Christ Our Victor

Why the Incarnation?

When we come to Christmas, we look into the manger and see a baby. We see beauty. We see humility. We see fragility. But we must ask the deeper question: Why did God come like this? Why the Incarnation?

As we approached Christmas this year, I was really seeking the Lord about the reasons of the Incarnation. Christmas is full of fun and activities and unless we are very careful, these things can become distractions. I enjoy the decorations, music, gifting, and activities but they aren’t the heart of Christmas. We know that.

There are two things that really stood out to me about the Incarnation as I was preparing my heart for the season. One is that He came to heal, and we’ll look at that next week. The other is that He came to do battle. That is what I want to examine today.

Scripture teaches that salvation is not just forgiveness, not just a ticket to heaven. Salvation occurs when God pours out His own life-giving power in such a way that both His people and all creation are delivered from the forces of evil and brought under the reign of His kingdom.

Christmas is not merely a sweet story. It’s a declaration of war.

And the Bible actually shows us this in one of the most surprising Christmas passages—Revelation 12. Most people don’t think of Revelation when they think of the manger, but Revelation 12 gives us the heavenly, spiritual angle of what was happening when Jesus was born. It is Christmas from the perspective of a battlefield.

Revelation 12:1–6 NIV

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

[Defeat of Satan from the heavenlies (verses 7-9)

Revelation 12:10–11 NIV

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

It shows a woman giving birth, a dragon waiting to devour the child, a war in heaven, and the Messiah ultimately enthroned. It’s a graphic picture, but it answers the question: Why the Incarnation? Because a Victor was needed. A Deliverer. A Champion.

Jesus came not just to forgive sin but to defeat the powers that enslave humanity.

And this matters deeply because…

We All Know What It Feels Like to Be in a Battle

Let’s be honest—we all know life feels like a battle.

We battle temptations we can’t shake.

We battle fears we can’t outrun.

We battle shame that whispers we’ll never be free.

We battle spiritual forces that oppose anything good God wants to do in us.

Every one of us has felt the weight of spiritual conflict—even if we didn’t have the words for it. We’ve all had moments where we say,

Why is this so hard?

Why is there so much resistance?

Why does it feel like something is actively trying to pull me backward?

And that’s because someone is. Scripture teaches we have an adversary:

“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

You’ve felt his influence even if you didn’t call it that. But here’s the hope of Christmas:

You were never meant to fight the dragon alone.

You were never meant to be your own hero.

You don’t need to create your own victory.

You need to receive the victory of another.

Christmas proclaims that the Victor has come.

Christ Came as Our Victor

The Adversary Is Real

The Bible does not minimize the power of Satan:

He has authority (Mark 1:27; Luke 10:19).

He has a kingdom (Luke 11:18).

He has soldiers (Mark 5:9).

He is a deceiver and accuser (Revelation 12).

When Jesus was born, He entered a world under occupation. A world enslaved. A world held hostage.

The Incarnation is Heaven dropping a warrior behind enemy lines.

Jesus Confronts the Enemy Directly

Jesus does not avoid confrontation. His entire ministry is an assault on Satan’s kingdom.

Healings and exorcisms weren’t just acts of compassion— they were acts of war:

Luke 13:16 NIV

Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

Matthew 12:28 NIV

But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Every healing was a flag staked into enemy territory. Every deliverance was a victory blow. Every forgiveness was a declaration of freedom.

Jesus Describes Satan as a “Strong Man”—and Himself as the Stronger One

In Mark 3 and Luke 11, Jesus says no one can plunder the house of a strong man unless he first binds the strong man. That’s exactly what Jesus came to do.

The devil is strong, but Jesus is stronger.

The Cross and Resurrection Secured the Final Victory

Revelation 12:11 NIV

They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Revelation 12:11 says we overcome:

By the blood of the Lamb — Jesus’ sacrifice disarms the accuser.

By the word of our testimony — our allegiance to Jesus aligns us with His victory.

By not loving our lives even unto death — because we know the Victor holds our future.

At the cross, Jesus took the full force of Satan’s accusations, lies, and power—and rose victorious.

Christmas is not just the beginning of a story. It is the arrival of the Champion who came to defeat the dragon.

The Battlefield Has Changed

Because of Christ:

The enemy is defeated, even though he still thrashes.

His authority is broken, even though he fights desperately.

His final destruction is inevitable.

The kingdom of God has broken in. The tide has turned. A new era of salvation has dawned.

Christmas proclaims: “Your Victor has arrived. The dragon has fallen.”

So, What Does This Mean for You This Christmas?

You Don’t Have to Live Defeated

Whatever has held you:

addiction,

fear,

shame,

bitterness,

spiritual oppression—

Christ has authority over it.

You don’t defeat Satan by trying harder. You defeat him by standing in Christ’s victory.

You’re not fighting for victory; you’re fighting from victory—His.

You Have the Right to Walk in Freedom

If Jesus is your Victor, you are:

forgiven,

rescued,

transferred into the kingdom of light,

indwelt by the Spirit,

empowered to resist the enemy.

Satan’s accusations may be loud, but they have no authority over a child of the King.

Your Testimony Has Power

Revelation 12:11 says believers overcome the enemy by the word of their testimony.

When you speak:

what Christ has done,

who Christ is,

how Christ has changed you—

you participate in the ongoing victory of the Lamb.

You Must Choose Your Allegiance

Jesus says you cannot serve two masters. Christmas confronts us with a choice:

Will you live under the rule of the dragon or under the reign of the Victor?

Neutrality is not an option in a war.

We Walk in Victory Together

Imagine a church—our church—where people truly believe Christ is Victor:

We would pray with boldness.

We would worship with confidence.

We would resist temptation with authority.

We would speak hope into darkness.

We would love fearlessly because fear would no longer control us.

We would push back the kingdom of darkness together.

Christmas is not merely a season of nostalgia. It is a proclamation:

“Now has come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Messiah.” (Revelation 12)

So this Christmas, let us fix our eyes on the child in the manger—

not because He is small, but because He is mighty.

Not because He is fragile, but because He is fearless.

Not because He came quietly, but because He came victoriously.

Christ is our Victor. Christ is our Champion. Christ is our King.

And because He has overcome, we will overcome.