From the moment, that man handed over his dominion over the earth, which had been given to man by God, to the devil through sin, the devil established his kingdom on earth. Van daardie oomblik af, the devil and sin and death reigned on earth. The nature and law of the devil ruled in the flesh of man and the law of sin and death came into being. The earth was no longer blessed but became cursed. The spirit in man died, and the flesh; siel, en liggaam, became subject to the devil. The devil became the father and god over all flesh that would be born into his kingdom. The law that represents the devil’s kingdom is the law of sin and death. What is the law of sin and death? Let’s have a look at the revealing truth about the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death reigns over every person
Elke persoon, that would be born on this earth, would automatically be bound and subjected to sin and death and the law of sin and death. The law of the devil, which represents his will, is present and reigns in every flesh (Lees ook: ‘Die wil van God vs die wil van die duiwel').
As gevolg van die feit, that the spirit of man died, the moment that man sinned, man only had the ability to live after the flesh.
Man had become a living soul, and the soul would dictate man what the do. The soul and body would be bound to the devil and his law. The evil rebellious nature of the devil was present in the flesh of the carnal man. Because man lived after the flesh and was led by his sinful nature, man would live after the law of the devil and establish the law of sin and death.
Transferred from the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of darkness
When God created the heaven and the earth, His Kingdom; the spiritual Kingdom of God reigned upon the earth. God created man with a spirit, siel, en liggaam. Adam’s spirit reigned in his life. His soul and body were subjected to his spirit.
Before Adam rebelled and became disobedient to the commandment of God and sinned, the spiritual law of righteousness and life, reigned on the earth. The law of righteousness and life represents the will of God and belongs to the Kingdom of God.
But when Adam, who was appointed by God to represent His Kingdom upon the earth, listened to the voice of the devil and became disobedient to the commandment of God and His Kingdom, his spirit, who reigned in his life, died.
When Adam’s spirit died, he was transferred in the spiritual realm, from the Kingdom of God to the kingdom of darkness.
Man had freely chosen to listen to and believe the words of the devil, instead of God. Man chose to become ongehoorsaam to the words of God and do the will of the devil instead of the will of God.
As I discussed in the previous blogpost ‘The will of God vs the will of the devil’, the devil rebels against every word of God. That’s why the will of the devil is the exact opposite of the will of God.
The will of God represents the law of righteousness and life. The will of the devil represents the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death
The law of sin and death contains the following commandments:
- You shall love the devil and all there is within the world above all. You shall serve him and obey him
- You shall have gods before you and you shall bow down to them
- You shall commit fornication
- You shall hate God and use His name in vain
- You shall commit adultery
- You shall be unfaithful
- You shall lie
- You shall murder
- You shall rebel against your parents and not honor them
- You shall covet
- You shall be jealous
- You shall not forgive
- You shall….
This law represents the will of the devil and belongs to the kingdom of darkness. When you live after the flesh, you shall be bound to this law of sin and death and you shall walk in sin. When you live after this law in sin, your final destination shall be death. Because the wages of sin is death.
Want die loon van die sonde is die dood; maar die gawe van God is die ewige lewe deur Jesus Christus, ons Here, (Romeine 6:23)
God chose a people and set them apart
God chose a people and set them apart from other people, from the other nations. God led His people out of Egypt and redeemed them from slavery and the rulership of Pharaoh. For years, God’s people were oppressed by Pharaoh and lived in slavery. His will had become their will and they had adopted the pagan rituals, gewoontes, and culture of Egypt.
But God’s Kingdom was another Kingdom and God’s will wasn’t equal to the will of the devil, which reigned in the evil carnal nature of man.
God didn’t want His people to be bound to the devil and the works of his kingdom. Because God couldn’t have fellowship with sin; the works of the flesh and darkness. God’s people had to be cleansed and purified. Their minds had to be renewed with the will of God.
God made His will known by His law
That’s why God revealed His will and His Kingdom known to His people, by giving them His law. As gevolg van die feit, that man was carnal and God Spirit, God ‘translated’ His will and made His spiritual Kingdom visible to man, by giving them Sy gebooie. God wanted to have a relationship with man, but since the carnal man was not righteous but a sinner and God couldn’t have communion with sin, He gave them the sacrificial laws. The offerings would make a temporary atonement for the sins of man.
The law of sin and death, which belongs to the kingdom of darkness, reigned from the moment that Adam sinned, Op hierdie aarde. Van daardie oomblik af, the devil had spiritual dominion over man and the earth.
But God had set His people apart from the world. He revealed His Kingdom and His will, by giving them the law.
Because they were carnal and not spiritual, God revealed to them the spiritual truth. By giving His law to His carnal people, the law of sin and death, that belonged to the kingdom of the devil was revealed.
The flesh of the carnal man, which is subject to the law of sin and death, Gesê: “thou shall steal, thou shall commit fornication, thou shall covet, thou shall lie, thou shall be jealous etc”. But God represented His Kingdom and therefore God said: “thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit fornication, thou shall not lie, thou shall not covet, etc”
Sin became revealed by the law
Wat sal ons dan sê? Is the law sin? die Here behoed. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet (Romeine 7:7)
Die wet van die Gees, which belongs to the Kingdom of God is the exact opposite of the law of sin and death, which belongs to the kingdom of darkness. When God gave the law of Moses, God revealed sin.
Sin was no longer hidden but was revealed by the law. God didn’t force anyone to be obedient to His law. He had given and still has given everyone a free will.
