PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

Authority prevails over power; this is God's established policy in this universe. No matter how strong Satan's power is, one fact remains sure-the Lord Jesus has given His name to the church. This name stands for authority. The church can cast out demons in the name of the Lord. We can invoke the Lord's name to deal with Satan's power. Thank God that no matter how great Satan's power is, the Lord's name is immeasurably greater. The authority behind the Lord's name is strong enough to overcome all the power of Satan....

B. Believing That the Lord's Death Has Destroyed Satan

Second, we must believe that through death the Lord Jesus has destroyed him who has the might of death, the devil (Hebrews 2:14). The manifestation of the Lord Jesus destroyed the works of the devil, and the death of the Lord Jesus destroyed the devil himself....

The Lord's death on the cross takes away not only our sins but also the whole old creation. Our old man has been crucified with him. Although Satan reigns through death, the more he reigns through death, the worse his lot becomes, because his reign stops at death. Since we are already dead, death can no longer sting us. He has no further reign over us.

"For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." God said this so that man would not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But man ate it and sinned. What then should be done? The result of sin is death; there is no way to change this. However, there is a way to salvation, a salvation which goes through death. When the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross for us, the old creation and the old man were both crucified with Him. This means that Satan's authority can only go as far as death. The Scripture says, "Through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14).

Thank and praise the Lord. We are those who are already dead. If Satan attacks us, we can say to him, "I am already dead!" He has no authority over us because we are already dead. His authority extends only to the point of death. Our crucifixion with Christ is an accomplished fact; it is God's doing. The Bible does not say that our death with the Lord is something that belongs to the future. It is not some experience that we hope to attain one day. The Bible does not tell us to pursue death. It shows us that we are already dead. A person is not dead if he is still pursuing death. However, our death with Christ is a gift from God in the same way that His death for us is a gift.... As soon as we strive to realize these facts, we expose ourselves to Satan's attack. We have to lay hold of the accomplished facts and declare: "Praise and thank the Lord; I am already dead."

In order to withstand Satan, we must realize that the Lord's manifestation was a manifestation of authority, and the work of His cross has released all those who are under Satan's hand. Satan no longer has any authority over us anymore. We are above him. We are those who are already dead. Satan's way is terminated by death, and there is nothing more that he can do.

C. Believing That the Lord's Resurrection Has Put Satan to Shame

Third, we must believe that the Lord's resurrection has put Satan to shame. Satan no longer has any way to attack us.

Colossians 2:12 says, "Buried together with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised together with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who raised Him from the dead." This verse speaks of death as well as resurrection. Verse 13 tells us how we died and resurrected; verse 14 tells us what the Lord did at the time of His death; and verse 15 says that the Lord Jesus stripped off the rulers and the authorities and "made a display of them openly, triumphing over them in it." Verse 20 says, "If you died with Christ," and 3:1 says, "If therefore you were raised together with Christ." These verses begin with resurrection and end with resurrection, and the verses in between speak of triumphing in the cross. We stand in the position of resurrection, and we triumph in the cross.

Why can we do this? The statement we made earlier explains this: The Lord has died, and we also are dead in Him. Satan, who has dominion over the old man, can follow us only as far as the cross. Resurrection is beyond him. Just as Satan had nothing in the Lord Jesus while He was on earth (John 14:30), so also he has nothing in Him in resurrection. Satan has no place at all in the new life. He has no authority at all in the new life and cannot touch our new life!...

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