Christ Destroyed Our Death

DEATH is a separation. Once the spirit, which is life, departs from a human being, the person dies and the fleshly toga dismembers into morass of earthy dust. In man, the physical death is brought about by the separation of the human spirit from the flesh (soul and body). Death is the inglorious wages of sin.

The spiritual death is human separation from the Lord, his Creator. The spiritual death, called the second death, will manifest fully in the hell fire. Death was occasioned by the first human couple’s sin.
As a result of joint human fall in the first Adam, when he sinned in the Garden of Eden, death proliferated to all humans. ‘But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear’ (Is.59: 2; Gen.3: 5-7)

The devil had power over death through sin, so the Lord Jesus accepted death to destroy death and the devil. In His death on the tree of Calvary, Christ tasted death for all humans. ‘But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man’ (Heb.2: 9).

On the cross of Calvary, Christ, Who knew no sin, became the Second and the Last Adam. His death became a joint death for the entire human race. ‘And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost’ (Lk.23: 46). So by His overcoming death by His death and resurrection, all human beings in Him became free ALSO from death.
Since Christ came and died hanging on the cross, death is no more for everybody. The Great Saviour has delivered us from this body of death. ‘O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord…’ (Rom.7: 24, 25).

In Christ, the bondage of fear of death gave way to freedom. A liberty that will even make us to taunt death and scoff at it in the end… ‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ (1Cor.15: 55).

All saints despise death at baptism, and like Christ, will be changed and transported to be with the Lord, forever. That day, the Word of God by the Psalmist comes to fulfilment: ‘I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord’ (Ps. 118:17).
The punitive judgment of the saints’ sin and death laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of His death is everlasting. In the Lord Jesus, we passed over death to victory. For all that accept Christ Jesus, the physical death ceases to be punitive wages of death, but a sleep of rest awaiting the trumpet of God to usher one into glory.

Death commits mortals to dust, but the Almighty God has judged it. And death itself shall eternally ‘die the second death’. That day, death would hastily release ALL of Adam’s progeny in its custody, yet will he be hauled into fire.

•Pastor Julian Ejikeme Okechukwu of Christ Manifest Ministries writes from Lagos. +2348034046895; christmanifest@gmail.com