Captivity Captured As a result of what Jesus has done, we can expect victory in every spiritual battle.   By Randy Baltzell

If you are a Christian, you are engaged in a spiritual battle. It is a very real battle. There is nothing the enemy of your soul would like more than to convince you that this battle is not as serious as the preacher makes it sound. Satan would love to make you believe that it is not as imperative to fight this battle as the Bible says. But it is!

Since Satan has had thousands of years of warfare experience, facing him would be an alarming prospect except for one vital point: Jesus Christ is on our side and through Him we have victory. In Ephesians 4:7,8 we read, “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” In other words, everything that Satan attacks you with to discourage and thwart you has been brought into captivity. There is nothing the enemy can bring your way that has not already been overcome by Jesus.

Living in captivity is not pleasant. Andersonville was a Confederate prison during the Civil War. It was a horribly brutal place. History books tell us it was one of the worst prisons in terms of disease and privation; in fact, conditions were so awful that over thirteen thousand men died there. At times the Confederates would tell the Union soldiers imprisoned within its walls, “In a certain number of days, we will let you go.” Of course, that never happened.

That is not unlike a sinner's position. The prison of sin is a miserable place to be. Satan will not give you comfort. He might promise you good things and good times, but it will not be. If you ask anyone who has been down the road of sin, they will tell you that his promises are hollow and meaningless. Satan will bind you with the shackles of sin until you feel hopeless, telling you that you might as well not try, and that you will never be able to come to God. But Jesus “led captivity captive”! The very worst that Satan can bring upon you can be overcome through the power of Jesus.

Spiritual liberty was why He died

When Jesus began His ministry on earth, He quoted from the book of Isaiah, saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives” (Luke 4:18). Spiritual liberty was the whole point of why He came to earth. That was why He died. Our freedom has been purchased on Calvary ; the victory has already been won for us.

One of the most valuable lessons we can learn in this spiritual warfare is how to pray through. There will be times as the battle rages that we will need to get hold of God. When Jesus led captivity captive, He made a way for us to get a prayer through to God. He made a way for us to have victory through prayer—not only over sin, but also over doubt, discouragement, or anything else the devil brings our way. Satan may come against us until we wonder whether we can get through the attacks. We can, because Jesus led captivity captive.

The Bible says, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Paul and Silas proved this when they were in prison. They had been doing the Lord's work—they had cast a spirit of divination out of a woman—and you can be sure the enemy of our souls does not like it when we win a victory in Jesus' name. Satan caused the merchants who had been making money from this woman's powers to bring Paul and Silas before the magistrates. They were beaten and thrown into the inner prison and their feet were fastened in the stocks. It was a tough spot to be in. There certainly was reason, in the natural, for them to look around and feel sorry for themselves. Who could blame them for saying, “We were only trying to do the Lord's work, and look what happened!” But that is not what they did. Instead, they began to sing praises to God.

The devil will tell us that the circumstances in our lives have us in prison. He will say, “There is absolutely no way out of the troubles that surround you,” but we do not need to listen to him. We must do what Paul and Silas did—sing praises! There is power in praise. The Bible says that the Lord inhabits the praise of His people. Instead of trying to figure out how to overcome what the enemy brings our way, we should praise God that He led captivity captive. He has the situation under control. He is able to subdue all things unto Himself, and He will handle it for us. Do we read that Paul and Silas had to figure out how to get the stocks off, release their chains, and open the jail door? No, God took care of it for them, and He will do the same for us.

Opposition will come

Opposition and trials will come. For a Biblical picture of that, think about what the disciples faced as they were trying to cross the Sea of Galilee . Jesus had told them, “Get in a boat and go to the other side.” They started out in obedience, but encountered a problem: a storm came up. The winds were contrary, and the disciples could not make progress. They must have thought it was strange. The Lord had told them to go to the other side, so they got in the boat to go to the other side, and then here came a storm. What was going on? No doubt they wondered, We thought this was what the Lord said to do!

Have you ever felt like that when you stepped out in obedience to God? Sometimes, when the battle rages around us, we may feel like we are rowing against the waves. We are doing all we can but it seems our efforts are not accomplishing anything. We wonder what else we can do. What we must do in a time like that is to hang on. Jesus will come on the scene and win the battle for us.

As the disciples struggled against the elements, Jesus walked toward them on the sea. The Bible says that when Jesus got into the boat, they were immediately on the other side. If we cannot get to where we feel we are supposed to be, the Lord will come to where we are. Jesus will take us where we need to go. He will make up the difference.

We need not fear

We can expect opposition—after all, this is a battle—but we need not be afraid. God is aware of what is happening. When we feel as if we do not have what it takes to get through the battle, we must keep our faith fixed on Jesus. There is nothing that can stand against Him, because He led captivity captive—over the wind, the waves, and the circumstances in our lives. We might be suffering from doubt, discouragement, grief, anxiety, sorrow, or anything else, but everything is covered.

We can be encouraged, because no matter how we might feel or what we might need to overcome, the Lord led captivity captive. All those things that have us afraid or discouraged are themselves bound by the power of God. The enemy will tell us, “You cannot go until I let you go. You will not be able to overcome doubt until I remove it from you. You are stuck.” That is not true! Thank God for that. We would be powerless except that He led captivity captive. Everything must submit to the Lord.

Be encouraged. God wants to give you liberty. He would like for His Spirit to come down, visit with you, and give you spiritual victory. He would like for your faith to be so encouraged that you can get up from prayer and say, “I believe God!” and encourage others. The Lord would like to do that for you today.

The Bible says that the Lord is no respecter of persons, and that means victory can be yours through Jesus Christ. Satan will hit whoever and wherever he can, but you do not have to be overcome by his attacks. You can be encouraged because God is on your side, and through Him you can be ultimately victorious.

You can expect help!

Come before the Lord today and present your life to Him. Tell Him, “Lord, I would like to have my faith encouraged. I would like to know what it feels like to believe God. I want to know what it is like to have You come down and answer my prayer, to fight my battles, to win the victory for me.”

When you come before the Lord like that, you can expect Him to help you!

Randy Baltzell is pastor of the Apostolic Faith Church in Van Buren, Arkansas.