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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:23)
Not surprisingly, one of the central themes of the Bible is life and death. These terms are used in Scripture in several different ways only one of which refers to natural life and the death of our physical body. A far more important meaning and one which is relevant to this current study is referred to in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions... (Eph. 2:1-5)
Here Paul was writing to a group of people who were very much physically and mentally alive. Yet he was telling them that they had been dead and subsequently had been made alive in Christ. He was not referring to physical life and death but rather spiritual death and spiritual life.
But what do these terms mean?
In the above scripture, while talking about spiritual death, Paul refers to "the ruler of the kingdom of the air" and describes him as "the spirit who is now at work in the those who are disobedient." He is talking about Satan, the devil.
Jesus, in his most direct and unambiguous response to the Jewish religious leaders said:
"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire...." (John 8:44)
The words Jesus spoke were truth. He was here revealing to us the true condition of spiritually dead humanity - it is in spiritual union with the devil. In other words, men and women, in their fallen state, are partakers of the very life and nature of Satan. This is spiritual death.
When God created man and woman and placed them in the garden of Eden, he gave strict instructions about one particular matter.
..."You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Gen. 2:16-17)
When Adam capitulated and handed to Satan the authority over creation that God had originally given to him (Genesis 1:28), he did not die physically. In fact he lived for many hundreds of years after this event. What was being referred to here was spiritual death, for in this act of high treason Adam, and through him the entire human race and, indeed, all of creation, were handed over to "the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."
Jesus acknowledged the result of Adam's transgression during his temptation.
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendour, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." (Luke 4:5-7)
We accept that this was a genuine temptation, and as Jesus did not challenge Satan's claim to authority over all the kingdoms of the world, we can safely assume that it was a valid claim. It is this authority that Adam passed over to Satan. Since that time it has been by the power of spiritual death that Satan lords it over the human race and over all creation.
The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Rom. 8:19-22)
If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, (Job 25:5)
What are the characteristics of spiritual death, the Satanic nature, with which the human race has been infected since the fall?
"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him." (John 8:44)
The badge of spiritual death is fear and one of its most devastating products is murder. This becomes evident to us as the Bible narrative unfolds.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid..." (Gen. 3:8-10)
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. (Gen. 4:8)
Man is in a state of rebellion against God not only because of his own desire but because he is in union with the one who is the author of rebellion in the universe. Men rest under the frightening shadow of judgment not only because of their actions and motives, but because of their spiritual union with him who is under the ultimate judgment of God.
"When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: ... and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." (John 16:8-11)
The world is not ruled by reason, it is ruled by "the ruler of the kingdom of the air" who exercises control through the power of spiritual death. A glance at the daily newspapers or a cursory study of human history provides graphic evidence of the ravages that this devastating spiritual disease has had upon mankind.
Reason would tell is that it is not a reasonable thing to do to go to war and slaughter millions of our fellow citizens. Reason would tell us that murder, rape, pillage and genocide need not be a necessary part of our sojourn upon this planet and that it should be possible to live in harmony and mutual respect, at least to a tolerable degree.
And yet all these things, and much worse, happen and continue to happen. Fear, hatred, greed, jealousy, lust, murder and the craving for revenge seem to continually erupt somewhere and wreck havoc, seemingly out of all human control. This is all the product of spiritual death, the Satanic nature.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph. 6:12)
It was onto this scene of gross darkness and spiritual and physical devastation that Jesus "the light of the world," came.
"...the people living in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." (Matt. 4:16)
The darkness being referred to was the shadow of death, that is the shadow of spiritual death. Jesus came to those living under Satan's dominion to set them free and to forever break the shackles of spiritual death which had bound humanity since Adam's act of treachery.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Col. 2:15)
The New English Bible translation makes this even more graphic.
On that cross he discarded the cosmic powers and authorities like a garment; he made a public spectacle of them and led them as captives in his triumphal procession. (Col. 2:15 [NEB])
It is important to note that Jesus had no need to fight this battle and overcome Satan on his own behalf, for he was always infinitely above the devil in power and authority in the universe. It was on our behalf, as representative man, that Jesus broke the authority of Satan and forever crushed the power of spiritual death.
