Two vital acts of jesus which saves man from sin completely read the full story of easter, by kiang

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Greetings once more friends everywhere! May the season of Easter replenish your spirit, and rejuvenate your heart to serve Him first!

As we enter the season of Easter commemorating the passion of Jesus, I would like to share two vital aspects of His life which depicts to us how He defeated and took care of human sin altogether. We are familiar with His death on the cross. That’s only half the story, we often forget the first part. I will show how they both must come together so we are freed from sin completely. Both are acts of God which reconciles man to Him forever.

True Origin of Sin: The Great Tempter

First, let’s answer how sin entered the human experience. We know it started with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Our first parents defied God’s instruction to not eat of the forbidden fruit. But it was not entirely their doing. The devil had deceived them into believing God lied to them, and eating the forbidden fruit would result in the exact opposite of what God had said – they would not die but live and become like God. It was the very sin which drove Lucifer to become Satan. He said, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isa.14:12-14, esp. V.14). God labelled him, “You who weakened the nations” (V.12b). So right from the outset we see that Satan is the instigator of sin which weakens peoples. This does not make man guiltless, Adam believed the devil’s word above God’s word. Man sinned, and he has to be atoned for. The Bible calls Satan, “The accuser of our brothers and sisters” (Rev.12:10, also 7-9). He is the great tempter who instigates sin in mankind. (1Thess.3:5) So, there is always two attributes to sin: there is the deceiver who instigates sin, the causal agent, and there is the sinner, whose sins has to be atoned for.

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The Great Tempter - Depiction of Devil in John Milton's Paradise Lost (Wiki Commons)

We have heard the message of Easter through the passion of Jesus at the cross. Is man saved merely as a victim of sin, and not from the arch-deceiver and instigator of sin himself? I believe the Easter message is incomplete if the devil is left out of the picture to account for his deception. The two go hand-in-hand to free man from sin completely. And we’ll see that the two acts wraps Jesus ministry from the beginning to the end – from start to finish.

How, when, and where did Jesus save man from the clutches of the deceiver? It occurred at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry after He was baptized in the Jordan by John. In fact, this had to be the first act of saving man Jesus had to do before starting His ministry. He could not have started his ministry without first taking care of arch-deceiver and instigator of sin. He could not have begun His ministry before He corrected Adam’s mistake of plunging mankind into sin, and held captive in Satan's deception. He could not begin without correcting Adam’s wrong. Paul said, "as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" (1Cor.15:22). The scriptures say that immediately after He was baptized, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the Judean wilderness to prepare Him for His titanic battle with the devil himself and defeat Satan at his own game of deception, and free man from the grips of sin. He fasted for 40 days in his preparation for this battle.

"Three Drivers"

There are three main areas in human life the devil deceives, tempts, and instigates sin. He did it with Adam, and he tried it with Jesus, and he continues to deceive and hold mankind in his devious clutches today. I like to call them the “three drivers” of life. Paul says we ought not to be “ignorant of his schemes (temptations)” (2Cor.2:11). Satan’s temptations of Jesus explains the “three drivers.” (Matt.4:1-11) They are: 1/ Bread or physical sustenance - Matt.4:3-4. 2/ Security and happiness – Matt.4:5-7. 3/ Material gain – Matt.4:8-11. Satan gave his best shot at tempting Jesus to sin like he did with Adam, but he failed. Jesus overcame and defeated Satan in that titanic battle in the Judean wilderness, and God attributed His epic victory to mankind which brings righteousness, just as Adam’s disobedience was imputed upon humanity which brought sin, evil, and human suffering. Paul said, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor.15:22). By “alive,” in the spiritual sense, is to be without sin, for Paul says, “the wages of sin is death” (Rom.6:23).

Let’s now look at these three primary areas of human life the devil uses to deceive and instigate sin in man. Satan is well aware these are three drivers essential to human survival, and man values highly, hence I have called them the “three drivers” of life.

