During World War II, Army paratrooper Manuel Pérez Jr. found himself in combat with enemy soldiers in the Philippines. In the struggle an opposing soldier threw his rifle with its bayonet, knocking Pérez’s own weapon from his hands. Pérez snatched up the enemy’s rifle and used it against the attackers, turning their own weapon into the means of their defeat.  

At Calvary, Jesus did the same on a cosmic scale. Satan wielded death as his greatest weapon, but Christ entered death, conquered it, and used it to destroy “him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).

Our enemy is still prowling around seeking to attack us (1 Peter 5:8) and to sift us like wheat (Luke 22:31). But God is all-powerful, and the victory is won. While we need to be aware of the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:11), we should be filled with confidence that he is defeated and that God will soon crush him under our feet (Romans 16:20).

Satan must be defeated in the arena he dominates, this world. So Christ was sent into this world to destroy Satan’s works.
Charles Ryrie