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Heb. 2:14-15)
The "death" being referred to here is "spiritual death."
What Adam lost Jesus regained for us. Where Adam brought bondage Jesus brought liberty. Where Adam's treachery plunged the human race into the darkness of spiritual death, Jesus' act of obedience brought life and light.
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Rom. 5:17-19)
For this reason Adam is often referred to as an "anti-type" of Christ, meaning that he depicted what Christ would come and do, but in reverse. In this sense the Bible refers to Jesus as the "last Adam."
So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. (1 Cor. 15:45)
But the price that Jesus paid to purchase our liberty is something that will be forever beyond our ability to fully comprehend.
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:14-15)
In the narrative of the wanderings of the Old Covenant people (Num. 21:4-9), they had become very discouraged because of the hardness of their way and the apparent lack of food and water. As so often happened in times of crisis they rebelled in their hearts and murmured against Moses and against God.
As a result "venomous snakes" appeared in their midst and many were bitten and died. They confessed their sin to Moses and God told Moses to make a bronze image of a snake and raise it up on a pole. When anyone who had been bitten looked up to the snake on the pole they were healed.
Jesus himself gave us to understand that the snake on the pole was actually a symbol representing his death on the cross. But right throughout the Bible the snake is used to represent Satan! So how can this be?
What this extraordinary statement of Jesus tells us is that on the cross he took upon himself the spiritual death of all mankind. That is he became one with our Satanic nature.
It is quite certain that the human mind will never be able to comprehend in its fullness the suffering that Jesus endured on that cross. However this Scripture may help us to gain at least some small insight into the immense magnitude of Jesus' sacrifice on behalf of the human race.
For here we see the perfect pure soul of God Incarnate who had walked in absolute harmony with his heavenly Father. He had never been tormented by fear but walked by pure faith and pure love. The only sorrow he had known had been for God's Old Covenant people who were living in such cruel bondage because of their sin and ignorance. He himself had known only joy and peace beyond our understanding.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. (Heb. 1:9)
But on the cross he was overwhelmed by the utter corruption of man's fallen nature. Suddenly he finds his soul twisted and tormented by the fear not of one soul, but of the entire human race. He who had known only love finds the hatred which cripples and degrades the hearts of men, gripping his own pure heart. And so it was with all the spiritual degradation of the Satanic nature, the greed, the lust, the bitterness. He felt and experienced it all. This is holy ground on which we walk.
Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and feet.
I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. (Ps. 22:12-18)
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)
Jesus not only took our sins and bore the penalty on our behalf, he was actually "made ... sin" on our behalf. In other words he became one with our fallen nature or spiritual death. As spiritual darkness engulfed his innocent soul, no wonder he cried out in anguish to his Father.
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" - which means, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46)
No wonder the land was covered in darkness from midday to three o'clock when he died (Matt. 27:45). No wonder there were earthquakes which caused rocks to break asunder and graves to be opened (Matt. 27:51-52).
Even the Roman centurion who would have had no conception as to what was really taking place said "Surely he was the Son of God" (Matt. 27:54).
Jesus, our great High Priest, now fully understands what it is to be a human being, even a fallen human being. His identification with the human race is absolute and eternally complete.
Jesus, through his own experience of spiritual death, has broken forever the power of spiritual death that had held the human race in bondage, servitude and fear since the fall.
But Jesus not only stripped us of spiritual death. To stop at this point would have been to leave the task incomplete.
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. (Matt. 12:43-45)
"...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)
Having broken the power of spiritual death Jesus gives life to all who, by faith, accept his redeeming work. This is the spiritual life which replaces spiritual death. What then is spiritual life?
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Pet. 1:3-4)
The word "participate" has the meaning of "have a share of something with someone" or "have something of." Thus we are told that we have a share of the divine nature with Christ. That is we are sharers in his very life. This is spiritual or eternal life.
Thus we understand that the terms life and death are used, in this sense, to depict two lives or natures. Life is the Divine Nature while death is the Satanic nature. Men and women are in spiritual union either with God or with Satan. There is no half-way house or place of independence. We are either in the kingdom of darkness or in the kingdom of light.
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,... (Col. 1:13)
The dominion of darkness is the spiritual kingdom in which Satan holds sway through the power of spiritual death. The "kingdom of the Son he loves" is the kingdom of life, that is the Divine Nature.
The moment we put our faith in Christ and accept him as our Saviour we are transferred from one kingdom to the other. There is never any time when we are partly in one kingdom and partly in the other. There is no way that we are partakers of the Divine Nature and the Satanic nature at the same time. They cannot and do not co-exist within one person.
When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, he "cuts away" our old nature of spiritual death and replaces it with his own life and nature. We now are in spiritual union with God. This is permanent, for all time and for eternity.
In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with circumcision done by Christ,... (Col. 2:11)
This process is referred to as spiritual circumcision because the rite of circumcision which provided entry into the Old Covenant symbolised our entry in the New Covenant by the "putting off" of the spiritual death or the old Satanic nature and the implantation of the Divine Nature.
All of this, however, can present us with some difficulties, for we can clearly see that not all of the "objects of wrath" exhibit all the characteristics of their spiritual father. It is equally true that not all of the children of God exhibit all the characteristics of their heavenly Father or do full credit to him who bought them with his own blood.
However, this is a different issue altogether for there is another factor in the equation. This is the human spirit and will, that is our own natural life which exerts its own influence over the thoughts and actions of men. At this level there are many grey areas and perplexities. We will not explore these just yet.
Suffice to say at this point, that at the spiritual level there are no grey areas. It is all black and white. We are either in the kingdom of darkness or the kingdom of light. We are either partakers of the Divine Nature or partakers of the Satanic nature, never both.
Also, the moment we accept Jesus as our Saviour we are brought into the kingdom of light and are kept there forever. We do not move from one to the other. We are not partakers of the Divine Nature one day and of the Satanic nature the next. We do not oscillate between spiritual life and death according to our successes and failures. When we are in Christ we are kept by the power of God.
While the scripture does give some indication that "falling away" is possible and that "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost" will not be forgiven, these must be looked upon as the most extreme of extreme cases and apply to people who have consciously and finally rejected God's forgiveness. As far as God is concerned, our place in the kingdom of the Son he loves is eternally secure. No matter what our failures may be, or how disappointed we may be in our own response to the dealings of God, the well of God's grace, forgiveness, mercy and love is infinite in its capacity to meet our need.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:38-39)
Let us now reflect upon the grandeur of 2 Peter 1:4. It is here that we are told that we are participators in the Divine Nature. No matter how we think about, look at or examine this statement, it simply means what its says, that is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, having delivered us from the power of spiritual death, now shares his life with us.
It means that all the infinite resources that he had within himself to meet life and overcome, have become ours. It means that the overwhelming confidence and faith with which he faced life and death, he shares with us. His love, his peace, gentleness, goodness and lowliness of heart, which were at the foundation of his perfect life, are ours. The "oil of joy" with which he was anointed (Hebrews 1:9) is ours. Even the Holy Spirit which the Father poured out upon him without measure (John 3:34) is provided to us as our Counsellor and Comforter (John 14:16-17; 25-26).
It is this gift of divine life that the godly people of old longed for, believed in but never attained.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Heb. 11:39-40)
It is fundamental to our understanding of the eternal purpose of God that we realise life is not about being upright, moral or good. It is about having the very nature and character of Christ built into our innermost being.
...the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:26-27)
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20)
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18)
How much greater this is than the morality and goodness produced by our own effort and will. The Bible is scathing about our self-made righteousness.
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;... (Isa. 64:6)
"There is no one righteous, not even one;..." (Rom. 3:10)
Rather we are to bear the "fruit" of the indwelling Christ.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal. 5:22-23)
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to build into our lives the character of Christ. Our work is to trust him utterly as he carries out this divinely ordained task. It is what he has produced within our hearts and lives that we will carry with us into eternity.
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