"I will ransome them from the power of the grave,
and I will redeem them from the earth.
O death, I will be thy plague;
O grave, I will be thy destruction!" (Hosea 13:14).
"The last enemy that shall shall be destroyed is death!"(1Cor.15:26).
Death is swallowed up in victory!
(From a radio broadcast of Bro.Julius Adewumi)
I want you to consider that just as Christ paid for our sins on the cross, he also paid for the wages of the sin which is sickness and ultimate death. Each believer has to claim the promises of God by standing upon the word of God over sickness and over death. Ponder on these bible verses: "He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew nosin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him".(2Cor.5:21). "He condemned sin in the flesh". (Rom.8:3)."Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree,that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: bywhose stripes ye were healed." (1Pet.2:24). But he is notforcing it on men. All must come to him individually. "For as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sonsof God, even to them that believe on his name." (Jn.1:12).
Christ has abolished death, even physical death! Sin, sicknessand death have been abolished by Jesus Christ, but he is not forcingit on men. Jesus has the power and is willing to use it to keep us and to deliver us. Someone may say "you guys are boldly saying this onlybecause you have not been sick yourselves." Let me give mytestimony. It was 1971 when I made my determination with the Lordand prayed that I will not use any medicine against sickness anymore.I will rely on my prayers. I asked the Lord that He should not let any sickness which my prayer alone cannot knock off, come against me. The devil has challenged that prayer many times since '71 but the Lord has been faithful. Sometime ago, I went on an evangelistic trip and the devil did not like the impact that my presence made in the area, so he came against me with chickenpox immediately I returned from the trip. It was also like as if someone put a blow upon my belly. I first asked the Lord to take the painaway from my belly and he did. I did not visit any doctor. I keptpraying and rebuking the devil. About the third day since the affliction began (I had missed work for two days), I was on myknees praying and asking the Lord to remove the affliction frommy body. I said "Jesus, take this thing away!" A voicespoke to me, like someone standing behind me in the room, andsaid "I have taken it away, believe it!" I said "Okay,thank you Jesus!" I started thanking him. It was still therethe 4th day, the 5th day, the 8th day. Some were dying, new ones were forming. A thought said maybe I should go to the hospital.I said, "No, I will not! He said he has taken it away; whyshould I have to go to the hospital anymore?" If he had said"No I cannot take it away", then I will seek help fromthe doctors. You see? God spoke into my hearing that "I have taken it away, believe it!" And I said "Thank you Jesus!" That is not the time to now go to the hospital. When the Lord was going to answer back, about the tenth day, I was praying on my knees, and it was like someone brought a bunch of coals of fire from the sky and dropped them on my head; it went like sparks all over my body. That was how it felt and I could see the big bumps started crumbling. That was the beginning of the healing, and all of them died off my skin. He said he had taken it away and I had to believe it. He just waited to see that I am persistent.(Perseverance!) If I said "thank you Lord, I believe", and I am still thinking "maybe I should go to the doctors,maybe I should go to the doctors ...", then he will just withdraw himself. That is what I'm saying: the battle has been won! The same thing about death. The battle has been won! But we have to stand our ground. He is on our side, which makes it more so that we have won the battle. The devil is the one that has to backoff.
"And In this mountain shall the Lord of host make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. And He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory ...". (Isa.25:6-8 )
There is a covering over all people. The devil has made men to think it is God who is killing us. They said "God took the child away". It is not God! God never caused death. It is the devil that is causing every death and every graveyard. But Christ has come so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. In Heb.2:9, it says "we see Jesus who was made lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for everyman." In Heb.2:14-15, it says "For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Christ has destoryed him that had the power of death. A lot of people thought he is just going to. He has already done it! That is why the bible said "when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men."(Ephe.4:8).
He now wants us to go ahead without fear and enforce the word of God. The will of God has got to be enforced on this planet by the believers. Remember the will of God is already written down in the scriptures.
" For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."(1Cor.15:25-26).
