11. A New Human Family That Is Above Angels
Chapter 11 A New Human Family That Is Above Angels “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8) Jesus Created Angels, But Later Humbled Himself And Placed Himself Below Them
We know that the Bible calls Jesus “The Word” (the Voice or Expression of God). It was this same Jesus, as the voice of the Trinity, which spoke the visible and invisible world into existence.
John 1:3 says “Through (Jesus) all things were made;without him nothing was made that has been made.”
Colossians 1:15-16 says: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”
These verses show us that Jesus was the one in the beginning who created all the invisible angels with all their power and authority. Jesus is the creator. He is God so he has the same authority and glory as God the Father and the Holy Spirit. And since he created angels, he has all glory, power, and authority over them. But one of the most amazing things to consider is that when he became a human being and came to live among us as a human, he actually took on a position that was even lower than the angels.
Php 2:6-8 says Jesus, “...who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself...”(NET)
Hebrews 2:9 says: “…but we see Jesus, who wasmade lower than the angelsfor a little while…”(NET) For A Short Time Jesus Set Aside His Glory This is really an amazing truth! The Bible says that for the short time while Jesus was on the earth, he chose to “empty himself”—to set aside his magnificent glory for a while and humble himself by taking on a much lower position—even lower than the angels. When he became human, his glory was hidden and he looked just like an ordinary earthly person. Angels, on the other hand, are more powerful beings than humans. They travel with incredible speed. They have lived for thousands of years. They don’t need food to eat or water to drink. They don’t need to sleep or rest like humans. But when Jesus came and lived on the earth, he lowered himself—even below angels by taking on human limitations and weaknesses just like a man. He walked on two feet—slowly, just like other men. He was hungry and thirsty and even got tired like humans. Even though Jesus had created powerful angels by his own power, the angels actually had to come and help Jesus while his earthly body became very hungry or weak (Matthew 4:11; Luke 22:43). Why would Jesus choose to lower himself like that?
Jesus Became Human In Order To Create A New Spiritual Family For God
We know that whatever happens to a father affects his children and also future generations. And so, when financial hard times or debt or some other trouble comes on a father, then the children suffer along with him. That’s what happened to Adam—his descendants suffered with him.
We also know that when things go well for a father, then the children will benefit also. For this reason, Jesus purposely chose to become a real human person—a man with limitations and weaknesses—so he could become part of us. He became united with our weakened human race (or family) so that when he died, he would die as our representative, and his death would also apply to us also. His death would benefit his family. And then when he rose from the dead and received glory and honor, that would also apply to us. And so now, those of us who are in his family benefit from the new life of Jesus and also receive glory and honor along with him!
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 says: “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive…”
Jesus Created A New Human Family And Broke Our Family Link To Adam
Jesus wanted to save us from our sin debt so that he could create a new spiritual family for God. This new family would be the family of God. Adam’s family was “spiritually dead in sin” and under Satan’s rule. But Jesus created a new spiritual family that was spiritually “alive in Christ.” And he also wanted those of us who believe in him to have a new exalted position along with him. And that is why Jesus had to become a human being, like one of us, so he could rescue Adam’s descendants, create a new “spiritually alive” family and then exalt us with him too. First, let’s talk about Adam’s headship.
Jesus Became The Head Of This New Spiritual Family To Replace Adam
God used the dust of the earth to create Adam, so Adam was a man from the earth. He was earthly. He was the first man in the human race, so he is the physicalancestor or “father” of all people everywhere. He is also responsible for introducing sin to mankind and so Adam is like a father or head of the sinful human family. On the other hand, Jesus was heavenly—he was not created from the dust like Adam. Jesus already existed and came from heaven to earth. He was placed as a baby inside the body of a virgin woman and was born into the human race, without a human father. His Father was God himself. So even though Jesus was human, he became the head of a new kind of human family in order that he could bring us back to God and we could become part of God’s heavenly family.
Jesus is like a bridge from the old family over to the new family. This new family is a spiritual family and a new kind of lineage. So the Bible calls Jesus the “second man” or the “last Adam” because he became the head of this new kind of human family which is not connected to the first Adam’s sinful family lineage. The first Adam brought death. The “last (or final) Adam” brought life eternal.
