Tuesday, 27 August 2024
HAVE NO FEAR OF DEATH
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:26).
There’s a distinction that I’d like you to observe in Paul’s expression in the theme verse. It’s the fact that he didn’t say, “The last enemy that shall be defeated is death.” Rather, he used the word “destroyed”; this is because death has been defeated but not yet extirpated.
Since this is the case, why then are many still afraid of death? Hebrews 2:14-15 provides a solution: "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
The Lord Jesus, through His vicarious death, rendered the devil (who once had the power of death) powerless, effectively abolishing his authority and ability to kill. So, Satan doesn’t have that power anymore. What does he do now? He employs his deceptive strategies and makes people afraid. Fear is why many are subject to death; it puts people in bondage; it makes them tremble and refuse to do what they should do.
But thanks be unto God; Jesus delivered humanity from death completely. You have to come to that place in your Christian life where you have no fear of death; where you lose your fears. Jesus has the keys of hell and of death; He has authority over death so there’s nothing to fear anymore. Read His reassuring words: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” (Revelation 1:18).
In John 5:24, He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." You’ve passed from death to life. You’re in the arena of life. This isn’t a promise. Physical death is the result of spiritual death. If there is no spiritual death in you, there ought not to be physical death in you.
John reiterated the same words in his epistle when he said, "We know that we have passed from death unto life..." (1 John 3:14). Hallelujah! Always remember, the devil has nothing—death, sickness, weakness, feebleness—in you just like Jesus said in John 14:30: "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me."
CONFESSION: Blessed be God for the victory over death that we have in Christ. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of Jesus Christ my Lord, who loved me and gave Himself for me! I live fearlessly, knowing that I have passed from death to life. The God-life in me makes me supernatural and impregnable to sickness, disease, failure, death and the devil. Hallelujah!
FURTHER STUDY:
Romans 8:35-39; Hebrews 2:14-15 AMPC; John 5:24 AMPC
1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: 1 Corinthians 11:2-34 & Psalms 142-145
2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Colossians 3:12-25 & Jeremiah 13