Christ must continue to reign in the heavens until all enemies are put under his feet. But we are the subjects that have not come up yet. We have to be brought in. Death is an enemy. Sin,sickness are enemies. When it says all enemies should be put under his feet (including death), remember, Jesus Christ has already conquered death and all, because we know he rose from the dead and he is reigning supreme in the spirit now as the head of all principalities and powers. (Col.2:10). But apostle Paul's letter portrayed that "he must reign till all enemies are put under his feet". That was also written in Psalm 110:1 that "the Lord said unto my Lord, sit down at my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. " The revelation of this statement is that "WE", the church, are the body of Christ. We are the ones represented in that statement. Christ is the head of the church, and we are the body, down through to the feet, which are the end-of-the-age believers. Remember the symbol interpreted as kingdoms of the world in the vision of Nebuchadrezzar, in the book of Daniel chapter 2. Christ has already conquered; but we, as his body, are yet to have all the enemies, especially sickness and death, (physical death), put under our feet. This is the age (at the feet) in which God will do it! At the "feet"of Christ shall all enemies be subdued! Christ will continue to reign until that is done. Then we, human beings, can reign with him. We are not reigning at all now; we are suffering on earth as long as sicknesses still attack believers and death separate loved ones.
"I will ransome them from the power of the grave, and I will redeem them from the earth. O death, I will be thy plague; O grave, I will be thy destruction!" (Hosea 13:14).
In short, God is saying in this verse that He will destroy death, declaring before hand the abolition of death which we are preaching to you, which Christ has brought. Someone may say "but that is in the future!" Yes, in the future! That is why the bible said "the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. "But when is that future? Christ has revealed it! In 2Tim.1:10,it is implied that "Christ has abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light, through the gospel." The gospel is saying that this Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, has brought immortality to mankind, to as many as will believe it. When is that future? The book of hebrews (Heb.6:4-5) said we are they that are partaking of the power of the world to come. Divine healing is power of the world to come; so also is immortality. Christ has revealed both to mankind that he has paid for it all. We only need to believe with him and claim them; and start to enjoy the powers of the world to come.
If you cannot believe this, check yourself! All enemies must be put under His feet. When Christ has completed to put death under the feet of his true church, His purpose will be fulfilled. Those who do not belong to his body may really not believe this, nor be part of this, " for He shall reign till he has put all enemies under his feet" (the church's feet), and "the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." But we have to follow him, and keep his saying so that we can be part of those that will partake of the power of the world to come. He said "if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death."(Jn.8:51).
In Ezekiel 33:11, it says "As I live saith the Lord, I will have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked forsake his way and live." God said he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, how much more in the death of the saints. In fact, Psalm 116:15 said "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints". You see? the will of the Lord is already written down in the scriptures. Whether for the wicked or for the saints, God has no pleasure in their death. It is so precious for any saints of God to die. That is the whole idea why Christ has come to abolish death. He has come to deliver us, who through fear of death were subject to bondage as written in Heb.2:14-15.
Let's remember the ministry of the Lord Jesus. In Jn.5:28-29, Christ said "the hour cometh in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ...".Let me ask you one question. Can we Christians lay claim on the fact that Christ has made us sons of God? Is that not what salvation is all about? Salvation implies that we have been adopted intocthe household of God. We become sons of God. Jn.1:12 said "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." Now that we are sons of God, it said we are "joint-heirs"with Christ, according to Romans 8:15-17. If we are joint-heirs with Christ, doesn't that mean we are entitled to "some"of the powers that Jesus Christ has? Oh yes! Now let's see what the Lord Jesus Christ said that he has, as a Son of God: the power, the right. In Jn.5:20-21,26, it says "For as the father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the son quickeneth whom he will". "For as the father hath life in himself,so has he given to the son to have life in himself ...".This tells us that Jesus Christ, as a Son of God, when he was on earth, has the immortal power to quicken the dead and bring them back to life. He said the Father has this power in Himself,and has given to the son to have this power in himself also. Now if we can claim that same right as sons of God, because we are now adopted as sons, "as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God", it means we also, individual sons of God, should come to the "level"of this sonship, whereby we can also have life in ourselves and quicken anybody we will, to bring them back to life. That is the full redemption which he promised for mankind, when the seed of Adam can control this planet, visible and invisible. This is full redemption! When we come to the stature of the fulness of Christ, such power will be in-dwelling us.
Someone may say "we are far from that yet". Yes, we are far from that, but "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God."
