It seems as though many “mature” Christians may need to go to their children’s and grandchildren’s Sunday school classes to be reminded of the power and sovereignty our God.  Religion has attempted to bring the bar of the Lord’s holiness and glory down to man’s level where man can comprehend even though the Bible clearly states “we walk by faith, not by sight” 2 Cor. 5:7.

I’m beginning to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “… Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”  Matthew 18:3-4.  God has designed a specific way for us to be reconciled to Him and it is through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.  Nothing we can do can add to the Lord’s sacrifice.  God has always had His way of coming into a relationship with His creation and His creation has always tried to make another way, starting with Cain, to King Saul to now – we always try to lower His bar of holiness to our level.  It was man’s offense toward God, man’s sin that offended God and cut us off from Him, that caused Jesus Christ to come and redeem us.  JESUS’ SACRIFICE WAS NOT A DEBT OWED TO satan BUT TO GOD.  God doesn’t, didn’t nor ever will owe the devil anything.  We were cut off from God because of  our sin and it was due to His love for us that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us.  Satan would have us thinking Jesus’ sacrifice was to pay a debt owed to him, which would denote he has more power than what he actually does. 

Jesus did not die spiritually on the Cross, He died physically to redeem us of all our sins.  “For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” 1 Peter 3:18.  Jesus’ life was not taken from Him.  Jesus’ beatings and sufferings were Him willfully submitting to God’s will to reconcile Himself (God)  with His people (His creation).  Jesus did not give up His life until the Holy Spirit told Him to die; no man took His life from Him (Hebrews 9:14).

Jesus’ defeat over sin, hell and the grave was for us; it was our victory He won on the Cross.  It was our debt Jesus paid TO GOD on the Cross for our sin.  Jesus defeat of satan was in His sacrifice TO GOD which atoned our sins.  There wasn’t some mythical battle in hell over the keys to hell.  Jesus has the keys to hell because God gave them to Him.  Satan has never determined who enters hell.  Jesus did not go down to hell and defeat the devil by speaking out the Word of God.  Again, the devil was defeated as soon as the sacrifice was made and the sacrifice was made when God, through the Holy Spirit, said it was made…not man and not satan.

It is one thing if we, throughout the body of Christ, differ on some of our beliefs.  For example, speaking in tongues, long hair, no make up, etc. but when we start to diminish the almighty power of God through false teaching such as this it is insulting to God.  Any revelations that are different from what God has provided us in His Word comes straight from the pits of hell.  These are demonic spirits that takes our faith away from the power of God which is in the Cross of Jesus and Him Crucified.   It was there our victory was obtained.

“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:” Romans 6:5.  We must first understand the fullness of His death before we will ever have “the likeness of His resurrection”. – Donna Warren