The Heaton File

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

(Galatians 5:24)

Those Who Belong To Christ

One of the first needs of a baby is a sense of belonging. During the early hours of a child’s birth, bonding the child with the mother is critical to its growth. God created the child to long for the parents who brought him into the world and to share a fellowship of unity as a family. When God looked at Adam and saw that he did not need to be alone, the Lord looked beyond the marital relationship into the soul of every man who needs belonging.

The Hebrews that came out of Egypt became the special, treasured people of God. He referred to Israel as His “well-beloved” and the “apple of His eye.” God had promised to care for Israel as a Father who nurtures his child. The Lord provided everything Israel needed. No nation could stand against Israel. The blessings of God’s people were multiplied by the hand of the Lord. Through the promises made in the Law of Moses, the land of Israel would be bountiful, the people would multiply, and the prosperity of peace would fill the land. The greatest nation in the history of the world was called by the Lord God as His people. They belonged to Him.

Christ came to earth to bring all men into one family where God was the Father. Jesus suffered and died to open the vistas of eternal redemption to all who would call upon His name. The church was built by Jesus as the kingdom of God, the Bride of Christ, God’s family, the Body of Christ, and the redeemed. On the day of Pentecost, when the church first began, God added all the saved to the church. The first disciples preached the message of the gospel united in the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul preached the faith that was found in Christ. He wrote about how redemption was found in Christ, eternal life is in Christ, and God’s love is in Christ.

Those who belong to Christ are different from the world. They belong to Him. Each one has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb to be in Christ. In the days of Noah, salvation from the wrath of God was found only for those in the ark. God brought a global flood, killing every person who disbelieved the gospel of Noah and the judgment of the Lord. Only eight souls were saved because only eight souls were in the ark. Like the ark, salvation and hope belong only to those who belong to Christ. Those who are in Christ. What makes these people different is how they live.

Paul described the battle between the flesh and the spirit in his letter to the saints of Galatia. He urges the Christian to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Those who live in the Spirit will walk in the Spirit. What changes in the life of the Christian is they have removed the passions and desires of the sinful flesh to serve the Lord because they belong to Christ. They are in Christ. Their lives have been molded into the image of the Father. Everything about their life is shown to be for the glory of God. The evil passions of sexual immorality, hatred, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, and division – these should not be named among those belonging to Christ.

The fruits of the Spirit define the hearts of those who belong to Christ. They are people filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Belonging to Christ changes the heart of a person. They realize to whom they belong. As part of the family of God, the Christian grows in his love for the Father to be like the Father because he walks in the Spirit and belongs to Christ. When you belong to Christ, you change your life. Remember, the way you live reflects on Jesus Christ. Belonging to Christ demands change. Let my life be changed so others see I belong to Christ.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

Living And Walking

The Christian walk is a difficult challenge to balance the lusts of the flesh and the fruit of God’s Spirit. There is a war that engages the heart to fulfill the lust of the flesh against the desire to walk in the holiness of the Lord. It never stops and will not let up. Satan is the adversary because he has no desire to allow God’s children to walk in the Spirit. He devises schemes to derail the efforts of the child of God to fulfill or engage in the pleasures of the carnal nature; and he is very successful.

When a person obeys the gospel of Jesus Christ, he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. Peter declared to those at Pentecost that if they repented and were washed in the waters of baptism, God would take away their sins, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Every person who is in covenant with the Lord is a Spirit-filled individual. The Holy Spirit makes intercession before God on behalf of the person. Enjoying the fruits of the Holy Spirit can only come to those who are abiding in the presence of God as redeemed and sanctified through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Paul exhorts the Galatian Christians to walk in the Spirit. Living and walking are two different parts of the Christian’s life. Those who profess to be children of God acknowledge they are in a relationship with the Holy Spirit. The heart is ruled by the word of God and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be holy people. If a man professes to be a child of God, let him live as a child of God. When a man lives in the Spirit, he must walk in the Spirit. The two are inseparable. Walking in the steps of the Holy Spirit is putting each footprint into the footprint of God. The Spirit must guide every part of life.

