This article is a summary from the following sermon: Christ’s Victory Over the Principalities and Powers Part 3 by Jon Moffitt
We’ve been spending these weeks together peeling back the layers of the gospel story—looking deeper than we often do at the cross and resurrection of Jesus. And the more we peel back, the better the news gets.
Christ didn't just die to forgive you. He died to break the power of evil that had enslaved you.
He died to crush Satan and the kingdom of darkness that holds so much of this world captive.
The Apostle Paul gives us our anchor point 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)
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the resurrection of Jesus Christ changes everything—not just for us individually, but for the entire cosmos.
The Lie That Won't Die
From the beginning, Satan’s primary weapon against humanity hasn’t been brute force. It’s been lies.
Jesus said he was a liar from the beginning. In Genesis 3, Satan doesn't overpower Eve; he deceives her. He gets her to doubt God's word, doubt God’s heart, and believe that there’s a better way than trusting her Creator.
Satan’s tactics haven’t changed. He just got better at disguising them.
Paul warns us that Satan can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). That means the evil one doesn’t always come dressed in red with a pitchfork. Sometimes he comes through people who sound good, smell good, and smile a lot—but their words subtly turn us away from Jesus.
That's why the apostles and prophets—again and again—command us: Test the spirits. Test the messengers. Not everything that glitters is gold.
And the only way to know the difference is by knowing the truth.
Job, David, and Israel: Targeted by the Enemy
The Bible shows us repeatedly that Satan and the powers of darkness are active in human history—not just tempting individuals, but moving through cultures, nations, and empires.
In Job, we see Satan using both human attackers and natural disasters to try and destroy Job’s faith (Job 1).
In David’s life, we see Satan tempting David with pride and self-reliance, leading him to sin against God by numbering the people (1 Chronicles 21:1).
In Israel’s history, we see the gods of the nations luring God's people into idolatry—offering them promises of power, prosperity, pleasure, and safety in exchange for their worship.
And the tactics haven’t changed.
Today, we are still being tempted with the same old lies:
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Trust in power instead of God.
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Find your satisfaction in sexuality and sensuality.
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Sacrifice whatever you have to for your own success and happiness.
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Redefine good and evil based on what feels right.
Cultural Pressure and the Deception of the Flesh
One of Satan’s greatest tools is cultural pressure.
Israel looked around at the nations and said, “We want a king like them” (1 Samuel 8). They wanted to be normal. They didn’t want to be weird or different. They wanted to fit in.
We feel the same pull today.
We are being discipled by our culture—whether we realize it or not—through media, music, education, entertainment. And the pressure is subtle: Don’t be different. Don’t make people uncomfortable. Go along with the flow. Embrace the values of the world around you.
But the values of the world are being shaped by the powers of darkness. And the flow of the world is always away from God, not toward Him.
As Paul says in Ephesians 2, before we were saved, we were “following the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). We were dead and enslaved without even knowing it.
The world is still enslaved. The culture around us isn’t just "neutral"—it’s being influenced by real spiritual forces.
And if we’re not anchored to Christ, we will drift.
False Teachers: Twisting the Gospel
Another tactic Satan uses is false teachers.
Not all false teachers are obvious. They often sound really good. They quote Bible verses. They talk about love and hope. But they twist the message—subtly, cleverly.
Deuteronomy 13 warned Israel: even if someone performs signs and wonders, if their message leads you away from the true God, don’t listen to them.
The New Testament repeats this warning over and over. Paul says even if an angel from heaven preaches a different gospel, “let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).
John says to test every spirit, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).
False teachers will always downplay the sufficiency of Christ. They’ll always downplay the seriousness of sin. They’ll always twist the gospel into something it’s not—either into legalism ("do more, try harder") or into license ("do whatever you want, God doesn't care").
And behind them—whether they know it or not—stands the kingdom of darkness, working to keep people enslaved.
Satan’s Goal: Silence the Church or Change the Message
Satan knows his time is short. Revelation 12 tells us he’s full of wrath because he knows his end is coming.
So what does he do?
If he can't destroy the church, he'll distract it. If he can't stop the messengers, he'll change the message.
He wants churches full of people who show up, sing songs, hear TED Talks with Bible verses sprinkled in, and never once hear the actual gospel.
He wants the message watered down, confused, or corrupted.
Because as long as the gospel is hidden, the captives stay captive.
Christ Has Already Won
But here’s the good news: Jesus has already disarmed the rulers and authorities.
The power they had—the record of debt against us—has been nailed to the cross. The blood of Christ covers it all. It’s no longer a weapon in their hands.
When Satan accuses us, we can point to the cross.
When shame overwhelms us, we can point to the cross.
When fear rises up, we can point to the cross.
Christ has put the powers of darkness to open shame. He has triumphed over them. He has secured our freedom.
And now, we walk by faith, not by fear. We walk in His victory, not ours.
We proclaim His gospel, knowing that every time a sinner is saved, another soul is pulled from the grip of darkness into the glorious kingdom of the Son.
Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
Brothers and sisters, the world is dark. The lies are thick. The temptations are real. But our hope isn’t in our ability to stay strong. It’s not in our ability to sniff out every false teacher or resist every temptation.
Our hope is in Christ.
We cling to Him. We rest in Him. We preach Him.
Because He is alive. He has conquered. He will come again.
And when He does, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess, and every ruler, every power, every principality will be thrown down once and for all.
Until then, we walk by faith. We love one another. We hold fast to the gospel.
And we remember: The victory is already won.
