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Through His death on the cross, Christ destroyed the devil, who has the might of death, and released those who were held in slavery because of the fear of death (Heb. 2:14-15):
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The Son of God became flesh so that He might destroy the devil in man's flesh through His death on the cross; this was to abolish Satan, to bring him to nought (Gen. 3:15; Gal. 4:4; John 3:14; Heb. 2:14; 1 Cor. 2:6)
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Since the Lord destroyed the devil, who has the might of death, we who were held in slavery because of the fear of death have been released by Him (Heb. 2:15):
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Death reigned over us (Rom. 5:14), and we were under its slavery, continually fearing death.
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Since the Lord destroyed the devil, we now have no more fear of death and are released from its slavery (Heb. 2:15).
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Through His work on the cross, Christ nullified death (2 Tim. 1:10):
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a. Through His devil-destroying death, Christ brought death to nought.
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To nullify death is not to remove death but to make it of none effect; death will be removed when it is cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14).
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Although death has not yet been removed, it is nonetheless a fact that death has been nullified through Christ's death on the cross (2 Tim. 1:10).
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Through His resurrection the Lord Jesus overcame death and broke through death (Acts 2:24; Rev. 1:17-18):
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The last thing that the devil used to attack the Lord Jesus was death:
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Christ came to meet His enemy, who has the might of death (Heb. 2:14).
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The Lord Jesus did not avoid death, because He did not fear it and knew that He would overcome it.
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The Lord delivered Himself to death, but death had no way to detain Him; rather, death was defeated by Him, and He rose up from it (Acts 2:24).
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Death could not hold the Lord, the grave could not restrict Him, and Hades could not detain Him; He resurrected; resurrection is the overcoming of death (Rev. 1:17-18).
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Because the resurrected Christ as the life-giving Spirit dwells in us, we can reign in life over death; the divine life enthrones us as kings to reign in life over death (1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:10; 5:17).
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For the building up of the Body of Christ, we need to minister life; we experience and enjoy the resurrection life within and then minister this life by being a channel through which this life can flow into other members of the Body (1 John 5:11-12, 16; 2 Cor. 4:10-12).
Morning Nourishment
2 Tim. 1:10 ...Our Savior Christ Jesus, who nullified death and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel.Rom. 5:17 For if, by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
After the devil, the serpent, seduced man into the fall, God promised that the seed of woman would come to bruise the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). In the fullness of the time the Son of God came to become flesh (John 1:14; Rom. 8:3) by being born of a virgin (Gal. 4:4), that He might destroy the devil in man's flesh through His death in the flesh on the cross....This was to abolish Satan, to bring him to nought. (Heb. 2:14, footnote 1)
Since the Lord destroyed the devil, who has the might of death, we who were held in slavery through the fear of death have been released by Him. Death reigned over us (Rom. 5:14), and we were under its slavery, continually fearing death. Since the Lord destroyed the devil and nullified death (2 Tim. 1:10), we now have no more fear of death and are released from its slavery. (Heb. 2:15, footnote 1)
Today's Reading
In 2 Timothy 1:10 Paul tells us that through His work in His death Christ nullified death. The Greek word translated "nullified" also means make of none effect, bring to naught, do away with, abolish, annul, discard. Through His devil-destroying death, Christ nullified death, making it of none effect....Death will not be removed until it is cast into the lake of fire after the millennium (Rev. 20:14). Death will be the last enemy destroyed by the Lord (1 Cor. 15:26). Although death has not yet been removed, it is nonetheless a fact that it has been nullified through Christ's death on the cross. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 773-774)The Lord Jesus overcame death and broke through death; He resurrected from death. He was incarnated not only to work but also to fight. He had to prevail over every opposing power in order to accomplish redemption.
The last thing that the devil, who has the might of death (Heb. 2:14), used to attack the Lord Jesus was death. The Lord came to meet His enemy, who has the might of death....The Lord did not avoid death, because He did not fear it, and He could overcome it. The Lord could overcome death because He is living. Death could not overcome Him. The Lord did not fear death; rather, He accepted the challenge of death.
The Lord entered into death in order to give it an opportunity to fight with all its might. Death has been operating and fighting in Adam's descendants for thousands of years. Except for the Lord, every person who has entered into death has been overcome by death....As a result, everyone fears death. Our Lord, however, not only did not fear death, He also overcame death. He entered into death and emerged from death. (The Living God and the God of Resurrection, pp. 17-18)
Christ abolished death on the cross, and He overcame Hades in His resurrection. Although death tried its best to hold Him, it was powerless to do so (Acts 2:24). Christ is both God and resurrection (John 1:1; 11:25), possessing the indestructible life (Heb. 7:16). Because He is such an ever-living One, death is not able to hold Him. He delivered Himself to death, but death had no way to detain Him; instead, death was defeated by Him, and He rose up from it. With Christ, therefore, death has no sting and Hades has no power. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 636)
Death could not hold the Lord, the grave could not restrict Him, and Hades could not detain Him; He resurrected. Resurrection is deliverance from death. Resurrection is the overcoming of death. (The Living God and the God of Resurrection, pp. 18-19)
The life we have received does not merely save us from a few things; rather, it enthrones us as kings to reign over all things. This is much higher than being saved in life. (Rom. 5:17, footnote 3)
Further Reading: Life-study of Romans, msgs. 35-36, 48