Living and walking are separate, but they depend upon one another. A man begins living in the Spirit when he obeys the gospel. As the man’s faith grows, he begins to align his life more and more in harmony with the teachings of the Holy Spirit. When a man fills his life with the guidance and direction of the Spirit, he will walk according to the pattern of the Holy Spirit. At first, he is a newborn babe in Christ. Then, he will mature as his faith grows and he lives in the Spirit. Living and walking is the completeness of the Christian character. The heart is no longer under the dominion of the carnal flesh. Through the Holy Spirit, a man yields himself and his influences to be controlled by the Spirit.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their passions and desires to His cross. The fruit of the Spirit guide the life they live in the flesh. A change occurs as the heart becomes more inclined to the fellowship of the Spirit. For each person living for Christ, their walk of life does not grow weary but thrives with the grace of God glowing in their hearts and minds. Living and walking is how the Christian lives. He walks in the light, serving the Lord in every part of his life, showing the mercy of God, sharing the good news of the gospel with others, and letting the Holy Spirit guide his heart and soul to the portals of Heaven. Live. Walk.

So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, made for themselves a molded image and two calves, made a wooden image and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone. (2 Kings 17:16-18)

Is Commandment Keeping Necessary?

The final king of Israel was Hoshea, the son of Elah, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. His reign lasted nine years. Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, made Hoshea his vassal, and after learning of a plot against the Assyrian king, Hoshea was bound and put in prison. The end of the northern tribes of the nation of Israel were gone; only the tribe of Judah remained. It had only been two hundred years since the nation of Israel was divided by civil war, and now a small remnant remained.

At one time, Israel was the most powerful nation on earth. No nation could defeat the people of God because the Lord was fighting their battles. God had promised Israel that if they obeyed Him, the Lord would fight for them and protect them. How could the Assyrians come against the people of God and so easily defeat them? The children of Israel had sinned against the Lord, walking in the fashion of the nations around them. Idolatry had permeated the fiber of Jewish society, government, religion, and the hearts of the people. They build high places for them to worship the many gods. Sacred pillars and wooden images were set up on every high hill and under every green tree. They burned incense on all the high places and served idols. God had warned them not to do such a thing, but they ignored the word of the Lord.

Prophets went among the people, warning them of God’s wrath, but they would not listen. The prophets and seers told the people to turn from their evil ways and keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord. They would not hear and stiffened their necks against the messengers of the Lord. Rejecting the statutes and covenant God made with them, the people went after idols like the nations around them. They rejected all the commands of the Lord and made two calves from metal. The people’s hearts turned to worship the Asherah pole and worshiped Baal and all the forces of heaven. Their sons and daughters were sacrificed in the fire. They consulted fortune-tellers and practiced sorcery. The hearts of the people angered the Lord, and He destroyed them.

Shalmaneser conquered the people of the Lord because He allowed the Assyrian king to do so. God warned Israel to repent, and they refused. Israel was carried captive to Assyria as a warning to Judah, but Judah did not listen. One-hundred-thirty-six years later, the Babylonians burned the Temple of Solomon. The lesson for modern man is that God means what He says. Refusing to obey the commandments, statutes, and covenants of the Lord will bring the judgment of God. Israel was the apple of God’s eye, but in their rebellion, they refused to honor God, and the Lord destroyed them.

Obedience is a necessary part of salvation. Being a descendant of Abraham did not keep the Assyrians and Babylonians from conquering Israel. Christians made a covenant with God when they were baptized into Christ for the remission of sins. That covenant requires obedience to the will of the Father. Saying, “Lord, Lord,” will not save a man. Obedience is what leads the heart to grow in faith and love toward God. The writer James illustrates this by saying that hearing only the commands of God will not suffice; doing the will of the Father is necessary. Israel and Judah are examples that we should learn from. Take heed.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

One Body

The apostle Paul writes the definitive epistle about the church to the saints in Ephesus. Ephesians is a book declaring the glory and nature of the First Century church. Thirty years have passed since Peter and the eleven preached the gospel to the first Jewish converts in Jerusalem. The infant church grew in a hostile world, seeking to crush it. Paul had once been the force of persecution against the disciples of the Way and now served as one of the great defenders of truth. The church was strong and vibrant, and the early saints saw the eternal purpose in the church, which was revealed to them as the body of the saved and the kingdom of the redeemed.