1 Corinthians 15:22; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 1 Corinthians 15:47 says: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive…The first man Adam became a living being; thelast Adam, a life-giving spirit... The first man was of the dust of the earth; thesecond manis of heaven.”
Romans 5:10 says: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man (Adam) the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man (Jesus) the many will be made righteous.” The Family Of The “Last Adam” Is Not Under Satan Anymore
Satan has ruled a long time as a king over the family of Adam and they all have died. Jesus became human, just like us, so he could conquer Satan as a human being. Satan wanted to kill and destroy Jesus by going into Judas and putting Jesus on the cross. But his death was not a defeat for Jesus. Rather it became a defeat for Satan instead, because Jesus paid the sin debt and then rose again to break the power of sin and death over mankind (Hebrews 2:14). Those who are still under the first Adam are still under Satan and the demons’ rule. But now those who are in the family of the Last Adam (Jesus) are no longer under Satan. Those who believe in this Final Adam are united forever with their new head and king—King Jesus. And those who are in his family will never be lost.
Satan Can Not Take Back The Children Of God. They Are Safe In Jesus’ Hands
If someone truly believes in Jesus and becomes part of the family of God, then Satan cannot take him back into his family. Listen to what Jesus said:
John 10:27-29 says: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, andthey shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
These are the words of the Lord Jesus himself. He said that “my sheep”—those who are truly children of God—are in his hands and no one can snatch us out of his hands or his Father’s hands. Satan and his false teachers, along with the evil spirits connected with them, are like wolves and thieves that would like to steal and kill the sheep (John 10:10-12). But Jesus is our Good Shepherd who watches over us, and Satan does not have the power to take us from God’s hand (Romans 8:31-35), because we are born again into a new family now. We are “IN CHRIST” and forever in his eternal family. A Human Being Now Has A Position Above Satan And Other Spirits
Before the earth began, Jesus existed along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 1:1-2; John 17:5). As part of the Trinity, he has always had all authority and glory because he is God. But for a little while he placed himself in a position lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:5) in order to become a human being also. He did this so that he could defeat Satanas a HUMAN BEING through his death and his resurrection. That’s right! A MAN beat Satan, just like God promised long ago to Adam and Eve. And not only did this man defeat Satan, but now that same MAN is sitting on a throneat the right hand of God, which means that a man now has power over all spirits, both good and evil—even Satan.
1 Peter 3:21-22 says: “…Jesus Christ...has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” This is something totally new! A human being is now seated with God in heaven on the most powerful throne of all time. Yes, Jesus is God, and as God he could easily have defeated Satan a long time ago if he had chosen to. But instead he chose to wait and defeat Satan as a man. By defeating Satan as a representative of mankind he made it possible that other humans could escape and not have to be ruled by Satan anymore.
Php 2:6-8 says: “(Jesus) who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death-- even death on a cross! As a resultGod exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow -- in heaven and on earth and under the earth --and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lordto the glory of God the Father.”(NET)
Yes, Jesus as a human is exalted above every name and he is Lord and King of all. He is seated at the right hand of God waiting for the time of his return to earth when God will reveal him as the final Ruler and King of the earth. He is the head over all of us who believe in him—his church, his body, his family. Consider all that he has done on our behalf and give him the praise he so rightly deserves!
Jesus Promoted His Family Above All Angels Also As a representative of his new human family, Jesus also promoted his family along with himself. And so his new family has a position of authority with Jesus, because his new human family is NO LONGER under Satan. Jesus’ new human family is now positioned above all the angels. That includes Satan too!
Jesus Gave Great Power And Authority To The Church
Ephesians 1:19-22 speaks of “…his incomparablygreat power for us who believe.That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everythingfor the church.”
