DAILY DEVOTIONAL – February 27, 2020
“Unfathomable Power”
Prayer: Almighty God, there is none like You. You have no equal. You have no rival. We rightfully fear Your righteousness and power, yet You have given us every reason for hope as we see Your power so humbly displayed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Father, protect us and lead us in Your mighty and merciful love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-8
7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it is said,
“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
he gave gifts to his people.”
Devotional – “Unfathomable Power”
One of the greatest and most beautiful mysteries of God’s love is the manner in which He loved us and how He worked His mighty work of salvation for us. In my conversations with skeptics and non-believers over the years, one of the objections that comes up without fail is the existence of evil. People often struggle with why God allows Satan to continue to exist, why sin and all of its suffering and violence is allowed to continue, and why God doesn’t squash all evil in the world. I usually answer that objection by saying something like, “God does not display His power by riding the world of evil because, if He did, there would be nothing left and no one left to witness His victory.”
God’s love for us is not without justice. If out of love for us God were to simply unleash His wrath against all sin and evil in the world, He would have to unleash that wrath on us as well. No one is good. All men are wicked and deserving of God’s swift justice. If out of His compassion God were to rid the world of suffering, He would have to get rid of the sin that is the source of all suffering, and along with it, all sinners. This again would be absolutely just and righteous of God to do, but there would be no one left for God to love. As the Apostle John says, “God is love.” So, in order to exercise His righteous wrath against sin and bring an end to the Devil and all evil, while at the same time saving those sinners who would come to repent and seek God’s forgiveness, another most perfect solution had to be offered.
As the sinless Son of God in the flesh, who lived the sinless life we were supposed to live, Jesus was the only perfect substitute for sinful humanity. The cross is a gruesome and heart-wrenching scene that makes visible to the human eye a small glimpse of what our sin deserves from the Holy Eternal Creator God. Through the cross, God emptied all of His anger and judgement against the sins of humanity. Through Christ’s death and through His resurrection from the dead, God defeated the death that our sin has deserved and defeated the Devil through whom sin was brought into the world.
Simply put, there was no other way for God’s righteousness and love to be maintained than by providing His own perfect sacrifice for rebellious humanity. Any other action by God necessarily would have resulted in the destruction of the very ones that God wanted to save; you and me.
God reveals the absolute majesty and unsearchable reaches of His power not by eradicating evil, but by using evil to defeat evil. By subjecting Himself to the worst the Devil had to offer as He hung on the cross, God in the flesh shines forth the Light of His Eternal might and love by rising again on the third day. As Acts 2:24 says, “God raised Jesus up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power.” It is in death that Christ has defeated death through His resurrection.
This is the mystery that Paul is addressing in our Ephesians text when he quotes and interprets Psalm 68:18 by saying, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive.”
For the rest of this devotional, I would like to read to you one of the most beautiful expositions of this text and this mystery of God I have heard. James Stewart was a late 20th century Scottish theologian who wrote a book entitled “The Strong Name”. Ever since I came across this quote from Stewart’s book, the words have echoed through my head, and I hope they prove as meaningful to you as they have for me. Here is what Stewart said commenting on Psalm 68 and on our text from Ephesians 4.
“It is a glorious phrase – ‘He led captivity captive.’
The very triumphs of His foes, He used for their defeat. He compelled their dark achievements to subserve His ends, not theirs.
They nailed Him to a tree, not knowing that by that very act they were bringing the world to His feet. They gave Him a cross, not guessing that He would make it a throne.
They flung Him outside the city gates to die, not knowing that in that very moment they were lifting up the gates of the universe, to let the King come in. They thought to root out His doctrines, not understanding that they were implanting imperishably in the hearts of men the very name they intended to destroy.
They thought they had God with His back to the wall, pinned helpless and defeated: they did not know that it was God Himself who had tracked them down. He did not conquer in spite of the dark mystery of evil, He conquered through it.”
Thanks for joining me for another time of devotion in God’s word, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