Paul was in prison when he wrote his letter to Ephesus. He exhorted the Christians to walk worthy of their faith to show the world the glory of the church. There was a need to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace so the world could see the eternal purpose of God. Unity was established when the saints remembered there was one body and one Spirit. There was one hope in Christ because there was one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. Finally, in a world given over to the worship of multiple gods, Paul affirms to the Ephesians saints to hold fast to the doctrine of one God. This unity would help the Christians show their faith to the world.

The apostle did not suggest anything radical when he said there was one body. Earlier in his letter, Paul had defined what he meant by one body. In his prayer for the Ephesians saints, Paul reminded them the authority of Jesus Christ came when He put all things under His feet, and God gave Christ to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. The body and the church are the same thing. Paul did not create any stir among believers in Christ when he declared there was one body or one church because there was only one church. If there had been any reaction from those who had heard the reading of his letter, it would have come at the point where Paul said there was one God.

In the Roman Empire, idolatry was prolific. Ephesus was one of the bastions of idolatry. The fact the city had a group of disciples is remarkable, considering what they were up against. But Paul did affirm there was one church because there was one body. This was not a radical idea. At the time Paul wrote his letter, there were no other churches. The church of God, the Bride of Christ, the Kingdom of God, the Family of God, those who were of the Way; these were all the same. There were no other churches as there are today. Thousands of churches exist today. How does that fit the model of the New Testament?

It is uneasy to suggest there is one church because people have believed for so long that having more than one church is God’s plan. The first significant apostasy came in 606 when men elevated a man to be a Pope. In time, the Roman Catholic Church evolved into the mother of apostasy that it is today, followed by her children of apostasy in the Protestant denominations that fill every corner of the world. The apostle Paul would be shocked and dismayed at how those who profess belief in Jesus Christ have taken away the one body, the one faith, and the one hope. There is only one church because God said there was only one church. That church is found on the pages of God’s word, not a sign out front. Are you part of the New Testament church – the one church – the one body?

The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:3-6)

The Importance Of Reading

Jesus is the Son of God, Creator, Divinity, and all-knowing, yet He reminds men of the importance of knowing the word of God. From the beginning of creation, God revealed Himself to the world through natural and special revelation. Creation heralds the nature of God as the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen. A man can know there is a higher being viewing the creation, but he cannot know the character of God. Understanding the will and character of God can only come from special revelation. Adam and Eve knew what God said when they were told not to eat of the forbidden fruit. They disobeyed His word. Noah understood the command to build an ark and the impending flood. He did what God said.

Moses received the law from God at Sinai that became the code of conduct for righteousness for the Hebrews. Everything a Jew needed to know about his relationship with God was found in the Law of Moses. Parents were commanded to teach their children the law. A priesthood was established to carry out the law. Kings were required to read the law and obey it. The Gentiles were a law to themselves as God revealed Himself to them, and Israel followed the Law of Moses. No one could plead ignorance to what God required of them.

During the ministry of Jesus, the Son of God referred to the word of His Father for His authority. When Satan came to Jesus in the wilderness, the Son of God did not rely on His wisdom to battle His adversary. On each occasion of Satan’s wiles, Jesus said, “It is written.” He appeals to the word for authority. The Jewish leaders continually attacked the teaching of Jesus, and His reply was, “Have you not read?” This itinerant preacher from Nazareth kept referring His enemies back to the word of God. The Pharisees charged the disciples of Jesus with breaking the Sabbath. To vindicate what His disciples did, Jesus told them to read what David did when hungry. He reminded them of what the priests had to do on the Sabbath to prepare sacrifices but were blameless.

Jesus defended what He taught by appealing to the word of God. The Sadducees challenged Jesus with a question about the resurrection, and His answer was to direct them to read what God had spoken to them. There was ample evidence in the Old Testament scriptures that proved there was such a thing as the resurrection. The Sadducees were wrong because they had failed to read the word of God. If they had read what Moses had written down, they would have had the answers they sought.

