Memorial Day Conference Msg 3 Enjoyment

Message 3: The Victorious Christ 

• We are able to fight the spiritual warfare because He has already won the victory. The victory of the individual Christ has everything to do with the victory of the one new man, and is our basis of the spiritual warfare. 
• Christ in every stage has defeated God's enemy. However, if that's where the story ends, Satan has boast.  In order for Christ to have a complete victory over Satan and works of Satan, the corporate Christ must also defeat him.
• At every stage and every step, Jesus was engaged in warfare, and He won the victory.
• The victorious Christ defeated the devil and destroyed his works. 
• Aka: Undo his works 

Since therefore the children have shared in ^ablood and flesh, He also Himself in like manner ^bpartook of the same, that through ^cdeath He might ^1ddestroy him who has the might of ^edeath, that is, the ^fdevil, Heb 2:14

• The one new man will ultimately fulfill Genesis 1:26 (God's purpose for the created man). The created man has a 2 fold purpose: He was created in God's image so God may have a corporate expression in humanity.  He was to represent God with his authority over all the things that oppose God, especially Satan himself and his kingdom.
• Christ came as the 2nd man. In His human living, He fulfilled both of these aspects. He fully expressed God, and fully bore God's image. 
• In His human living, He expressed God's authority-every where He went, the demons were cast out. At the very beginning of his public ministry, he was led by the spirit to have a direct encounter with Satan. Before he did anything else, the spirit led Him after his baptism to face Satan directly.
• His earthly ministry would be a failure if he had not defeated Satan as a man. 
• After He had fasted for 40 days, the tempter came to him. It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone. Satan addressed Him as the Son of God but He answered as the Son of Man. o
• 2 Tim 3:17: That the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
• You need to be equipped by praying over God's word.
• The warfare is a battle of wills- battle of satanic will and God's will.
• Satan fights by speaking lies by telling the truth. Satan uses God's word and twists God's words. Satan adds doubts to God's word. Satan's way is to inject thoughts by speaking. Satan speaks to us, so sometimes we need to speak to him. 
• When the devil spoke to the Lord, the Lord had an answer: God's word. When the Lord Jesus quotes God's Word, He is not just quoting the Bible, He is and lives the Bible. He is the word of God.
• We have to realize how the enemy fights: Satan speaks by speaking lies. You have to counter with the truth.
• The truth is Christ Himself experienced by ourselves, constituted within us. We need to contact Him as the Spirit in the Word. 
• Jesus knew how to eat God's word. 
• Jesus overcame the temptation that is common to all men:
• Human Living: anxious about eating, necessities; Satan has systematized human living into a satanic 
• Religion: Religion is Satan's invention. It is something against God, but it sounds like it is something for God.  
• Worldly glory, success, and ambition
• Jesus destroyed the works of the devil, they work on everyone else but do not work on Jesus. It was an absolute failure.
• the "Word of our testimony": Sometimes remind Satan: You couldn't even defeat a man, angels should be more powerful than man. You might have defeated me before but you will no longer defeat me forever. I am part of the one new man. 
• Every minute of His human living was defeat to Satan-we want to follow Him. At the end of His human living (John 14:30)- The ruler of the world is coming, and in Me he has nothing.
• In His crucifixion Christ destroyed the devil. If the devil was destroyed why is he still bothering me so much? There are stages in his execution. The word that is translated "destroy" - "bring to nought, render useless, abolish" 
• Also the old man rendered to no effect. It doesn't mean that the old man does not exist 
• It doesn't mean that Satan doesn't exist, but he doesn't have anymore power.  Satan's power has been nullified, but he is still there so he is active.
• The cross of Christ was the center of the entire universe. The devil was there, the angelic rulers and authorities in the air was there. There was a warfare at the cross. On the cross, He was creating in Himself one new man. God was there judging sin, and nailing to the cross, the ordinances that caused the emnity in the old man. While God and Christ were working, the evil rulers and authorities came to frustrate that. 
• In His death, Christ is victor. He released His divine life into all the members of the Body. He created one new man. 
• Death has been nullified through the victorious crucifixion of Christ!
• Christ resurrection:what a victory over death! over Satan, Hades and the grave
• It was NOT possible for the Lord to be held by death-death and Hades tried to hold Him. He not only resurrected, but He is resurrection.
• The resurrected Christ is the living One, and He has the keys of death and of Hades. He is the forever Living One, so death cannot touch him.
• Who has the power? Death/Hades of Jesus? Jesus has the keys of death and of Hades.  Death is subject to Him, and Hades is under His control.
• Christ's Ascension: Eph 4:8 (Earthly ministry of Christ becomes the heavenly ministry of Christ)

• Therefore the Scripture says, "Having ^aascended to the ¹height, He led captive ²those taken captive and gave ^3bgifts to men.'' Eph 4:8 

• A man, Jesus is Lord! God made Him Lord over all. 
• He led captive those taken captive : "He led a train of vanquished foes" --> Vanquished foes: Satan, his angels, us the sinners 
• The height: to God Himself. This is where Jesus took us in His ascension to where God dwells.  
• Christ has released us from Satan, and brought us to the heavens where we are Sons of God and members of Christ.  He has brought us to the HIGHEST place in the universe!!! 
• He has brought us to the heavenlies- atmosphere with a heavenly nature and characteristic. 
• The Victorious Christ WILL COME as the fighting General with His army to fight Antichrist, the kings under him and their armies at Armageddon 
• The war at Armageddon will end quickly because when the Word of God says, Antichrist, False prophets, go to the Lake of Fire; and Satan go to the abyss. 
• The Word of God- that Sword is much more powerful than any weapon. He only fights by the Sword, by the speaking of the Word of God. 
• Christ is "Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war" 
• He is righteous and in righteousness.  He will defeat Antichrist and judge the rebels who follow him.
• The fighting General, the Warrior is the Word.  His fighting = speaking of the word of God. All the Lord needs to say is Go away Satan.
• Because He has won the victory, we can fight from the position of victory.