We have seen how Jesus Christ stretched himself out in prayer and love. He studied the Old Testament to see that God wrought deliverance when His people seemed to be failures. He knew that his heavenly Father would give him the victory, despite the worldly opinions of men.
If Jesus Christ could be considered the greatest failure of all time from a worldly viewpoint, he had many examples in the Old Testament that also looked as if they had failed. When faced with doubt and confusion about his own success, Jesus Christ had an immense wealth of scriptures to keep his heart at ease with God’s true perspective.
As a young girl, my father would take the family to the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. I loved the shows in the planetarium where we could see the “sun” go down and the “stars” come out in the domed ceiling above us. Since then—from Skagway, Alaska to Melbourne, Australia—I think I’ve viewed the entire expanse of the heavens visible to those of us on earth.
We can be strong in the Lord and the power of his might! God has given us all the resources that we need to be victorious in life. Here is a poem about Ephesians 6:10-18.
Did God the Creator, Lord of heaven and earth, really give man dominion (authority and control) over the earth? Yes! (See Part 1.)
Did that old serpent, the Devil, really deceive Adam and Eve into handing their dominion (authority and control) over to him, effectively making Satan the god of this world? Yes! (See Part 2.)
Jesus Christ Gets Back Man’s Dominion
In Part 2 we went to the Bible and learned about God’s authority on earth as in heaven, Jesus’ purpose of overcoming the Devil, who the god of this world is, how Lucifer became the Devil, how Lucifer got dominion in the earth, how Satan attacked Job—and God’s deliverance when Job sought His help.
Who Is the God of This World?
God as Creator is Lord over His creation, the heavens and the earth. Part 1 of this series showed that 1) God created the heavens and the earth and all living things in them, 2) He set everything in its course within the natural confines of time and space, and 3) He created man in His own spiritual image, giving him dominion over His creation.
A country wins a military battle. Another area of the world is devastated by an earthquake. Someone wins millions of dollars in the lottery. A student fails a college entrance exam. A driver is injured in a car crash. Too often, well-meaning Christians have an answer for any event, good or bad: “God is in control.” Is that what the Bible really says?
Those of us who have entrusted our lives to the heavenly Father in our Lord Jesus Christ will have tribulation and affliction because we live in this world.