Reading is fundamental to faith. If people believe they will find faith apart from reading the word, they are mistaken. Jesus knew the word because He took the time to read the word. A man’s faith will be measured by how much time he spends or does not spend reading the word of God. Paul explained that faith comes from hearing and that hearing evolves from the word of God. Amos summed up the failure of God’s people when he wrote, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” A faithful child of God is a faithful reader of the Book. Reading is power because it brings knowledge. Take time to read. Have you not read?

I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. (Luke 12:49-51)

Jesus Came To Divide

The Prince of Peace came to bring war. As the Lamb of God, Jesus came to bring division. God sent His Son into the world to separate men from one another. The teachings of Jesus were radical. He taught with authority, and the people marveled. When the Jewish leaders challenged Jesus, they acknowledged He was honest and showed no partiality to any man. The character of Jesus was unlike what the people had seen of their leaders. His teaching was bold, accusatory, controversial, demanding, and firm. No one could doubt where Jesus stood on a matter.

An innumerable crowd assembled to hear the teachings of Jesus. He warned them of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the need to fear God above all. If any man would follow the Son of God, he must be willing to confess Him as Lord. Many would not confess Jesus for fear of being ostracized by their fellow countrymen and being cast out of the synagogue. Jesus warned the crowd of covetousness and the constant fear of how to provide things in life. Everything pointed toward the coming of the Lord when none of those things would matter. It takes a faithful heart to follow Jesus, and discipleship is not for the faint of heart.

One of the remarkable teachings of Jesus was to tell the multitudes His mission was to bring fire on the earth. He tells them He did not come to bring peace on earth but rather division. Jesus explains that His teaching is so radical that it will divide families. Father will be divided against son and son against father. A mother will be in conflict with her daughter, and the daughter will be against her mother. The teachings of Jesus would divide families against one another. How could the Prince of Peace suggest He was coming to bring division, causing families to be divided against one another?

The teachings of Jesus were not radical because they were against God’s will but against men’s wisdom. God’s word has always been at odds with the carnal mind. Noah was told to build an ark, and the world scoffed. The Hebrew writer says Noah condemned the world through his preaching. His telling the world of the impending flood was met with ridicule. Noah’s three sons were married. What became of their families? What became of Noah and his wife’s relatives? Only eight were saved, and the rest perished. The preaching of Noah brought division.

When a man follows Christ, he walks away from the world. Worldly gain is no longer important, the carnal flesh is unsatisfied with the pleasures of an evil world, and the spirit of a follower of Christ will not be conformed to the world. Sometimes, the impact of a Christian walk of life will spill over into relationships. Husbands and wives can be at odds because one walks with God and the other does not. Parents can argue about how best to teach their children. Friends that were once near and dear may change because of the influence of an ungodly world. Fathers and sons may no longer speak, and mothers and daughters may be estranged. The price that is paid for holiness is high.

Jesus warns those who choose to follow Him that to do so comes at a high price. The Son of God often told His followers that to follow Him was to take up a cross. There is nothing joyful about bearing a cross. Some bear a heavier cross than others, but all must bear one. There are times when a son must stand up against his father because of righteousness. A daughter may have to end a relationship with a mother who condemns her life in Christ. Families are torn apart. The word of God can divide families, which can be the cost of serving Christ.

God hates division and strife. He wants His people to be at peace with all men as much as possible. Sadly, there can come a time when that peace is broken because someone takes up a cross to follow Jesus at the ridicule of his family. Jesus reminds His disciples that if a man loves his father or mother more than Him, he will not be saved. If a man loves his family more than Jesus, he will not be saved. An old expression says, “Blood is thicker than water.” The inference is that family (blood) comes first before religion (water). Jesus says that is an eternal mistake. Obedience to God is above all things, including parents, siblings, grandparents, and friends.

Jesus came to divide so that He could join together the faithful in the body of Christ. Family relationships are important, but they can never be more important than the relationship shared in Christ. Tough choices may have to be made. Family cannot be first above Christ. Jesus came to divide the righteous from the unrighteous. There will come a day when God divides the saved from the lost. Who will be important then?

