THE BELIEVER S AUTHORITY Part 2 Jesus Came To Restore Man s Lost Dominion By Pastor Charles Obeng What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet. (Psalm 8:4-6). This was the dominion mandate given to man, and it was the point where man's authority began, operating under the sovereignty of God. Sin, of course, made mankind a debtor in the eyes of the law, and so was "sold" into bondage as "slaves of sin" and came under the law of sin and death. (Romans 6:17). Man became not only spiritually dead and devoid of the life of God, but also morally weak and depraved, and even hostile to God. The sin of Adam, which is the sin of humanity, was a declaration of independence from God. As a result, man lost his position and authority before God. He became not only a being separated from and independent of God, but also morally impotent-which means total incapacity for good and completely incapable of exercising their God given dominion over the earth. God s holiness demands that man s sinfulness be judged. Man s sin is a violation of the laws of God, and when the laws are broken, the sanctions must be applied. Only as sin is dealt with would God s character be vindicated, His law upheld and His governance over His creatures maintained. Man can do nothing to restore the broken relationship with God and can do nothing to cancel the sentence of death, which stands over him. Man is in reality subject to the enslaving power of sin and death. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it (Romans7:15, 18b-20). Because man falls short of God s perfect standard and is under the power of the enslaving law of sin and death, man therefore needs someone from outside his situation to deliver him from his condition because he is
completely helpless to save himself. Only God can free man from the bondage of sin and death. And only God can cancel the sentence of death which hangs upon man. Only God can restore man to his position of dominion and authority on earth. The Law Of Redemption As an antidote to the situation, God instituted the Law Of Redemption with the ultimate intention of bringing or restoring man into His original position. And so in the law of Moses in Leviticus 25:25, 47-49, we read. If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold.. (V25). If a foreigner residing among you becomes rich and any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to the foreigner or to a member of the foreigner s clan, they retain the right of redemption after they have sold themselves. One of their relatives may redeem them: An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper, they may redeem themselves. (Vs 47-49). The law of redemption in Lev. 25:49 made provision for the debtor to pay for his own freedom, saying, if they prosper, they may redeem themselves." In the ultimate sense, of course, no man can redeem themselves from the bondage of sin. It is an un-payable debt. Because man falls short of God s perfect standard as a result of sin and comes under the enslaving power of the law of sin and death, man can do nothing to cancel the sentence of death, which stands over him. For this reason, the whole world came under the law that is, under the penalty of the law, which decreed man's enslavement to sin. The law of redemption also states that if a poor person was forced to sell part of his property or themselves into slavery and is incapable to redeem it, a nearest kinsman could step in and "buy back" what his relative was forced to sell (Leviticus 25:48f). If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold. (V25). ----One of their relatives may redeem them: An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in their clan may redeem them. Or if they prosper, they may redeem themselves. (Vs 47-49). The Kinsman Redeemer The kinsman-redeemer was the defender of family rights. The kinsman-redeemer was a male relative who had the privilege or responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or in need. This individual was a close relative who had the financial resources to
rescue a poverty-stricken family member, stepping in to save that relative from slavery or from having to sell the family s ancestral property. The kinsman redeemer had the responsibility of redeeming his kinsman's lost opportunities and purchased his freedom. This was the Law of the Kinsman Redeemer. It listed four qualifications which were necessary for a man to fulfill the role of Kinsman Redeemer. It was only when a man possessed these four qualities that he was permitted to perform this task. 1. He must be a Kinsman. A redeemer must be related to the one whom he is going to buy back out of slavery. 2. He must be Free himself. A Kinsman Redeemer must be free himself of the debt and of the bondage which had fallen on the one who was to be redeemed. 3. He must be willing to pay the price. The kinsman must be willing to make the sacrifice of paying the price. 4. He must be able to Pay the Price. If he did not have the necessary sum of money which was required to pay the purchase price, then he would not be able to redeem his relative. Jesus, Our Kingman Redeemer The law of the Kinsman Redeemer was an extremely important law foreshadowing the future redemptive act of Christ Jesus in the New Testament. Each of these qualifications above was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Christ fulfilled these requirements concerning God's law, confessing, "I have come not to destroy (the law), but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Mankind needed redemption and a redeemer to pay the ransom price if man was ever going to escape the bondage of sin, the curse of God's broken law and have his dominion authority restored to him! God required the sinner's obligation to be met. There could be no backing away from this holy demand. Since no human being or angel could redeem man, Redemption was found in the only One who was able to redeem--the Lord Jesus Christ! He voluntarily consented to pay the debt and totally redeemed man from his condition of slavery and bondage. Under God's law a redeemer must be a near kinsman who is related to mankind, he must be able, and he must be willing to redeem. He also must be free from bondage himself.
1. He became a Kinsman It was impossible for God to save mankind without the incarnation of Christ. God could not die for us because God cannot die. Only by being born as a man and taking on human flesh could He experience death for us and restore mankind to God. This is why Jesus had to come as a man of flesh and blood. Jesus Christ, the eternal God clothed Himself with a human body and became our Kinsman Redeemer. "As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same. (Hebrews 2:14). Hebrews 2:11 says, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters." Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. Thus, He came as a near kinsman: first as flesh and blood in order to qualify as a Kinsman Redeemer of Adam to legally have the right to redeem all mankind back to God, along with the entire estate that Adam lost. 2. He was free from the bondage of sin Jesus Christ was the only man who has ever been free from sin. From the day that Adam sinned to this day, all have been under the bondage of sin. Only Christ was qualified to set mankind free from the law of sin and death because He was completely flawless both spiritually and morally. The New Testament insists that Jesus was entirely free from sin. Had he not been a lamb without blemish or defect his blood would not have been precious (1 Peter 1:19). Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Peter also says in 1 Peter 2:22 He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. Jesus was perfectly holy and pure. He was altogether unacquainted with sin; he was a stranger to transgression; He was conscious of no sin; He committed none, hence He was able to save man from it. 3. He was willing to pay the price In John 10:17-18 Jesus referred to His voluntary, sacrificial, vicarious, and obedient payment to effect the release of captives from bondage. " The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." He tells the purpose of His coming into this world-
-"The Son of man came... to give His life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). 4. He was able to pay the ransom price Jesus was not only willing but also able to redeem man. He assumed our debt and paid it with His life. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom (1 Timothy 2:5-6). In Hebrews 9:15, it says For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. He had the means to do it, for the death of Christ was not the death of a mere man. It was the death of an infinite being. It was the death of God in the flesh. God died in our place. Only the death of such a One could have been sufficient to save the world. Jesus therefore had the means to redeem all of mankind from slavery and bondage. And as a near Kinsman, He also had the lawful right of redemption. The price of redemption to procure our freedom from Satan s ownership was His life, His blood on the cross. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Ephesians 1:7) In His redemptive work on the cross, Jesus Christ removed us, purchased us out of our spiritually bankrupt condition in the slave market of the world, sin and Satan and has restored us to the position of power and authority. Christ redemptive act has so entirely restored mankind, that we now have eternal opportunity even to become joint-heir with Jesus Christ Himself. (Ephesians 2:6; Galatians 4:7).In this act of redemption, Christ has restored our sonship, our dominion mandate over all the earth. He has restored to mankind all that Adam abdicated to the devil. KINGDOM MANDATE MINISTRIES VENUE: CHORAL HALL CENTRE 308 BARKING ROAD CANNING TOWN, LONDON E13 8BJ WORSHIP WITH US SUNDAYS: 1030AM
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