I am preaching the word of God to you, friend, so that when you know that this is the power which Jesus, as the Son of God, manifested upon earth, He has shown to us what we can become if we grow up to be like him. Ofcourse the Lord Jesus is God manifested in the flesh (1Tim.3:16). Christ is telling us that as the son of God,he has this power to quicken anybody he wills, to raise up anybody from the dead; He also is saying to us that when we come to the fulness of the stature of Christ, we will have this power also.Jn.1:12 says "As many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons of God. " The power is in us when we have the Holy Ghost. But it said " ..to become sons of God."So we are to become what Jesus Christ manifested on earth. We have to work with the Holy Ghost by submitting to him and become what Jesus Christ manifested on earth. (1Cor.12:7).
Note that I have not said "become sons of God", because someone may ask: "are you saying we are not sons of God yet,since we are born again?" I said we should become "what Jesus Christ manifested on earth": SONSHIP POWER INDEED!
For example, I have little children. They are so little I cannot put them in my car and say "here is the key, go ride the car." They can't drive the car; they are too little; but they are my children. I want my son to become a son indeed who can take my car and go wherever he wants. I want them to grow up. When they are little babies, sure, they are my children. They have the right, but cannot use it because they do not know how to use it. Similarly, when we are born again, we are sons of God,but we have to grow up and come to the stature of the Son of God,the level of Christ. That is why it says in Ephesians 4:11-13 that "till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God, unto a perfect man; unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. "We have to walk with Jesus; we have to understand that the power manifested in Christ which he said is in himself to quicken the dead, this power is for the sonship. It's for anyone that arrive to that level of the stature of the Son of God. To this end, He has given everyone who is a christian the power to become the son of God. We have to use it and grow up to the stature or level of sonship. (Rev.12:5).
I do not think everyone of us will reach this stature before we depart from this planet. That is the sad part of it. However,the first-fruits must arrive. (Rev.14:1-5). But the word of God has been given out. That is the will of God. As we said, "THE WILL OF GOD HAS BEEN WRITTEN DOWN IN THE SCRIPTURES."
We ought to enforce it and grow into it. Jn.5:21 says "As the father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the son quickeneth whom he will." We also, as sons of God, should be able to raise anybody back to life. This is what he has revealed to us as part of the full redemption.
"As the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them,
even so the son quickeneth whom he will."
"For as the Father has life in himself even so
has he given to the son to have life in himself."(Jn.5:21,26).
When we come to the stature of Christ, we also will have life in ourselves as joint-heirs with Christ. In Luke 7 from verse 11, we read the story of the dead boy raised by Jesus in the city called Nain. "Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother: and she was a widow ... when the Lord saw her,he had compassion on her and said unto her, weep not. And he came and touched the bier: And they that bare him stood still. And he said, young man, I say unto thee, arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother."
From this story, why did Christ raise this boy back to life? Was it because of compassion for the mother? As a matter of fact,Christ came also to demonstrate and manifest to us the stature of a son of God. Consider this story: This boy was dead and everybody was weeping. He was the only child of his mother, who also was a widow. That ought to bring compassion to anyman that see or hear of the circumstance. As a son of God, if you have the power to do something about this, then you will do something. But mankind has not been able to do anything about such circumstances. Doctors are dumbfounded; everyman, no matter how powerful or how weak, how rich, or how poor; they couldn't do anything about it when death strikes. But here comes the CHAMPION for mankind: Jesus Christ; and he could do something about it. Why? Because that is the stature we all ought to be in the first place. He came to manifest to us that when we become sons of God, we will be able to do something about such circumstances. That is the full redemption which he has brought. We are not enjoying it yet, but that is the immortality which Christ has revealed in the bible.(2Tim.1:10). "Christ has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel."
Now we know that it is available to anyman, whosoever will, jump into the boat, and you can live without death, forever. Christ is coming soon. When he comes, there will be no more death. But we have to believe it right now. We that are alive by the time he comes, there will be no more death for us from that time forward. He is going to transform our body into a glorified body for eternity. That takes power! Considering all the evils which are in the world right now from animals, bacteria, viruses, visible and invisible perils by living things and by nature itself; it takes power to turn those things around. Christ said he is going to turn those things around.
In Rev. 21:4, it says "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ...". Some people say that is in the "bye and bye". Yes! But remember, apostle Paul said in Hebrews 6:4-5 that we are people that are beginning to enjoy the power of the world to come. How will we be able to do that? By faith! Walking with God by faith! In Heb.11:5-6 the bible talks about the faith of Enoch. He walked with God and God translated him that he should not see death. In Jn.8:51 Jesus said "verily,verily, I say unto you; if a man keep my saying he shall never see death."