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. (Genesis 22:1-3)

A Growing Faith

The faith of Abraham was established when the Lord called him to go out to a place he would receive as an inheritance; without knowing where he was going. Abraham was seventy-five years old when the Lord called him to take his sixty-five-year-old wife and dwell in tents as they journeyed from place to place. God promised Abraham and Sarah a child, and that promise did not come to fulfillment until Abraham was one hundred years of age. The womb of Sarah was dead at the age of ninety, yet God provided her with a healthy baby boy named Isaac.

When Isaac was a lad, God came to Abraham and tested his faith beyond measure. The faith of Abraham was tried when the Lord told him to leave his homeland and, for the next twenty-five years, to wait on the promise of a son patiently. It took a great deal of faith to believe, at the age of one hundred years, that Abraham would have a son. God made the impossible possible. The joy Abraham and Sarah had in their son as he grew from a baby boy to a young lad. There is little doubt an incredible bond grew between parents and son. Then, the day came when God would test Abraham’s faith to its limits.

God tells Abraham to take his only son Isaac, whom he loved dearly, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering. The faith of Abraham understands the nature of the Lord God he serves. He knows how abominable human sacrifice is to the holiness of God. Animal sacrifices were part of worship from the beginning of the world. Idolatry became blasphemous through human sacrifice. God told Noah that life is sacred as life is in the blood. Abraham is now faced with the command to offer his only son as a human sacrifice. It goes against everything that faith would determine as right and wrong.

Moses writes that Abraham rose early in the morning and began the journey to Moriah. There was no hesitation on the part of the man of faith. He saddled his donkey, took two of his servants along with Isaac, his son, and began the three-day trip to where God told him to go. Only God knows what Abraham thought about those three days. When the company arrived at the mountain prescribed by God, Abraham did not hesitate. He left the servants and told them he and his son were going to worship the Lord, and the two of them would return. Abraham goes to the place instructed by God and builds an altar to sacrifice Isaac. Placing his son on the altar, Abraham took a knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord stayed the hand of Abraham and Isaac was spared.

The test God placed upon Abraham was measured by his faith. Faith is not an immediate feeling of security gained with little effort. Growing faith helps a man decide to leave his family to go where the Lord tells him to go, and then he grows into a mature faith willing to offer his only son a burnt offering because God told him. Abraham did not have that kind of faith earlier. His faith grew in his relationship with the Lord, allowing him to obey the word of the Lord because he trusted in the Lord. Abraham believed he would kill Isaac and God would raise him from the dead. That kind of faith does not come at the beginning.

Growing faith is essential for God’s children to prepare for the days when God asks more than He did yesterday. Faith that is not growing is dead. Abraham could not imagine what God would ask of him, but he was ready. The faith of a child of God is not measured in how often they sit in a pew but how often they sit at the feet of the Savior. Faith comes from hearing the word of God. There will come a day when more is asked than before, and without the growing faith in maturity, the test will fail. Ask yourself a piercing question: would you have acted as quickly and thoroughly as Abraham? The real question is whether God would test you or not.

Carl D. Windsor relates that in 1870, a bishop spoke before a church gathering and said, “Man has invented everything that can be invented. He has done all he can do.” But the meeting’s presiding officer suggested that a great invention would yet be made within the next fifty years. Upon further questioning, the officer replied, “I think man will learn how to fly.” The bishop was astonished, saying, “Don’t you know that flight is reserved for the angels?”

It was just thirty-three years later the Wright brothers embarked on their first halting flight at Kitty Hawk. Imagine the amazement of Bishop Milton Wright, who had denied the possibility of flight only to later witness his two sons, Orville and Wilbur Wright, become the first humans to fly.

The folly of human wisdom is its limitations. Man’s pride drove him to build a tower in the land of Shinar to make a name for himself. God saw what men were trying to do, so the Lord went down and confused their languages. The work stopped, and the world was filled with nations and cultures. Its name is called Babel because the folly of human wisdom could not withstand the knowledge of God.

Many advancements have been achieved through human knowledge. Men have walked on the moon, plumbed the depths of the oceans, opened the molecular blueprints of the human gene, and created a world filled with technologies unheard of in generations past. Medicine has taken enormous leaps, but man has yet to cure the common cold. The International Space Station has proven that men can live in the outer reaches of the planet, but only for a limited time. Computers have redesigned the face of the world, but only when they are working as designed. Electricity is the foundation of every part of life until it stops working. Man has done some amazing things, but they always come with limitations.

