The Destruction through Death 2
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III. But the Holy Spirit, in the words of the text, gives us two reasons why the Lord Jesus Christ took part of the flesh and blood of the children. First, "that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil;" secondly, that "he might deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." We will consider these two reasons separately.
A. "That through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." As the author of man's sin by tempting him to disobey the express commandment of God, Satan may be said to be the author of man's misery. That infernal fiend who had fallen from heaven through pride, and whose heart ever gnawed him with agony and pain at the remembrance of past happiness, the experience of present woe, and the contemplation of future torment, could only find some relief from his sufferings by inflicting, as far as he was permitted, similar sufferings on others. Man, therefore, as the last and best creation of God; man, as made in the image and after the likeness of his divine Creator, became the object of his infernal attack. O the cruelty of Satan! O his hatred and enmity against God and against all on whom God had set his approving stamp, to mar God's fair creation and thwart his benevolent purposes. When then he viewed the first human pair in the garden and saw them in all their innocence and happiness as God created them; when he beheld how the Lord God came down to converse with them in the cool of the day, wrath and enmity boiled in his heart, and he was determined, infernal fiend as he was, to break in upon that happiness, and to mar that calm, quiet, and holy Paradise. By the permission of God, for without it no such infernal plot could have borne fruit, he succeeded, and by tempting the woman, and through her tempting the man, and thus casting man and woman both down into actual transgression, he "brought death into the world and all our woe."
He is therefore said here "to have the power of death;" because it was through him who death came, gaining entrance only by sin, as the Apostle intimates—"By one man sin entered into the world and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that ["in whom," margin] all have sinned." (Rom. 5:12.) Satan therefore held, so to speak, the power of death in his hands. When he tempted our first parents to sin in the garden of Eden, he held death in his hands; though, if I may use the expression, he kept one hand behind his back, while with the other he pointed to the forbidden fruit. With a lie in his mouth, he said unto the woman—"You shall not surely die." He tempted her by the lust of the eyes, as the fruit was "pleasant to look at;" by the lust of theappetite, as "good for food;" by the lust of the understanding as "a tree to be desired to make one wise" (Gen. 3:6); but held death in his hand when he pointed to it and presented all these attractions. For in the same moment that God's commandment was broken, the forbidden fruit lusted after, handled, and tasted, immediately death entered in, and with this entrance of death, Satan at once took into his hands, by divine permission, the power of death.
But let us now look at the meaning of the expression "THE POWER OF DEATH." It seems to have the following meanings.
1. He who had power to introduce sin had power to bring in death also. Satan's power over men is through sin; for except for sin he would be utterly powerless. Our Lord therefore could say, "The prince of this world comes and has nothing in me." In his presence Satan was powerless, because Jesus was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." As then Satan has power through sin, and as the penalties as well as the wages of sin is death, so he has power over death.
2. But secondly, he has power over death as being the prince and god of this world. (John 14:30; 2 Cor. 4:4.) As then the world is under the guilt and power of sin and death, and by them Satan reigns and rules, and maintains his authority and dominion, he holds in his hands the power of death, and especially of what is often called moral death, or, to use a more scriptural term, death in trespasses and sins.
3. He also has the power of natural death, as terrifying and frightening men's consciences and agitating them with continual alarm, driving some to desperation and others to suicide.
4. And lastly, he may be said also to have the power of death as being the Executioner of the second death upon impenitent sinners to all eternity. Is not this last the main reason, for the others are more hidden from men's eyes, why he is the king of terrors; why he fills the stoutest with alarms; why his very name strikes damp and chill into the merriest assemblies; why almost every one fears to hear the word death, however gently breathed in his ears. Is it not all because there is that after death which terrifies the conscience—the first gnawing of the worm which dies not, the first flashes of the storm of wrath which will one day break forth, the first sparkles of the fire which burns to the lowest hell. It is the apprehension of these things which makes men dread death. Indeed, hard must be that conscience, stony that heart which does not fear it. A man whose sins are not washed away in atoning blood—who has no manifest saving interest in the love and blood of the Lamb, must fear death, unless he be armed with the very armor of leviathan, unless his "heart be as firm as a stone, yes, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone."
