Colossians 2:13-15 NLT
[13] “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. [14] He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [15] In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”

On and on, Paul goes, declaring with supernatural insight and understanding the mighty work of salvation Jesus accomplished by His death on the cross.

What went through the mind of Jesus as He hung like a piece of rag skewered to a wooden stake? What were His thoughts as His life ebbed away with the blood dripping from His wounds? Was the outcome worth all this suffering? Would His terrible death accomplish all He set out to do?

What was happening in the unseen realm as the mob at His feet mocked and taunted Him?

Picture the scene in the spirit. First, Sinai! A covenant spelling out God’s holy nature and unattainable demands. Second, Israel! God’s people trapped in sin. Condemned to death for persistent rebellion. Third, hell! The devil and his minions cackling with delight because God’s people are all in their clutches! Guilty! Condemned! Doomed!

Then, Golgotha! What is this? A perfect human, unblemishes by sin, hanging on a torture stake? In life and in death,
“He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. [23] He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.”
(1 Peter 2:22-23 NLT)

Above Him the charges…a broken law, a violated covenant. Across the charge, stamped in blood, His blood, “TETELESTAI… PAID IN FULL”

Now who is the guilty one? The one who had Him charged. The devil himself! He overstepped the mark, once and for all. He had Jesus killed for sin He never committed. Jesus paid for sin not His own. Jesus has the right to forgive all sin because He paid the debt in full.

So, Satan, the deceiver, is exposed. He accuses sinners already forgiven. The efficacy of Jesus’ death for sin hangs on this one fact. Jesus is the Lamb slain before time.

Revelation 5:6-9 NLT
[6] “Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. [7] He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. [8] And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. [9] And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Revelation 13:8 NLT
[8]”And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life that belongs to the Lamb who was slaughtered before the world was made.”

1 Peter 1:18-20 NLT
[18] “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. [19] It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. [20] God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.”

2 Corinthians 5:19, 21 NLT
[19]”For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
[21] For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

Do you get the picture?

From heaven’s perspective where there is no time or sequence of events, where everything is “now”, what Jesus did to forgive sin and save sinners is an eternal event. The cross in history was a manifestation in time of what was an eternal truth from before time. Difficult as it is for us to understand this perspective, this means that sin was already paid for and forgiven before human history.

This has a startling consequence both for us and for our adversary. Since all sin has already been forgiven, (and we must stay grounded in this truth), his accusations and condemnation are lies. Yes, we have sinned, yes, we were condemned but….our sin has been forgiven and we have been washed clean before time. All that is required is our faith in the one who accomplished this for us.

The devil tries to pin on us what God has already removed forever. His ruse has been exposed. He is the one condemned, not us.

Romans 8:1-2 NLT
[1] “So, now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. [2] And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”

This is the essence of real spiritual warfare, not battling the devil for victory over sin and death but standing firm in the truth that Jesus has overcome him and we are included in His victory.

So, dear reader, stand in your position, rejoice in your victory, and enjoy all the benefits of your salvation…as the old hymn days, “Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who, like thee, His praise should sing.”

The devil has nothing to hold against you. You are free!