On the cross, it looked like to the world that Jesus, the Messiah, was defeated. Jesus however, did not die by human hands, but He laid down His life in accordance with the Scriptures which said that He would die and suffer and after three days, rise from the dead. "None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Corinthians 2) However, what happened in the Spirit, as the Scriptures say, "He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Colossians 2) They made a public spectacle of Him as they mocked Him and hung Him on a cross, but He made a public spectacle of them, stripping them of their power which is in the Law.
The serpent is the shrewdest of all wild animals God had created; he uses our own sinful desires to kill us; these are his wiles. The power he had over us is in punishment, fear and death. But that power was stripped from him by the Cross: Jesus Christ took our punishment; fear is resolved because love has been shown to us; and perfect love casts out all fear; also the fear of death is erased because of the promise God has given to us: the promise of eternal life through Jesus. "How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house." (Matthew 12) On the cross was the stripping of the devil’s power. In order to bind, you must take away their strength then you can bind; Scripture foretells satan will be bound in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years (Revelation 20), later he will be released for a little while, then destroyed after deceiving the nations. Therefore, by the judgement on the Cross, satan’s power has been stripped from him. His power is in his lies, if we believe them.
To reaffirm my point using the book of Ester: there were two who were impaled on a pole. These were the ones who sought to kill the King. They were the ones who deserved their punishment which was inflicted upon them. Then an innocent one Mordecai, was set to be impaled on a pole by an evil one, Haman, the enemy of the Jews; Haman wanted to kill Mordecai because he held on to the commands of the Lord and feared God and did not stand in ovation to Haman as he came by. Haman spoke with the King one night and the King agreed to a date in which the people would kill all the Jews. Later the King asked Haman, "What should i do for the one who pleases the King?" Haman thinking the king was speaking about himself, spoke favorably saying, "He should be put on the King's horse and put in the royal robes and one whom is highest in the kingdom to announce, 'This is one whom the King is pleased'. So the King said, 'Let this all be done for Mordecai the Jew!' So Haman was set in charge of announcing ‘This is one whom the King is pleased’ as Mordecai rode on a horse. Embittered Haman then had a pole set up for Mordecai to be impaled on, but later at the banquet, Queen Ester said to the King, "Wicked Haman has desired to kill me (a Jew) and all my people of the land." So instead, the King, being furious, had Haman impaled on the pole that he had set up for Mordecai. Haman wished for himself good, but his enemy got it instead; the evil he wished upon his enemy’s head, he got instead on his own head.
Here's the point: Jesus was crucified on the cross. The enemy planned for the Son of God to be killed and for himself to keep rule and power and dominion. However, the good the enemy planned for himself, Jesus received; the evil the enemy planned for Jesus, he received upon himself. Jesus died and rose from the dead and was exalted to the right hand of God and received a royal robe and a crown on His head as Second in command of everything with God the Father as His head. All the evil the enemy planned for Jesus fell upon his own head for he was the one who was stripped of his power by the cross, crushed on his head. Jesus' wound was temporary, but the enemies wound is permanent and the ruler of this age now stands judged. As the Scripture says, "The prince of this world hath been and remaineth judged." (John 16) Also elsewhere, it states: "Her Seed will crush your head, and you will bite her Seed’s heel." (Genesis 3) One an unrecoverable wound and the other a wound that has been healed. To those that Jesus appeared to after He rose from the dead who later became the apostles, He showed them His wounds, which had been healed and He spoke freely about them saying, “Put your finger here and your hand in My side”. The war was fought and won and victory has been given to us in Christ.
Stand firm against the enemy brothers. The only power the devil currently has is in lies specifically if we believe in those lies. The enemy is stripped of his power and is powerless. Can we war against a powerless foe? We stand FIRM against the enemy and understand the wiles of the devil in order to protect ourselves from his attacks. We are justified by faith in the Truth, by His Blood and His Sacrifice we have been set free, “Those who the Son sets free is free indeed,” and “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The enemy's power is in doubt and lies; he wants us to believe he has power; but he is powerless before us who believe; as the Scripture says, “You will tread on the lion and cobra; you will trample the young lion and serpent.“ (Mark 16) Our foe was judged in the beginning, destined to grovel in the dust on his belly. How much more powerless is he now after being judged on the Cross?
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12 )
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Ephesians 6)
Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
The war is to protect what we already have and if we do not have, our battle is to believe in Him with the conviction of things not seen. Our Sword is the Word of God, standing on what is written, doing good, winning over the doubters.
“In truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;” (2 Cor 6:7)
“And they have conquered him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Revelation 12:11)
“For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
We sit with Christ in heavenly places, resting with Him from our work as He rested from His work on the Seventh day; we also walk in the Light as children of the light as He is in the light; and stand against the wiles of the devil. We run the race of faith with endurance, removing every hindrance and sin that so easily trips us up and keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Remember, if the devil were truthful, he would have a hard time selling us sin, so he needs to deceive us with trickery to get us to sin; he uses us to accomplish his own evil desire and then blames us for the work he has done through us. Resist him.