Now Jesus came "to destroy him who had the power of death." The word "destroy" here does not mean to annihilate, to cause Satan to cease to be. Satan, so to speak, cannot be annihilated. Devils can no more perish from annihilation than human beings, for angelic nature, like the soul of man, is immortal—in the elect angels, immortal in bliss, in the fallen angels, immortal in woe. Satan, therefore, according to the sure word of prophecy, is to be "tormented in the lake of fire and brimstone day and night forever and ever." (Rev. 20:10.) Jesus then came not to destroy Satan himself, but to destroy his power. The word in the original literally means "render ineffective." Thus it is elsewhere rendered, "Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?" (Rom. 3:3), and again, "Do we then make void the law through faith?" (Rom. 3:31), and so again, "The promise made of none effect." (Rom. 4:14; Gal. 3:17.) In all these passages, it is the same word as is translated in our text, "to destroy." It means therefore to break up Satan's dominion, to render it ineffective, to cast him out of his usurped power, to expel him from the human heart of which he had gained possession, and to destroy his kingdom. We therefore read, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8.) "Now is the judgment of this world, now is the prince of this world cast out" (John 12:31); and again, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18.) Thus he came to destroy the kingdom and rule of Satan, and to bring the children from out of his usurped authority.
But let us now see HOW he destroyed him who had the power of death. It was "THROUGH DEATH." O, what a mystery! that the eternal Son of God must die; that the prince of life must suffer death; that the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, should sink so low as to die upon a cross, that his body and soul should for a time be separated, and that his pallid form should be stretched in the cold sepulcher, though so soon to be raised in power and glory. The word "death" comprehends all that the Redeemer endured that led to death. He came down into this world for the express purpose to die, and therefore took a nature which could die. No man took it from him. Christ did not die upon the cross by the act of man; though he allowed man to nail him there. It was not the nails driven through his hands and feet; it was not the crown of thorns placed upon his brow; it was not the stripes which mangled his back; it was not the languor and faintness under which he suffered, that caused the Lord to die. No man could take his life from him. He himself said, as I have before quoted, "I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again."
And as a proof of this power, just before dying, he "cried with a loud voice and gave up his spirit," to show that he was not spent, that he could have lived had he so wished, but that he laid his life down as "an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet smelling savor." (Eph. 5:2.) Those who were crucified usually lingered long, some even two or three days, and died more of exhaustion than of violence. That there might be a standing testimony that the blessed Lord did not die of exhaustion, but voluntarily yielded up his life upon the altar of his Deity, he died in the full and open exercise of all his mental and bodily powers. I lay great stress upon this point, for it was this 'voluntary offering' of his life which made it acceptable to God as a sacrifice—a doing of his will from the heart.
What made it meritorious, what gave it infinite value, was indeed his Godhead; for though God as God cannot suffer, bleed, or die, yet as the Son of God took a nature that could suffer, bleed, and die, the dignity and value of Godhead was stamped upon all the acts and sufferings of the manhood. Merit was therefore in every sigh, in every groan, in every tear, in every drop of blood—a merit of infinite value, because the merit of God. The whole life therefore of Jesus was a meritorious life, his death a meritorious death, his sacrifice a meritorious sacrifice, and thus effectual for redemption, for the pardon of sin, to satisfy justice, fulfill the law, and tender a complete satisfaction to God's injured attributes.
As therefore his Deity made his death meritorious, so his voluntary submission to it made it acceptable. This was the mind which was in him—obedience unto death, as the completion of the work. (Phil. 2:5-8.) Thus through death he destroyed him who had the power of death. I mentioned four things whereby Satan has the power of death.
