"What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet" (Psalm 8:4-6).
Jesus came to get it all back! Have you ever wondered why Jesus came as a human to redeem mankind? It is because the world was given to Adam, man's representative. When it passed to Satan in the garden, the only way to lawfully get it back under the system that God ordained, was for mankind to win it back. This is why God said in Isaiah, "The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak" (Isaiah 59:15b-17). God was waiting for a righteous man to interview, but as he looked he knew sin had defeated us and we were hopeless and condemned. So His own right arm, Jesus, was sent to regain what was lost to the kingdom of darkness in the fall.
From the time of Adam, sin snowballed and each generation became more and more defeated by it. This is why Jesus had to become flesh and blood, so that He was subjected to the same rules that applied to mankind. He had to be born under Satan's kingdom in order to redeem it lawfully. This shows the amazing grace and love that God has for us to subject His only Son to humanity.
Jesus regained full authority and dominion from Satan at Calvary. He did this by living a perfect, sinless life. All of the rules that applied to mankind, applied to Jesus and yet sin never defeated Him. Satan tried to tempt him and cause Him to stumble but Jesus looked toward the cross as the goal. The goal was to die in our place as the perfect sin sacrifice in order to restore mankind. Jesus became the second Adam. He became mankind's representative before God just as Adam had been initially. The same law that plunged the entire world into sin was the very law that allowed Jesus to undo it. This is called the Law of Substitution. "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:18-19).
True to God's nature and character, as soon as the world was redeemed by Jesus and authority and dominion returned, he once again gave it to us. "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20). As believers we now have authority on earth. The kingdom of Satan has been destroyed (Colossians 2:14-15) and we have been raised and seated with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). Now we are co-heirs with Him (Romans 8:17). He has once again has turned over authority on this earth to believers. What an amazing truth!
Tomorrow we look at Part 4: Everything is Subject to Jesus
