40 Days of Praise - Day 21

Day Twenty-one

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’”

Matthew 28:18

In Genesis chapter 1, God created the heavens and the earth, and then filled the earth with life. His final act was to create man and woman and place them as rulers over all the earth. But in chapter 3, the woman was deceived by the serpent into rebelling against God. The man willingly followed her in that rebellion.

Satan was the mind and the will behind the serpent. By their rebellion, the man and the woman left their throne unattended and Satan was more than happy to sit in it. He has held sway over humankind, and through them, the earth, ever since.

But God had promised that the seed of the woman would one day crush the serpent’s head. Jesus, the Word made flesh, is the seed of the woman. And through His death on the cross and His resurrection, He crushed Satan‘s head and broke his power over humankind.

But most people still believe the lies that Satan tells. They refuse to acknowledge God and so they don’t walk with him. Their sins come between them and God.

But Jesus, through His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to the Father’s side, has broken the power of sin and death for all who will believe in Him. That is the good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel.

But the good news goes further than that. Jesus came to reconcile all things to Himself– everything that Satan and sin have touched and tainted -- humanity and the rest of creation. And He Himself will rule until all the enemies of God are subdued and Jesus reigns supreme in all things.

Man and woman, Adam and Eve, handed the world over to the destruction of Satan and those who walk in his ways. God's solution to the debacle of Genesis 3 was to send His Son to earth as a full human being, to break Satan's control over humankind, undo all that Satan had led them to do, and rule as the King of the universe.

All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him.

And in an unthinkable act of grace, He will have His bride, the church -- all those who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, reign with him.

Hail to the King!

Charles M. Butler

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