the victory of that triumph!  That is why the message is not to fight, fight, fight but STAND, STAND, STAND!  Jesus’ Victory was total and complete.  We are more than conquerors through Him UNLESS we continue to believe the Lie!  I never make fun of the devil for I respect power.  I know where the real power is, it is behind the bars of the Cross and I stand in the Name of Jesus.  He is Lord!

Now is the time that we stop trying to win a won war and start enforcing and enjoying the Infinite Victory of Christ!  God bless you as you go through this day!