Saturday 27th
Hebrews 2:5-18
NIV (vv14-15) – ‘Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of 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.’
ESV (vv14-15) – ‘Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.’
I ended yesterday by saying that I would continue today with another outcome of Christ having tasted death, and it is here in these verses, ‘that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil’! The devil has been overcome he is a defeated foe! In 1 John 3:8 we read, ‘Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.’
It was the devil who in the form of the serpent came and beguiled Eve and as a consequence Adam as well, and in coming to Adam and Eve afterward, God spoke to the serpent and said, ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring: he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.’ There was always going to be conflict between the offspring of the woman and with the serpent, the devil, but the good news to be found in this text is that the day would come when the offspring of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent, and it happened at Calvary, for Jesus being the offspring of the woman (and not of the man) died, it was firstly for the sins of mankind, but he was also dying to bruise the head of the devil. He was dying to deal the death blow to the devil, he was dying to destroy the devil and all his works and all the hosts that rebelled alongside him in the presence of God.
And we can rejoice that the devil is a defeated foe, for Christ triumphed victoriously, by defeating death, and as a result the devils days are numbered, he is on a leash and he can do nothing unless God allows him, Scripture says that he is the prince of the power of the air, but Scripture also says that because Christ has tasted death for every man and came through as the victor that he is seated in heaven far above all principalities and powers, that is the authorities that are on earth, under the earth and in the heavenlies, He is the King of kings and he is the Lord of lord and every power is subject to him, even the devil, and the final destruction will take place when the devil and his angels will be cast into the lake of fire, which burns day and night and will never go out. (Revelation 20:10)
This is a reminder to us who are the redeemed of the Lord that we need to learn to live in the victory that is ours in Christ Jesus, we need to be persuaded that nothing – absolutely nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, (Romans 8:37-39) as we bow the knee to him, we are surrendering our lives into his keeping and protecting power. The devil will come after us, what we need to do is to be sober minded and watchful, resisting him by standing firm in our faith, (1 Peter 5:8-9) we need to continually draw near to God and he will draw near to us. (James 4:7-8)
‘Jesus hath died and hath risen again, pardon and peace to bestow; fully I trust him; from sin’s guilty stain Jesus saves me now. Sin’s condemnation is over and gone, Jesus alone knoweth how; life and salvation my soul hath put on; Jesus saves me now. Jesus is stronger than Satan and sin, Satan to Jesus must bow, therefore I triumph without and within; Jesus saves me now. Sorrow and pain may beset me about, nothing can darken my brow; battling in faith I can joyfully shout: Jesus saves me now.’
‘For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?’ 1 Jn 5:4–5