Matthew 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 "And ... upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
This passage of scripture teaches us the sacred truth that Jesus Christ will prevail in the age long battle between good and evil. Indeed He has already conquered by His death on the cross, by which the forces of evil were permanently routed, only to await their final doom in the fires of hell. And so there must be something about Jesus that causes the devils to tremble, for in every instance when He approached those who were tormented by demons, the evil spirits went into panic gear, with an obvious apprehension of defeat in the battle for the souls of men. Hence the reason why on one occasion they literally begged Christ not to cast them out of the country of the Gadarenes.
Mark 5:2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
The mere fact that the devils had to ask Jesus' permission is of great solace to Christians living in the 21st century, for it teaches us that everything that takes place upon the earth must first be permitted by God, and therefore the things that we now see transpiring before our faces are not an after thought, but are rather pieces of a bigger jig-saw puzzle, being orchestrated and coordinated by the King of kings. This is the reason why Christ said to His disciples that the gates of hell will not prevail against His kingdom, for the victory was already won, even before Christ laid down His life on the cross.
When satan tempted Moses to sin, he was thereby enabled to legally bring God's servant under the domain of death which is his territory, but not long after Moses' demise, the Son of God came down to invade satan's kingdom, and deprived the grave of its victim. This action by Christ, long before Calvary, so angered our adversary to the point that he vehemently disputed Christ's actions on the grounds that the cross was still before Him, and that He had not lived and died as yet, thus consummating His predicted victory.
But Christ showed by His actions that it was not necessary to die first before such a raid on the grave could be carried out because He is King of kings and Lord of lords, both before and after His incarnation. In addition to this sacred and indisputable truth, Christ is not subject to any law as created beings are, for he is the Great Law giver, and thus He can make a brand new law on the spur of the moment if that will suit His purposes. This sacred truth many Christians are not aware of, and because of this we often limit the power of God to save to the uttermost. Let's read:
1st Timothy 6:13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things"... 14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
The Son of God came voluntarily to accomplish the work of atonement. There was no obligatory yoke upon Him, for He was independent and above all law. The angels, as God’s intelligent messengers, were under the yoke of obligation; no personal sacrifice of theirs could atone for the guilt of fallen man. Christ alone was free from the claims of the law to undertake the redemption of the sinful race. He had power to lay down His life and to take it up again. Testimonies vol. 4 pp 121.
It is therefore necessary that in the fight against principalities and powers, and against spiritual wickedness in high places, that as Christians, we fight the good fight of faith from the correct perspective of conquerors, not merely as soldiers, for the battle and the victory are the Lord's. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which reiterates this sacred truth, and it is the will of God that all true Christians now rise up and take their stand resolutely for Christ, for the number of the subjects of His kingdom is nearly made up. Let's read:
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!