2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
In yesterday's message, I cited HE 1: 5-9, 13-14, which clearly shows Christ's higher position in heaven than the angels and God's reasons for this. What I am led to do in this present section of my messages is to not only show Satan's origin but to give a Biblical picture of the lay out, the "functioning system" of heaven. We can see the interaction between it with Satan with his followers. There is always the question: Since we can't see any angels and this order of functioning, is this real? If we are to accept as I do that every word in the Scriptures is true, then the answer to that question is clear. The real issue is faith. From my work for God and the people it brings into my life, I can witness to the fact that I believe it is real experientially. That is because I get to see the power that their faith has in impacting their lives for good, even when they are enduring the pain and suffering that spiritual warfare brings them. I can certainly attest to this in my own life too.
To really appreciate God's blessings that we now enjoy, we need to never forget from whence we came to our present lives of faith. EPH 2: 1-3 really reveals that. "In the past you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins. At that time you followed the world's evil way; you obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God. Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's wrath." When we put this together with EPH 6: 12, the verse that I so often am led to cite about our warfare really being with the "wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark world," it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who is doing the dirty work. It is clearly Satan and his evil angels. He is the "ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God." In reading EPH 2: 1-3, we see a kind of existence described for the people who disobey God as one of hopelessness and on a path to sure death. We ourselves were on this same path until Christ gave His life on the cross, and we had the faith to repent of our sins and believe in Him. Who gave us that faith? It was our loving Abba, Who has been behind everything that is good in our lives. That's sufficient reason for us to spend every day of the rest of eternity offering Him praise and thanks. In a future series of devotions, I hope to write more about the personalities which describe the condition of our faith with Biblical citations to support each.
Let me reiterate DN 7: 13-14 in an effort to stress Christ's position in heaven and on earth and to aid in a better understanding of Who He really is in God's eyes and hopefully, in ours. "During this vision in the night, I [Daniel] saw what looked like a human being [Christ]. He was approaching me, surrounded by clouds, and He went to the One Who was ancient of days [God] and was presented to Him. He was given authority, honor, and royal power, so that the people of all nations, races, and languages would serve Him. His authority would last forever, and His Kingdom would never end." In case there is ever any question about God's will for the construction of His Kingdom, EPH 2: 20-22 really puts it to rest. As I cite this passage, look for what our place is in it. "You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the Cornerstone being Christ Jesus Himself. He is the One Who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred Temple dedicated to the Lord. In union with Him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through His Spirit." Not one component of this construct lacks in importance. Nowhere in it do we see Satan and his followers. They have been excluded. For those of us who endure through all the spiritual warfare we encounter at his hand, this should be a great comfort.
In tomorrow's message we will examine how God's wrath will be leveled at Satan and his followers and the contrast between Christ's and Satan's attitude toward God. With the seduction of the original sin [GN 3: 1-6] in the garden of Eden, Satan became the ruler of the world who rules over all who disobey God, but the story doesn't end there. Hallelujah!
PRAYER: O Lord, Your love for us has no bounds. You work every day to erect the Kingdom pictured in EPH 2: 20-22. It was You Who gave us the prophets and allowed them to see enough of the future to know that we each had to make a choice about coming to faith or not. The apostles followed, fleshing out the picture and giving us greater understanding of Your will. No one was designated by You except Your Son to do the real work of redemption; He did this by dying on the cross as a propitiation for our sins. It is He Who is the Cornerstone of Your Kingdom. You assigned angels to carry out various tasks in heaven and on earth to further Your will for the salvation of as many people as would listen to the Good News and would come to believe in Christ. Some of those angels disobeyed You led by the one who disappointed You the most. These and the people who follow them are fitted for certain destruction, as the quintessential act of Your ultimate righteousness. PS 98: 1-2, 8-9 expresses the gratitude in our hearts for Who You are and what You accomplish for us. "Sing a new song to the Lord; He has done wonderful things! By His own power and holy strength He has won the victory. The Lord has announced His victory; He made His saving power known to the nations...Clap your hands, you rivers; you hills, sing together with joy before the Lord, because He comes to rule the earth. He will rule the peoples of the world with justice and fairness." We come to You in humility today, to confess our sins and to offer You adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, trust, obedience, praise, and eternal thanksgiving. In Christ's name, amen.
It is not hard to see why examining all this "combat intelligence" on the devil, the layout of how heaven is, and how God accomplishes some of His work through angels is valuable to us. When we see bad things happening in our own lives or in those of others around us, the Lord gives us a better understanding of how that is brought about and how to deal with it. Just imagine how blessed we are when He gives us His perspective through faith on an issue like the loss of close loved ones. I stand in amazement of the comfort given by knowing these cherished people are going home to the place of their real citizenship in heaven, to walk streets of gold with the Father. Those without faith, experience real hopelessness and despair. They have no future other than to be "tent-dwellers," temporary residents of earth followed by eternal destruction in the lake of fire and sulfur. The loss of loved ones is only one issue that is painful that we must face. Our loving Abba reveals His wisdom on many such issues to us. The blessings of faith are never ending. All around us and within us, we experience manifestations of His profound love for each of us every day of our lives. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn