Developing a Christian Worldview: Transformed by Redemption (Part 2)

In the previous lesson, we talked about the important link between the Kingdom of God and God’s plan to redeem creation. When Jesus began His earthly ministry, He preached that the Kingdom of God had come to earth. He then demonstrated the power of the Kingdom through many miraculous signs. These displays of Kingdom power and authority were meant to show that God’s Kingdom was breaking through. Just like the Allies made a beachhead at the D-Day invasion that signaled the beginning of the end of the Second World War, the ministry of Jesus signaled the beginning of the Kingdom of God and the redemption of all creation.

In this lesson, we will continue to explore the meaning of redemption by looking at how the ministry of Jesus was the beginning of the end of Satan’s kingdom. Satan had to be defeated and his power over humanity broken if we were going to be set free from all the effects of sin and death. We will then discuss what redemption means for humanity, or what God has in mind for redeemed people. But everything always begins and ends with Jesus. There is no talking about redemption without talking about the Redeemer! It was Jesus who defeated the Devil. And Jesus is the beginning of the redeemed humanity. No matter which aspect of redemption we are talking about, it all depends on Jesus. Christians see the world differently because we see who Jesus is and what He came to do. Christianity means coming to know, to love, and to follow a person. In the process, our view of everything else is transformed.

The Defeat of Satan

The Gospels record the ministry of Jesus. As soon as Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, He went out into the wilderness and was tempted by the Devil. The result of this temptation was the utter defeat of Satan. For the first time in the history of the world, Satan’s temptations of a human being were unsuccessful. This was just the beginning of Christ’s ministry. Satan’s kingdom would continue to experience defeat after defeat. The Kingdom of Darkness that had ruled the world was being shaken to its core. The final defeat of Satan’s kingdom is still to come. In the New Creation, Satan and all his allies will be permanently excluded. But the coming of Christ into the world was the beginning of the end of Satan’s dominion over creation. This fact is a major aspect of the message of the four Gospels that tell the story of Christ’s earthly life. The second coming of Christ will be a mop-up operation as the decisive battle was fought and won by Jesus, who is now reigning victoriously in Heaven with His Father.

Jesus Himself explained what He was doing to the Devil’s kingdom. Jesus’ earthly ministry was like binding a strongman to then rob his house (Matt. 12.28-29; Mk. 3.27; Lk. 11.20-22). Satan is obviously not equal to God. There is no Dualism in the Bible. However, the Bible is very clear that Satan did effectively establish a rival kingdom on earth in order to challenge the purpose of God. From the very beginning, Satan directed his attacks at those God had made in His image and placed over the creation. When the door was opened, Satan came in and set up his operation. Satan effectively turned humanity against God, spreading his own rebellion from heaven to the earth. God Himself had told the serpent in the Eden that a human being would eventually defeat him (Gen. 3.15).

The Gospels seem to be showing us the fulfillment of God’s promise about the seed of the woman crushing the serpent’s head.  Jesus had come to rob Satan’s house. Just like a dangerous animal is put on a chain to limit the damage it can cause, Jesus had come to bind the Devil, limit his power, and then take back what had been stolen. A famous preacher named Gardner Taylor once said in a sermon that the Bible is about a God who is out to get back what rightfully belongs to Him. The Devil was an interloper who had taken over what God had made. The Son of God had landed on earth to take it back.

During His ministry, Jesus exercised power over every aspect of the Kingdom of Darkness (Matt. 12.28; Lk. 8.28; 13.16; Acts 10.38). All of Jesus’ miracles clearly demonstrated who was really in charge. The unclean spirits, or demons, immediately recognized who Jesus was and had to submit to His commands. The possession of people by evil spirits was a forceful display of Satan’s domination over human life. Jesus expelled the demons from the bodies and minds of their victims, giving an awesome display of Satan’s demise. A greater power than Satan had arrived and even the mere presence of Jesus was usually enough to send the demons into hysterics. Everywhere Jesus went He almost effortlessly beat back the Kingdom of Darkness, using only the authority of His word. Wherever Jesus goes, the Kingdom of Darkness is defeated. This truth is powerfully shown in C.S. Lewis’ Narnia stories. When Aslan comes to Narnia to release it from the control of the White Witch, all it takes to break her evil spell that always made it Winter, but never Christmas, is the presence of the great lion. When Aslan comes to Narnia, it is Spring again! There can be no doubt about Jesus’ victory and Satan’s defeat. “Satan has done his worst, but Christ has bested him” (Al Wolters).

Because Satan has been so soundly defeated, there is nothing that can stop the redemption of all creation. Anyone can be saved from Satan’s dominion and brought into the Kingdom of God (Col. 1.13). Jesus came to rob the Devil’s house, which means we were rescued! The Devil was holding us captive in his house until Jesus came to bind the Devil and rob his house. 