1. Through him it entered.
2. By it he rules.
3. With it he terrifies.
4. Of it he is the final executioner.
Now if Jesus destroyed this power, he must meet it in these four particulars. And so he gloriously did.
1. As Satan brought in sin, and with sin death, so Jesus brought in righteousness by his obedience unto death, and thus brought life and immortality to light. By dying for sin he put away sin, and death, the penalty of sin.
2. By destroying the guilt and power of sin, he overthrew the dominion of Satan, who reigns by sin; and sets up his own kingdom of grace and peace, into which he translates his redeemed people.
3. By the blood of the cross he speaks peace to the conscience, and thus delivers it from the fears of death, by which Satan terrifies the soul.
4. He has wrested from Satan the keys of death and hell, and delivered the children from the second death of which Satan is the executioner. You need not then dread Satan, you who fear God—he is a conquered foe. He may harass, distress, and try to alarm you; he may sometimes accuse and sometimes fawn, may sometimes seduce and sometimes entangle, but he cannot destroy you; for Jesus has destroyed him, broken up his power, taken away his armor wherein he trusted, and divided the spoils.
B. But the Holy Spirit has given us another reason, and a blessed reason too, why Jesus took part of the flesh and blood of the children—"That he might deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
Many, perhaps, most of the dear saints of God, have fears of death; and they must have these fears except so far as a sweet sense of pardoning love is fresh upon their spirit to remove them. The saint of God knows what a holy God he has to deal with; he knows by personal and painful experience the guilt and burden of sin, as often pressing hard and heavy upon his conscience; and he is thoroughly convinced he can do nothing to put away his sins and reconcile his soul unto God. He is deeply conscious also of the unbelief and thorough helplessness of 'the creature' to procure for him a felt deliverance from his doubts and fears; for he well knows that unless the Lord is pleased to manifest himself to his soul, to speak a pardoning word to his heart, to shed abroad his love, to bring near his righteousness, to apply his precious blood, and to sprinkle it with healing, cleansing power upon his conscience; he cannot enjoy present peace, or look death calmly in the face. Many therefore of the dear saints of God, for lack of these clear manifestations of pardoning love, through fear of death, are all their lifetime subject to bondage. They cannot feel a sweet liberty in the presence of death, or even think of it without apprehension.
And even those who are in some measure delivered from the fear of death are not always delivered from the fear of dying; for there is in our very nature a shrinking from death as a dissolution of our present being. He is the last enemy that is to be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26), and he is often not destroyed before he makes his last appearance. Thus, even those are subject to bondage from fear of dying, who are not in bondage from fear of death. Besides which, even after they have been favored and blessed in their souls, grievous backslidings of heart, if not in life, painful slips and falls known only to themselves, temptations of Satan, fears of deception, suspicions of hypocrisy, gloomy sensations arising from dejected spirits or a nervous frame, hold many down in darkness and imprisonment, nor can they rise up into that sweet and happy liberty which they long to enjoy.
What they pant after is the sealing witness of the Spirit, the blessed voice of pardoning mercy, and the immediate breaking in of the love of God, to swallow up all their doubts and fears in a full tide of superabounding grace. While this is withheld, or not enjoyed, they are subject to bondage—many all their lifetime. They have very often expectations of a coming deliverance, and sometimes these rise very high. They cannot wholly deny that the Lord has had something to do with their hearts; nor can they put aside the tokens, evidences, and marks for good which they have experienced. Talk with them, and you will find they can bring forward blessed evidences of the life of God being in their bosom. Many a sip and taste have they had of the goodness and mercy of God; many a sweet though passing visit of the presence of Jesus. Many a precious promise, or encouraging word has been dropped into their heart; so that at times, their faith has been strong, their hope bright, their evidences clear.