Consider this amazing thing that God has done here for the church! Jesus has always had all authority as God. But now he is also a man. And it’s this MAN that received a name that is above all other names. God made Christ the head of the church and then put everything under Christ, “FOR THE CHURCH.” And so now, incredible as it may seem, God’s amazing love and grace has made the power and authority given to Christ also available to his church so his church could rule with him! The church is not a building or a certain denomination. It’s people—people from all over the world who believe in Christ as their Savior. The church is the body of Christ—his family. Christ, who is the head of the church, has all power and authority, and since we are united with him as his body, his church, we too have that power available to us—through Christ. God has exalted and empowered us too! Incredibly amazing! In God’s Eyes, We Are Already Seated With Christ At His Right Hand
Ephesians 2:4-6 says: “...because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ andseated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…”
Read the verse again and meditate and absorb the full impact of it. It’s true that we still live here on this earth, but God already sees us in our exalted position on the throne with Christ in heaven! Wow! Incredible thought! Once we were dead in sins; but by God’s grace alone, we are now forgiven, saved, united with Christ, part of his family and even promoted with Christ to be “seated with him in the heavenly realms IN CHRIST.” Because God sees us as being “in Christ,” we also share in his honor and power so that we can serve him as his representatives here on earth. We are in Christ, but he is also in us and wants to work through us as his mouth and his hands and feet on this earth. We can serve him and reach out to the children of Satan and rescue them also, and accomplish Christ’s goals on this earth. We should praise him for this power, wisdom, and honor that he has given us. It is a special privilege and gift from God. And what an honor and a joy to be working together with Christ, serving the KING of all kings! Praise his Wonderful Name!!
What Does It Mean To Pray In The Name Of Christ? As God’s children, we have been given a huge privilege and honor because of Christ. We also have been granted to share an amazing high position of authority because of our unity with him. But what did he want us to do with such privilege and authority? First Christ told us to pray in a special way—Jesus said, “In that day you will askin my name...” (John 16:26)
Praying ‘in his name’ does not mean that we can just use his name as a special magical formula to perform all sorts of miraculous feats by uttering the name “Jesus.” (Later we’ll talk about some men who tried that, but it did not end well for them.) The phrase: “In my name” means much more than just speaking his name—it means we are acting as his representative, as if he were here in person. So, we speak or pray for other people in the same way Jesus would pray for them. We are to act or speak his words as if he were right here doing the talking—becoming his voice in this dark world.
Praying With Humble Authority As believers in Christ, we can speak and do his work in his name, and pray with the authority that we share with him, but we must never forget that it is HIS authority and in his Name that we do anything. We must be very careful not to speak our own words or our ideas, but rather HIS. We must not become proud—thinking that we’ve received some honor and authority by our own goodness or strength. Instead, we must humble ourselves as Christ did, and only follow Christ’s leading and ask for everything in his name. If we are trying to glorify ourselves in the things we are saying or asking, then we are not “asking in his name!” All our work must honor God, not ourselves.
John 14:13-14 says: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, sothat the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (cf. John 16:24).
We must remember that even though we share Christ’s throne, we are still in submission to him. He is the head of our family and we are accountable to him. In Christ We Have Authority Even To Judge Angels Someday As we have seen already, since Jesus became a man, he shared his honor and authority with us, the children of God. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6), and he has chosen to share his position with us. So in God’s eyes we have a higher position than Satan, all his demons, and even the good angels. In fact the Bible says we will even judge some of those angels someday.
1 Corinthians 6:2-3 says: “…do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? ...Do you not know that we will judge angels?...” This judgment will probably be during the end times. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about how we will judge the angels, so we don’t want to guess or speculate too much, but it will likely involve judging the evil angels of Satan, since they are reserved for judgment already.
We may not feel very qualified now to judge this kind of thing, but when Christ returns to earth and changes us to be just like him in new resurrected bodies and renewed minds, then he will enable us to have the wisdom to do this kind of work. For now, we wait on Christ to return.
Christ Is King Already But Will Soon Bring Everything Under His Control
Jesus is truly King of all kings and is seated at the highest place of honor—at the right hand of the throne of God—in heaven. But what about his kingdom on this earth? Has he abandoned his earthly kingdom because Israel rejected him as king? No! Absolutely not! The King of the Jews has delayed his return until the Jews repent. Then he will return and set up his earthly kingdom just as he promised—probably real soon, during these last days.