1) Sustenance: With Jesus, Satan used bread, “If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (Matt.4:3). Recall, Jesus had fasted for 40 days and He was famished. For some of us, we would consider it being on the verge of starvation. So, to say that bread was a punishing temptation was an understatement. But Jesus was spiritually strong, He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” It was by God’s word that the world come into being. Jesus saw the bigger picture than mere bread. With Adam, the devil used the forbidden fruit. (Gen.3:1-6) The devil tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit, “you will be like God, knowing good from evil” (V.5). He managed to convince them that God lied when He said, “you shall not eat it, you must not touch it, or you will die” (V.3). They succumbed to the temptation and sinned.

How does this translate to each of us in our time, as it relates to the “sustenance temptation?” “Bread,” which is made from grain, is proverbially known as the “staff of life.” A ‘staff’ is a support or prop synonymous with human livelihood. We turn to Jesus words, “I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or stow away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they?” (Matt.6:25-26). So “bread,” in a broad sense, is metaphor for a person’s basic occupation in which he earns a living. The society in Jesus’ day was mainly agrarian, so sowing and reaping was the main form of work and livelihood for the average citizen. Today, it’s no longer the case.

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"Bread" - Staff of Life (Wiki Commons)

Is Jesus saying we are to not work and support our families – not in the least! Just because the devil used bread to tempt Jesus does not mean bread is now bad food - that’s preposterous. In fact, He said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). He means we’re not to make our work or career into an idol in place of God. It is God who places unique gifts in each of us which we turn into careers and professions. The gift is not for us to turn into a money-making machine. We become mercenaries when gifts are turned into ATM machines. The fundamental purpose of His gifts is to activate His Loving purpose in us. For when we dedicate our gifts and careers chiefly for His purpose, the gift becomes our unique line and mode of communication with God. That’s the pattern of divine communication between God and man revealed throughout the Bible. Otherwise, we are using it for our own self-centered, and self-communicative, purpose. Love is other-centered, not self-centered. Jesus said, “the pagans (unbelievers) run after these things (make their gifts self-centered), and your heavenly Father knows that you need these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (turn your gifts for His Loving purpose), and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matt.6:32-34). Jesus is talking about the “care of this life” that’s driven by pride, lust, and self-centeredness. (1 John 2:16; Luk.21:34) So, the devil tempts us to sin through the “sustenance temptation” when we use our gifts for wrongful purpose. Gifts becomes idols and thereby, we sin. Gifts are for God-communicative, not self-communicative, purpose.

So bread is depiction for livelihood, and the devil tried to tempt Jesus by deception to look to him for His livelihood. Jesus brought us the victory by not succumbing to the devil's wiles.

2) Security and Happiness: The devil tempted Jesus, made Him stand at the highest point of the temple in Jerusalem, saying, “Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Do not put the Lord Your God to the test’” (Matt.4:5-7). God gives His children security through angelic protection. Happiness is not possible without security. Without security we live in fear, not joy. Our happiness is secured through the many promises of God, including angelic protection.

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Temptation of Jesus on The Pinnacle of The Temple, Brooklyn Musuem (Wiki Commons)

What we see in this temptation is the simple truth that the devil believes God’s people are in a special category of protection through God’s angelic hosts. But he turned a divine promise into its negative form to appeal to human vanity: “if you are the Son of God…” or “you will be like God knowing everything…” as with Adam and Eve. Jesus answered the devil’s temptation, and said in effect, ‘this is not about me or my ego, this is about God’s Love for me, His will be done, not mine.’ It’s tempting to apply human wisdom and pride to God’s promises, but humility must always be our mantra, where we say, “Your will be done, not mine;” “by myself I can do nothing" (Luk.22:42b; John 5:30). We cannot hijack God’s promises for our own manipulation. Once people do that, before they know it, they’ll put their trust in themselves and physical worldly things to provide for their security. Things like money and wealth, their own human wisdom, their reliance on others, and devices for self enhancement, etc. Whatever you place your trust, you worship. They have drifted as far from God and His promises don't come through for them, and they wonder why.

