This is a question that
sounds strange but a very grave one to be answered by every believer who is
finding it hard to live in the reality of what Jesus had done. Have you died?
Death was not a part of
the earth’s formation from the beginning for man. It is a term that was never
meant to be a verb. The only thing that could bring death is when man submit to
another lordship. When God created man on the earth, He placed him in Eden. God
gave him some instructions which if he didn’t follow he would die. The problem
with this death was that it wasn’t about physical suspension of the breath of
man but the suspension of the spiritual breath that connects man to God. The death
is a submission which leads to being responsive to what you submit to, so
directly translates man would be responsive to God as long as they kept to God’s
statute. Adam and Eve were warned but they had no resistance enough against the
devil’s shrewdness. They disobeyed and they eventually died.
Their death wasn’t
pleasing to God. This meant man now had the mind of his own. Man can now
imagine every vain thing and in such he would only think about things in
contrast to God. This is the advent of the sin nature. In order for man not to
become immortal in this sinful state, God, quickly ushered him out of the Garden
of Eden.
Man lost it at that
point. His power, authority, influence and domain all went with the death. He
began to struggle not just with his life but to please God. The devil felt he
already won the game; man had lost it, sin had polluted the life of God in man.
That is exactly the position of strength of the devil in the life of any man.
Even if man didn’t want to sin, he has no power over that as he his legally
subjected to the father of sinners himself.
However, God wouldn’t
watch the works of His hands (man) suffer in the hands of the devil. He
immediately provided a temporary solution. This is what brought the sacrificial
system into the plan. This didn’t totally solve the problem of sin. Sin is what
made man struggle with his living and communication with God.
To the big deal: to
fully secure a permanent retrieval of man’s domain and doing away with the
sinful nature Jesus had to lay down His life for the deliverance of man. Devil
became the highest authority on earth by the virtue of man’s submission to him
but when Jesus went to his territory and came back alive, all authority was transferred
to Jesus. He became the highest ruler, with authority over every other power.
Death comes by
submitting. And, you are only responsive to what you submit to. Hence, the
first man brought us to being responsive to sin. But, now, dieing to Jesus by
submitting to Him makes you responsive to Him. Now, to live you have to die. To
become sinless, you have to die to Jesus who now has the authority back from
the hades. If you truly come to the place of submitting to the Lordship of
Jesus then you have buried the life of sin.
“When you came to Christ
he set you free from your evil desires, not by a bodily operation of
circumcision but by a spiritual operation, the baptism of your souls. For in
baptism you see how your old, evil nature died with him and was buried with
him; and then you came up out because you trusted the Word of the mighty God
who raised Christ from the dead” Col2vs11-12
This is the whole
essence of what the gospel offers. Men who have “died” (submitted) to Christ
don’t respond to sin.
How is your personal
life? People may see you on the outside and feel you are great and sound with
Him. But have you died genuinely? If you have, then, sin should no longer have
dominion over you. This is just the truth of the word.
If you still find it
hard to live a life without sin, you are yet to die.
Be
Innovated
Olufemi
Ibitoye@toyeolufemi
This is so deep.
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