We read in Hebrews 2:14-15, “Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (RV)
There are many kinds of bondages that people are enslaved to, one of which is the bondage to fear. The primary fear that grips many people is the fear of death, which translates itself into various aspects of their lives. The above mentioned verse in Hebrews speaks about those who all their life are dominated by the fear of death. There are so many who are constantly gripped with this sense of fear, most of which is insubstantial, which is evident in every walk of their lives. The Lord’s will, and desire is that anyone who is overcome with this kind of fear, should be liberated to live with the boldness and confidence that the Lord is with them.
When Adam was fearful
The Lord has bestowed us with emotions and one of these is fear. In the bible, this emotion of fear is displayed for the first time in Genesis 3:9-10, But the LORD God called out to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden; I was afraid and hid from you, because I was naked." (GNB)
Adam and Eve were in constant communion and fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden. But, on that particular day when God came calling out to Adam, he did not come running to God’s beckoning, but was found to be hiding from God. For the first time Adam experienced this emotion of fear, and responded back to God saying, ‘I was afraid and hid from you, because I was naked.’ It was only after Adam disobeyed God’s command that he could not face God, and was filled with fear.
Fear can be defined as a feeling induced by perceived danger or threat. All fears are not valid, and yet many are seized by this strong emotion. For instance, there are those who are fearful of travelling by bus, and from the moment they board the bus, to the time they get off they are gripped with unrest.
In order to overcome this emotion, it would be good to comprehend the source of fear, and also the way it controls us. Here’s another example from our day to day life. Some young people don’t wish to wear helmets as they don’t like their hair style’s to get messed up. What they do therefore, is to carry the helmet in their hand sometimes, without wearing them to cover their head. However, when they spot a traffic cop at a distance, they immediately stop to wear their helmet for fear of being caught and fined. If that same young person, was wearing the helmet as they should, they would pass by the same cop with total confidence, and no fear whatsoever. So we realize that fear can also overtake us when things are not in order, and we are not adhering to certain rules or principles, as we should in our lives.
Every time we are tempted to do wrong and give in, we may console ourselves with the thought that no one is watching, but every time we sin we become more fearful, and vulnerable as these sins become heavier bondages in our lives. Samson is an example of this kind of behavior; he fell into this trap, when he fell head over heels for Delilah, and if we read the account, every time he revealed something more of himself to Delilah, the ropes that were tied around him became thicker and stronger, until he was finally overtaken by the Philistines.
How the process of death began
We read in Genesis 2:16-17, The LORD God commanded the man. He said, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden. But you must never eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because when you eat from it, you will certainly die."
There were two commands the Lord gave Adam and Eve, one was that they were free to eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden, and the other was that they were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God also cautioned them that if they disobeyed, and ate of it, they will certainly die. In spite of the warning Adam and Eve deliberately chose to disobey God, and ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree. Adam and Eve did not die immediately that day, but after they sinned they realized that something drastic had happened to them, which prompted them to hide from God’s presence. They realized that their disobedience had severed them from the presence of a holy God, and that they had forfeited the beautiful relationship they enjoyed with Him. Adam and Eve who were so bold in God’s presence before the fall, were suddenly overcome with fear, and shame for the first time.
Sin always has consequence
There are those who continue in sin with no remorse whatsoever, only because they are not faced with immediate consequences. What they are unaware is that every time we sin, there are changes that are taking place, maybe not on the outside, but in our inner man. Let me give you an example. We may sometimes leave our children at home for an hour or so, and instruct them to study or do their homework. Have you noticed how when we get back, just by observing the way the children welcome us, we can easily make out if they actually did study or not? They will come running confidently if they had obeyed, or would be really hesitant if they were engaged in some other entertainment in our absence. The feeling of guilt on the inside, brings about a change in the countenance, and expression of the child.
Our relationship with God is of utmost importance, and the Holy Spirit who indwells us is a gentle Spirit. That is why, when there is sin and rebellion in our lives, the Holy Spirit of God cannot reside inside of us. When we continue in sin, we miss out on the relationship we have with God though the consequences of it may not be felt immediately.
There is an incident recorded in Mark 11 where Jesus was walking with His disciples, was hungry, and so looked for fruit in a fig tree that was full of leaves. When He found none, Jesus cursed the fig tree saying that no man should eat of its fruit ever again. Initially it appeared like nothing happened, but the next day when the disciples of Jesus came by the same way they noticed that the tree had withered to its roots. Many continue in sin, with the thought that nothing has changed, and so they are safe to carry on the way they are. What they fail to realize is that sin will deteriorate our spiritual life, and will sever the relationship we have with God. We are called to be holy and accountable to God in every area of our lives, our thoughts, words and actions. It is a fact that when our relationship with the Lord is right, our emotions are in order, and contrarily when that relationship is severed, we are overtaken by emotions that are detrimental to us. Physicians today surmise that more than 60% of sicknesses that people experience are mostly to do with emotional, and mental instabilities.
The steps that led to death
As long as they were in obedience to God all their emotions were intact, and there was no sickness in their bodies. The first thing that Adam and Eve experienced when they disobeyed God was a spiritual death, when they were severed from their relationship they enjoyed with God. The next thing that was inevitable was physical death.
