Day 21 – This is War

“Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”

~ 1 John 3:8

For the past few days, we’ve been looking into the work that the Advent of Christ accomplished. Today’s verse could not get more to the point than stating why Christ came. He came to earth to destroy every bit of earthly kingdom that the enemy has been trying to piece together since the Fall.

The greatest enemies of man are anchored around sin, death and Satan. The sin in the Garden, and subsequent sins of all men, separate God from man. The resulting consequence of sin is death (Genesis 3:19). It is the crafty serpent of old who wields both sin and death as a weapon against all of humanity.

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” ~ Colossians 2:13-15

Christ came to rip those weapons out of the hands of Satan. No longer does the threat of death and alluring scent of sin hold sway over the believer. The arrival of the Christ signaled the end of the Enemy’s vast work.

Christ came to buy back His bride – and He did. Christ came to wipe out the glory robbing plans of Satan – and He did. Christ came to give His followers a new identity – and He did. Christ came and Christ conquered.

The the vision we have see of the baby in the Bethlehem manger is one of a King coming to conquer. His Advent was swinging the tide of a cosmic war that had been waged on the planet since the days of Adam and Eve. The serpent crusher was now on the scene and the star over Bethlehem was a signal fire letting the planet know that the war had turned.

Today we celebrate a war that has already been won, but whose celebration is yet to come. Until then, we wait for our King to come yet again so that we may worship Him for what He has won.

Prayer

Take a few minutes to seek out the Father and ask that you may always seek to see Christ as mighty and victorious – regardless of what your circumstances may say.