Through the cross, Jesus administered to Satan and his kingdom a total, permanent, irreversible defeat. Satan has already been defeated but you and I must apply the victory that Jesus has already won and walk in that victory. In this Bible teaching article, Derek Prince reveals the most powerful secret to defeat the Devil.
Colossians 1:13–14 says:
“He [Jesus] has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed [translated] us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
By redemption through the blood of Jesus, we have been delivered from the domain of darkness and carried over into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. The word that is translated as domain or power is actually the normal Greek word for ‘authority.’ In speaking of domain or power, it is very important to understand that Satan has authority. Why does he have authority? Because he is the ruler of all those who are in rebellion against God. We have only two options: we can be either in Satan’s territory or in God’s territory. There is no third option.
In Ephesians 2:2, the apostle Paul states:
“…in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience….”
Why does the Devil have the power to work in those people? Because they are disobedient to God.
The way out of Satan’s domain
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)
God offers a way out of Satan’s kingdom and into God’s kingdom. I have a vivid picture in my mind of what this way is like. Some years ago, I was preaching in a remote area in Zambia, right by the Zambezi River. I had a congregation of about five hundred Africans, and I was trying to communicate to them this wonderful fact that God has made it possible for us to escape from the kingdom of Satan and enter the kingdom of God. I said to them, “Suppose, here on the east side of the Zambezi River, we are in the kingdom of darkness. But on the other side of the river is the kingdom of light. In order to get from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, we need to have a bridge across the river.” Then I added, “God has provided a bridge. There is only one bridge—the cross of Jesus Christ. By taking that bridge, you can cross over from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.”
God doesn’t simply want us to stay on the bridge. He wants us to move into His kingdom and rule with Jesus as kings and priests. (See, for example, Revelation 1:6.) That is our destination. Many Christians believe they will reign in the next life. That is wonderful, but it is not what God is concerned about right now. He is concerned about where we are in this life.
In Matthew 28:18–19, the Lord Jesus says:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.”
It is clear that Jesus has obtained the authority. We have to exercise the authority. In a sense, His authority is inoperative until we exercise it. There are two mistakes we must be careful not to make. The first is thinking that we have to win the victory. We don’t have to because Jesus has won the victory. The second mistake is thinking there is nothing left for us to do. That is not true either. We have to take steps to apply the victory that Jesus has won.
Our battle with the Devil
In Ephesians 6, Paul says:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
We are not fighting persons with bodies. We are in a wrestling match with a very powerful and highly organized kingdom that has rulers, sub-rulers, and sub-sub-rulers. Satan’s aim, which he is steadily and consistently pursuing, is to become the ruler of this world.
Paul states that while we live in physical bodies, we are involved in a war. But the war is not in the physical realm. If, then, the war is not in the physical realm, it must be in the spiritual realm. He says, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. (2 Corinthians 10:3)
So how do we fight this war? Paul urges us:
“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13)
Notice, we must “take it up.” The armor does not grow on us. Neither does God place it on us. We have to put it on ourselves. Paul was writing to people who were Christians—much like you and me—and he assigned them the responsibility of taking up the armor.
Your mind is the battlefield
Paul also states:
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds [or fortresses], casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4–5)
Where the New King James Version says ‘arguments,’ other versions say ‘reasonings’ (YLT) or ‘speculations’ (NASB95). We also find the words ‘knowledge‘ and ‘thought’ used in this verse. If we examine those five words—arguments, reasonings, speculations, knowledge, and thought—we recognize they all belong to the same realm: the mind. This is a vital fact. The battlefield is the mind. That is where the battle is fought. We may not always recognize it as a theological fact, but the truth of the matter is clear: most of our battles are in our minds.
The weapons God has given us are mighty for pulling down strongholds or fortresses. (See 2 Corinthians 10:4.) Whose fortresses are we pulling down? Satan’s. And in what realm? The realm of the mind. We must have the supernatural enabling of the Holy Spirit to pull them down.
The most powerful secret to defeat the Devil
As we conclude our observations about our role in the war between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, let us look at the prophetic climax of this war from the book of Revelation:
“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.” (Revelation 12:7–9)
This passage gives us the most complete description of Satan in one verse. The word ‘Devil’ (diabolos in Greek) means ‘a slanderer’ or ‘a false accuser.’ ‘Satan’ means ‘an enemy’ or ‘an opposer.’ He is the slanderer who opposes God, the people of God, and the purposes of God while deceiving the whole world.
The following verse is not only the climax of the war but also the description of us winning. That is why it is so important.
“Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power [or authority] of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.’” (Revelation 12:10)
What is Satan doing right now? Accusing us before the throne of God. That is a shocking fact, isn’t it? And he is doing this accusing day and night. His sole purpose is to prove us guilty. We cannot truly defeat him until we know how to deal with his weapon of guilt.
Therefore, I will now share what I consider to be the most powerful secret of Scripture that God has ever revealed to me.
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” (Revelation 12:11)
Notice that this verse says, “They overcame him.” The word ‘they’ refers to believers, to us. Who is ‘him’? Satan. How do we defeat him? By our testimony. We overcome Satan when we testify personally to what the Word of God says the blood of Jesus does for us. Our testimony takes the general truth of the Scripture and applies it personally to our lives.
How to overcome Satan
In order to apply this weapon of our testimony effectively, we have to know what the Word of God says about the blood of Jesus. So let us examine some of the statements of Scripture about the blood of Jesus.
- By the blood of Jesus, we are redeemed. In Him [Jesus] we have redemption through His blood. (Ephesians 1:7) Redemption means we have been bought back. We were in the kingdom of Satan; we have been bought back out of the kingdom of Satan. (1 Peter 1:19).
- By the blood of Jesus, we are cleansed from all sin. (1 John 1:7)
- By the blood of Jesus, we are justified. (Romans 5:9) Justified means “acquitted, not guilty, made righteous, just-as-if-I’d never sinned.”
- By the blood of Jesus, we are sanctified. (Hebrews 13:12) Sanctified has both a negative and a positive meaning. Negatively, it means “to be separated and set apart from sin.” Positively, it means “to be made a partaker of God’s holiness.”
Let us put these powerful testimonies all together and say them as a personal declaration:
Through the blood of Jesus, I am redeemed out of the hand of the devil. While I’m walking in the light, the blood of Jesus is cleansing me, now and continually, from all sin. Through the blood of Jesus, I am justified, acquitted, not guilty, made righteous, just-as-if-I’d never sinned. Through the blood of Jesus, I am sanctified, set apart from sin and Satan’s kingdom, and made a partaker of God’s holiness.
Once you have made this declaration, there is only one reasonable additional response to make: thank God. Praise Him right now—for His redemption, cleansing, justification, and sanctification. He alone is worthy!
This article is taken from the book Defeat the Devil, by Derek Prince. Did you enjoy it? Share it with your friends or on social media! Get your copy today.
