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Isaiah 9:2 says, ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light’. In such passages, the darkness is a word-picture for the power of a cruel enemy. As darkness hides everything, so those people were under the complete authority of that enemy. There seemed to be no hope for them.
However, light destroys darkness (John 1:4-5). In these passages, ‘light’ is a special description of the rule of God’s king, called the Son of God or the Messiah. The translation of the word Messiah from the Hebrew language into the Greek language gives us the word ‘Christ’.
Jesus is called the Christ because, in the future, his rule over all things will be complete (Philippians 2:9-11). He will rule the nations, with complete authority over them (Psalms 2 and 110; Revelation 19:16). However, Christ has already received the position of greatest authority in heaven, at the right side of God the Father (Psalm 110:1; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 1:3). So, already, people are escaping the devil’s power to become citizens of heaven (Ephesians 2:19; Hebrews 11:16). Even in this world, people can accept Christ as their king (Luke 23:42; John 20:28; Acts 2:36-38; Romans 10:9) – so, even in this world, people can join God’s holy nation (1 Peter 2:9).
Nobody can gain a right relationship with God by their own efforts (Romans 4:1-8). It is only Christ who, by his death, is able to free us from the devil’s power (Hebrews 2:14-15). Christ is the Son whom God the Father truly loves (Mark 1:11). Christ died so that God can forgive us (1:14). God accepts every person who turns from their evil deeds to put their trust in Christ (John 1:12-13; Romans 10:11-13).
Next part: The redemption that we can receive through Christ (Colossians 1:14)
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© 2019, Keith Simons.