subject: Why Christianity? By Carl Marshall [print this page] Ephesian 2:2 tell us that the prince of this world is the evil one. Matthew 6:24 tells us that a person cannot serve two masters. If the birth of Jesus Christ had come from the seed of Joseph, then he would not have been born of the Spirit. He would have been born of the same blood that created Adam. This would make him one of the princes of this world. Having two masters in one house is not an advantage to anyone (Matthew 6:24). In my previous lesson on The Temple of Abraham, I spoke of a new world which was created for us who believe Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. It is obvious that the prince of this new world is Jesus Christ, and that it is only by faith that we are able to enter in it so that we are able to be a part of the great work of Jesus Christ. The new world of Jesus Christ has all the opportunities for us to be pleasing to God. Remember our time on earth is limited. Therefore, whatever it is that we are called to do; we ought to do it graciously.
The Holy Spirit protects the spirits of us who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was born of the Holy Spirit so that the spiritual world of his Father would be separated from that of the evil one. He is the head of the New House of Israel. This new world is life, which we will receive abundantly if we walk in the Word of God. Death, being the opposite of life, belongs to the evil one, but we have been given the authority to choose one or the other by speaking from our heart. It is a confession through which we may either experience more abundance in life or rob ourselves of this life. All this begins with our hearts (spirits) as we wrestle against spiritual wickedness (Ephesians 6:12), having the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16) and using the sword of the spirit (Ephesians 6:17). It is obvious that Paul is referring to our human spirit as was the temptation of Jesus Christ in the wilderness (Matthew 4:110). We who commit our lives to Jesus Christ need protection in this chaotic world. This protection must be greater than that of man; otherwise, we would be as chaotic as the world is. Our protection is the Holy Spirit wherein we are guided to live a Christian life.
The evil one can only affect people if they are disobedient to the will of God (Ephesians 2:2). Each sin has its consequence. If we remain innocent, as we were at birth, then the evil one would not have any power over us, but if we sin, then the chance of us being affected because of this sin increases. The consequences of sins are controlled by the evil one. This being a fact, then imagine the reward if we should remain innocent and do the will of God. The evil one would flee because the evil one cannot undo the will of God. The story of Job proved that the evil one could do just about anything to him, except to take his life because the Heavenly Father told him not to (Job 1:12, Job 2:6). If the evil one had attempted to take the life of Job, then God would have destroyed the evil one. However, the evil one is still in this world; therefore, temptations will continue. It is our responsibility of whether or not we hear the Word of God so that we continue to grow in the faith of Jesus Christ (John 8:3132) and receive the glory of God.
Recall that God created Adam and Eve and told them to restore the earth (Genesis 1:28) through the system he created. Who was before Adam and Eve that had caused the world to be without form? Satan and his followers were in existence before Adam and Eve was told to restore the earth, proving that this earth was part of the plan of God. For this reason, our bodies were created to keep us separate from the evil spirits, and by our obedience to the Word of God, we would remain dominant on this earth. However, we have obtained the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:22) because of our disobedience, which means we are living in neither heaven nor hell but have received knowledge of both, creating a fair territory for the evil one to gain our soul. The new earth, therefore, was created to establish a division between heaven and hell, and man was created for the new earth. The tree that had the knowledge of good and evil was the symbol of separation between the old world and the new one.
God has been merciful to us as we have seen in Genesis 8:21 because of the task we are given. This task is to overcome temptation so that God, the Father, may remove the evil one completely from this earth (1 John 3:8). First the Father has driven him out of heaven, then Jesus Christ conquered him through his life and resurrection on earth, and now the battle is with our soul, but we have a safe haven and that is the Holy Spirit. This became possible because Jesus Christ was born like us. His faith kept him connected to God and was made perfect after his resurrection. People now celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ as a time for giving. I, on the other hand, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ as the birth of eternal life (John 3:16).
