Recall that, according to the Spirit of Prophecy, justification by faith and the third angel’s message are one and the same thing. We have looked at authority and obedience and how they are central to this theme. The dictionary tells us that to obey is to be ruled or controlled; and obedience is submission to control, restraint, or command. So when you obey you are being controlled, ruled, and dominated.
Obedience is an important topic concerning righteousness. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16. Our destiny is determined by whom we become servants to obey. Everyone obeys someone. Not all obey God, but all obey some authority. Sin is obedience to someone else other than God. Righteousness is the result of serving the right Master. Often we have a different concept of righteousness than that.
This is not a forced or legislated obedience because “Righteousness is love.” MB 18; and obedience is “a surrender of the heart to the sovereignty of love.” MB 46. Also, obedience is “the service and allegiance of love.” SC 60.
Therefore, the motivation for serving God is vastly different than in all other kingdoms, or all other realms of life. It is not something exacted or demanded of us. The Lord woos us by His love and wins us to His side, so that by love we are motivated to serve Him. This is a different kind of obedience and a very delightful activity. Too often we have made it an irksome thing, but that is not the way it is in the kingdom of Christ. Righteousness is the result of serving the King of righteousness.
Jesus is called “The Lord our Righteousness” in Jeremiah 23:6. He is the Master our righteousness, the Ruler our righteousness, Christ our righteousness. He rules us in righteousness, and by serving Him in love we become righteous. Righteousness is serving the right Leader, the right King; but too often we think it is struggling to do something that is right.
This makes the proper choice of kings vital to the Christian life; but unfortunately we have not thought that we had a choice or have not realized that we can serve different kings. When discussing righteousness, we have mainly been concerned about the things that the law says we must do or must not do. Ellen White wrote that “Righteousness is right doing, and it is by their deeds that all will be judged.” COL 312. But is that the only definition of righteousness? We must be careful not to make this our only definition. We usually leave out the definition that “Righteousness is love” MB 18. There is more to righteousness than merely the what of Christian living—what we must do, what we must eat, what we must say. We must also be concerned about the Whom in righteousness—whom will you serve? Righteousness is also determined by whom we serve and not merely by what we do. Otherwise heaven will be filled with Pharisees. Jesus taught that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees. It is true that the what is important, and I am not leaving that out at all; but the primary importance is the whom. Some people have trouble understanding that.
In Acts chapter 17, when Paul went to Athens and preached, he told the people that they served an unknown god. He went on to make the true God known to them, for Jesus taught that “this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:3. It is life eternal to know Him. We must know Him to serve Him right. Therefore, acquaintanceship with God is most important.
John wrote that “every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:7,8. If you know Him, you will love Him because God is love. And “love is the fulfilling of the law” according to Romans 13:10. To know Him is to serve Him aright. Then you will love Him, and love is the keeping, or fulfilling of the law. Knowing and serving God produces righteousness, which is a vastly different thing than we often think about. In righteousness, it is the Whom that we serve that makes all the difference.
When Jesus came to this earth, born in Bethlehem, He came as a King to rule over the kingdom of grace. Some think that He will only take up rulership when someday He returns to this earth. He has already come to rule according to that marvelous verse in Isaiah 9:6, where we are told that “the government shall be upon His shoulder.” He came to rule over the kingdom of grace. He does not rule in glory at this time, but He rules in grace. The wise men from the east asked, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?” Matthew 2:2. They knew He had come to rule, and after they saw His humble birth they were tempted to doubt, but they knew He was the King; and they bowed before Him and gave gifts fit for a King. Jesus preached that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17. It is here right now, and He invites people to come and be subjects of His kingdom.
He did not establish a kingdom of glory because that is future at His second coming; but He did establish a kingdom of grace at His first advent, and He has been ruling ever since. Therefore, the important questions are: Are you a subject of His kingdom? Do you serve Him in love? Every member of the church professes to be His subjects, but we do not refer to it that way. We call it membership in a church and we talk about what our church does and does not allow us to do. It is not a matter of what our church requires, but what our King asks us to do. Are we subjects of the King? The King is in command, so we do what the King says. Not because we have to, but because we have chosen to serve Him. It is not what you think but what He says. We do not have to be ruled by Him for it is our free choice. This is different than other kinds of servants in other kingdoms where there is a forced submission. There you either obey or are put into jail or killed if you do not serve and obey. By understanding His love, we love Him in return; and therefore, because we love Him, we keep His commandments and serve Him.
