Thursday, October 27, 2016

WORK OF THE NEW MAN JESUS CHRIST

     Jesus Christ came into the world and fulfilled His activity, which aimed at the devil and all evil; He overthrew his dominion stripping the devil of his ill-gotten power and authority which he had acquired by man’s fall into sin, after his disobedience to God’s commandment.

     The overthrow of the evil one and all evil could only be accomplished by Jesus Christ the new man.
Being born of the a woman without the seed of man, He was perfectly holy, and free from original sin and not under the condemnation of death. He grew in spirit being filled with wisdom and the grace of God. At thirty years He was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, then by the voice of His heavenly Father witnessed that He was His own beloved Son in whom He had well decided to save the sinful and mortal race of men. Also, under the form of a dove descending upon Him, He was anointed by the Holy Spirit to be High Priest, King and Prophet over the holy city of God. He would fight with and overcome the devil and establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

    The devil attacked Christ unsuccessfully in an attempt to defile Him with sin, but was quickly defeated, became feeble and was exposed and put to shame, and he was instantly defeated.

     Jesus Christ being victorious began to preach the Gospel of His kingdom. And he brgan to gather his disciples. He drove out demons from those possessed, healed every form of sickness among the people and restored the dead to life. This established that He is truly the Son of God who came into the world to save the world from sin and to free men from the authority of the devil.

     The Devil waged a counterattack defaming Him with slander through the mouths of the wicked Scribes and Pharisees who were his seed. They accused Him of perverting the law of Moses, and accused him of being a false prophet; despite His divine wonders, they deemed Him worthy of death and not a true representative of God to which His works strongly testified. He voluntarily delivered himself into the hands of his enemies who condemned Him to death, the shameful death of the cross. This was most unjust and many prophecies bore witness of these things. He suffered greatly and surrendered His spirit, given up to death upon the Cross, and  the wicked ones looked upon Him with self satisfaction.

     This unjust and wicked act was immediately adjudged by God. It was judged that the Son who was deprived of life should receive the life that was taken from Him, and restored four and five fold. The Devil was condemned to death and destruction, and was deprived of all his authority which he had unjustly acquired because of the sins of men.

     On the third day the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the tomb according to the Scriptures, and received all authority in heaven and on earth and the right to raise the dead to life eternal, this included all those who believe in Him. The Devil is stripped of the authority which he possessed until the time comes when he will be justly apprehended and cast into the unquenchable fire of eternal punishment together with his angels and all his followers.

     From baptism until crucifixion and death upon the cross, the work of Christ was like war; then after the resurrection the work was peaceful and constructive having become the beginning of the new order founded upon the rights of pure and sinless Christ. Christ came and by teaching and example taught men what their purpose and destination are, elevating them as to their divine and holy destination. Christ through His mighty work turned the old idolatrous world upside down.

     This article was published in October 2016, and it shows the wonderful battle that our Lord waged on our behalf and the seriousness and importance of our Orthodox Faith. Christ who is the Creator and God of all, spared nothing including His life to bring us to salvation. The big question is, what are we doing about it. This is the most important decision that we will make during our entire lifetimes.

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