Jesus is the reason why none of us ever have to die spiritually. He was the Giver of life and so freely gave His life on the cross. He didn’t just “dish out” life to animals, people, spirits (even though that life, too, was part of Him), He gave His own Life for us. He gave us physical life first, then He gave us spiritual life (which is life more abundant).

Jesus took upon Himself the two most foreign concepts known to Him, the two most hated enemies of Him, the two most undefeatable enemies from man’s perspective: Sin and Death. Jesus versus Sin and Death is so opposite in magnitude, such a tremendous battle that took place at Calvary and a tomb, that the antithesis of these two are beyond expression. It’s like light and darkness. It’s like light wanting to become darkness so He could get rid of darkness. See, once Jesus was “made sin for us”, He became sin, thus He could get rid of sin.

So how did He get rid of sin? Three days later He rose from the dead (life). He got the wages of holiness (life) and got rid of the wages of sin (death). It’s like how Joseph was made to go into poverty in Egypt, so He could get rid of poverty when the years of famine came. It’s like when Moses left Pharaoh’s house, humbled himself, so he could be in an even greater position in leading his people out of Egypt.

I want to say that Jesus moved heaven and earth to be with us, but that is such an inadequate statement. He did SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT! It is beyond description. He left His throne of power to fight His and our enemies (sin and death), to be separated from the Father, just to be with me. He died spiritually before He died physically—just like how Adam did in the garden of Eden. The Second Adam got rid of sin and once that was gone, death never needs to be again. Death died the day Jesus rose from the dead. Sin died when Holiness became sin for us.

October 7, 2001