Adam & Eve's story of temptation, fall and death, corresponding to the three works of the devil is of course tragic. It is a story of unreached potential, of two beings who are in every way a shadow of their former selves. It is a story we are all enmeshed in.
But it is a story that has a sequel. Our text, remember says that the Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil.
How did this happen? What did Jesus Christ do to destroy the works of the devil? His story in many ways is a parallel to the story of Adam: only with a very different outcome.
There are three works that Jesus Christ did, as he retraced the steps of Adam, that directly confronted the devil's work.
1. Truth - instead of believing the devil's lies, Jesus believed and told the truth.
2. Love - instead of answering hate with hate, Jesus loved even his enemies; and began a group of people who would known by their love of each other.
3. Life - Jesus in his death made a sacrifice for sin that broke the devil's power over death
2 comments:
Hi Michael,
Not wanting to be pendantic, I thought death and murder fell into the same category?
In John, doesn't Jesus say the devil is a thief, a liar and a murderer?
Or perhaps thief is interchangable with Destroyer?
Blessings craig b
John 10:10 - Jesus COULD be talking about the devil there, though it could be just a reference to theives in general.
by murder I mean the violence humans commit one on another.
by death, I mean the fear of death that stalks us all.
grim stuff.
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