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Saturday, November 22, 2014

 

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Part 3

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Christ Destroys The Devil Through Death

We make the acquaintance of the abstract phase of the subject (in which all other forms of Bible diabolism have their root) in the contemplation of a statement we had occasion to quote earlier viz., that Jesus partook of the flesh and blood of his brethren "that through death, he might destroy him that had the power of death, THAT IS, THE DEVIL -- Heb. 2:14). The Revised Version alters this wording a little, but not the meaning. "Destroy him that had the power of death" is changed to "Bring to nought him that had (or "hath", see margin) the power..." If possible, this is stronger, for to bring to nothing is to annihilate. The statement before us is that the annihilation of the devil was achieved by the death of Christ. This was what he died for: "that through death he might bring to nothing him that had the power of death, that is, the devil". If the devil of this statement is the popular devil, how are we to understand it ? Did the death of Christ accomplish the annihilation of the devil? If so, how? How could being killed by the devil kill the devil? And how if he killed the devil, can the devil in that case be still alive; and how are we to understand the devil having the power of death in view of the fact that the power of death rests with God, and with God only, who inflicts it at His pleasure? (Deut. 32:39). Whichever way the statement is considered, it cannot be made to yield an intelligible idea if we attach the popular meaning to the word "devil". There must be another meaning. There is another meaning.

Sin and Death

We begin to find it in the consideration of other statements as to what was accomplished by the sacrifice of Christ. We cannot do better than calmly look at a number of these statements:

"He put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb. 9:26).

"Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3).

"He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities" (Isa. 53:5).

"His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree" (1 Pet. 2:24).

"He was manifested to take away our sins" (1 John 3:5).

"Our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity" (Titus 2:13, 14).

"Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world" (Gal. 1:3, 4).

"This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26:28).

"Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood" (Rev. 5:9).

These are divinely inspired definitions of the result achieved by the death of Christ. Who can read them without perceiving that the work accomplished was a work in relation to men themselves, and that the thing destroyed in the death of Christ was sin? It is of the highest importance that we should here seek to realize how this result was accomplished. We cannot become enlightened in this matter except by considering the history of sin. This is a very important history in relation to our race, though made light of by most men. It is told very briefly by Paul, whose words are the utterance of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:12). He says, "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin". He is referring to Adam's disobedience at the beginning. How death came "by" this disobedience is very plain in the reading of the divine narrative in Genesis. Adam having been created in a good and happy state, it was said to him that he should abstain from eating of a certain tree, with this intimation: "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:17). In the course of time he broke the command; he did what he was told not to do; he disobeyed, and this was sin; for sin and disobedience (in their primary sense) are interchangeable terms. It is the consequence we have to consider: sentence of death was passed: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19). This sentence took effect upon Adam's nature, and became a law or quality of it, which was henceforth "corruptible" and "mortal". His nature became physically a dying nature, and therefore a death-nature, because of sin. Afterwards, children were born to Adam with the result of multiplying men who, having his nature, had also the "sentence of death in themselves" ( 1 Cor. 1: 9), which came originally by Adam's sin, and who in their moral manifestations revealed the effects of their inheritance.

Now God purposed in Himself to bring good out of this sore evil. He purposed to bring the human race back into harmony with Himself (not every individual of it-comparatively few individuals of it-but ultimately the entire race as a race). He purposed to abolish death and to bring life and immortality to light (2 Tim. 1:10). But how was this to be done? Sin had brought death and sin reigned. It was to be done by putting away sin-by not imputing sin-by forgiving sin. But was this to be done in an arbitrary manner without ceremony or condition ? Was it to be forgiven in the way a man might suddenly forgive a debt owing by a friend? The death of Christ (prefigured by a long established ritual of sacrifice is the answer. Forgiveness was to be offered in a way that secured the recognition of justice-the humiliation of man and the exaltation of God. It was to be made conditional upon a recognition and submission to what was accomplished in Christ. "Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins" (Acts 13:38).

But let us pause for a moment to consider what was accomplished in him. The orthodox doctrine of the death of Christ creates great difficulty and confusion here. It proclaims the death of Christ as a payment of debts due by others-a suffering of punishment that ought to have been inflicted on others. If this be the case, there is an obliteration of the doctrine of forgiveness; for debts cannot be said to be forgiven that have been satisfied. And there is no explanation of the fact that believers die. If Christ died instead of them, believers ought not to die. And there is then confusion caused in our conceptions of the moral government of God by the idea that the innocent should be punished instead of the guilty, as was certainly the case if Christ suffered a punishment which was due to us and not due to him.

The difficulty is removed if we contemplate Christ as a partaker of the death-stricken flesh and blood of Adam's race which died in him. That he is so to be contemplated is evident from the apostolic declaration that he was made in all things like unto his brethren, and that he partook of their precise nature that he might destroy death in it conformably with the moral requirements involved (Heb. 2:14-17). When we look at Christ thus as partaking of our death stricken-nature, we are able to comprehend in what way his death was fitted "to declare the righteousness of God" (Rom. 3:25). In the days of his flesh (Heb. 5:7) which were days of "weakness" (2 Cor. 13:4) he was a man suffering with all his brethren the effects that came by Adam's sin. It was on our account still, as a matter of fact, that "he was made sin" (2 Cor. 5:21); made of a woman (Gal. 4:4); "sent in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. 8:3); "made of the seed of David according to the flesh" (Rom. 1:3). Consequently, when he died, "he died unto sin" (Rom. 6:10): sin was condemned in the flesh (Rom. 8:3). The righteousness of God was declared (Rom. 3:23).

But in his own character, he was absolutely sinless, due to the fact, that though the Son of David through Mary, he was the Son of God by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). In this, his perfect obedience (Rom. 5:19; Phil. 2:8), he was the spotless Lamb of God. Without this, his offering for sin would have been of no avail, for dying, he would have remained dead. It was in his resurrection to life immortal, after the suffering of death, that lay the great victory of the scheme in him. Without his resurrection, his death would have been in vain (1 Cor. 15:17), and without sinlessness, his resurrection would have been impossible. Without sinlessness he would have been in the position of Adam's race whom he came to redeem with himself, for he also participated in the redemption wrought out in himself (Heb. 9:12, R.V. ; 5 :9).

When we look at the Son of God after his resurrection, free from all further dominion of death (Rom. 6:9), we look at a Son of Abraham in whom the power of sin has been destroyed-its moral power overcome, for he was tempted as we all are (Heb. 4:15), but overcame (John 16:33; Rev. 3:21); its hereditary claims extinguished in death ("body of sin destroyed", Rom. 6:6); and its physical hold on human nature obliterated and destroyed by a resurrection to eternal life and glory. We look at a representative of the race-God's own work-God's own Son-in whom the relation between God and man has been rectified; in whom the calamity of Eden has been repaired. But as we look, we see that so far this result is limited to himself. He only is delivered: he only has obtained eternal redemption. But is it the purpose of God to extend the glorious result to many others? It was with this purpose He raised up such a saviour.

It but remains to glance for a moment at the principle on which the result is extended. It is all "through this man" (Acts 13:38). "There is non other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). God offers to all who believe and obey him (putting on his name in baptism, and observing all things that he has commanded-Acts 2:38; Matt. 28:20) the forgiveness of their sins for his sake (Eph. 4:32) and eternal life by his hand at his coming manifestation in the earth in power and great glory.

Next Page
"The Meaning Of The Word 'Devil'"
"Satan"


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