Acts 3:20-21 says it very clearly: “...Heaven must receive him (Jesus) until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.”
Jesus is already King, but for now he remains in heaven until his enemies have been removed (Acts 2:34-35). But when he does return to earth as King, then we, his family, will rule and reign together with him as kingly priests (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9) in his new earthly kingdom. We’ll discuss this kingdom in the last chapters, but in the meantime, we need to know that Jesus is still King. He is already ruling from heaven—by living in us (his body, the church) and by ruling in us. He is drawing more people into his kingdom through us and the Spirit living in us. But we are still eagerly waiting that glorious time when Christ will come and physically rule on this earth and bring everything under his control when he changes our bodies to become like his.
Php 3:20-21 says: “...our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
We Are No Longer Citizens Of Satan’s Kingdom This verse tells us another truth quite plainly—that as Christians our citizenship is NO LONGER under Satan, the ruler of this earth. And so we are children of heaven. Our new citizenship belongs to a different King who lives in heaven—the Lord Jesus! He is our new King and ruler.
Colossians 1:13 says “...he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves...”
Now We Have A New Mediator
Since our citizenship is in heaven and “we eagerly await our Savior from there,” we have much to look forward to! In the meantime, we belong to a new king and a new kingdom, so God has work for us to do while we are still on this earth. We don’t have the wisdom and strength in ourselves to do his work, but God has provided help for us by giving us both a Mediator and a Helper. Our New Mediator And Priest
Long ago, the Israelites had special priests that were mediators between them and God. But now the Bible says there is one new Mediator—Jesus—between man and God.
1 Timothy 2:5 says: “For there is one God andone mediator between God and mankind,the man Christ Jesus...”
Jesus is that new high priest, and he is much better than the priests from before because he is both God and man, and as a result, he is the best possible Mediator. He became a man so that he could live among us and identify with us and our struggles. When he became a man, he was faced with all the temptations, trials, struggles and troubles that we face. And because of this, he can encourage and strengthen us when we’re tempted or when we have struggles, pain and sorrow (Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 2:1). He is the best Mediator or priest we could ever want. He is on our side. He is for us, not against us.
Romans 8:34 says: “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is alsointerceding for us.” The Helper The Bible says that Jesus is always praying for us in heaven. But he did not abandon us when he went to heaven. He sent his own Spirit to come live right here within us (John 15:26; John 16:7). He sent his Spirit to give us guidance and strength as we serve him. His Spirit is called “the Helper.” The Holy Spirit who lives inside us will never leave us (John 14:13-18; John 14:26) and he is always there to enable us to do his work and share his message.
Romans 8:26 says: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans...the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” No Need To Fear Satan Anymore
Since we have trusted in Christ and the Spirit of Christ lives within us now, that means we belong to Christ who has already overcome Satan and his kingdom, so we don’t need to fear Satan or his demons or any of his people anymore!
1 John 4:4 says: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, becausethe one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
Praise God! What a wonderful gift the Holy Spirit is to us. He is always there to help us at any time and will never leave us. We may have to fight against Satan’s kingdom and his army of demons many times, but we don’t need to fear them anymore.
Summary: In summary, we need to remember these important truths: By God’s grace,
Christ has paid for our sins on the cross and if we have believed and trusted in him, we know that God has forgiven us and made us clean. He also declared us righteous (Romans 3:28; John 3:16).
Since he paid our sin debt, he has purchased us, so now we belong to him. We no longer belong to Satan. (Colossians 1:13)
Christ has given us the Holy Spirit and placed us into his family. We are IN CHRIST!
We have received honor along with God’s own Son, Jesus. In God’s eyes, we are seated at his right hand along with Christ, and our position IN CHRIST is so much higher than Satan’s will ever be! (Ephesians 2:4-6)
We should not fear Satan; it is Satan who should be afraid of us (James 4:7), because the Spirit of God himself lives within us!!
Thank you God! Thank you Jesus! Thank you Holy Spirit!
------------------------------------ “...the prince of this world now stands condemned.” (John 16:11) “...The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (1 John 3:8)
“...having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15)
“...who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” (1 Peter 3:22) “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20)