Some people ask, “How can He rule when He is not here anymore?” Most kings rule like that. Kings do not go all over their countries to visit all the people everyday to rule. Very few people in a kingdom ever saw a king before television came along, but they were still ruled by the king. How did he do it? He had helpers and administrators, and he ruled through his laws, decrees, and commands. In other words, he ruled through his words; and wherever his word was, the king was ruling. There were people there to administer his laws. The king always ruled by his word or his decree, and the king’s words were most important.
Christ has left us His word. The King still rules by His word. We have it, and most people on earth today have it in their own language. The King still rules, and through His words, we know exactly what He wants, what His desires are, what His plans are, His wishes, and what He is like. We can know Him through His word and through His representatives. Therefore, we have adequate opportunity to serve Him knowledgeably and intelligently. Our King has been ruling through His word and through His administrators for a long time.
As soon as this King was born, His rulership was contested. The wise men asked Herod, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?” Matthew 2:2. Herod then went to inquire about this King and found out where He would be born. When the wise men did not come back, he issued a decree to kill all children less than two years of age. He did not want any competitors. The ultimate antagonist of Christ was a more terrible enemy than Herod. “And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered...And his [the dragon’s] tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” Revelation 12:2,4. And verse 9 tells us that the dragon was “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” He is the one who did not want Christ to rule. He has a lot of friends today, does he not? Even in the church there are many who do not want Christ to rule. Satan never wanted Christ to rule. If you are against the authority and rulership of Christ, you have joined forces with Satan.
This was made plain in the third temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. “Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Matthew 4:8-10. Jesus was saying to Satan that God is in charge, not him.
Since the fall of Adam and Eve, Satan has claimed ownership of all the kingdoms of this world, and he still claims ownership. He says the inhabitants of this world belong to him because he conquered all human beings, and that since they have all sinned, they are all his. Unfortunately, too many people believe him. He claims to dominate us because he has overcome us.
Satan does not mention that his rulership has some strings attached. “When Satan declared to Christ, The kingdom and glory of the world are delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it, he stated what was true only in part [he always tells half truths], and he declared it to serve his own purpose of deception. Satan’s dominion was that wrested from Adam, but Adam was the vicegerent of the Creator. His was not an independent rule. The earth is God’s, and He has committed all things to His Son. Adam was to reign subject to Christ. When Adam betrayed his sovereignty into Satan’s hands, Christ still remained the rightful King. Thus the Lord had said to King Nebuchadnezzar, ‘The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.’ Daniel 4:17. Satan can exercise his usurped authority only as God permits. When the tempter offered to Christ the kingdom and glory of the world, he was proposing that Christ should yield up the real kingship of the world, and hold dominion subject to Satan.” DA 129,130.
You must remember that in the very beginning, back in the garden, as soon as Satan saw that Adam had rulership, he wanted to usurp that rulership so he could dominate all of Adam’s successors and lead them all to sin. What he did not acknowledge, of course, was that this was all subject to Christ. This was not an independent rule that Adam had, and so Satan does not have it, either. Satan sought immediately to take control as soon as Christ was born. He has always contested about the kingdom and the rulership of mankind.
This contest, or this great controversy between Christ and Satan as we often call it, is more clearly seen under the symbol of the king of Babylon. Remember that we are studying justification by faith, and especially how it relates to the third angel’s message where it discusses Babylon. You must discuss the king of Babylon when you discuss Babylon. Otherwise you cannot possibly understand what this is all about.
The king of Babylon is discussed in Isaiah, and notice that he is the same individual that tried to devour the Christ child as soon as He was born. “That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!” Isaiah 14:4. How has Babylon come to its end or fallen? Isaiah discusses more about Babylon in succeeding verses; and finally in verse 12 are the familiar words: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” If you read the context, he is talking about the king of Babylon. Lucifer is termed and symbolized by the king of Babylon. Why was he cast down to the ground? “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Verses 13,14. Satan aspires to the pinnacle of authority and rulership of this earth.
Isaiah goes on to describe the results of Babylon’s (and Lucifer’s) aspirations: “For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 14:22,23. In other words, He will destroy this place.
Lucifer wants to rule and dominate just like God. He aspires to everything that God has. Therefore, when the Christ child was born he was suspicious and knew that somehow he must get rid of Him for He would compete with him. Satan did not succeed when Christ was born, so he tried to do it through the temptations in the wilderness. He was always trying to get rid of Christ’s Kingship. Satan came to dominate men for he knows he must dominate us in order to prevent us from being saved. He knows that if we are ever won to Christ, his cause is lost, and we will become righteous because we serve a righteous King. More than we realize, Satan understands this.
