The prophecy in Genesis 3 speaks of One to come who would stomp on the serpent's head and suffer in the process. The cross is the bite of the serpent, but also the fatal blow to the devil.
On the surface, the cross looked like the devil's greatest triumph and Christ's ultimate failure, but, in reality, things were exactly opposite of what they appeared. Jesus made this statement earlier, before His death, and because of the upcoming cross:
"Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out." John 12:31
While the devil has not yet been chained and cast into the bottomless pit, his doom is sure. Jesus has broken Satan's power over us. As John wrote, "Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." 1 John 4:4
In his hymn, A Mighty Fortress, Martin Luther put it this way:
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure;
One little word shall fell him.
https://hymnary.org/text/a_mighty_fortress_is_our_god_a_bulwark
Jesus has "destroyed him who had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14).
Question 3. According to Hebrews 2:14, through His death on the cross, what did Jesus do to Satan?
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Oh, how marvelous! The cross was like an upside-down sword, plunged into the heart of the devil, and now he is a defeated foe, and we are certain victors through the cross. "It is finished!"
Not only did Jesus finish the work of crushing Satan, but He also removed the curse of the law from us.
The Law of God commanded perfection or death. It was not complicated to understand, but our problem was that, because of the weakness of our flesh (see Romans 8:1-4), we couldn't obey. Because of our sinful human condition, we could never fulfill the law as we should. But the good news is that what we could not do, Jesus, our Savior, did it for us!
"For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:3-4
Question 4. According to Romans 8:3-4, what did Christ accomplish in us?
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