The world will be judged by Christ and God has proven that fact by the resurrection from the dead of His Son (Acts 17:31).

Acts 17:31  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

The cross of Christ was the tool by which the enemy was judged, defeated, and stripped of his power (Heb 2:14,15, Col 2:14,15). Morris notes that “The defeat of Satan is not an arbitrary feat of power, but a judgment. Justice is done in the overthrow of the evil one.” The enemy “stands condemned.” It is only a matter of time before he gets his just deserts.

Hebrews 2:14-15  Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Colossians 2:14-15  having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took 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.

In the meantime, Satan is still alive and active, but he is also defeated. The roaring lion has been defanged. He can attack and lie, but his power has been removed. Jesus spoke of this principle in (Luke 11:21-22). The armor upon which the devil depended was the inability of man to say “no” to sin. Part of the spoils that Christ has taken away from him are the souls of the saved. Before Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, we all belonged to the devil and everyone, even the most righteous, were going to be eternally condemned. David sinned with Bathsheba, Abraham sinned by lying to Pharoah about his wife, and Moses sinned by disobeying God in striking the second rock. All have sinned and the penalty for sin is death (Rom 6:23). Even these most righteous of examples for us were going to hell, but Jesus has snatched them and us out of the hands of the devil and gently placed us in the protecting Hands of God. We no longer have to say “yes” to sin for He has given us the power to live a holy life that is completely pleasing to God. He has captured the central command post of the devil and all the enemy has left are some outposts (Maclaren). Christ has even made provision for those times we do fail (1John 2:1, 1:9). The victory is ours and all we need do is live in it!

Luke 11:21-22  “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.  But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armour in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 John 2:1  My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.