As the devil has, by deceit, made this world look to him for security and happiness, he tried to do the same to Jesus. Thankfully, for man's sake, Jesus overcome the devil so so that we too may do likewise.

3) Material Prosperity: The “three drivers” are all connected. If we fail in one, we will fail in the other two. (Jam.2:10) In this third and final temptation, “the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of this world and their splendor, and said, ‘All this I will give you, if You will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus replied, ‘Away from Me, Satan! For it is written ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him, and the angels came and attended to Him” (Matt. 4:8-11). Jesus saw and was offered all the glory of the earth’s kingdoms, to us it means material wealth and possessions.

These are the three areas which people give 100% of their attention and effort to pursue in life. They are not wrong of themselves, for everything, a) sustenance and health, b) happiness and security, c) and material wealth, are all God’s to give, and are His gifts to mankind. The devil has turned them into tools he uses to keep man deceived by tempting them to make into idols to bow and serve in place of God. God says, “The gold is Mine, and the silver is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills, the fowls and the wild beasts are mine, the earth and its fullness and all that dwell in it” (Haggai 2:8; Psa.24:1; Psa.50:10-11). The world’s wealth does not belong to the devil to give to anyone. What belongs to the devil is the system he created based upon fear, greed, lack, and founded upon rebellion, which, if man accepts, will turn God’s loving gifts to reflect his egotistical self. This is the basis of all human sufferings - we worship the created, instead of the Creator. Jesus said, “You can’t serve both God and money” (Luk.16:13). The Bible says clearly, “The one who loves money and wealth will never be satisfied with money” (Eccl.5:10; Isa.55:2; Jer.17:11). In other words, happiness and security is never found in money and material abundance.

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Define Your wealth. "Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich." 2Corinthians 8:9. (Wiki Commons)

However, when we receive material riches legitimately from the true Source of wealth, the Bible tells us, “The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and He adds no sorrow (toil) with it” (Prov.10:22; Matt.25:14-15; 1Pet.4:10, 8-9). In other words, His blessings comes with joy, not sorrow. Most of today’s stress-related sickness and disease comes from where people spend most of their lives - earning a living (bread). But God’s riches comes without toil (stress). It has been said that when you enjoy what you do, you never have to work another day in your life. Therein lies our destiny – I will share a beautiful word of wisdom about how to live this way. The joys of God’s blessing comes to man through a person’s gift bequeathed upon him/her by God. God does not give us material wealth to be consumed in our selfish ambition, for when we do, we will get caught up with the “deceitfulness of riches” (Matt.13:22). Jesus said, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:13-21). Rather, they are the outcome and consequence of our primary gift which God’s gives in order to serve Him and our fellowmen.

Two-Pronged Action of Jesus to Once for All Time Defeat Sin

By defeating the devil in the very temptations he holds humans captive, Jesus forever freed mankind from the great tempter. Paul said “I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you, and that our labors might have been in vain” (1Thess.3:5). Think about it, the blood of Jesus - the cross – undoubtedly the most important work of Jesus, takes care of past sins, but because we are human, we always sin, whether through human weakness, ignorance, or through rebellion. Man has sins he does not yet know, as the Psalmist say, “How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults” (Psa.19:12). Man’s freedom from suffering from his “hidden faults,” his weakness, his rebellion, is commensurate with his liberation from his prison of ignorance and the Spirit’s power in his life. The greatest teachers in life are wisdom and consequence. Through them we acquire true knowledge in these three areas of life which frees us. We can never be completely free from sin as humans, but Jesus opens our eyes to deal with the sins the Spirit gives us eyes to see. Jesus’ eyes become our eyes through what He did in the wilderness of Judea when He defeated Satan’s temptations in His epic battle to free every man, woman, and child. Paul says “we are not ignorant of his devices” (2Cor.2:11). And that knowledge which frees is not some legalistic knowledge, but an act of God’s Love through the life and cross of His Son, in the power of the Spirit.