We have come to the day and age when many despise authority. The devil wants to imbue us with feelings of anarchy and rebellion to the point where we would never submit or subject ourselves to any authority. Today we see the results of this emphasis in the attitude of children toward parents, of parents toward grandparents, the young toward the aged, employees toward employers, citizens toward government, students toward teachers, members toward pastors and conferences. Everywhere this spirit of rebellion, this anti-authority, is rampant. In some cases it might be justified, but such a widespread, anti-authoritarian attitude pleases the devil to no end, because it makes us rebellious and anti-submissive. The spirit of not wanting to be subject to anyone is destroying marriages because there is no subjection in marriage anymore; but the Bible teaches there must be. Not forced subjection, but a willing, loving subjection. We see thousands of divorces because no one likes authority. Everyone wants to do his own thing. No one wants anyone to tell him what to do. This anarchy is sweeping all over the land and throughout the world as nation rises against nation.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, was an unusual person, and you begin to understand some of his activities as you study about him in the book of Daniel. Remember, we are still talking about Lucifer and how he is depicted and symbolized in the activities of the king of Babylon, for he is termed that by Isaiah, the gospel prophet. We are all familiar with the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and the image he saw. Notice also what is said about the king himself. “Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all.” Daniel 2:37,38. Nebuchadnezzar came to realize that God had given him his kingdom. He said, “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings.” Verse 47. He knew that he might be a ruler over other kings, but Jehovah is Lord, a Master of kings.
This is the heart of the book of Daniel, and it has much to do with the book of Revelation. Nebuchadnezzar liked everything about the dream except the fact that the God who could raise up kings could also take them down. He found out that another kingdom would come after his, and he did not like that. So he had an image built entirely of gold, not merely with a head of gold like in his dream. This was to show that his kingdom would be everlasting, and that God would never raise up another kingdom after his. Now he was in a contest with God who had given him the kingdom and who said there was someone coming after him. To guarantee no one would come after him, he had all those he ruled gather together and bow down and worship this image, showing there would be no rebellion in his kingdom. Everyone bowed down except three; and you know the story as described in Daniel chapter 3. When they refused to heed the decree of the king to worship the image, the king said he would destroy them. The king was in contest, not with three men, but with a God whose decree he was trying to countermand by the image of gold. God said that Nebuchadnezzar was only a head of gold in the image in the dream, but Nebuchadnezzar said he was to be all of gold, and not just the head.
When Nebuchadnezzar saw that there was One like the Son of man in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrews, he discovered that there was Someone greater than he. This is evident in these words he spoke: “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king’s word.” Daniel 3:28. The law of the Medes and Persian and of the Babylonians was unchangeable. But God changed the king’s word. This meant that there was some authority much greater than the king of Babylon who was able to countermand his word. At first the king had difficulty with a superior force, but he acknowledges it here.
Then after a while Nebuchadnezzar changed his mind, and he said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” Daniel 4:30. He no longer acknowledged that the King of kings had given him his kingdom. The result was a terrible humiliation where he became like a beast. Why did he become like a beast? You must read it carefully or you will miss it. “That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.” Daniel 4:25. Not just understand, not just realize, not just acknowledge, but do you know that the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men?
It is God’s choice, and not popular demand. God raises up leaders and God takes them down. You do not vote them into power; you just think you do. God is in charge, not you or me or a political party. This king thought he was in charge. God does not operate a democracy, which is a little shocking to those in countries like the United States. He operates a kingdom and He is a selector of those kings. The kings of the world belong to Him, not to Satan. Satan claims them, but God says they are His. When Satan tried to dominate this world through the king of Babylon, God told him that all kings are His. If they honored God, they could stay king. If not, He can get someone else. The experiences of Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus make it plain that God is the one who raises up kings and takes them down. He is in charge.
Whether it is in Babylon or in the church, Satan has always tried to get God off the throne by one method or another, and too often we cooperate with him. Originally God was the King of Israel, a symbol of the church as a nation. Recall the experience of how the Israelites desired a king. We have some problems with this today that we have not studied quite carefully enough. “And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto Me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God was your King.” 1 Samuel 12:12. This same idea is brought out in the book of Judges. “And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.” Judges 8:23. They wanted to make him king after a successful battle, but he said neither he nor his son would rule over the nation. He said the Lord would rule over them. We have difficulty in understanding this. The Lord had ruled His people through prophets down through the centuries. As He gave His commands and His words, the prophets spoke for God. The prophets went to the people with His messages. If they refused the prophet, they refused God.
The people desired to be like other nations. They desired to be like the world, just as we do today. The other nations had kings and they were successful sometimes, and the Jews said they wanted a king just like the other nations. Samuel told the people what would happen when men rule over them, and how they would be oppressed and enslaved and pay heavy taxes. When He finished his talk, they still said they wanted a king. So God gave them what they wanted. But He gave them a king under certain conditions. Many think that God no longer was ruler after a man became king, but the Bible does not teach that.
