The Battle for Your Life: The Armor of God – Part 2

What can we do about the devil, about our sin?

 

Nada. Nothing. No. Thing.

That is, nothing on our own.

 

… but there is Some One Who can:

 

Jesus, the Christ

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.                             Titus 2:11-14 NAS

 

Yeshua, the Messiah, “the grace of God,” “our great God and Savior” is the One.

 

 

Why did Jesus come to die and be resurrected?

 

Yes, He came to destroy the works of the devil.

8b The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.                            1 John 3:8 NAS

 

Yeshua cast out evil spirits and thus healed many from demonic possession.

For example:

  • He healed a demon-possessed boy, whom the disciples could not free (Mark 9:17-29)
  • He healed a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon (Luke 4:33-36)
  • He healed a man possessed by a legion of demons by sending them into a herd of pigs (Luke 8:27-33)
  • He healed a woman bent by a sickness caused by a spirit (Luke 13:10-16) (Luke 13:10-16)

 

 

But, He also came

  • To redeem us from the slavery of sin by paying the ransom, the price for our sin
  • To make the atoning sacrifice for our sin as required under the law
  • To make us righteous
  • To reconcile us with God
  • To save us from the consequences of our sin – eternal separation from God and spiritual death

 

 

To redeem us from the slavery of sin by paying the ransom, the price, for our sin

 

Jesus came as our Redeemer, to “redeem” us, to “buy us back” from the slavery of sin, so that we may receive forgiveness for our sins.

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.                         John 8:34 NAS

 

13cHis beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.               Colossians 1:13c-14 NAS

 

Ransom is the redemption of a prisoner, slave, or kidnapped person, goods, etc., for a price.

45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”                 Mark 10:45 NAS

 

The price of the ransom was high. Death for death. Life for life.

His death instead of my death. His life instead of my life.

5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.                       1 Timothy 2:5, 6 NAS

 

 

 

To make the atoning sacrifice for our sin as required under the law

 

Under the sacrificial system of the Law, the only way to be cleansed of sin was by the atoning shedding of the life blood of a sacrifice.

22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.                         Hebrews 9:22 NAS

 

Yeshua came to offer Himself as the sacrifice, by the shedding of His life blood.

2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.             Ephesians 5:2 NAS

 

And His was the last sacrifice needed. And, having sat down, signified the completion of His work and the end of the need for a sacrificial system.

12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,                                    Hebrews 10:12 NAS

See NOTE

 

 

To make us righteous

 

To be “righteous,” to have “righteousness,” is to be in right standing with YeHoVaH. Right standing is to be in right relationship: in unity with God and in alignment with His will.

díkaios1342 (an adjective, derived from dikē, “right, judicial approval”) – properly, “approved by God” (J. Thayer); righteous; “just in the eyes of God” (Souter).

 

dikaiosynē1343 (from díkē1349, “a judicial verdict”) – properly, judicial approval (the verdict of approval); in the NT, the approval of God (“divine approval”).

dikaiosýnē (“divine approval“) is the regular NT term used for righteousness (“God’s judicial approval“). dikaiosýnē (“the approval of God”) refers to what is deemed right by the Lord (after His examination), i.e. what is approved in His eyes.

 

Righteousness is not something that we can ever gain for ourself, by ourself.

10 as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;                                    Romans 3:10 NAS

 

Righteousness can come only through Yeshua Messiah, Jesus Christ.

9… not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,                               Philippians 3:9 NAS

 

 

To reconcile us with God 

 

God seeks reconciliation with His broken creation.

 

Have you ever reconciled your bank statement with your record of your transactions?

Or reconciled your credit card statement with your receipts?

[If not, you should. Don’t assume the bank or the credit card company is right. If they are “right” then they will most likely be “right” in their favor, not yours.]

In Greek too, the word for reconciliation is an accounting term.

apokatallassó604 to reconcile completely (from apo575 [from, away from] and katallássō2596)

katallássō (from katá2596, “down to an exact point,” intensifying allássō236, “to change”)

katallássō was originally used for the exchange of coins; “properly, to change, exchange (especially of money); hence, of persons, to change from enmity to friendship, to reconcile” (A-S).

 

In reconciliation, two accounts (ledgers, lists, stories) are compared.

  • My checking account record and the statement from the bank
  • My charge receipts and the statement from the credit card company
  • My sin and God’s perfect human standard: Jesus, Son of Man

While I may find and reconcile discrepancies in my financial transactions, there is no way I alone can reconcile my behavior with what YeHoVaH requires for relationship with Him. And even if I killed some lambs or birds (as in the sacrificial system of the Temple), it wouldn’t obviate, or remove, the consequences of my sin.

No. Reconciliation can come only through Yeshua Messiah.

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.                              Romans 5:10 NAS

 

19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.                     Colossians 1:19-22 NAS

 

We have been reconciled in order to have a ministry of reconciliation.

18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.                                   2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NAS

 

We are to work, helping to bring reconciliation to the world.

  • Reconciliation between people.
  • Reconciliation between people and nature.
  • Reconciliation between people and God.

 

 

To save us from the consequences of our sin – eternal separation from God and spiritual death

 

Paul tells us, as he told the church at Colossae:

25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.               Colossians 3:25 NAS

 

What is the consequence of our sin?

 

The consequence of sin is death.

The consequence of my sin is my death.

The consequence of your sin is your death.

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.                     Romans 6:23 NAS

 

The time is coming.

The scales will be in balance.

We will be judged.

24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.                                  John 5:24 NAS

 

But, did you catch that?

Did you notice?

 

What’s that? A free gift?

What? We get something in exchange for being one who “hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me”?

Yes.

 

Eternal life!

 

So…

What about that devil?

 

Good News!!

The war between God and satan is over!

[Spoiler Alert! YeHoVaH won!!]

 

More on that

… later.

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

TLThomas

 

It’s ok to doubt, if you check it out!

Be a Berean!

 10The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.                   Acts 17:10, 11 ESV

 

Please join me in this journey of discovery.

  • Leave a comment, or ask me a question.
  • Share this blog with others, whether they are doubting, or not.
  • Take what I say and CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!

 

NOTE:

The sacrificial system of the Jews ended in 70 AD when Roman forces destroyed the Temple.

 

See also

The Battle for Your Life: The Armor of God – Part 1

 

© 2017 by the author