There are no limitations with God. More than forty men wrote the Bible over a period of 1500 years, and there is harmony, unity, and perfection. With each generation, the wisdom of God is confirmed as eternal and never changing. The message of the gospel saved people in the year 1134 and will save men today. That wisdom cannot be matched by the human mind. Prophecy shows the power of God to predict events thousands of years before they come to pass in exact detail. At least sixteen prophecies concerning Christ are to be fulfilled within twenty-four hours, and each came true.

The folly of man is clear. God is the only source of true knowledge. Following the wisdom of man will not bring peace and happiness. Seeking the word of God will answer the questions of life. Are you seeking? Visit the Trenton Church of Christ, and let’s find the wisdom of God together. Let’s listen to what God says through His word to know how to find peace and joy. We look forward to meeting you soon. www.trentonchurchofchrist.com

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:12-19)

The Unthankful

During the ministry of Jesus, multitudes of people were healed of disease and infirmities through the healing power of the Holy Spirit. A woman with a blood disorder suffered for twelve years before being healed. Some men born blind were given sight for the first time. Demon-possessed people had their horrors taken away from them, giving them peace. The age of miracles was a time of great change in the world of Palestine, unknown in any other time in history by people who experienced the grace of God in a real way. No other time in history saw the power of God so manifested as it was during the ministry of Jesus.

A man born blind would find great joy in being given sight. He had never seen a blue sky, a green tree, or the blue waters of Galilee. Words fail to describe how the lives of so many people were changed by the hand of God. The demon-possessed man of Gadarene wanted to follow after Jesus, but the Lord told him to spread the good news of what had happened. There was no hesitation in the former possessed man telling the world what great things Jesus had done for him. Leprosy was a feared disease that meant an inevitable and slow death. Lepers were shunned by society, cast out by family, and lived in communes filled with death. There was no more loathsome disease than leprosy.

Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem when he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, He was met by ten lepers who, standing afar off, begged the Son of God to have mercy on them. They recognized Jesus of Nazareth and had heard of His power to cure any disease. Their faith was shown by seeking the grace of God through Jesus to heal them of leprosy. This kind of faith was a challenge for a disease that was incurable. There was nothing that could be done for leprosy. The last time a leper had been healed was hundreds of years earlier when Naaman, a Syrian commander, was cleansed. There were many lepers in that day but only one had found the grace of God to be healed.

Jesus had compassion on the ten lepers and told them to show themselves to the priest. The Law of Moses required a man to confirm whether he had leprosy by going to the priests. A remarkable thing happened as the men turned to go to the priests. The ten lepers felt the horror and stench of leprosy leave their bodies and were pure once again. It must have been an incredible feeling to endure the ravages of leprosy and then, in a moment, feel no pain or distress. They realized the curse of death was lifted. The sentence of certain death by a slow and horrible disease was gone. How happy they must have been. Their joy so overcame them that they forgot one essential part of their healing.

As Jesus watched the ten men hurry to the priests, He noticed one of the men stop, look at himself, and turn back to find Jesus. A lone soul, a leper moments before, stood before Jesus Christ and glorified God with a loud voice for the mercy shown to him. To the sadness of Jesus, the nine did not return to give thanks to the God of mercy. Jesus did not heal the men to beg for acknowledgment or thanks. He healed them from a compassionate heart. His power to destroy leprosy confirmed He was the Son of God, the Divine. The difference between the nine and the one is that one saw the glory of God and gave thanks.

God has done so much for man. There is not enough time or space to reflect upon all that God has provided for sinful man through His Son. Jesus left His Father to become a man and live as a man. God became flesh to experience everything about the flesh. Jesus died a horrible death at the hands of the Jews and Romans with mockery, abuse, humiliation, torture, and crucifixion. The ten lepers were healed of a disease that would have taken their lives, but a great disease is the sin that will destroy an eternal soul. Nine men did not return to the Lord to give thanks. One leper returned to acknowledge the glory of God. How many of the blood-bought children of God give thanks to God for the cleansing power of Jesus to destroy sin?