The Spirit of Prophecy elaborates on this. “Samuel then set before the people ‘the manner of the kingdom,’ stating the principles upon which the monarchial government was based, and by which it should be controlled. The king was not to be an absolute monarch, but was to hold his power in subjection to the will of the Most High.” PP 611. There was a higher power over the king, and to make that clear, God Himself chose the king. In fact, He always chose the king. When they tried to choose their own king, He would overrule. He has always remained in charge of raising up kings and taking them down.
“The government of Israel was administered in the name and by the authority of God. The work of Moses, of the seventy elders, of the rulers and judges, was simply to enforce the laws that God had given. They had no authority to legislate for the nation. This was, and continued to be, the condition of Israel’s existence as a nation. From age to age men inspired by God were sent to instruct the people and to direct in the enforcement of the laws. The Lord foresaw that Israel would desire a king, but He did not consent to a change in the principles upon which the state was founded. The king was to be the vicegerent of the Most High. God was to be recognized as the Head of the nation, and His law was to be enforced as the supreme law of the land.” PP 603. Therefore, even after they had a king, God was still in charge.
Why did He not want a man to rule? Why did He want to be over the king? “God desired His people to look to Him alone as their Law-giver and their Source of strength. Feeling their dependence upon God, they would be constantly drawn nearer to Him. They would become elevated and ennobled, fitted for the high destiny to which He had called them as His chosen people. But when a man was placed upon the throne, it would tend to turn the minds of the people from God. They would trust more to human strength, and less to divine power, and the errors of their king would lead them into sin and separate the nation from God.” PP 606.
The Lord knew what He was doing. Let us suppose that all Israel had followed king Saul. That would have been a tragedy. There would have been no survival of anyone. The whole kingdom would have been destroyed unless God had been over king Saul when he began his downward spiral into perdition. At some point God had to put another king in his place.
The unique thing about this kingdom is that, during the reign of all the kings of Israel and Judah, God was in charge and He manifested His authority by speaking to the king through a prophet. God always directed the king, and therefore the nation, through prophets. Some of the kings listened to the prophets, but some of them despised the prophets. But this is how God took charge of His kingdom when He had a human king over them. You can imagine what happened when king Saul went down to the witch of Endor and listened to a prophet of the devil. In doing so he was saying that he did not want the Lord to tell him what to do. He would rather let the devil tell him what to do.
All this gives us a better understanding of Revelation 12:17, where it says that Satan is angry with the remnant, and he goes to make war against those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. And Revelation 19:10 tells us that the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. Why does that make the devil furious? Because they are listening to the voice of God through the prophet, which means that God is ruling them. They not only keep His commandments but they listen to His directions through His prophet. Satan is furious and he wars against them. He does not want anyone to be subject unto God for he wants to rule in the place of God. He does everything he can to prevent people from listening to the King. This is why we have so much trouble about the gift of prophecy. It is not your logic that gives you so much trouble; and I know you use it all the time. Our problem with the Spirit of Prophecy is our selfishness and the devil deceiving us and tempting us. He does not want anyone to listen to the King of kings and Lord of lords. He wants everyone to listen to him. This is why there is so much controversy about the law and obedience, even in the Adventist church. The subjects of obedience and the Spirit of Prophecy are two of the most controversial subjects we have in the whole denomination. Why? The devil is angry and he does not want anyone to listen to the voice of God. That would deprive him of subjects, and of victory, and it would be certain death for him. He still has hopes of conquering everyone, and so he goes on and on in his campaign.
You can also see why in the last days he will have many who falsely claim to be Christ, and why he raises up so many false prophets and teachers claiming to speak for God. This is needed to keep people from serving the right Christ. Satan knows that when you serve the right Christ, you will have life, the devil will be whipped, and you will be successful. All these things are the devil’s inventions to keep us from serving King Jesus. When he finds you obeying the commandments of God, truly obeying them and not just professing, and listening to the directions of His prophet, it frightens him and wars take place in a hurry.
In modern Babylon we still have the same issues, for modern Babylon “reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17:18. She claims to be a king of kings and ruler of rulers. For centuries she has claimed to set up kings and to tear them down. This is demonstrated by many stories in history. It is still true, and it will become more so as we near the end of time. Satan has always had a beast, or a kingdom, for he always wants to rule over the people of this world through that kingdom. And the beast is so successful that the people ask: “Who is able to make war with him?” Revelation 13:4. The Bible provides the answer: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.” Revelation 19:11. Christ conquers Babylon, establishing Himself as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Prior to that time, the devil wants to make sure you are not saved. “Satan will not only appear as a human being, but he will impersonate Jesus; and the world that has rejected the truth will receive him as the lord of lords and king of kings.” 5BC 1106. The world that has rejected the truth will receive Satan as their lord. He will actually come with the same profession as Nebuchadnezzar, claiming to rule over all the earth. The devil, when he comes impersonating Jesus, will claim to have arrived at the point where he rules the earth.
