Bible Studies

THE GREAT DIVIDE

by Luella Campbell
11/22/14
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THE GREAT DIVIDE

"Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above very name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11.

This is Paul's song - the greatest declaration ever made and the greatest song ever written.

Before the beginning of time, Lucifer set out to usurp God's position in heaven and take over the ownership and control of the earth. He lied to the first pair by posing as the ultimate authority. They listened to him, did what he said, and plunged the entire universe into moral darkness and chaos. He, Satan, the deceiver, has gone on hoodwinking people ever since.

God had already laid His plan to prove the devil wrong before the earth was born, and to bring him to judgment so that He could restore His creation to its original perfection without the interference of His arch enemy, the Liar. His plan was Jesus, sent to earth as fully human, to live under the authority of the Father and in the power of the Holy Spirit as the lowest of the low, a servant; nothing.

Instead of acting and reacting like fallen human beings, hating and retaliating like the master they served, Jesus absorbed all of humanity's hatred of God by serving, loving and forgiving God's enemies. He showed the powers of darkness and the race of rebellious human beings that love is more powerful than fear. Why fear? Because the human race is driven to hate God because they are afraid of Him. They know that He has the power to destroy them.

God put Jesus at the mercy of His enemies to do with Him what they chose. When they had finished with Him, He was mangled, bled out, humiliated and dead. Then they sealed His broken body in a cave and left Him to rot. Death was Satan's final weapon against Him and he thought he had won!

But it did not end there. On the third day, Jesus broke death's hold; with a burst of divine power He came back to life and walked out of the tomb through an enormous boulder sealed with a Roman seal. What Satan thought would put paid to Jesus' claim to be Lord was the seal of his doom. Jesus' death and resurrection was the final proof that He was God, not the devil, and He was Lord, not the usurper.

"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." Hebrews 2:14, 15.

What a moment! Now the Father had every right to declare who was Lord -Jesus! He earned and owned the title as His right. The Father put Him where He belonged, in the place of supreme authority, and gave Him the name that was His alone - Yahweh! Kurios! Lord! Supreme Commander of the nations and of the universe!

"...The end will come, when He hands the kingdom over to God the Father, after He has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." 1 Corinthians 15:24-26.

Daniel saw this event in a prophetic vision centuries before it happened.

"In my vision I looked and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." Daniel 7:13, 14.

This glorious declaration also holds a warning. It is not only for those who believe in Jesus. Paul declared that it is for "every knee". This includes every knee. Even the devil and his minions, and every person who sides with him, will be forced to bow on that day, obviously not in worship but in defeat to acknowledge that Jesus Christ, not the devil, is Lord.

While we are still in this life, we have a decision to make. Who is Lord? If we choose to side with the devil and believe his lie, when we eventually bow to Jesus we will seal our eternal fate, and it will be our choice, not God's that decides where we go. If we are convinced that It is Jesus who spoke the truth, our destiny with be with Him forever.

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.