Every person will make his/her own choices in life. But…God did reveal to them, what would happen if a person decided to not love God above all and to disobey His law, which represented His will but rather chose to serve the devil and his law of sin and death.
Why the death penalty?
God gave His people, who belonged to His Kingdom, Sy gebooie. But as soon as someone rebelled and didn’t want to submit to His will and obey Him, God had to deal according to the law of sin and death, which the person had chosen to obey.
When a person obeyed the law of sin and death, the person also received the wages for following this law.
The punishment depended upon the sin the person committed. Because there was sin unto death and sin not unto death.
But when a person intentionally sinned and had chosen to obey the law of sin and death, the person got the wages for following this law, wat die dood is.
The person had to be removed from His people and was given to the person’s lord and master: die dood.
That was the punishment for everyone, who became ongehoorsaam to the law of God; the law of righteousness and life, and became obedient to the law of sin and death.
The law of sin and death reigns as long as the old man lives
From the moment, that you are born on this earth, the spiritual law of sin and death reigns in your body (vlees). Your flesh is corrupted by the sinful nature; die aard van die duiwel. That means that your sinful nature, which is present in your flesh, serves and is obedient to the law of sin and death. There is only one way to be redeemed from the law of sin and death, and that is through die proses van wedergeboorte.
Only when your flesh dies in Jesus Christ, you will be redeemed from your sinful nature and from the law of sin and death, that rules in your flesh. From the moment you die in Jesus Christ, you will be redeemed and set free from this law, that leads you to eternal death.
Want die wet van die Gees van die lewe in Christus Jesus het my vrygemaak van die wet van sonde en dood (Romeine 8:2)
It is just like a marriage between a husband and a wife. They are bound to each other as long as they both shall live on this earth. By the law, the woman is bound to her husband, during her life on this earth.
When her husband dies, the woman is released from the law that bound her to her husband. But when she commits adultery, while her husband is still alive and marries someone else, she will be an adulterer. Only when one of them dies, the bonds of marriage are destroyed and the law that bounds them together will be annulled. Therefore when the law is annulled, the other person will be free and not bound by the law anymore (Romeine 7:2-3)
Dying in Jesus Christ
It is the same with everyone, wat in Jesus Christus glo. When you repent and accept Jesus as your Saviour and make Him Lord over your life, you lay down your own life; die ou vleeslike skepping, in Hom.
When you are baptized in water, in the natural realm you symbolically lay down your flesh, maar op geestelike gebied, your flesh dies.
Therefore you will no longer be bound to the law of sin and death, that reigns in your flesh.
The law of sin and death has no longer authority over you, but you are redeemed from this law.
Deur die doop met die Heilige Gees, your spirit will be raised from the dead.
Van daardie oomblik af, your spirit lives, and the law of righteousness and life, which is the law of the Spirit, that belongs to the Kingdom of God, will reign in your life.
Jesus represented the law of the Spirit
Maak ons dan die wet tot niet deur die geloof? die Here behoed: ja, ons stel die wet vas (Romeine 3:31)
Jesus represented the law of the Spirit, which belongs to the Kingdom of God, Op hierdie aarde. Dis hoekom Jesus gesê het: “You shall….” Jesus spoke out of the law of the Spirit. Jesus het geweet, that the law of Moses represented the will of God and His Kingdom. He knew that this law was given to God’s carnal people, who were only able to live after the flesh.
But because Jesus didn’t walk after the flesh, maar na die Gees, He wasn’t ruled by His flesh. Jesus didn’t think: “I shall not be jealous, I shall not covet, I shall not….”
The nature of God dwelled by the Holy Spirit in Jesus. Jesus knew the law of the Spirit and the Kingdom of God and therefore He walked according to this law.
Deur na die Gees te wandel, Jesus obeyed and fulfilled the law, that God had given to Moses.
Jesus didn’t give in to the temptations of the devil in His flesh.
Hy het geweet, that as soon as He would give in to the begeertes en begeertes of His flesh, He would automatically obey the law of sin and death and walk in the commandments of the devil. If Jesus would have done that, He would be transferred from the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of the devil, net soos Adam. If He would have obeyed the flesh, He would become disobedient to God and would make the devil His father and would belong to the kingdom of darkness.
Weet julle nie, dit aan wie julle julleself diensknegte oorgee om gehoorsaam te wees, sy dienaars is aan wie julle gehoorsaam is; hetsy van die sonde tot die dood toe, of van gehoorsaamheid aan geregtigheid? (Romeine 6:16)
God’s work of redemption in Jesus Christ
Jesus knew the difference between the two spiritual kingdoms and the two laws, that belonged to these kingdoms. By His deeds and His walk, Jesus made the choice to Whom He wanted to belong to: His Father; the God of the heavens and the earth, of die duiwel; the god of this world.
Deur na die Gees te wandel, Jesus het gehoorsaam gebly aan Sy Vader. He represented and brought the Kingdom of God upon this earth. Because of His gehoorsaamheid, He could fulfill the work of redemption of the ou skepping.
Slegs deur Jesus Christus, when you die and be resurrected in Him, it is possible to be redeemed from the bonds of sin, that lead to eternal death. Only when you become wedergebore and when your flesh dies in Him, you will be redeemed from the law of sin and death.
Deur dying in Jesus Christus, you will be transferred from the kingdom of darkness; the kingdom of this world into the Kingdom of God. By walking after the Spirit in Jesus Christ; die woord, you shall automatically fulfill the law of God, which represents His Kingdom and you shall be able to stay loyal and obedient to Him.
‘Wees die sout van die aarde’
