“In practical terms . . . Christians are not laboring to achieve a life that they do not yet have or to obtain a victory that has not yet been won. They are participants in the very life of Christ and in the victory He has already won. Christian, you are a partaker of the resurrection life of Christ, and He has already defeated and broken the power of the sin that you are facing right now – by His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension! As a participant in His life, your calling is not to try to achieve something for yourself that He has not achieved, but to believe what He has already done for you and to walk in it. In this way you will be enabled to fight “the good fight of faith” instead of the miserable struggle of unbelief!
The same is true of our battle against the powers of darkness. We constantly need to be reminded of the fact that Satan has already been defeated by Christ on the cross and that “in Christ” we are seated “far above” all the hosts of evil.” We should read Ephesians 6:12 in light of this present reality: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the [defeated] rulers, against the [dethroned] powers, against the [subjugated] world forces of this darkness, against the [vanquished] spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" As we humbly "submit ourselves to God and resist the devil," we have the promise that even this roaring lion will "flee" before God's otherwise defenseless sheep! Glory to God!"
Charles Leiter