Jesus went into hell to free mankind from the penalty of Adam’s
high treason. Isaiah 53:9 says, “And he made his grave with the
wicked, and with the rich in his death….” The Hebrew word for
“death” here is plural. Jesus died two deaths—physical and spiritual.
When He was made to be sin, He was separated from God,
thus crying with a loud voice while hanging on the Cross, “My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

Jesus fulfilled the Abrahamic covenant. He bore our disobedience
and became its final sacrifice. His blood did not
merely cover sin, it did away with the very handwriting of the
ordinances that were against us (Colossians 2:14)! Jesus took
our place, spending three horrible days and nights in the
bowels of this earth, buying back our rights and authority,
paying the price for our sin:

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the
whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40).
Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also
descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
(Ephesians 4:9).

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made
a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it
(Colossians 2:15).

Jesus defeated Satan and his cohorts in their own domain!
God quickened Him (made Him alive) with eternal life.
Romans 6:4 says, “…Christ was raised up from the dead by
the glory of the Father.” The power in that life catapulted Him
through three realms. Philippians 2:9-10 says, “Wherefore God
also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is
above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under
the earth.” Nothing could stop the plan of redemption.

In Acts 2, Peter preached how Jesus’ soul was not left in hell
and that David had seen the plan of redemption beforehand
and spoken of His resurrection (verse 31). The pains of death
could not hold Jesus! The price for sin had been paid.

Hebrews 1:6, 8 says, “And again, when he bringeth in the
firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of
God worship him…. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a
scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.” Jesus
was the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18). He took on
Himself the nature of sin, paid the price and was reborn into
sonship!

Jesus identified with the human race and became our total
substitute, paying an awesome price for our redemption.
When we identify with His death, burial and resurrection, we
too become reborn into sonship.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10).
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith
he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are
saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the
ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his
grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus
(Ephesians 2:4-7).

Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father expecting
His enemies to be made His footstool. Jesus is the Head
and we are His Body. The feet are in the Body. He is expecting
His enemies to be put under our feet.

Authority over the devil has been given into the hands of
the Body of Christ. That authority in the world of the spirit is
backed by the whole plan of redemption!
Though the things we have studied cannot be seen with the
natural eye, nevertheless, they are realities in the spirit and
must be accepted by faith in God’s Word.

Put yourself in Satan’s position and see these things from
his viewpoint. If you were Satan, what would you think?
Standing before you is a soldier, clad in a complete set of
God’s armor—the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of
salvation, the girdle of truth, the shoes of the gospel of peace,
the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit. This soldier
is speaking God’s Word with authority. With the face mask
pulled down, you could not tell the difference between him
and Jesus. If you were Satan, wouldn’t you give careful consideration
before you jumped into combat with him? This same
image already eternally wounded him in defeat. Satan says,
“Once is enough. I’ll flee!”

The only way a believer reveals himself to Satan is by lifting
his faceplate through unbelief. As long as he acts and lives by
faith, Satan will be unable to defeat him. In Wuest’s Expanded
Translation of the New Testament James 4:7-8 says, “Be subject
with implicit obedience to God at once and once for all. Stand
immovable against the onset of the devil and he will flee from
you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

You have been given the whole armor of God. Your responsibility
is to pick it up, put it on, and wear it in faith. You
have the Holy Spirit, the Word of God and the authority in
the realm of the spirit. You have been fully equipped with
weapons that guarantee results in prayer. Expect those results
every time you pray!

Kenneth and Gloria Copeland