Get Out of that House!

By Larry Sparks

I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. (Exodus 20:2, KJV)

When you research the Hebrew term for “bondage,” (ebed), note one of the latter Lexicon definitions: a servant of servants. What does this mean to the unfortunately-enslaved twenty first century Body of Jesus Christ? The type of bondage we face in this age is NOT at the hand of one greater, stronger, or wiser. No. If one deems him/herself an appendage of Christ’s body and is well aware that he/she is currently in a position of “bondage,” this individual is living in subservience to him who has been brought to nothing – Satan.

More simply put, to live as a slave to sin, addiction, sickness, deception, depression, etc., is really living in slavery to the dethroned taskmaster who, through Christ, became a slave destined for destruction. When speaking of Satanic principalities and powers, Paul reminds us of a topic that is beyond necessity in the church today, and that is the sufficiency of the cross

In Colossians 2:15, he reminds believers that Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it (NKJV). What is the “it” Paul refers to? Examine the previous passages and notice he is writing of the authority of Calvary’s Old Rugged Cross (see AMP version). I particularly enjoy the modernization of this verse provided by the MESSAGE: He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.

Is it any wonder that Satan longs for us to live in bondage to shame? You see a lot of Christians understand that they are free from sin and its requirements (hell, torment and God-separation) – to some degree at least – but, they forget that Christ bore our shame as well as our sin. Shame is Satan’s snare to thwart the bride from enjoying fellowship with the Bridegroom. The bride observes herself as unworthy, dirty, adulterous, promiscuous, and unholy IF she heeds Satan’s false accusations. They may feel accurate, seeing that yes, in and of our own ability, strength and righteousness, we are all of those horrible things and more. When Truth enters the equation, however, those feelings or temporary “facts” are required to shift. Apparent facts, regardless of how real, true and reliable they seem to the sensory realm, must bend to the Word’s finality and this, brothers and sisters, is reason enough to shout for joy when Satan provides you “reason” to do anything but. A sad portion of the bride is not functioning in her Eden-allocated God-likeness.

Because of Christ, slave-Satan is no longer a formidable foe. In fact, He is under the Holy One’s whip, and safely positioned beneath His bride’s feet. After all, bride and Groom rule and reign together – such is original intent. Remember, God’s mandate in Eden was not just to him (Adam), but it was to them (Adam and woman): And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion (Gen 1:28, KJV). Paul refers to Jesus Christ as the Second or Last Adam (see Rom 5:12-21, 1 Cor 15:45), so is it any wonder then that the Last came to reclaim what the first surrendered over to the serpent? This, my friends, is what it means to recognize the need for deliverance and in turn, release it. Too many Christians are unaware that they ARE free. Period. Why? No one’s teaching, or encouraging them to seek out teaching concerning the sufficiency of the cross.

I cannot NOT fix my gaze upon the wondrous cross, for it was at and because of that place – that moment – hanging on that cruel tree of torment that our sin was paid for in full, that our physical healing was purchased, and that, ABOVE ALL, the fantastic notion of reconciliation with the Almighty could be made a blood-accessible reality. This is what it means to be brought UP out of the house of slavery, for no longer as we slaves to the defeated and shamed god of this world – Satan – but we are Servant-Bride-Friends of the Living God. I don’t know about you, but I refuse to exist as a servant of servants when in fact I’ve been purchased to rule and reign with my Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus.