This article is a summary from the following sermon: Christ’s Victory Over the Principalities and Powers Part 1 by Jon Moffitt
When we think about why Jesus came, most of us immediately go to forgiveness. “He came to die for my sins.” And that’s gloriously true. But if we stop there, we are missing a massive part of the good news.
The cross and resurrection didn’t just deal with your personal guilt. They crushed the powers that had enslaved you. Jesus didn’t just punch your ticket to heaven; He disarmed your enemies and publicly shamed them.
The Apostle Paul pulls the veil back for us in Colossians 2:
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 2:13–15)
If we don’t understand the battle Jesus entered into, we’re not going to grasp the fullness of what He accomplished. There’s more happening here than a private, internal experience with God. We are part of a cosmic drama, a war that rages in the heavens and spills into the earth.
And Christ has already won.
A Real Enemy, A Real War
One of the more sobering realities is this: 26 out of the 27 books of the New Testament mention the presence and activity of Satan, demons, and the spiritual realm. That’s not just a little warning—that’s a floodlight on a real threat.
The Bible speaks about these rulers and authorities, often called “watchers” or “principalities and powers.” These beings were created good. They were tasked with governing and protecting the earth. But like humanity, they rebelled. They didn’t want to serve under God; they wanted to be God. They lusted for power and praise.
And when they fell, they turned from guardians into tyrants.
Rather than pointing humanity to our Creator, they turned our worship inward—or toward themselves. Their goal has always been the same: enslave the hearts and minds of people, keep them away from the living God, and drag them into destruction.
And they are still at it.
Their Weapon of Choice: The Law
What’s shocking—and honestly brilliant in a horrifying way—is the primary weapon they use against us.
It’s not violence. It’s not even gross immorality.
It’s the law.
The very good, holy, righteous law of God is twisted into a weapon to accuse, manipulate, and subvert.
They hold up the record of debt against us—all the ways we have broken God’s commands—and they scream into our hearts, “Look at you. Look how filthy you are. How could God ever love you?”
And here’s the worst part: if left to ourselves, they’re right.
We are guilty. We have a real debt.
But the gospel explodes into that dark courtroom and declares that Jesus has taken our entire record—every failure, every sin, every unclean thought, every wrong word—and nailed it to the cross. Our debt has been cancelled. It’s not hanging over us anymore.
The accuser holds up an empty file.
Jesus disarmed them. He stripped them of their greatest weapon.
The Church Under Attack
We don’t often feel this in the West because things seem relatively peaceful. We aren’t waking up to literal demonic manifestations. We’re distracted by grocery prices and gas prices and career stress. It’s easy to forget that there’s an unseen war raging around us.
But when you read the New Testament closely, you see it everywhere. Paul, Peter, John—they all warn the church repeatedly: the enemy is real, and the church is his target.
And the way he attacks us is subtle. It's slow. It's systemic.
It's through guilt, shame, fear, distraction, and false teaching.
It’s through the misuse of God’s law.
Accusation: Crushing the Conscience
The first tactic the enemy uses is accusation.
He takes God's good law and uses it to beat you down. He whispers: “Look at your life. Look at your sin. There's no way God could love you.”
And the tragedy is that many Christians stay trapped there. Every Sunday feels like a funeral. Every prayer feels like a burden. They know they’re sinners, but they never feel free.
But here’s the good news: Jesus didn’t just forgive your sins; He silenced your accuser. He didn’t just sweep your guilt under the rug. He took the full wrath of God against your sin and satisfied it forever.
You don't need to defend yourself anymore. Christ is your defense. The blood of the Lamb answers every accusation.
When Satan stands before the throne and says, “That one right there deserves death,” the Father looks at the Son and says, “Paid in full.”
Manipulation: Twisting the Gospel
The second tactic is manipulation.
The enemy doesn’t always come at you directly. Sometimes he just shifts the gospel a few degrees.
He says, "Yeah, you're saved by faith... but if you really want to stay saved, or if you really want God’s blessing, you better get serious about obedience."
So many churches—often unintentionally—start preaching this. They trade the finished work of Christ for a to-do list. They start measuring maturity by how disciplined you are, how radical you are, how sacrificial you are.
And it sounds so right. It sounds so good. Because we do want to grow. We do want to obey.
But when the fuel for Christian living becomes law instead of grace, the engine always burns out.
Paul rebukes this kind of thinking hard in Galatians 3:
“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1, 3)
When we fall into this trap, we’re doing the enemy’s work for him. We are living like slaves, not sons.
Jesus didn’t just rescue you from your guilt. He rescued you from a life of trying to earn your place at the table. You’re already seated with Him in the heavenly places.
Subversion: Redefining Freedom
The third tactic is subversion.
The enemy wants to redefine freedom. He wants to convince us that true freedom means throwing off God’s law altogether.
“Follow your heart,” he says. “Love is love. Your truth is what matters.”
He twists the idea of grace into lawlessness.
Peter and Paul warned about this constantly. There were false teachers in the early church saying, "Since we’re forgiven, we can live however we want!" They encouraged sensuality, selfishness, and rebellion—and called it freedom.
But it’s not freedom. It's just a different kind of slavery.
Real freedom isn’t the absence of restraint. Real freedom is belonging to Christ, being ruled by His good and gracious Word, and walking in the light.
Subversion looks attractive because it promises immediate pleasure and acceptance. But it leads to ruin every time.
The loving thing to do is not to affirm people in their chains. The loving thing is to tell them that Christ can set them free.
The Hope of the Resurrection
This is why the resurrection of Jesus is such a big deal.
If all Christ did was die, we might still wonder if the powers had won. But when He rose, He declared victory.
He is alive. He reigns now. And one day, He will come back to finish what He started.
Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15:22–24)
One day, every corrupt power will fall. Every lying spirit will be silenced. Every enemy of your soul will be crushed under the feet of King Jesus.
Until then, we live by faith, not by sight.
We trust that the battle has been won, even while the war rages around us.
We hold fast to Christ, knowing that He holds fast to us.
And when the accusations come, when the lies creep in, when the world tells you to find freedom in your own way—remember:
Christ has already triumphed. You are already free.
