We see in the Word that God’s dealings with man are not haphazard. God has always dealt with man using laws so man could understand that certain actions bring about certain consequences. In all that God created, man was His prize
creation. He created man in His likeness
and crowned him with glory and honor. God
is the supreme authority over the whole cosmos, but He originally gave man
authority over a specific area, the Earth.
Everything that was on the earth was under man’s authority. God made it evident that He wanted man to have control over his own life and outcomes. Man had to operate under the natural laws and God given laws in order to remain in harmony with God and creation. When God set up a system of laws with set outcomes He ultimately made Himself subject to the laws he had instituted. God imposed on Himself restraints so man would be able to feel secure in
His relationship with His creator, knowing ahead of time what outcomes he could
expect based on his own behavior.
When Satan rebelled against God, there was a revolt in Heaven and
God allowed Satan to set up an opposing kingdom. Adam and Eve originally operated under a
different set of Laws before the fall than after the fall because they were
actually subject to God’s kingdom laws. God
had given man the ability to rule himself within the kingdom God had set up on
the earth. Adam and Eve ushered in the
rule of the opposing kingdom on the earth when they sinned against God. The foundation of this opposing kingdom was
death and they had now made themselves subject to it. The rules of this kingdom demanded that man
must earn his own keep. All power and
authority ultimately came from God but He had given man the ability to choose
the kingdom he would be subject to. Now
God would only extend the benefits of His kingdom and power to man if He had
entered into a legal and binding covenant where man agreed to the terms. Man would initially become eligible by
trusting God to be faithful to His word.
God would then bind himself to the party, and if man would operate
within the guidelines of the covenant God would perform all that He had
promised on behalf of the recipient. In
the Old Testament, the majority of promises made to man in covenant with God
are conditional, based upon man’s obedience.
In order for man to be able to operate successfully in God’s kingdom he
had to follow the laws that God had instituted that would produce an expected
outcome.
When Christ came to earth as a man He perfectly fulfilled the covenant
by perfectly meeting every condition of the covenant that was man’s
responsibility. By fulfilling each
requirement Christ effectively overthrew the government that man was previously
subject to, and stripped the ruler of his authority to hold man subject to it. So today we see2 kingdoms in opposition to
each other, the kingdom of satan, and the kingdom of God, both operating upon
the earth. Most people would take
action if another person stole from them.
They know their rights, they know how to get justice, and they pursue
it. Yet surprisingly we let the devil break into our
garage every day, steal our bike, watch him ride it down the street and
convince ourselves he must have the right or else God wouldn’t let him!
In part 3 we will take a practical look at how a believer operates
by faith in an unseen kingdom while there is a very visible kingdom that
opposes us. I am
trusting the Holy Spirit to make it as plain to you as He did to me.
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