Ephesians 4:7-10 But to each one of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:

“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”

(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?  He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 

When Christ died on the cross, what the devil thought was a victory for darkness was instead its defeat. Christ gave his life as a sacrifice for all mankind, and through His sacrifice, a mighty victory took place in the supernatural that forever provided hope for all. This passage of Christ’s victory comes from a quote in the Old Testament. Psalms 68:17-19 A Praise of God’s power and victory. God took captivity captive.

What is this captivity in this scripture that Christ took captive?

Captivity of the Old Testament saints.

When the saints died before Christ’s perfect sacrifice, they did not go to heaven. They went to a place of peace and comfort, a holding place possibly in lower earth. The righteous would be sent to “Abraham’s Bosom or side. The evil was taken to Hades, where there was the torment of flames. Read about this in Luke 16:19-26, the story of Lazarus and the beggar who died and awoke in this place. In the Old Testament, as the saints died, it says they were “gathered to their fathers” or “slept with their people” When Christ died on the cross for all sins, His blood provided the perfect sacrifice to cleanse hearts for God. Jesus went down and took the saints who had died in Christ with him to heaven.

Read Matthew 27:50-54, as the temple veil was torn, some of the dead saints who Christ had freed from Abraham’s Bosom, appeared to many and preached in the temples. Today, when Christians die, they are with God. 2 Corinthians 5:5-8 “ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  For we live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

 Captivity – of death and the power of sin

When Christ died on the cross and paid the perfect sacrifice for all sin. Christ descended into all creation. Christ moved freely over all places Satan and his demons claimed. Colossians 2:15 “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Satan tried to kill Jesus at birth, wanted to kill him when preaching, tried to destroy Him in Gasthemene, tried to keep Him in the grave by a large rock and Roman guard. But Christ arose, and nothing could stop him. He went through all Satan’s domains of death, sin, hopelessness and defeated them by His blood.

Captivity – Personal bondages

Christ did ascend into heaven. But He also descended to us. The Blood of Christ and the Power of the Holy Spirit has descended from heaven to take captive what is captivating us. He has come to set us free. Christ wants to set us free and lift us to heavenly places, as described in Ephesians 1. 

Satans influence in the world and our desires puts us into bondage. We are captivated by anger, pride, unforgiveness, abuse, pain, depression, and other bondages. We are bound. If we could set ourselves free, we would. But the power of sin is too strong for us to overcome. Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected in power. He has ascended in great glory to the heavens, but he has also come down to you. He has come to offer to take captive what has captured you. 

Steps of freedom:

1. Accept Jesus as Lord – Faith in him
2. Learn about Jesus – Read about Jesus
3. Trust in Him. Ask for strength.
4. The Holy Spirit and the Blood of Christ will strengthen you and set you free.

Let Christ come a set you free so your lightnside can shine in victory.

Genesis 1:1 …And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Thoughts from the book “Seeing is Believing” by Physicist Michael Guillen, PhD. If you like science or look up at the sky and wonder about the great creator, you may speak these words. ” Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. .. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,  what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

Light exists in a timeless world.

Not eternal, but timeless. 

Eternal means you are stuck within a timeline that goes on forever. Timeless means you exist outside of the timeline, outside time. Science says at the speed of light, time stops. Light, therefore, is not constrained by time. It is a timeless phenomenon. Christianity says God created time. He lives outside time and is not constrained by it. If you were to travel close to the speed of light, time would slow down. If you did travel at the speed of light, time for you would stop. You would be outside of time or timeless.

Light & God have a sacred status in the universe.

Light is the only created thing that can travel at 186,000 miles per second. Nothing else in the universe can match light. It stands alone and separated from all other creations. God first said, “Let there be light.”

God stands alone from all other creations. He is the alpha and omega. Isaiah 45:5 “I am the Lord, there is no other; apart from me, there is no God.

God is Light

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declares to you: God is light; in him, there is no darkness at all.

Psalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Psalms 89:15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

Isaiah 9:2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

Light up your world

Call upon God and Jesus to shine the Light of Life into your heart. As you look at the stars and the heavens, let the light speak of the timeless, eternal God who spoke light into the world. Seek the Lord and let Him speak light into your life. There is a light from God through His Word to lighten our path in the dark world.

God, you are my light. You are my morning star. You are my lighthouse in life. Shine your presence through my life. You are my lightnside forever.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

This blog and next week’s blog have information from a wonderful book called “Seeing is Believing” by Physicist Michael Guillen, PhD.  If you are a geek like me, you will love this book. If not, it is still a fantastic book where Michael records his story of a science-loving atheist finding his way to believing in Christ through curiosity and personal events. The book very clearly and simply takes you to the world of science and finds God through it. 

Everything on earth is either a particle or a wave. 

A rock, a car, your body all behave like particles. A particle holds its shape and travels only in one direction at a time. A ripple, a sound blast, all act like waves. A wave travels in all directions at one time. All scientists believed light was a wave until Einstein discovered light was also a particle.  Light is the only substance that is both a particle and a wave. It was like an even number could also be an odd number. There is no other substance like it.

Light does not obey the rules of ordinary matter.

In grade school, you would mix three primary colors with paint (matter), and it would produce the color black. On your TV and phones, the primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. When they are pointed together at one point (wave) they become white. The matter became black, and waves became white.

Jesus was totally man and totally God.

Jesus was born as a man (particle), and he traveled in one direction. His body was torn and beaten for all the world. Jesus died on the cross (particle) as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. When Jesus was resurrected, he was no longer an earthly man (particle); rather He became transformed into a presence like a (wave). He lives in our hearts. He is my light in side.  

John 1:1 In the beginning was the word…and the word became flesh.

Jesus was with God and was part of the Trinity, creating the universe. Then through love and obedience, Jesus became flesh. Wave to Particle. God to man, but yet still God. Jesus is today the light of the world and my own personal light. People who do not have Christ in them walk in darkness.  

Just like the author of “Seeing is Believing” followed the signs and truths of creation and the Bible to find the LIGHT OF THE WORLD,  so can you.  You cannot have a lightnside without the source of all light.