30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
LUKE 19 11-27 TO EVERYONE WHO HAS, WILL BE GIVEN 13 The enemy defeated
📖 Luke 19:11-27
21Dec2020 - *The enemy defeated* - _Luke 19:11-27_ - TO EVERYONE WHO HAS, WILL BE GIVEN 13
_Luke 19:15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading._
Let us revisit our purpose statement as we prepare for the judgment.
_We are citizens of the kingdom of God here on earth, redeemed and reconciled back to God, through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. This world is being driven by the evil one, through man, who has become his prisoner._
_We, citizens of the kingdom of God, live and work, fulfilling all the elements of the creation or cultural mandate, in the image of God, with the capital that He has invested us with, in the enablement and wisdom of the Holy Spirit._
_The kingdom of God has already begun, which will come into its full effect when the Messiah returns. As we prayerfully await His return, we reach out to an audience that is rejecting God but with boldness and love._
_In the eternal kingdom of Jesus, we will be assigned roles and responsibilities, depending upon our performance here on earth, with the capital that God has invested in each of us._
_Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "*Be fruitful* and *multiply*; *fill the earth* and *subdue it*; *have dominion* over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."_
We are focussing on the fifth element of the creation mandate, which is *have dominion*.
Yesterday, we said that man has become a prisoner of Satan, fulfilling the devil’s will and in the process has become his own enemy. All of this has happened because of man’s sin and rebellion against God. Man is in the throes of death.
To bring us back to where we were intended to be, it was necessary for man to be set free from the clutches of the devil. The Lord did this for us on the cross.
_Hebrews 2:14-15 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, (15) and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage._
What exactly did Jesus accomplish for us on the cross?
_Colossians 2:14-15 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (15)
Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it._
The handwriting that was against us is the Law, for we were not able to meet the righteous requirement of the Law by the flesh. By the flesh, no one can please God. Satan was holding this document against us that, legally, we do not meet the righteousness of God and therefore, his prisoners.
Jesus took this legal document out of the way by coming in the likeness of sinful flesh and condemning sin in the flesh, for there was no sin in Him. _I John 3:5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin._
_Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,_
In Jesus, we are able to meet the righteous requirement of God. _II Corinthians 5:21 For He_ (God the Father) _made Him_ (God the Son) _who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him._
Having released us from Satan’s clutches and causing us to meet the righteousness of God, what has Jesus raised us to be?
The church is now set up to be those who will challenge, bring down and establish the wisdom of God in a context where the evil and wicked plans of the devil are in effect.
_Ephesians 3:9-11 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; (10) to *the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places*, (11) according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,_
*Thought to ponder*
```The blessings that we, the church, have received in the heavenly realms, are far-reaching.```