davidbowerkingwood

The Resurrection of Our Kinsman Redeemer

Today we remember the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ which is observed as a critical turning point in the history of God’s relationship to mankind. Although God’s original plan was for Adam and his progeny to have dominion over the earth; Adam, by disobeying a direct command of God, forfeited his dominion to Satan who has ever since been the “prince of the power of the air.”

In the Book of Ruth we read of Boaz who, as a kinsman redeemer, was enabled to redeem the inheritance of Elimelech and restore to him a line and a heritage for his name. Boaz is seen as a type of Christ in his capacity of kinsman redeemer to the family of Elimelech. As you will recall from the story, the kinsman redeemer had to be a near relative with the resources to redeem the forfeited inheritance for the family to whom it had originally belonged.

At the time of the virgin birth, our Lord Jesus Christ was made blood of our blood, and flesh of our flesh and became qualified by birth to serve as a kinsman redeemer for humanity. Humanities debt was a debt of sin to God but the Lord Jesus Christ, being born of a virgin and free of sin, was free of that debt and by nature of His holy righteousness was in a position to redeem mankind’s lost inheritance by His death on the cross.

By dying on the cross and then three days later being resurrected, the Lord Jesus Christ paid the debt of sin against humanity and began the process of redemption which will be successfully concluded at the Second Advent. At this point we still live in a world controlled by Satan; Satan is still the “prince of the power of the air” but is living on borrowed time and he knows it.

The Beginning of the End

The death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was the beginning of this process of redemption, it was the beginning of the end. The end is yet future and is being delayed for a particular reason and that is the completion of the Church, the body of Christ, the bride of Christ.

One might visualize the situation today if one thinks of a prison that contains a very large number of prisoners. It has been decreed that all of the prisoners have been fully forgiven and are now free to return to their homes and families; all they need do is walk out of the prison to freedom. Surprisingly many choose to remain in their cells and ignore the open cell doors preferring the darkness of their cells to the light of freedom.

Mankind today faces that exact situation as Christ’s death has redeened the entire world and all that is required to receive a share of that redemption is to accept Christ’s death on the cross as payment for one’s own sin.

To continue the analogy, the situation is further complicated by the fact that the prison is scheduled for destruction; anyone remaining in the prison will suffer the fate of the prison and be subjected to the same destructive forces. This heaven and earth will be destroyed by fire and all of mankind who reject salvation in Jesus Christ will be given eternal bodies and cast into the Lake of Fire forever and ever, this is the Second Death. There is no neutral ground, one is either for Christ or against Him!

I urge you to choose freedom, choose life, choose Christ!