Tag Archives: dominion of darkness

RESCUED AND REDEEMED

Bible Study, ,

RESCUED AND REDEEMED

For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1: 13, 14)

How easy it is to gloss over these words like reading the newspaper and yet, what wealth and power is to be found in them!

“Rescued!” What does that mean to you? Not much, perhaps, unless you have experienced what it is like to be rescued from danger and possible death. I have never been rescued from a life-threatening situation as far as physical circumstances go, but I have been rescued from a lifestyle that was taking me deeper and deeper into darkness. If you have been involved in habits or addictions that were destroying you, you will understand what I mean.

Jesus rescued us from a situation far more dangerous and deadly even than physical death. What could be more dangerous than facing death? Jesus gives us the answer.

I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear, Fear Him who, after        your body has been killed, has the authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him. (Luke 12: 5)

Because of God’s mercy, Jesus has not only rescued us from death – He has also rescued us from the fear of death.

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. (Hebr. 2: 15)

Jesus not only rescued us from death, i.e. shut out of the presence of God, but He also rescued us from the dominion of darkness which He called “hell” (Luke 2: 15). What does that mean?

In the Bible, “darkness” often describes the disposition of the devil and all those who are in bondage to him. Darkness is the absence of light. What is the disposition of the devil?  God is everything that he is not. God is loving – the devil is not; God is generous – the devil is not; God is merciful – the devil is not; God is pure – the devil is not; and so, we can go on. Imagine living in an environment like that – where you are completely ruled forever by and in the company of beings who are everything that God is not!

“Redeemed!” Redemption has to do with slavery. Not only were we in hell and under the dominion of darkness, under the control of an evil being and evil spirits who would completely dominate us forever, but we were also enslaved by him. He had the right to control us because he tricked the first human pair into giving him dominion over them, and all their descendants. We had no option but to serve him because we belonged to him.

The good news is that Jesus redeemed us by paying the redemption price to buy us back and free us from the devil’s dominion. How did He do that? He died our death, and took away the devil’s right to keep us in bondage to death. He paid the ransom price to redeem us so that He could forgive our sin and wipe our slate clean. Satan has no more hold over us because he has nothing more of which to accuse us. We have been freed from his clutches and removed from his power to dominate us ever again.

We have a new Master, Jesus, who is completely unlike our old master. We live under a new King, one who is our Rescuer and Redeemer. He loves us so passionately that He would not leave us to perish in the predicament in which we landed because of our sin. He came in person to get us out of slavery and back into His family where we belong.

It is for this reason that we can be a part of the people for whom Paul prayed – filled with the knowledge of His will, bearing fruit, growing in our knowledge of God and full of joyful thanksgiving because of what He has done for us.

SCRIPTURE TAKEN FROM THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

God Has His Ways!

Christian Life, ,

GOD HAS HIS WAYS!

“The ringleaders took off their coats and asked a young man named Saul to watch them…Saul was right there, congratulating the killers.

“That set off a terrific persecution of the church in Jerusalem. The believers were all scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. All, that is, but the apostles. Good and brave men buried Stephen, giving him a solemn funeral — not many dry eyes that day!” Acts 8:1-2 (The Message).

God has His ways of getting the job done and His instructions carried out. In the early history of the world, He instructed the first pair, Adam and Eve, to multiply and fill the earth. They multiplied alright but, instead of moving out across the earth, they congregated in one place and began to build a tower and set up a false religion in rebellion against God.

At that stage they spoke only one language. God is smart! He knew how to get them to move – confuse their languages, which is just what He did. When they could no longer understand one another, they separated and moved away from each other. Those that remained called their city Babel — the place of confusion — which became the city of Babylon, symbolic of the anti-God world system which will be destroyed when Jesus returns.

Jesus told His disciples that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. But they stayed in Jerusalem. They were comfortable in their circle until this moment when all hell broke loose against them and they were forced to flee from Jerusalem.

But instead of persecution destroying the church and silencing the believers, it only served to spread the message beyond Jerusalem, which was exactly what God wanted. Wherever the believers went, they carried with them the precious story of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit who was in them. Their love, their unity, their unshakeable conviction that Jesus was alive, and even their courage in the face of persecution was so compelling that more and more people joined their ranks in spite of the personal danger of associating with the church.

We see, repeatedly, how God orchestrates the lives and circumstances of His people, which often times seems unfair and even cruel, to serve both His kingdom and His people. No matter how bad things seem to be, the outcome proves that God knows what He is doing. What we think is irreversible disaster turns out to be the best thing that could ever have happened. On hindsight we would not have wanted it any other way!

Look at the scenario. The Jerusalem church was growing, consolidating and flourishing. The people had great favour in the city and then…Peter and John went and healed a crippled beggar! That got the attention of the religious authorities. This was not just a co-incidence. This Jesus, whom they thought they had exterminated, was rearing up His head again. His followers were not only claiming He was alive, they were proving it by doing what He did. They had to be stopped. So they jailed and threatened them.

But it didn’t stop there. Stephen was not even an apostle yet he was also doing what the apostles were doing — and accusing the Sanhedrin of more than murdering Jesus. He accused them of perpetuating the murderous behaviour of their forefathers who killed the prophets for foretelling the coming of Messiah.

This aroused the bitter hatred of a fanatical young Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus. The incident with Stephen released a flood of persecution led by Saul, which sent the believers scattering — just what God wanted!

Does this not give us huge encouragement? The story of the church in the book of Acts is the story of global war — God’s kingdom and the dominion of darkness, but is was and is a one-sided conflict. “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 (NIV).