So if Jesus won the victory over God’s Enemy, why do we see Satan operating in the world today two millennia later? Why do we see the effects of sin, death, and the curse all around us … still?
The answer: Jesus stripped God’s Enemy of his power and authority that he gained through humanity’s fall. But God is now waiting for His people to work with Him and put into effect the finished, victorious, and triumphant work of Christ.
God has finished His work. But He has called His people to complete what Jesus began and to bring Jesus into what is rightfully His—to restore the earth to God’s complete and perfect rule by the power of the Holy Spirit until the Lord returns to finish the job.
Spiritual V-Day
Again, the right hand is the place of honor, dominion, power, and glory. In the Bible, sitting on the right hand denotes supremacy – whether at a table of patriarchs or over the universe.
So Jesus is now the Lord of heaven and earth. He’s in charge. He calls the shots.
But turn on the news and ask yourself … does it appear that Jesus is ruling the world?
Oscar Cullmann gave the superb illustration of a great war. In a great war, there’s often one battle that decides the war’s outcome.[1] After this one battle is won, it’s clear to all who the victor is. However, it’s impossible to tell how long the war will keep going on after this victory is secured.
D-Day is the day the battle was won and victory declared. V-Day is the victory celebration that lies in the future.
The battle between good and evil was won by Jesus at Calvary. When Christ died and rose again, He declared victory over the hostile forces of the demonic world.
The most powerful of these forces is death itself.
However, even though Jesus conquered death in His resurrection, death is still active. But for those who are in Christ, death has lost its sting. Believers don’t need to fear death. In fact, believers don’t “die”; they “sleep,” according to the New Testament. They don’t taste true death.
In the future, however, Jesus will return again and deal death its final blow. V-Day will be here.
For this reason, 2 Timothy 1:10 says that death has already been abolished, while 1 Corinthians 15:26 says death will be finally abolished when Christ returns.
The hostile forces that Jesus conquered at the cross are now “weak and beggarly elements” (Gal. 4:9 KJV) that do not have dominion over God’s people.
Jesus has conquered Satan and vanquished death, but these defeated foes aren’t yet silenced. The Son is at the Father’s right hand, but He’s not sedentary. He hasn’t gone on vacation. He’s busily engaged in working through His body and overcoming His Enemy. The King and His subjects are united in victory and authority.
Consequently, Jesus still poses a threat to this world’s rulers. He’s not dissolved into heavenly realms. He’s alive and active, working through our hands and feet.
The Man who once walked among us sits on God’s throne. And He’s not detached from the affairs of His creation below.
[1] Oscar Cullman, Christ and Time (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1964).
To see why the church is so important to God’s ultimate purpose, see Reimagining Church by Frank Viola Author.