The nine ungrateful lepers illustrate the humanity of those who enjoy the blessings of God’s mercy and fail to give Him glory for what He has done. What is sad in the kingdom of God are the innumerable saints who have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and refuse to give thanks or glory to His name. They have little interest in the memorial of remembrance instituted by Jesus on the night He was betrayed. A spirit of ingratitude fills their hearts. The lives of the ungrateful expect God to save them with little or no effort on their part. They live like the world and hope for life in the eternal.

When Jesus saw the one return, He saw hope in a heart moved by the mercy of God. It is sad that only one returned. Jesus said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” There are many who will not give glory to God for His grace. Their lives are ungrateful, unkind, and filled with an unthankful heart. Be thankful. God’s grace is undeserved. Tell Him often how much the cleansing of sin has meant to you. Do not be numbered with the nine. Stand apart. Be the one who returned.

When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. (Luke 8:28-33)

Jesus Had Authority Over Demons

The multitudes that followed Jesus experienced the healing power of the Spirit to cure them of blindness, infirmity, leprosy, mangled limbs, lameness, sickness, and, in some cases, resurrection. These miracles testified to the power of Jesus over all disease. He also showed His power over the natural forces of nature. Everything in the world was at the command of Jesus. The Lord showed His authority as Creator to control His creation. Thousands of people could testify to the healing power of Jesus, and many more experienced His power over nature.

Another group of beings faced the authority of Jesus with fear and trembling. Jesus had power over the demon world. Little is known about the world of evil spirits and demon possession. The only time the manifestations of the spirit world appeared was when the Holy Spirit exercised His power to control them. During the ministry of Jesus and the early days of the church, God allowed the demon world to exercise limited power over men. The purpose was to show that Jesus had authority over all things in the world and those in the demon world.

Jesus visited the country of Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee, and found a man possessed of demons for a long time. The man was in a terrible state as the demons drove him to madness where no man could tame him or allow him to live in peace. Immediately upon the arrival of Jesus, the demon called out to Jesus, calling Him the “Son of the Most High God.” The world may struggle with believing Jesus is the Son of God, but this is not the case with the demons. They knew exactly who Jesus of Nazareth was, and they feared Him. It is clear they knew they were subject to Him.

Demons had names. The one Jesus encountered was called “Legion” because many demons possessed the man. When Jesus commanded the demon to come out of the man, the demon obeyed without question. There was no thought to argue with Jesus or to refuse to obey. The word of Jesus commanded the demon to come out of the man, and immediately, the demon obeyed and possessed a herd of swine feeding nearby. About two thousand swine then ran headlong into the sea and drowned.

The demons did not argue with Jesus or refuse to obey Him. They knew the authority of Jesus Christ and that He had authority over them. No man had that power except as given by the Holy Spirit. Jesus cast out demons to show He had power and authority over everything in the natural world, and He had control over all the demons. The fullness of His authority was confirmed in the manner the demons recognized Him as God’s Son, and whatever He commanded them to do, they had no choice. Jesus did not allow them to testify of Him. He told them to be quiet whenever they proclaimed Him to be Lord. The proof of His divinity could not come from the testimony of evil spirits.

Having power over the demon world completes the divine authority of Jesus of Nazareth. He could cure any disease, change and control the natural world, and exercise authority over all the spirit world. There was nothing He did not have authority over. His control and power were complete. The miracles of Jesus included the power of demons to show the world there was nothing Jesus could not do for them. There is no demon possession after the early days of the church. The power of Jesus has not diminished. After God raised Him from the dead, Jesus became Lord, Christ, and King. His dominion is complete. If Jesus can heal any disease, calm the forces of nature, and command the demons; what can He not accomplish in my life?

The power of Jesus was not demonstrated to tell stories centuries later. When the Holy Spirit wrote the scriptures of the divine book, He intended to show the power of Jesus Christ so that all men could know what the Son of God could do in their lives. God gave His Son as a gift of His grace to bring all men to salvation. Jesus can take away any sin when a man repents. There is nothing Jesus cannot do. Why not let Jesus remove the stain of sin from your life and make you free from the bondage of Satan? Jesus has all power and authority.