How did Jesus do that? Jesus rescued us from Satan’s dominion by taking away the Devil’s tools. The only way to completely weaken the Devil was to remove sin and its effects. This means that the point at which the Devil was rendered powerless was when Jesus died. It was at the cross that the serpent’s head was crushed. By sacrificing Himself, the power of sin was broken which made it impossible for Satan to hold us in his grip. Sin is what kept us under Satan’s dominion. By releasing us from the power of sin, Jesus has also released us from Satan’s dominion. Jesus simply removed the doors of Satan’s house so that the prisoners can walk out and be free! 

So complete was Jesus’ mastery over the Kingdom of Darkness, even the disciples could be sent out with authority do the same damage to Satan’s kingdom that Jesus had done! Christ’s victory over Satan becomes our victory as well. When Jesus rose from the dead, He gave instructions to His disciples about going out into the world and preaching the Gospel. He reminded them that He had been given all authority. Their effectiveness doing many of the same things that Jesus had done was because Satan had been defeated and bound. Everything that happened in the book of Acts could take place because of Satan’s defeat at the hands of Christ. The very existence of the Church in the world is proof that Jesus beat the Devil! Satan is a defeated enemy. We can participate in the Devil’s defeat as we wrestle against him and his remaining Powers of Darkness. And we do so with hope and confidence in the victory of Jesus over Satan.

The Renewal of the Image of God

The first stage of the coming of God’s Kingdom was the incarnation. The Son of God was to come into the world as a human being. A man had to redeem man. Remember that man was created in the image of God, which meant that mankind was to be God’s representative on earth and rule creation under God. But when man rebelled against God that image was marred and distorted. Sinful man does not perfectly represent God’s will on earth. God’s plan of redemption included the restoration of the Divine image in man. Redeemed men will properly image God. It is not possible for a single man or woman to completely image God. This image will be reproduced in a whole body of redeemed people. The renewal of the Divine image required a second Adam who would inaugurate the new humanity. This new humanity would be transformed and empowered by the Spirit to reflect the Divine image once again.

The Second Adam

Humanity fell in Adam. This is something difficult for modern people to understand because of our individualism. But it is possible for a single person to represent a whole body of people who stand in solidarity with him. This is called federal headship. Adam is the federal head of humanity. All of Adam’s people are like him. To be human means to be like Adam, our federal head. Just as Adam was disobedient to God and died as a result, all of Adam’s children are likewise sinners who suffer death. We bear the likeness of our federal head. If God was going to redeem mankind this situation had to be reversed. There had to be a second federal head in which the image of God could be renewed. There had to be a second Adam. Christ is the Second Adam (Rom. 5.12-19). Christ is the federal head for another body of people in which the Divine image is restored and perfected. Where Adam failed and fell, Jesus succeeded. Redeemed humanity began with Jesus. So, we see why it was necessary for Jesus to live a perfect life that was pleasing to God in every way. He was showing us what the new humanity looks like.

Jesus is the perfect image of God (Col. 1.15; Heb. 1.3; 2 Cor. 4.4-6). The Son of God has always shared perfect unity with God the Father, but Jesus perfectly imaged God as a man on earth. This was the necessary ingredient for the redemption of humanity. For humanity to be redeemed there had to be a man who perfectly imaged God on earth. The Son of God could not have redeemed us by remaining in heaven. The new federal head had to be a human being to redeem human beings. As much as we need to stress the deity of Christ, we must not let go of His humanity. It was His humanity that redeemed us. The Word becoming flesh is the point of redemption. So, now there is on record a man who perfectly imaged God on earth. This accomplishment paved the way for the creation of a new, redeemed humanity.

The New Humanity

The Church is the New Humanity. (We are using the term “Church” here in the broadest possible meaning; the Church is not just a local congregation meeting together for worship, but all those who are in Christ.) All those who are in Christ, or who stand in solidarity with Christ rather than with Adam, are members of the New Humanity. People who are in Christ have made a critical transition from being under Adam’s federal headship to being under Christ’s federal headship. In the world today there are two humanities: one that belongs to Adam and one that belongs to Christ. One is fallen and one is being redeemed. Adam’s humanity is doomed to die. Christ’s humanity is destined for eternal life. The only humans who have hope for a future are those under Christ’s federal headship. Everyone in Adam is obsolete and destined for the eternal scrapheap. At some point, we must resign from Adam’s headship and join ourselves to Christ. This transition from likeness to Adam to likeness to Christ is what redemption/salvation is all about.

Christ is only the first of a new humanity. We shall bear His image (Rom. 8.29; 1 Cor. 15.49; Heb. 2.10-11; 1 Jn. 3.2). God’s goal in redemption is to make millions and millions of copies of His Son. This is really the whole goal of Christianity. Everything that we do is to contribute to that goal. All the religious activities and denominational structures in the world mean absolutely nothing unless people are being made more like Christ. That is God’s purpose and there can be no deviation from it. All those in Christ will be like Christ and nothing in this world can stop that from happening. There is no possibility that God’s plan of redemption might fail. That train has already left the station and the destination is certain. The Church’s business is to assist or partner with God in the process of making more and more people more and more like Jesus. The whole plan of redemption has now been revealed. We know what God is up to and we can either get on board or be left at the station.