Friend, this idea of ruling and being ruled is not a game. We look at it often as something we can play with. We think we always have tomorrow to make up our minds as to whom we will have rule over us. We have very peculiar ideas about this kingship and being in submission to a ruler. The devil knows it is a game of life and death, and the Lord knows it, too; but unfortunately the church has not discovered it yet. In this day and age when the devil aspires to establish that he is king over all the earth, there are many who cannot even tell when they serve him and when they serve Christ. Many argue that they are serving Christ when they are really serving Satan.
Are you beginning to understand these concepts of obedience and authority and rulership? We have envisioned it as someone telling us what to do, and we do not like that. We think that someone is always picking on us and we say, “Get off of my back and leave me alone.” That is not the problem at all. People do invent rules and all sorts of things that give an appearance of righteousness, like the Pharisees, but that is not what the problem is. There are two kings contesting for your allegiance, your loyalty, and your service. It is a fight unto death for us and for them. We may choose whom we serve, but we must also know whom we serve. We do not serve an unknown god as the heathen do. If we do not know Christ, we can never know Satan. If you cannot tell the difference, it simply means you do not know Jesus. But His word makes it clear who God is. He is planning before He returns that His saints will make it obvious who the righteous are, so that every human being will know what it is to be like Jesus. Christ is counting on you and me to demonstrate to the world what it is like to be like Jesus. This is a most important thing.
We can never be like Jesus while we try to be righteous by ourselves. We can never be like Jesus while we do not know Him. We can never be like Jesus by trying to do what is right. We can only be like Jesus by submitting to the sovereignty of His love and obeying Him as our loving King. It is more than just going through the external motions of doing what is right. Jesus is humble, selfdenying, and self-sacrificing. He is meek and lowly. Our King wants us to be like Him. His invitation to all is: “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.
Jesus was different from the proud, ambitious, prestigious, world- seeking sophisticates. He was totally self-forgetful and mindful only of others and their needs, and He came to serve and to bless others and to demonstrate God’s love. The world will never know God until Christians obey the King of righteousness because they love Him; and they love Him because He first loved them. In their loving actions, they will demonstrate to the world what God is like. Genuine Christians will demonstrate the loving, forgiving, merciful, sacrificial acts of Christ to the world. Jesus is waiting for this, but the devil says it will never happen. He claims that humans are as selfish and greedy as he is, and he says he can have them all. The devil still claims that we are all his because we have all sinned.
The Bible teaches that “of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” 2 Peter 2:19. Since Satan has overcome us, he says we are his. But Christ said that Satan is the originator of all lies. The truth is that Christ has conquered Satan. Satan was the master of human beings, but Christ came to do battle with our master. He has defeated the king who claimed to own us, and now all that belonged to Satan now belongs to Jesus, for Satan is a defeated foe. Everything that was Satan’s property is now Christ’s property, but many will not believe that yet. Not even those who attend church will believe that Satan is defeated, for they let him go on claiming victories in their lives when Christ has already conquered. The Lord says to us in Christianity, “I have already won you in battle, and you belong to Me! I claim you as My spoils, My prize, in warfare. Will you acknowledge that you belong to Me?” There is still a choice we must make even though He has won. In addition, He says, “I have redeemed you with My precious blood as though you were the property of Satan, and I bought you from him to be Mine.” By creation (original ownership), by redemption (buying us with His blood), and by conquering (winning us in a battle), He says we are His; and He asks if we will love and serve Him because we are His.
That is a decision that the Christian church offers everyone today. And the King of kings today asks the question, “Have I won you yet?” Every day as we awaken we must decide if He has won our heart, our affections, our time, our interest, our money, our plans. Has He won me? He says He has. What do you say?
We must acknowledge the truth that Christ is King of kings. He has won everything and soon He is coming to claim all who acknowledge that He has won them. He wants you to be in that precious group. This is our God and there is no other. He is the God of gods. He is our King. “Lo, we have waited for Him, and He will save us.” Isaiah 25:9.
May the Lord help you today to realize that Christ has conquered you, that He has conquered Satan and every enemy; and that you are His precious prize and He wants you desperately. Give Him your heart today and every day.