But after this, their bright sky has been clouded again by darkness of mind, guilt of conscience, and temptations of Satan. And yet their life and conversation clearly manifest that the fear of God is in their heart. They evidently show a tender conscience, a humble mind, a meek and quiet spirit, a broken heart, and much fear of saying or doing anything which is wrong. They have come out of the world; they love the saints of God; they know the truth and highly prize it; and they are calling, often night and day, upon the name of the Lord, pleading his promises, and begging for a word from his gracious lips. All these marks and evidences are evident in them. And yet for lack of clear manifestations and blessed discoveries of Christ to their soul, and a sense of pardoned sin in their hearts, many of the dear saints of God, all their lifetime, through fear of death are subject to bondage.
But what does "BONDAGE" imply? Its meaning is best known by those who feel it most. But by "bondage" we may understand chiefly four things.
1. First, a state in which a man is against his will. A willing servant is not in bondage to his master; it is the free man made a slave who feels the yoke of bondage.
2. But secondly, bondage implies strong desires after liberty, and earnest attempts to attain it. A slave, satisfied with his slavery, can hardly be said to be in bondage.
3. Bondage again is a thing which perplexes the mind. It springs chiefly from guilt; it therefore shuts up the heart, and presses the soul down as into a deep dungeon. This made David cry, "Bring my soul out of prison," and stirred up Jeremiah's cry, "I called upon your name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon." (Lam. 3:55.)
4. Its last feature is the worst, that it is ever looking forward, ever dreading future and worse ills, and lest its present prison be but a foretaste of, and an entrance into the gloomy prison of hell.
Now our blessed Jesus took the flesh and blood of the children to deliver and bring them out of this bondage condition. He died, that by destroying through death him who had the power of death, he might deliver them from this gloomy cell. He came not only to put away their sins, but as having put them away to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. (Isa. 61:1.) But now see how this "opening of the prison to them that are bound" meets and overcomes the bondage of which I have been speaking in each of the four points of its severe pressure.
1. Is the captive an involuntary bondsman? Is it a part of his misery that he who has the power of death holds him unwillingly bound? When Jesus comes with liberty in his heart and hands, he not only delivers the groaning captive, but makes him his own willing free man.
2. Again, does the captive exile long after liberty and make every attempt to obtain it? When Jesus opens the prison doors he gives him the liberty for which he cries, turning his sighs into songs and his groans into notes of praise.
3. Is the poor captive perplexed and troubled with his bondage? When the great deliverer comes, he relieves all his perplexities by dispelling all his doubts and fears.
4. Was the sorest point of the heavy bondage the dismal apprehension of worse ills to come? When the prison doors are opened, there is opened with them a blessed assurance of eternal joys.
Thus at every point of bondage the great Deliverer meets and overcomes the ills which bondage brings, the foes which bondage pictures, and the fears which bondage creates. Here our faith often fails. We do not see that sin is put away; that "we have," already have, now have, "redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." (Eph. 1:7.) We do not see, or at least do not believe, that we have a merciful and faithful high priest, who "having himself suffered being tempted, is able to help those who are tempted." (Heb. 2:17, 18.) He can therefore sympathize with his tempted, afflicted people; for he himself has passed through death, and personally and experimentally known the pangs of it. No, when his Father hid his face from him, he knew the power of death and the bondage which the fear of death brings; for the dark cloud which passed over earth was but a figure of the darker cloud of the wrath of God which passed over his holy soul. But he passed through it triumphantly, was delivered out of it, and is now risen to the right hand of the Father, where he lives and reigns in unspeakable glory; and, living and reigning there, he lives to deliver his people from the fear of death to which they are in bondage.
As he said, "Because I live you shall live also." (John 14:19.) "In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:2, 3.) As a proof and evidence of this life at God's right hand, he sends down from on high to his dear family, many a message of mercy, many a sweet promise, many a blessed testimony, to assure them that all is well with their souls, that sin shall not prove their ruin, that death shall not consign them to endless misery; but that they are safe in the hollow of his hand, and being savingly interested in his dying love, shall rise to be with him in one unclouded day.