God is redeeming a body of people who will bear the image of His Son. Christianity is not individualistic. We image God together. There is no way that each of us can individually reflect the Divine image. It will take a community to do that. This is a difficult lesson for those so influenced by Western Individualism. We are taught from a very early age that we must be individuals and that everything we need is within ourselves. This way of thinking is contrary to the Gospel. We need to belong to a community to be complete individuals. God’s original plan for humanity was to be a community and this is also true of the redeemed humanity.

It is a serious mistake that reflects a misunderstanding of the Gospel for people who claim to be Christians who remove themselves from the community of believers. Obviously, the Church in the world has not yet been perfected. But human failures do not negate the Divine purpose. The fact that we are still in a state of imperfection means we need a community to help us address those imperfections and weaknesses. And we must also still face the hostility of the unredeemed world. Christians are people being redeemed out of a world that remains hostile to God. We live in a state of warfare and the New Testament often uses military metaphors to describe the Christian life. “We must struggle together in discerning how to respond as authentic Christians to the secular culture in which we live – this culture with its deeply ingrained, often distorting effects on human life” (Walsh & Middleton).

We need community because we are still growing in His likeness (Eph. 4.13). Christian community facilitates growth. The whole point of the Christian life is to grow up into Christlikeness, which is a process that never stops while we are still in this world. God has given us several concrete ways to grow in Christ. The spiritual disciplines of fellowship, worship, Scripture, and service are ways that we can actively pursue likeness to Christ. Christians are not going to perfectly reflect the image of Christ, at least not yet. But there should be growth in a certain direction. Often this growth seems slow and accompanied by many setbacks as the flesh or the old man still hinders us. Sanctification is a process by which the old ways are put to death and a new kind of life takes the wheel. There will be times of failure and sin. But when we do fail, we confess our sins and we continue working on conforming our lives to Christ. This is not legalism. We are not earning salvation we are working out the practical implications of our salvation. The legalist works out of fear of punishment. The believer in Christ works out of love for Christ and a desire to be like Him. There is no better witness to the world than a community of people who are striving together to be more like Christ. Of course, the world hated Christ and it will also hate those who are like Christ. But the ministry of the Church is to image Christ in the world. All we have to offer is Christ. If we image Christ, then those who want Christ will see His likeness in believers and be drawn to Christ.

The Power of the Spirit

Christianity is not moralism. There is a real, spiritual presence and power that is actively transforming believers into the image of Christ. When Jesus was preparing to give His life on the cross, He prepared His disciples to be without His physical presence. Jesus was going to give His life, rise from the dead, and then return to be with the Father in Heaven. But the disciples were not going to be left alone. Jesus was going to send another helper from heaven to be with the believers. That Divine Helper was the Holy Spirit who came to the Church on the Day of Pentecost. Pentecost was a significant stage in redemptive history. The gift of the indwelling Spirit had not been offered under the Old Covenant. But in the New Covenant, which was put into effect when Jesus died, the Holy Spirit is now given to all believers (Acts 2.17-18; 38). 

In some mysterious way, the Holy Spirit dwells in us and is with us always. He is the source of power for the Christian life. The Christian's life is lived in the power of the Spirit like a sailboat is made to move by positioning its sails to catch the wind. The New Covenant is marked by a transformation by the Spirit (Jer. 31.33; 2 Cor. 3.8-9, 18). We are not left to try to reform our own lives. While our participation is certainly required, it is the power of the Spirit that makes us new and facilitates growth in Christlikeness. The Law was only an external demand to change our behavior. The Spirit is a transformational power. It is the Spirit that creates the New Man after the likeness of Christ (Eph. 4.24; Col. 3.10). It becomes the believer’s responsibility to live constantly under the influence of this new man rather than the old man of sin. When we need help understanding how to please God in every situation and every aspect of life, it is the Spirit who gives wisdom for our living (Eph. 1.17; Col. 1.9-10). Of course, we have the Scriptures to give us wisdom and guidance. But the Scripture usually gives us principles rather than specific instructions for every life-situation. That is why we need the Spirit as well as the guidance of the Scriptures. The Spirit will always work in harmony with the Scriptures to light our path in the darkness of this present, evil world. 

Finally, we know that there is much more about redemption to come. It is the Spirit that is the pledge of the future inheritance (2 Cor. 1.22; 5.5; Eph. 1.13; 4.30). In other words, the work of the Spirit in our lives now is just the beginning or a little foretaste of future glory. The process of redemption begins in this world. But when we see Jesus, we will be like Him completely and the plan of redemption will be finished. When all of God’s people stand before Him transformed into the image of Christ, that will be what the New Testament calls “glory.” That eternal “weight of glory” is the goal of redemption that all of God’s people are looking forward to with hope and eager anticipation.