No Longer Under the Curse
No Longer Under the Curse
3/22/23
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3:17)
I may be alone in this, but I do not believe that Jesus was born in the flesh, successfully endured all the temptation of his humanity, suffered and died, and rose again to leave us stranded in the curses of our flesh. I think that is a seed that the enemy has planted in our hearts. A seed that grows into maturity leading us to believe that perhaps something our mother or father did is causing us to live in some cursed state.
It’s and easy thing for my flesh to believe when I look at how hard I struggle with sin at times; when I think about how I toil and strive in life while others seem to be “coasting” in the glory of God. I become convinced that there must be some curse hanging on to me (generational or otherwise) that I need to be delivered from.
But, God warns us through Paul that our flesh and the Spirit do not agree, they are actually at war with one another (Gal. 5:17). Therefore, we should not be surprised that we struggle with sin, or that old habits are hard to put to death. This is not because of some curse, not because we let God down again, not because of something our parents or grandparents did, but because of our fallen nature.
God’s word says the following: “So, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (Jn. 8:31-32).
His word then says that we received the Holy Spirit when we repent, and believe in Jesus Christ. (See: Acts 2:38 and Eph. 1:13).
Then Paul says what is written at the top of this post: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit fo the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3:17).
The word for “freedom” in this passage is word that means: “one who is free of obligations, restrictions, or slavery”. The flesh will try to harness that freedom as liberty to continue sinning, but God set us free so that we can glorify Him.
In Ephesians 5:1 Paul says that since we are set free, not to “submit again to a yoke of slavery.” The curse that the enemy wants you living under is nothing more than a yoke of slavery. If indeed you are seated with the promised Holy Spirit, you are free. There can be no chains except those you submit yourself to. Don’t let the enemy fool you into thinking you are cursed. It is true that Exodus 20:5 says that God is jealous, “…visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me…” However, the very next verse says: “…but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Thank you Jesus because the blessing outweighs the curse by an exponential amount.
Cursed people have no hope, but God’s word says: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” We have hope because we do not live under the curse, but under the promise of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.