The Passion: He Spoiled Principalities and Powers
Study The Word
Colossians 2:14–15
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Something earth-shaking happened in Sheol the day Jesus was buried. Something that changed the balance of power in the universe forever. When His soul descended, every principality, every power, every demon, Satan himself — they were all assembled there. And they believed they had won. They had Him in their custody, and legally so, because He had been made sin — the sin of the whole world was laid on Him and He had to go to hell. There was no way around it. But they were playing right into God’s hands all along. Because they had no idea what kind of person was about to walk through those gates.
ἀπεκδύομαι apekdyomai spoiled – to strip off, to divest, to disarm completely; to strip an enemy of weapons and armor
To get the full picture, you have to follow the sequence of events. Jesus could not die physically until He had first died spiritually. His spiritual death happened on the cross when He cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani!” That was the moment the Father — who had dwelt in Him (John 14:10) — turned away. The Spirit of God who had descended on Him like a dove three years prior departed. He was made sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), He bore the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6), and in that instant He died spiritually. He was still breathing physically, but He was now spiritually dead — and that made physical death possible.
מוּת מוּת mûth mûth surely die – die, certain death
To understand this fully, look at Adam — whom the Bible calls “the first man Adam” and Jesus “the last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45). When God said “in the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die,” Adam ate — and he did die that very day. Not physically; he was still walking around in a body. But he had died spiritually. His physical death came centuries later (Genesis 5:5). Two deaths — spiritual first, physical second. Now with Jesus, both deaths happened in one day on the cross. And what follows death in reverse order is new life — spiritual rebirth first, then physical resurrection.
ἀρχή archē principality – chief ruler, magistrate, high power, high authority
The moment the full penalty for sin was paid and Jesus died physically, His spiritual rebirth was instantaneously activated. He was “justified in the spirit” (1 Timothy 3:16) and became “the first begotten of the dead” (Revelation 1:5). Did you catch that? He is the first to ever come back from spiritual death — not physical death. Many had been raised from physical death before Him. But no one had ever died spiritually and been reborn, receiving a new spirit, a new life, a new creation nature — not until Jesus paid it all. And it was this new creation Jesus, first begotten of the dead, who descended into Sheol. The person Satan was expecting never showed up. A brand new Man walked in instead.
πρωτοτόκος prōtotokos firstbegotten – first born
And what did that Man do? The Bible says He spoiled principalities and powers. He stripped them. He disarmed every one of them. He took away every weapon, every authority, every ounce of power they had. And then He made a show of them openly. He paraded them! Hahaa! Can you picture it? Abraham was there watching. David was watching. Isaac was watching. Isaiah — who had prophesied about this very moment — watched Jesus line up Satan and the demons single file, as prisoners, as captives, and march them in a victory parade before all the saints of old!
δειγματίζω deigmatizo made a show – to make a public example, to expose to public disgrace, to parade in triumph
There was a show. There was a battle. There was a fight. And Jesus won! Glory to God! And then He took back from Satan the Adamic authority — the authority God gave to Adam, that Adam handed over to Satan on the very day he died in the garden. Legally, Satan had that authority. It was given to him through a legal transaction at the fall. But Jesus walked into hell and reversed every single bit of it. When He rose from the dead, He could declare with total legitimacy: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18) Every principality. Every power. Every ruler of darkness. All of them — defeated, stripped, made captive. Hallelujah!
ἐξουσία exousia power – authority, right, privilege, the power of rule or government; delegated authority
And now here is what makes this personal to you. Everything Jesus did in Sheol — He did in your place. In the mind of God, you did it. You defeated Satan. You stripped him of his power. You paraded him in defeat. This means you should never, ever, be afraid of Satan, of demons, of principalities, or powers of darkness. They are already defeated. Jesus defeated them for you, in your place, and because He did — you are Satan’s master. Satan is a lawful captive of the Lord Jesus Christ. Which means he is a lawful captive of yours. Haha! Glory to God!
Pray The Word
Heavenly Father, I thank You that Jesus spoiled principalities and powers, stripped Satan of all Adamic authority, and triumphed over every ruler of darkness in Sheol. I thank You that He rose as the first begotten of the dead and declared all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Him. I walk in complete and total revelation of what Jesus did for me in those three days; Him being born again and descending to hell in my place and defeating Satan and striping him of that authority. Thank you Father that I walk in the knowledge that Satan and all the cohorts of hell are defeated, disarmed, and an exposed enemy that is forever under my feet, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Speak The Word
Jesus Christ spoiled principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of every one of them — they are disarmed, defeated, and paraded in shame! All authority in heaven and in earth belongs to my Lord Jesus Christ, and He has delegated that authority to me. Jesus defeated Satan in my place, which means I defeated Satan. I am Satan’s master, and no demon, no principality, no power of darkness has any authority over my life. I walk in the authority of the risen, triumphant Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ!