David M
09-22-2012, 02:53 AM
This post is about what I understand from Hebrews 2:14 when it says; that through death he (Jesus) might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
A key verse to understanding this victory of Jesus is the fulfilment of Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
It is important this division between the 'seed of the woman' and the 'seed of the serpent' is understood for this is a principle that runs through the whole of scripture and we have to decide whose seed we want to be. We are naturally born the seed of the woman, but we do not have to be the seed of the serpent. The seed of the serpent is a part of our human nature that we have to overcome, if we are to be pleasing to God.
In this battle, the seed of the serpent (the devil) bruises the heel of the seed of the woman (Jesus) and Jesus bruises the head of the serpent that is considered to be the fatal blow.
First of all I need to explain what I understand the devil is and secondly I need to show how the devil was destroyed by the death of Jesus.
In order to understand the fall from grace of Adam and Eve, think of the story presented as a play in which the serpent is a personification of the part of human nature which causes sin (disobedience to God’s commands). Human nature is a complex subject. The human mind is what makes man the pinnacle of God’s creation on earth. God has inspired the story of Adam and Eve to be written in a simple way whereby we understand the operation of the mind and the consequence of not obeying the commands or instructions of God.
The serpent or the devil is best thought of as that part of human nature that causes a person to commit sin. For example, if Jesus had acted on his thoughts while fasting in the Wilderness and had used God’s power for his own use, that would have been contrary to the will of God. This would have meant that Jesus sinned; and all records tell us he did not. If Jesus had broken one of God’s ten commandments he would have sinned, but he never did. The fact is that Jesus never sinned once and proved to the world that it was possible for a man not to sin. Jesus was a human and was subject to temptation (as we all are), but Jesus never yielded to the temptation to sin.
It was the fight in the mind of Jesus and that was his battle with the devil; it was a battle of wills. It is the same battle that we have to fight if we want to follow God’s instruction. Our nature is that we yield to our own desires to serve ourselves easier than to follow God’s instructions. The majority of people do not want to know God and have no intention of finding out about God or being subject to God’s laws.
Eve deceived herself into thinking she would not die if she ate the forbidden fruit. God’s instruction was very clear; Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: God made clear the consequences for disobeying His instruction; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. It was Eve’s thinking and reasoning that caused her to disobey and eat the forbidden fruit. The conversation that Eve was having in her head, is depicted in the style of this play where the serpent is that side of Eve’s thinking which said; “go on and disobey God and eat the fruit and become as God and become wise knowing good and evil.” The serpent is described as being “more subtle than any other beast of the field”, and it was the subtlety of the argument that caused Eve to believe her own lie; “Ye shall not surely die For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil”. Added to this was the lust of her eyes and she saw the fruit looked good to eat and so Eve desired to eat it. This side of human nature that Eve displays is the same for us all, we are all prone to the disposition to sin and so it was no different for Jesus. Jesus suffered the same temptations as we all do.
Jesus overcame his battle within his mind and defeated the devil that was in him, but the devil could always come to tempt Jesus until the devil was given ifs final crushing blow and this happened when Jesus was given his incorruptible body which meant that be could no longer be tempted. It is as if that part of human nature has been taken away.
Jesus allowed himself to be guided through life by God, who was his Heavenly Father and the desire of Jesus at all times was to do the will of his Heavenly Father; that cannot be said of us. We can easily submit to our own lust and do what we want to do. We follow in the pattern of our father (and mother). This explains John 8:44; Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it In effect we copy what our parents did. Jesus on the other hand wanted to do what his Heavenly Father wanted him to do and this is the difference and why Jesus could say; you will do the lusts of your father and your father was a liar from the beginning.
This is taking us back to Eve’s conversation in her mind that took place in the Garden. She knew the consequence of eating the forbidden fruit which Adam would have told her (if not directly by God). The lie Eve believed was that she would not die. Her reasoning was wrong, and so she suffered the consequence for her actions and she was denied access to the 'tree of life' that could have saved her. The same was denied to Adam who was equally culpable for eating the forbidden fruit given to him by Eve.
We do not inherit sin, but we inherit human nature that disposes us to sin; this does not mean we have to sin and Jesus proved it is possible not to sin. The nature of Jesus was the same nature that we all have, but Jesus was able to control his self-will and did not give in to his own selfish desires. Right up till the last including his death on the cross, Jesus had always resisted temptation. Jesus knew the process and that it was his internal fight of the mind. Jesus was tempted by his own personal devil that is part of human nature. This is the way James explains it (James 1:13); Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: In the same way as we cannot accuse God of tempting us, we cannot accuse a fictitious character named the ‘Devil’ of tempting us. In fact, James goes on to write in verse 14; But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. This is all going on inside our heads and is self-generated from what we see, read and hear.
Jesus won his battle with his own devil. Jesus overcame all thoughts to rebel against God. However, Jesus had the same nature as us and that means his body would ultimately die. If he had not been crucified by the Roman soldiers he could have expected to live to an old age and die. His death was premature due to his crucifixion, and this shows that Jesus was human.
What Jesus was not guilty of was sin (rebelling against God). We are guilty and because there is not one of us who knowing what God’s commands are, can say we have no sin; if we do, that makes us a liar and since we do the lust of our father who was a liar from the beginning, it is not surprising we sin.
God is true to His word. God has said through the prophet (Ezekiel 18:4); the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Because Jesus died and he was sinless meant that God had to raise Jesus from the dead. God could not let the body of Jesus remain in the grave because he had done no sin and God is true to His word. God raised Jesus from the dead after 3 full days and nights thus proving that even at the point where the body begins to corrupt in the grave, God did not let Jesus body corrupt. At the same time as raising Jesus from the dead, God gave Jesus an incorruptible body. Paul speaks of this change which gives us this insight. (1 Cor 15: 52) we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
Paul understood the victory of Jesus defeating the devil that was part of his human nature and Paul understood that after the resurrection, the devil has been eradicated. That is how Jesus defeated the devil through his death and subsequent resurrection. This can be our hope for it is the same promise given to believers and without this hope then we have no hope of a future life and have nothing to get by believing God in this present life if this life is all we have to look forward to. As the Apostle Paul also writes;
1 Cor 15:
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Thanks be to Jesus for gaining the victory over the devil that is in human nature and opening the way to eternal life that will enable us to have the same victory because of the sacrifice Jesus has made on our behalf to cover our sins.
David
A key verse to understanding this victory of Jesus is the fulfilment of Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
It is important this division between the 'seed of the woman' and the 'seed of the serpent' is understood for this is a principle that runs through the whole of scripture and we have to decide whose seed we want to be. We are naturally born the seed of the woman, but we do not have to be the seed of the serpent. The seed of the serpent is a part of our human nature that we have to overcome, if we are to be pleasing to God.
In this battle, the seed of the serpent (the devil) bruises the heel of the seed of the woman (Jesus) and Jesus bruises the head of the serpent that is considered to be the fatal blow.
First of all I need to explain what I understand the devil is and secondly I need to show how the devil was destroyed by the death of Jesus.
In order to understand the fall from grace of Adam and Eve, think of the story presented as a play in which the serpent is a personification of the part of human nature which causes sin (disobedience to God’s commands). Human nature is a complex subject. The human mind is what makes man the pinnacle of God’s creation on earth. God has inspired the story of Adam and Eve to be written in a simple way whereby we understand the operation of the mind and the consequence of not obeying the commands or instructions of God.
The serpent or the devil is best thought of as that part of human nature that causes a person to commit sin. For example, if Jesus had acted on his thoughts while fasting in the Wilderness and had used God’s power for his own use, that would have been contrary to the will of God. This would have meant that Jesus sinned; and all records tell us he did not. If Jesus had broken one of God’s ten commandments he would have sinned, but he never did. The fact is that Jesus never sinned once and proved to the world that it was possible for a man not to sin. Jesus was a human and was subject to temptation (as we all are), but Jesus never yielded to the temptation to sin.
It was the fight in the mind of Jesus and that was his battle with the devil; it was a battle of wills. It is the same battle that we have to fight if we want to follow God’s instruction. Our nature is that we yield to our own desires to serve ourselves easier than to follow God’s instructions. The majority of people do not want to know God and have no intention of finding out about God or being subject to God’s laws.
Eve deceived herself into thinking she would not die if she ate the forbidden fruit. God’s instruction was very clear; Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: God made clear the consequences for disobeying His instruction; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. It was Eve’s thinking and reasoning that caused her to disobey and eat the forbidden fruit. The conversation that Eve was having in her head, is depicted in the style of this play where the serpent is that side of Eve’s thinking which said; “go on and disobey God and eat the fruit and become as God and become wise knowing good and evil.” The serpent is described as being “more subtle than any other beast of the field”, and it was the subtlety of the argument that caused Eve to believe her own lie; “Ye shall not surely die For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil”. Added to this was the lust of her eyes and she saw the fruit looked good to eat and so Eve desired to eat it. This side of human nature that Eve displays is the same for us all, we are all prone to the disposition to sin and so it was no different for Jesus. Jesus suffered the same temptations as we all do.
Jesus overcame his battle within his mind and defeated the devil that was in him, but the devil could always come to tempt Jesus until the devil was given ifs final crushing blow and this happened when Jesus was given his incorruptible body which meant that be could no longer be tempted. It is as if that part of human nature has been taken away.
Jesus allowed himself to be guided through life by God, who was his Heavenly Father and the desire of Jesus at all times was to do the will of his Heavenly Father; that cannot be said of us. We can easily submit to our own lust and do what we want to do. We follow in the pattern of our father (and mother). This explains John 8:44; Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it In effect we copy what our parents did. Jesus on the other hand wanted to do what his Heavenly Father wanted him to do and this is the difference and why Jesus could say; you will do the lusts of your father and your father was a liar from the beginning.
This is taking us back to Eve’s conversation in her mind that took place in the Garden. She knew the consequence of eating the forbidden fruit which Adam would have told her (if not directly by God). The lie Eve believed was that she would not die. Her reasoning was wrong, and so she suffered the consequence for her actions and she was denied access to the 'tree of life' that could have saved her. The same was denied to Adam who was equally culpable for eating the forbidden fruit given to him by Eve.
We do not inherit sin, but we inherit human nature that disposes us to sin; this does not mean we have to sin and Jesus proved it is possible not to sin. The nature of Jesus was the same nature that we all have, but Jesus was able to control his self-will and did not give in to his own selfish desires. Right up till the last including his death on the cross, Jesus had always resisted temptation. Jesus knew the process and that it was his internal fight of the mind. Jesus was tempted by his own personal devil that is part of human nature. This is the way James explains it (James 1:13); Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: In the same way as we cannot accuse God of tempting us, we cannot accuse a fictitious character named the ‘Devil’ of tempting us. In fact, James goes on to write in verse 14; But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. This is all going on inside our heads and is self-generated from what we see, read and hear.
Jesus won his battle with his own devil. Jesus overcame all thoughts to rebel against God. However, Jesus had the same nature as us and that means his body would ultimately die. If he had not been crucified by the Roman soldiers he could have expected to live to an old age and die. His death was premature due to his crucifixion, and this shows that Jesus was human.
What Jesus was not guilty of was sin (rebelling against God). We are guilty and because there is not one of us who knowing what God’s commands are, can say we have no sin; if we do, that makes us a liar and since we do the lust of our father who was a liar from the beginning, it is not surprising we sin.
God is true to His word. God has said through the prophet (Ezekiel 18:4); the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Because Jesus died and he was sinless meant that God had to raise Jesus from the dead. God could not let the body of Jesus remain in the grave because he had done no sin and God is true to His word. God raised Jesus from the dead after 3 full days and nights thus proving that even at the point where the body begins to corrupt in the grave, God did not let Jesus body corrupt. At the same time as raising Jesus from the dead, God gave Jesus an incorruptible body. Paul speaks of this change which gives us this insight. (1 Cor 15: 52) we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
Paul understood the victory of Jesus defeating the devil that was part of his human nature and Paul understood that after the resurrection, the devil has been eradicated. That is how Jesus defeated the devil through his death and subsequent resurrection. This can be our hope for it is the same promise given to believers and without this hope then we have no hope of a future life and have nothing to get by believing God in this present life if this life is all we have to look forward to. As the Apostle Paul also writes;
1 Cor 15:
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Thanks be to Jesus for gaining the victory over the devil that is in human nature and opening the way to eternal life that will enable us to have the same victory because of the sacrifice Jesus has made on our behalf to cover our sins.
David