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Scripture Reading: John 1:4a; 10:10b; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Eph. 2:5; Rom. 5:10b; 8:2
I. Satan having the might of death — Heb. 2:14b.
II. Death being the ultimate issue of Satan’s plot concerning man — Gen. 2:17b.
III. Death coming in through sin — Rom. 5:12b.
IV. Man being dead in sins — Eph. 2:1.
V. Man’s body being of death — Rom. 7:24b; 8:10b.
VI. Man’s mind set on the flesh being death — v. 6a.
VII. The Son of God coming as life — John 1:4a; 10:10b; 11:25a; 1 John 5:12a.
VIII. The Son of God having nullified death and destroyed Satan who has the might of death — 2 Tim. 1:10b; Heb. 2:14b.
IX. The Son of God having released life and imparted it into God’s chosen people — John 12:24; 19:34b; 2 Tim. 1:10b; 1 Pet. 1:3b.
X. Christ having become the life-giving Spirit — 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:6b, 17a.
XI. God having saved us by enlivening us — Eph. 2:5.
XII. God now saving us in the life of His Son — Rom. 5:10b.
XIII. Christ now being our life and living in us — Col. 3:4a; Gal. 2:20b.
XIV. The law of the Spirit of life freeing us from the law of sin and of death — Rom. 8:2.
XV. Eating the bread of life, drinking the water of life, and living by the Son of God as our life — John 6:35, 57b; 7:37-39; Rev. 21:6b; 22:17b.
Focus: God’s salvation is not only by the death of Christ but also by His life to save us from both sin and death.
In the past few lessons, we have laid a foundation mostly on the negative side. Now we want to go on to see the positive side. In this lesson there are fifteen main points.
First, we have to point out that Satan has the might of death. Hebrews 2:14b says that the devil has the might of death.
Death is the ultimate issue of Satan’s plot concerning man. Satan’s plot is to bring man into death. In Genesis 2:17 God warned man that partaking of the tree of knowledge would cause him to die. Actually, this was a warning that man should not have any contact with Satan. If man would have some contact with Satan, the result, the issue, would be death.
Romans 5:12b tells us that death came in through sin. Satan seduced man to commit sin. Through sin, death came into man. Thus, sin was not the actual issue of man’s fall, but death.
Ephesians 2:1 says that man is dead in sins. Satan brought man into death through sin, and today Satan keeps all men in sins so that death may continue to work in man and on man. All men are dead because all are under sin.
Man’s body is now a body of death. In Romans 7:24 the body is called “the body of this death.” This is the killing death that utterly weakens and disables the corrupted body so that it cannot keep God’s commandments. Man’s body is of such a present killing death, so Paul says that “the body is dead” (8:10). Romans 7 shows that despite man’s mind wanting to do good, man’s body, being of the killing death, will not allow man’s mind to work out what the mind wants. In Romans 7 the warfare is between man’s mind and man’s body. Because man’s body is of such a present killing death, it prevails against man’s mind.
Romans 8:6a says, “The mind set on the flesh is death.” Man’s mind wants to do good, but if man’s mind is set on the flesh, on the corrupted body, man’s mind also becomes death. Thus, we see from the points above that man is dead in sins, that man’s body is of the killing death, and that man’s mind can also become death if it is set upon the corrupted body. Satan has the might of death, and Satan has brought man into death. Now man is dead, man’s body is of death, and man’s mind set on the flesh is death.
In order to save man from both sin and death, the Son of God came as life (John 1:4a; 10:10b; 11:25a; 1 John 5:12a). Generally speaking, Christianity mostly stresses that the Son of God came to accomplish redemption for us. They do not stress that the Son of God came as life to save us by His life. We need to stress the verse references above from John’s writings to show that the Son of God came as life that we may have life.
The Son of God has nullified death and destroyed Satan who has the might of death. Second Timothy 1:10 says that the Son of God has nullified death, and Hebrews 2:14b says that the Son of God has destroyed the devil who has the might of death. These two verses give us a clear vision that after the Son of God came, He nullified death and also destroyed the source of death, that is, the devil, who has the might of death.
The Bible reveals that the Son of God released life and imparted it into God’s chosen people. John 12:24 speaks of Christ as the one grain of wheat who died to release His life to produce us as the many grains. In John 19:34b not only blood but also water came out of the pierced side of Christ. This means that life was released through His death. Second Timothy 1:10 says that the Son of God brought life to light; this means that He released life and manifested life. First Peter 1:3b says that through the resurrection of Christ, God has regenerated us. This means that after Christ released the life within Him through His death, He imparted His life in resurrection to God’s chosen people.
Christ has become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). After Christ released His life through death and imparted this life to God’s chosen people through His resurrection, He Himself became the life-giving Spirit. Therefore, 2 Corinthians 3 says that the Spirit gives life (v. 6b) and that now the Lord is the Spirit (v. 17). He came as life. Then on the cross He destroyed death and the source of death, and He released life to God’s chosen people. Finally, in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit so that He may impart Himself as life into us, enter into us, and live within us.
God has saved us by enlivening us. Ephesians 2:5 says that we have been saved by grace. Christianity has misused this verse. They use this verse for salvation by the death of Christ. Actually, Ephesians 2:5 refers not to the salvation by Christ’s death but to the salvation by Christ’s life. This is because Ephesians 2 tells us that we were saved by being made alive together with Christ and by being raised up from the dead (vv. 5-6). Thus, Ephesians 2 reveals a salvation not by Christ’s death but by His life. God used the resurrection life to save us not from sin but from death. Romans 1 tells us that we are under sin and that we are sinners. But Ephesians 2 tells us that we are under death and that we are dead persons in sins. When we were dead in sins, God made us alive; He enlivened us by the resurrection life of Christ. Thus, it is the salvation of life, not the salvation by Christ’s death.
God is now saving us in the life of His Son. Romans 5:10 says, “If we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled.” Here it is not only the salvation of life but also the salvation of life in our daily life. Ephesians 2:5 says that we were saved at the time we believed by being made alive. Romans 5:10 says that after we have been saved by being made alive, God is still saving us by the life of Christ. This is our daily salvation. The salvation of life in Ephesians 2 is the saving at the time we believe, and in Romans 5 it is the saving in our daily life continually, day by day. This saving life is saving us all the time.
Christ is now our life, and He is living in us. Colossians 3:4a speaks of Christ our life, and Galatians 2:20 says that Christ lives in us. Christ is now our life and is now living in us to save us throughout the day.
Romans 8:2 says that the law of the Spirit of life frees us from the law of sin and of death. This law of the Spirit of life is the spontaneous function of Christ’s resurrection life. The reality of this resurrection life is the Spirit, so the Spirit is called the Spirit of life. The spontaneous function of Christ’s resurrection life is called the law of the Spirit of life. This law, this spontaneous function, frees us from the law of sin and of death. This is the salvation by and of life.
We need to be those who eat the bread of life, drink the water of life, and live by the Son of God as our life (John 6:35, 57b; 7:37-39; Rev. 21:6b; 22:17b). In this last point we have to stress that what we need today in order to participate in this salvation of life is to eat the bread of life, to drink the water of life, and to live by Christ as our life. Then we are enjoying and experiencing the salvation of life.
We need to pay our attention to the focus of this lesson: God’s salvation is not only by the death of Christ but also by His life to save us from both sin and death.