An experience I had many years ago had taught me to believe what Christ said that he has abolished death. It was one night in 1976; my soul was captured by some spirits. In fact I will say I was dead upon my bed early that morning. I found myself being taken away by some spirits. It was after I was born again.They were taking me on a road that was inclined downwards, like downhill to hell. The Lord warned me a day before. The Lord wanted me to do some fasting and I was careless. I was expected to take a long fast (40 days) and I stopped once on the 7th day. Being grieved by the Spirit I started again and on the 7th day, the temptation to stop was strong the second time. The Lord knew I would yield to the temptation, so he showed himself to me in a vision that morning. The vision showed that I was expected to clean the floor, but instead I was playing around, so the father spanked me in that vision. I did not think too much of the vision, and I broke the fast again that evening. Therefore the Lord allowed my soul to be taken away by the Hell spirits in the night on my bed. I know it was after 3.30 a.m. because I had just woke up to pray and went back to bed. I was temporarily dead on my bed and I found myself, like a young boy, being taken away by those hell spirits. They were three rough boys about my size except for their weird looking eyes. I was so weak and couldn't resist them. They were dragging me downhill and we arrived at a huge gate. They wanted to drag me through that gate when a voice spoke to me: "Don't go in there!" That voice gave me some strength, and I pulled myself away from their grip, and I was then catapulted into another prison yard. It was later that I realized, concerning the gate, that in Job 38:17 the Lord asked Job "Have the gates of death been opened unto you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?" I landed in that prison yard and was tied to stake amidst many other people, also tied to stakes, who were being flogged by one man with a long and cruel whiplash. I was whipped twice by this guy and there were so much noises of cries and groans in the air, heightened by heavy drumming, with sounds of the whiplash striking those at stake. The only thing I had memory of while there was that I am a son of God. In my weak and helpless state, I lifted up my eyes and cried to the Lord: "Deliver me O Lord!" Immediately the Lord grabbed me out of there. When I opened my eyes and found myself back on my bed in my room, "I WAS GLAD TO BE BACK." That is how people are taken in death. Remember the earlier vision in the previous writing about the dead man which I saw his soul tied to stake. That is why I tell some of those tough guys who behave as though they are ready to go to hell, not fearing God nor scared of hell. I usually tell them"you don't know what hell really is! You don't know what you are talking about! They will whip hell out of you first, before you will know whether you'll go to the fire". From that day,I decided I'll do what the Lord wants me to do.
It was no joke. Only God can deliver anybody from there. His voice alone called Lazarus out of the grave. Wherever he was! Whetherin hell or Paradise, when Jesus called him, "here he comes!"Every chain that was holding him down would break loose. The force from God, like magnet, would pull him back into his body. It is that power which Christ said as a son, he has in himself, to quicken whom he wills. You may say "suppose the body is rotten in the grave for years (or burnt to ashes in cremation), it makes no difference to the Lord. The bible said "the bones shall live again!" (If anyone does not believe God created man from dust, how will he believe God can turn the dust back to a human body in ressurection? Do you now see the falsehood of scientific evolution? i.e if you hold to evolution, you cannot believe the ressurection.)
And this power is what Christ said is for the sons of God to have life in themselves and to quicken whom they will, as revealed in John chapter 5 verse 21,26. This is the stature of the Son of God. Christ has abolished death! If you believe it, resist the devils that try to cause death with the scriptures such as in psalms 118:17 which says: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord"; and verse 18 says " the Lord has chastened me sore: but he has not given me over unto death." Call the Lord's attention to your situation as you resist death spirits with such scriptures as psalm 30:9 or psalm 115:17 which says "the dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Confess the promises of God against death and the victory Christ purchased for us on the cross with scriptures such as 2Tim.1:10 or Heb.2:14b which says "Christ has destroyed him that had the power of death,that is the devil." Yea, Christ came and tasted death in our place, and because he did not like it at all, he abolished death! Put the devil to shame by the scriptures and make him know that our Jesus now has the "keys of hell and of death", as it was declared in Revelation 1:17-18 where the Lord said:"Fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for ever more, Amen;and have the keys of hell and of death. "
Yea, the devil is defeated!
Bro. Julius Adewumi,
Gospel Distribution Ministry, ,USA.
GOSPEL DISTRIBUTION MINISTRY USA.