Grace preceded the law

The monumental truth of the Gospel is that God is Love (agapē, Greek: ἀγάπη - unconditional, self-giving love). Because He is perfectly fair and perfectly just, He has made one single, all-sufficient provision for all humanity: His Son, Jesus Christ.

With God we always have a free choice for or against His Love and that choice in its entirety is up to us. The choice is not whether we can do enough to earn His love, but simply whether we will receive (by faith) or reject the finished work of His Love. As the Scripture says: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9, KJV). Otherwise God would not be a fair and just God. His justice is fully satisfied in Christ, and His fairness is proven by making the free gift available to all.

The Old Covenant Shadow of Christ's Victory

So, how did He provide the complete Outcome for our freedom?

The entire Old Covenant is a glorious prophetic shadow of Jesus, and the list of enemies God commanded Israel to conquer in the Promised Land is a powerful picture of the spiritual warfare Christ has already won for you.

In Exodus 34 verses 11-13 (KJV) we read God saying:

"Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite."

Abba, looking through the Cross, promised to "drive out" all the forces of darkness and destruction from the life of His beloved.

What is the significance of these enemies Christ has already conquered?

Look closely. Every name speaks of a specific work of the devil that has been destroyed by the finished work of the Son of God (1 John 3:8, KJV).

• Amorite (Hebrew: אֱמֹרִי - ’ĕmorî): also means sayer, diviner, fortune teller, prophesying against you. This is the spirit of curses and false words spoken over your life. Christ became a curse for us, redeeming us from every word and law that spoke against us (Galatians 3:13, KJV).

• Canaanite (Hebrew: כְּנַעֲנִי - kəna'anî): also means that which subjects, brings you down, to a low place. This is the spirit of bondage and depression. Because Jesus was raised and seated at the Father’s right hand, we, His beloved, are seated together with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6, KJV)! You are not meant for a low place, but for a high place of dominion.

• Hittite (Hebrew: חִתִּי - ḥittî): also means descendant of terror, that which terror brings. This is the spirit of fear and anxiety. The finished work of Christ is so complete that we have been given a New Covenant mindset: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV).

• Perizzire (Hebrew: פְּרִזִּי - pərizzî): also means that which separates, places you far off, distant warrior. This is the spirit of isolation and division. When Jesus cried, "It is finished!" (τετέλεσται - tetelestai, Greek: It is paid in full!) the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51, KJV), signifying that the separation between God and man has been completely and eternally removed! You have been made nigh by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13, KJV).

• Hivite (Hebrew: חִוִּי - ḥiwwî): also means that which encamps you, binds you up. This is the spirit of addiction and bondage. The truth of Christ's work is our freedom: Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17, KJV).

• Jebusite (Hebrew: יְבוּסִי - yəḇûsî): also means treader down, trampler. This represents the relentless pressure and oppression of the enemy. Jesus was tread down and trampled so that we should stand tall. The expectation now is for all enemies to be made his footstool (Hebrews 10:13, KJV). He is the ultimate Treader-down of all opposition!

Receiving the Victory

Take heed

There is a prophetic picture to be found in the names of the objects instructed to be destroyed in Exodus 34:12-13. Do we submit to (receive) the finished work of Christ, or submit to the lies and works of the enemy?

"Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:" (Exodus 34:12-13, KJV)

What are the spiritual altars, images, and groves that Christ has destroyed?

Christ has destroyed them all, but we exercise our dominion authority by refusing to rebuild them in our minds.

• Altars are places of sacrifice and worship, that which we so willingly permit. In the New Covenant, the altar is the mindset of self-effort and religious works. We are commanded to destroy this altar by proclaiming that Christ's one sacrifice has perfected us for ever (Hebrews 10:14, KJV).

• Images are monuments, the manifestation of evil in our lives - sickness, poverty, relationship problems, set-backs. These images are the visible manifestations of the fruit of sin-consciousness. They are shattered when we declare our true identity: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21, KJV).

• Groves are walks, advances, progresses against us. These represent the old pathways and habits of the flesh. We cut down these groves by understanding our new identity as those who walk in the Spirit, refusing to fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16, KJV).

Our Divine Weapon for the Pulling Down Strongholds

The destruction of these 'altars,' 'images,' and 'groves' in our minds is what the Apostle Paul calls the 'pulling down of strongholds'. This powerful phrase comes from the Bible's Book of 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (KJV):

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

The spiritual weapons we wield are mighty through God (δυνατός - dunatos, Greek: powerful, able) to demolish "strongholds" (ὀχύρωμα - ochurōma, Greek: a fortress or castle). These are not physical demons, but rather arguments, lofty opinions, and thoughts (specifically, mindsets of self-effort, sin-consciousness, and unbelief) that elevate themselves against the knowledge of God (the knowledge of Christ and His finished work) and keep people from obeying Christ (aligning with the Truth of their new identity). Our warfare emphasizes that believers fight with divine power to take captive every thought into obedience to Christ, rather than using worldly means. Our battle is simply against the mental structures that deny the finished work!

Our Dominion in the Finished Work

You see, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and He did! (1 John 3:8, KJV). His victory is complete, and it is yours!

We, on the other hand, still have a choice - for Him or against Him. This choice is simply to believe and receive the monumental, perfect, and everlasting salvation He provided.

Therefore that James 4:7 (KJV) says: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

To submit is not a burden of works! The Greek word for "Submit" is ὑποτάσσω (hupotassō), which means to arrange under or to align yourself to a higher authority. To submit yourselves to God is to simply align your mind and heart with the truth of His finished work—that you are righteous, holy, and completely loved! To Resist the devil is simply to stand firm in the accomplished, finished work of Christ, that truth and to use the dominion authority Christ has freely given us. Indeed, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue" Proverbs 18:21, which means that words have the power to both build up and destroy. Just as a tongue can bring harm through negative or toxic words, it can also bring life through kind, positive, and encouraging communication, demonstrating that our words have significant and far-reaching consequences, both physically and spiritually. life and death is in the power of the tongue!

So, let "the testimony of Jesus be the spirit of prophecy" from Revelation 19:10!

Jesus has driven out all evil from before us and gave us authority to resist and overcome. His resurrection is the ultimate proof of our dominion!

"Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:" (Ephesians 1:20-21, KJV).

Nothing can stand before His mighty Name, the Name above every name, before Whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that HE IS GOD! (Philippians 2:9-11, KJV)

Glory to Jesus!