Commander in Chief

Romans 6:5-7 “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,  knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.

I was thinking this Bible passage the other day in terms of the military operation that our Heavenly Father engaged in to rescue us for our captivity when we were conquered prisoners in bondage to sin and death. They were truly “Black Ops” in which “the Light” forces of Commander Christ set us free to live. You probably have read that before Christ came, all those who died went to what was called “Sheol” in the Hebrew. All those sacrifices made to God while they were living were only temporary. In Sheol, believers were waiting for the Messiah to come set them free. After His crucifixion, before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus went to Sheol to rescue from the bonds of eternal death all the saints (meaning those who trusted God; those who have been sanctified) of the Old Testament. The Commander extracted, then led them triumphantly to Heaven. Mission accomplished! What a Savior!

Ephesians 4:7-10 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.).

One article explained that because Commander Jesus “led captivity captive”, we Christians are all have victory over sin and death. We are all partakers in His victory and in the spoils of this spiritual war for souls. Isaiah 61:1-2 tells us, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Mission accomplished, however, in order to partake, we must first make sure that we have totally surrendered our life to Christ. Let it be clear, we will not experience victory until we have repented and been conquered by Christ and have surrendered to Him. A Commander commands. Then by faith we can enter into triumph as we identify ourselves with Him.

Acts 5:29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

By faith we can know that He has already won the victory. Since He turns our defeats into triumphs and since Hi is working all things together for our good, we know we can face today with confidence in Him, come what may. Jesus is the ultimate “Commander in Chief”. You and I have been set free by Christ. He watches over us day and night. Know Him and hear His voice calling you and I. 

John 10:14-16 “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

In Christ, Brian