But you may ask, perhaps, if this be so, why does he allow so many of his dear children to be all their lifetime, through fear of death, subject to bondage? To this I answer, there is a needs-be for these painful exercises; that we may have our own strength and confidence pulled to pieces, that we may learn the necessity of those manifestations of Christ's love, which alone can put to flight these chilling doubts and fears. If the Lord's people could at will remove them; if they could demand a deliverance from the bondage that the fear of death casts them into, they would need no visitations of the love of Christ, no application of his atoning blood to their conscience, nor the work and witness of his Spirit in their heart. They could claim of their own free will the privilege of overcoming death, take the promises out of God's word as they stand in the bare letter, and with them fight their enemy face to face, making him as dust to their sword and as driven stubble to their bow.
But being held down in doubt and fear, death waving his dark banner over their heads, and all hope and help in self being taken away, they are made to sigh and cry mightily to the Lord for a liberating word, for a manifestation of his blood and love. Thus their fears, doubts, and exercises, the hard and heavy bondage under which they labor, fully convince them that nothing but the Lord's own voice can speak peace to their hearts, nothing but his blood purge their conscience, nothing but his love satisfy their souls.
It is then no evidence against you if you are subject to bondage; it is no mark against you if you cannot look death in the face without doubt or fear. Is it not "the children" who feel the bondage? And did not the Lord come to deliver them from it? Are you then not a child because you fear death? If you had no sense of sin, no tenderness of conscience, you would be as careless about death as most others are. Thus your very bondage, your very fears, if they make you sigh and cry for deliverance, are 'marks of life'. And the day will surely come when the Lord will remove these chilling fears and put an end to these killing doubts. As you draw near to the brink of Jordan, the Lord will be with you to deliver you, who through fear of death, are now subject to bondage; he will extract its sting and rob the grave of its victory, enabling you to shout "Salvation!" through his blood, even at the moment when nature sinks lowest and the last enemy appears nearest in view.
O what a blessed Jesus we have; what a heavenly Friend; what a divine Mediator between a holy God and our guilty souls! What love he displayed in taking our flesh and blood; what kind condescension, what wondrous depths of unspeakable grace! He loved us sufficiently to lay down his life for us. Did he not for our sakes endure the agony of the cross, the hidings of God's face, the burden of sin, the pangs of hell? And if he has done all this for us on earth, will he leave his work undone in heaven? Has he quickened you into life, made you feel your sin, taught you to seek for mercy, raised up a good hope in your heart, applied a promise to your soul, given you a testimony?
He may have done all this, and yet at times your conscience may be held down in bondage and imprisonment. But it is only to make further way for his grace—to open up more and more of his willingness and ability to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him. It is only to make himself in the end more precious to you—to show you more of his finished work, more of his dying love and atoning blood, and more of what he is able to do in delivering you from all your fears. Thus, as the 'Adam fall' was over-ruled by the wisdom of God to make manifest the riches of his eternal love, mercy, and grace; so your very doubts, fears, and bondage will be blessedly over-ruled to give you further discoveries of Christ, to wean you more from an arm of flesh, and to make you know more experimentally what the Lord Jesus Christ is to those who seek his face and hang upon and trust him and him alone.
A man who believes that he may live and die, and that safely without an experimental knowledge of Christ, will never seek his face, never call upon his name, never long for the manifestations of his love. But he who feels that he can neither live nor die without Christ, who knows that he has a soul that only Christ can save, who has sins which only Christ's blood can pardon, iniquities that only Christ's righteousness can cover, will be often crying to the Lord to visit his soul with his salvation, and will find no rest until Christ appears; but when Christ appears to the joy of his soul, will bless and praise him with joyful lips. And O what a glorious trophy will that man be of Christ's eternal victory over sin and Satan, when he will reign with him and with his assembled saints in one immortal day!
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