The Rulership Forfeited

[Daily Devotional]

The Rulership Forfeited 

The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he
will. Dan. 4: 17. 

Among the lower creatures Adam had stood as king . . . ; but when he
transgressed, this dominion was forfeited. The spirit of rebellion, to which
he himself had given entrance, extended throughout the animal creation. Thus
not only the life of man, but the nature of the beasts, the trees of the
forest, the grass of the field, the very air he breathed, all told the sad
lesson of the knowledge of evil. 

Not only man but the earth had by sin come under the power of the wicked
one. . . . At his creation Adam was placed in dominion over the earth. But
by yielding to temptation, he was brought under the power of Satan. "Of whom
a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage" (2 Peter 2: 19).
When man became Satan's captive, the dominion which he held, passed to his
conqueror. Thus Satan became "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4: 4). He had
usurped that dominion over the earth which had been originally given to
Adam. 

When Satan declared to Christ, The kingdom and the glory of the world are
delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it, he stated what was
true only in part, and he declared it to serve his own purpose of deception.
Satan's dominion was that wrested from Adam, but Adam was the vicegerent of
the Creator. His was not an independent rule. The earth is God's, and He has
committed all things to His Son. Adam was to reign subject to Christ. When
Adam betrayed his sovereignty into Satan's hands, Christ still remained the
rightful king. . . .

By the one who had revolted in heaven the kingdoms of this world were
offered Christ, to buy His homage to the principles of evil; but He would
not be bought. . . . 

Jesus gained the victory through submission and faith in God, and by the
apostle He says to us, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you . . ." (James 4: 7, 8). We cannot save
ourselves from the tempter's power; he has conquered humanity . . . ; but
"the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and
is safe" (Prov. 18: 10). 

>From God's Amazing Grace - Page 40