The Defeated Foe

There’s a powerful quote that encourages us to persevere: “The difference between a winner and a loser is that a winner plays until he wins.” In the ultimate battle between life and death, however, victory over death—earned as the wages of sin—is not something we achieve through our own efforts. Instead, it has already been won for us by Jesus. Paul beautifully expresses this truth:

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Elsewhere, Paul declares:

“We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

There is no doubt that we are conquerors. But the real question is: Are we holding onto the victory Christ has secured for us, or are we still fighting to obtain what has already been won?

Do Not Fight in Vain

If Jesus has already won the battle, then there is no need for us to fight again. Our role is to stand confidently in His victory and live as those who have already overcome. Unfortunately, many believers acknowledge that Jesus has conquered the enemy, yet they still attempt to fight him as if the outcome were uncertain. The Bible warns us:

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

Despite Christ’s triumph, if we continue engaging in battle against the devil, we expose ourselves to his deceptions and become vulnerable to his attacks. Why? Because we fail to fully grasp and declare the truth: that we are already more than conquerors through Jesus.

If we persist in fighting, we are fighting in vain—struggling to defeat an enemy who has already been defeated. Though victory is ours, we risk losing it by falling for the devil’s tricks. His greatest deception is to make us dissatisfied with the finished work of Christ, luring us instead into relying on our own religious efforts—attending church, reading the Bible, and praying without true faith.

Scripture does not instruct us to fight the devil but to resist him. If we engage in battle, we undermine the victory Jesus has already secured, allowing the enemy to gain influence over us. This is why Paul urges us:

“Take the helmet of salvation—the result of Christ’s victory—and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17)

Without these, any fight we engage in will be in vain.

The Purpose Of The Victory

To fully claim victory, we must first understand the significance of the battle fought on the cross. The book of Colossians provides a detailed explanation of this triumph.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. – Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV)

The devil tempts everyone to sin, and once they fall, he holds them accountable, demanding the penalty of death according to the law: “The wages of sin is death.” But in His abundant love, God sent His Son as an atonement for our sins, revoking the death sentence through His sacrifice.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23 (NIV)

Through the blood of Jesus, God redeemed us, making us His own. As a result, we no longer possess anything of our own—just like the Levites in the Old Testament, whose only inheritance was God Himself. Our only true possession is God and His grace. Through this incredible act of mercy, God not only forgave our sins but also set us free. We are no longer condemned sinners but forgiven ones.

There is a vast difference between a cancer patient and a cancer survivor. Likewise, in Christ, we are not victims —we are conquerors through the love of God.

Despite the widespread knowledge of redemption, only a few truly embrace it and experience God’s saving power. Many merely observe this story from a distance, re-enacting nativity plays or staging crucifixion scenes, thinking they have reflected on God’s love and sacrifice. However, true understanding of Christ’s crucifixion means more than reflection—it requires participation. If we truly grasp His sacrifice, we will die to sin with Him and rise with Him, just as He rose from the dead.

Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. – Colossians 2:12 (NIV)

But this transformation is only possible through the indwelling of His Spirit. Without the Spirit of God within us, rising from death—both spiritually and eternally—is impossible.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. – Romans 8:11 (NIV)

Who Crushed The Head Of The Serpent?

Many assume that our Sovereign God, in His mighty power, personally crushed Satan’s head, fulfilling the prophecy in Genesis. However, the truth is that it was not God the Father, but the Son of God, who took on human flesh and triumphed over Satan on the cross. When all of humanity fell prey to the devil’s deception, God sent His Son as a man like us to accomplish this mission.

Though Jesus was God’s Son, He was not supernaturally empowered to defeat the enemy. Instead, God allowed Him to become fully human, equal to us in every way, even to the point of being forsaken until He completed His Father’s redemptive plan.

Many believe that Jesus had to engage in an intense struggle against Satan to resist temptation and overcome the world. However, God sent His Son in human form to show us that victory over temptation is not meant to be a constant struggle. In reality, Jesus did not battle with difficulty but transformed His trials into a joyful experience by focusing on the ultimate victory ahead (Hebrews 12:1-2). This is why the author of Hebrews encourages us:

“Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:3 (NIV)

If we keep our eyes on Jesus, embracing the victory He has already won will become much easier. Rather than exhausting ourselves in a fight against the devil, we can walk confidently in the triumph Christ has secured for us.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. – James 4:7 (NIV)

The Devil Is Not an Equal Opponent to God

When the serpent deceived Eve into disobeying God’s command, God pronounced a curse upon it, saying:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.” – Genesis 3:15 (NIV)

For generations, humanity failed to grasp the fulfillment of this prophecy. But God, in His unique plan, caused Jesus to be born of the Virgin Mary, and through His complete surrender to the Father’s will, He fulfilled this prophecy. However, the serpent was also foretold to strike Jesus’ heel. This signifies that Jesus did not destroy the serpent entirely, but crushed it, leaving it with only a remnant of life. Scripture confirms that the serpent bruised Jesus’ heel, but it was ultimately defeated.

If the devil has been crushed, how does he still manage to lure believers away from the path of Christ? Does he possess any real power? The truth is, the devil has no power of his own to even sustain his existence—he survives by deceiving humanity and feeding off the life we surrender to him. Just as Adam and Eve gave up everything through their disobedience, today, many believers give back their redeemed lives to the devil when they turn away from God’s commands. We should not underestimate the defeated enemy, because though powerless and defeated, he will play tricks to bruise the feet of mankind as he did to the Son of Man. When we know that God has redeemed us, this thought will easily keep us safe from the deceptions of the devil.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

We do face struggles against evil forces; with this, some mistakenly believe there is an ongoing battle between God and the devil—one in which the devil occasionally gains the upper hand and uses those moments to torment us. This idea is entirely false—the devil can never overpower God because he is not His equal.

In a wrestling competition, opponents are matched according to their weight class; a lightweight wrestler would never be allowed to face a heavyweight. Likewise, we must remove from our minds the idea that the devil is equal to God in power. If you are a child of God, do not fear that the devil is tormenting you. Do not believe in black magic (Numbers 23:23), for it holds no power over God’s people. When Scripture says,

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world – 1 John 4:4 (NIV)

God does not need to engage in battle with the devil—He already won through His Son. Jesus’ victory was not achieved through brute strength but through simple obedience to God. When we submit to God, we experience His joy, and as Scripture says, “the joy of the Lord is our strength.”

Jesus obeyed the Father’s will, even to the point of death on the cross, to give us confidence (Hebrews 4:16)—not just to seek God in times of need, but to walk with the unequal God all the time of our lives. Our everlasting Father God says;

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. – Revelation 22:13 (NIV)