Let me explain this in a simple way. There are two people who are close friends, they share everything, they understand each other, and they are so well acquainted that they can perceive each other’s thoughts perfectly, even without saying a word. A third person who is observing this friendship is jealous, and subtly comes in to sabotage this friendship by sowing seeds of discord. The result of this interference is that, the two who were such good friends, are no longer comfortable to even talk to each other. Once there is a rift any simple communication is then easily misunderstood or misinterpreted. This goes on for a while, until they choose to separate from each other, and go their own way. This can even happen between husband and wife. That is why it is vital that when there are issues in marriage, we must learn to take it together to the Lord, and not involve a third party who often causes further division.
This is what happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were in perfect communion with God, they gave room for the serpent, who created a doubt in Eve’s mind. Their disobedience resulted first in their spiritual death. Their emotions were now in turmoil, they were distressed, and therefore hid in fear.
We read in Genesis 3:24, So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life. (BBE)
The same God who had created man in His own image, with beauty and perfection had to drive him out of the Garden of Eden. Man was now separated from the God who was the very source of his life. Satan subtly entered in, and caused the division with God and among God’s people. Adam and Eve were now physically cast away from the presence of God, which also led to physical death. That is why Hebrews 2:14-15 refers to Satan as the one who has power over death.
Jesus now holds authority over death
All praise and glory be to God, because of what we read in Revelation 1:18, And I was dead, and see, I am living forever, and I have the keys of death and of Hell. (BBE)
Here are the words of assurance that Jesus gives us that though He died, He is now alive forever and has the keys of death and hell in His hands. The power of death that was in the hands of the devil, is now in the hands of Jesus who died, and rose victorious from the grave. The keys refer to the authority that is placed in the hands of Jesus.
If we can comprehend the process by which this authority over death, and hell came in to the hands of Jesus, we will be freed from the fear of death in our lives.
Jesus took on human form
We read in Hebrews 2:14, “Since all of these sons and daughters have flesh and blood, Jesus took on flesh and blood to be like them.” (GW)
Adam and Eve and all who followed them have flesh and blood, but when they sinned, death began to reign instead of life. They were separated from God where they should have been in fellowship with Him.
In order to set this condition of man aright, Jesus came down to earth in the form of man by taking on flesh and blood. Christmas day was not the time when Jesus came into being, for He was there even before the creation of the world, the Alpha and Omega who has no beginning or end, but it was that time when He was manifested in bodily form. Though we may celebrate in remembrance the day that Jesus came down to the earth as a baby, we must not fail to recognize that He is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords and the one who was from the beginning, who is coming back to judge each one of us.
Paul writing to the Philippian Church says it this way, Philippians 2:7, “Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness.” (GNB)
Jesus emptied Himself, gave up all His position, the glory that was due Him, took the form of a servant and became like a human being for the one purpose that man might be restored to the original place that God had planned for Him at the beginning of creation. He came as an obedient son, only to fulfill His Father’s will on earth.
We read in 1 Corinthians 15:45, “The first man, Adam was created a living being”; but the last Adam is the life-giving Spirit.” (GNB)
Paul explains this precisely that Adam who was the first created man was a living being, while Jesus who is the second Adam, became a life-giving Spirit, because in the spirit was the first separation which Jesus came to restore.
In Romans 5:19 And just as all people were made sinners as the result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way they will all be put right with God as the result of the obedience of the one man. (GNB)
Adam’s disobedience resulted in all of mankind becoming sinners, resulting in death (separation from God), but the total obedience of Jesus to the point of death on the cross, resulted in life (brought us close to God) that is eternal. As God is one of justice, He could not ignore sin, which was why He took on Himself the punishment for the sins of all mankind, led a sinless life, endured spiritual and physical death, thereby becoming our Redeemer and Saviour.
Jesus experienced both spiritual death and physical death
We read in Philippians 2:8, “He was humble and walked the path of obedience all the way to death - his death on the cross.” (GNB)
We read Matthew 27:46, “And about the ninth hour Jesus gave a loud cry, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why are you turned away from me? (BBE), signifying His spiritual death when He was separated from God the Father, as He bore the sins of the whole world.”
And in Matthew 27:50, “Then Jesus loudly cried out once again and gave up his life.” (GW), where He also experienced physical death, when He gave up His ghost and died physically.
Many people are living a beastly lives simply because they are spiritually dead. When God made man, He made him with body, soul and spirit. But when the spirit of a man is dead, he is reduced to living and behaving like an animal.
The key of death are in Jesus’ hands
When Jesus died on the cross this is what happened. We read in Matthew 27:51, “Suddenly, the curtain in the temple was split in two from top to bottom.” (GW)
Acts 2:24....for death could not keep Him in its grip. (NLT)
When Jesus died on the cross as the sinless Lamb of God, He made His way into the most holy place, and that is why the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Jesus was sinless, and therefore death could not hold Him. He rose victorious over death, and thereby the keys to death are now passed on into the hands of Jesus.
That is why we read in 1 Corinthians 15:55 "Where, Death, is your victory? Where, Death, is your power to hurt?" (GNB)
The assurance that Jesus gives us is that there is absolutely no need for us to fear death, for He has overcome death and the grave. It cost Jesus His life when He willingly humbled Himself to die for our sins, but, He came forth victorious to hold the keys of death in His hands. Satan now has no power or authority over death. Our day of birth and day of death are in the Lord’s hands, and we do not have any reason to fear death anymore. For those who have committed their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, there is the absolute assurance that He is with us and there is nothing that we should fear anymore. If we have been tossed by all sorts of fears, fear of situations, things or people, let us be confident to know that God is in control and we are safe and secure in His hands.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