The two monumental acts of Jesus wraps His ministry from beginning to end - from the temptations in the Judean wilderness at the start of His ministry, and to the end on the cross of Calvary. Both working hand in hand to free man from his sins, past present and future. It’s illogical for Jesus to save man from past sins via the cross, and not overcome the very temptations which is the cause of sin in the first place. This He has done in the Judean wilderness. James tells us this, “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” (Jam.2:17). Good work, or God’s Love in action, begins at home, or it starts with you personally, before it is played out externally to your neighbor. John said, “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). He has given us the example how to face and deal with the “three drivers” of life, and how to overcome the devil. We can’t defeat the devil on our own, we live the "triune life" and we do so because Jesus has already overcome him in our place, like He died on the cross in our place, to free us. He said, "Take heart, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). The Spirit gives us the power so Jesus victory becomes vicariously ours - He represents us in God’s presence so we can live triumphant lives. The Bible says, “We are complete in Him (Jesus)” (Col.2:10).

Day of Atonement

One final word to show how vital this aspect of Jesus’ work of dealing with the instigator of sin, the devil. This event was prophesied long ago from the time of Moses. What happened in the wilderness of Judea in the temptations mirrors what Israel did before God on the annual Day of Atonement, known to the Jews as Yom Kippur. It was a high day in ancient Israel, full of symbolisms and rituals with profound significance. A whole chapter was dedicated to the meaning of this day - it makes for interesting reading in Leviticus 16. The High Priest played the chief role on this day. The people fasted (so did Jesus) and confessed their sins before God: “Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.” (Lev.16:34) Once a year, God would appear before Israel in the holy place of the temple to cleanse Israel of all sins. The High Priest performed a unique ceremony with two goats. He symbolically confessed upon the head of one of the two goats all the sins of the people. Then a strong individual was assigned to carry the live goat with all the sins of the people and let go in the desert wilderness. The second goat was sacrificed and its blood brought into the holiest chamber before God's presence in the mercy seat. The second goat represented Jesus and His death on the cross.

We can see the parallel: Jesus repented and was baptized and took upon Himself the weight of the sins of mankind for all times. Jesus had no sin to repent of, but He repented and was baptized for all mankind. He was Immanuel, the second Person of the triune Godhead. Immediately after His baptism, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness where, and after fasting for forty days, defeated the devil in his epic battle to free mankind from the arch deceiver. (Matt.4:1-11) Just as the goat of the Day of Atonement was taken into the wilderness symbolically heavily-laden with Israel’s sins, Jesus took all of mankind’s sins into the Judean wilderness, and placed them squarely upon the head of the instigator of sin, the great tempter, Satan.

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The two Goats of Atonement of Leviticus 16, Depicting Christ's Twin Role Of Completely Saving Mankind from Sin (Wiki Commons)

Jesus is the High Priest, and He is Savior symbolized in the goat sacrificed for our sins, and the second goat who took our sins into the desert wilderness. When Jesus came forth from the wilderness of Judea He proclaimed the Gospel, “the kingdom of heaven has come” (Matt.4:17). Such a proclamation could only be made after Jesus defeated the devil and mankind is no longer under his control. Ever since Adam’s eviction from Eden, the gate to Paradise is reopened by Jesus, the second Adam. (Gen.3:24; John 10:9; John 14:6) We can have access to the tree of life which gives us the life of the Spirit, and enter into Loving fellowship with the Father.

May the blessings of the season of Easter and Passover be with you and your families.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com.

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible in Triune Living as a Bulamanriver.*

Kiang,

* Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise.

Note: Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information

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AWESOME post!

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