Romans 7:8-11 “But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. (9) I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. (10) And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. (11) For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me.”
We have seen thus far that Death and Hades fell under Satan’s domain. So the question is asked what impact did that have on mankind. In order for us to answer that question we first need to have an understanding of spiritual death and how it is incurred. Because their spirits come from God the Father of spirits (Hebrews 12:9), all men are born into the earth spiritually alive (John 1:9). For various reasons however, all men without exception, also commit sin (Romans 3:23). When men commit sin the first and immediate consequence is that they incur spiritual death (Romans 5:12). Adam and Eve found that out when they committed sin in the Garden of Eden, for God warned them that in the day they ate the forbidden fruit they would die, and that’s exactly what happened (Genesis 2:16-17). And so we see that because of their sin all men, prior to the Lord Jesus going to the cross, were spiritually dead people. There was an exception however, for God deems children to have no knowledge of good and evil and therefore does not hold them accountable for sin (Deuteronomy 1:39), because of which they remain spiritually alive. Because God referred to the Lord Jesus as a child when He was twelve years old (Luke 2:42-43) we know therefore that thirteen is the age when God holds men accountable for sin for the first time. And so we see that because of their sin, at the age of thirteen all men die spiritually. In the above quoted passage of scripture the apostle Paul confirms this particular truth for us, for he describes the period in his life when he was a child and therefore spiritually alive, and how that changed on his thirteenth birthday when God held him accountable for his sin and as a consequence his spirit died. And so we see that because all men were dead in spirit they therefore fell under the domain of the one who had the power of death i.e. the devil. As an aside, this is the reason why Jesus taught us that we must be born again, because we need to be made spiritually alive once again.
Isaiah 14:12-17 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! (13) For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' (15) Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. (16) "Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, (17) Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?'”
We have seen thus far that because Death and Hades fell under Satan’s domain, all men who were spiritually dead were therefore subject to his authority. So how did that truth affect mankind? In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit answers that question by telling us that Satan did not open the house of his prisoners. So what does that statement mean? As we have already mentioned, prior to the Lord Jesus going to the cross, all of mankind were spiritually dead people, saints and wicked alike (Luke 9:60), because of which they all fell under the authority of the one who held the power of death, which is the devil. And so when their time on the earth expired, all of mankind were taken down into the lower parts of the earth to enter through the Gates of Death into the region of Death. The only difference between the saints and the wicked at that time was that once taken through the gates of death they were separated; the saints being taken to Abraham’s bosom while the wicked were taken into Hades. Nevertheless even though the saints were held in a place of comfort and rest, they were still being held as prisoners by Satan who had the power of death. And so we see that because the saints at that time were spiritually dead people and had not yet been born again i.e. made spiritually alive once again, they could not yet ascend into heaven. As an aside, it is important to note that children, from conception to the age of thirteen, are still spiritually alive and do not therefore fall under Satan’s authority. And so when children die they are not taken down into the lower parts of the earth, but rather they are taken up into heaven to be with God.
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.”
And so we see that because he had the power of death, that after their time on earth had expired, Satan had the legal right to hold prisoner in the regions of death, all who were spiritually dead. Scripture teaches us that God is the God of the living and not the dead (Mark 12:27), and so He had no authority to act on the saints behalf, because He had given that authority to the devil. And so the only way God could solve this problem was to deal with the one who had the power of death i.e. the devil. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit gives us some insight into how God did this, for it states that the Lord Jesus destroyed the Devil who had the power of death. This passage goes on to declare that once the devil was destroyed that those who had been subject to his bondage could then be released. So how did the Lord Jesus destroy the devil? He couldn’t just walk into Satan’s domain and destroy him, because that would have violated the authority which Satan had received from God; something which was impossible for Jesus to do. And so this passage teaches us that it was through death itself that Jesus was able to destroy the devil. In other words in order for Jesus to legally destroy the devil Jesus had to die, but more specifically God had to ensure that Satan was the one who killed His Son. So why was that so important? Because Jesus had never committed any sin, Satan would have acted unlawfully if he killed the Lord and took Him down into Hades to suffer torment. And so we see that whereas Jesus couldn’t violate Satan’s authority by walking into his domain to destroy him, God ensured that Satan violated his own authority by committing the unlawful act of killing Jesus and taking Him down into Hades to suffer torment, thus opening the door for the Son of God to destroy the devil in his own domain.
Michael E.B. Maher
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