This is the 16th article in a series entitled Wonderful Counseling. You can access the rest of the articles in this series by clicking on the link in the previous sentence.

 

Having identified the nature and source of generational devastation, this article will show how Christ has already broken the power of the curse of the Law and why we must apply his victory to our lives by faith.

Paul wrote the following declaration of victory by our Lord.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"— 14  in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:13-14 (NASB) 

Jesus’ death by crucifixion proved biblically that he was under God’s curse. That is how the Jewish leaders regarded it. They thought that he deserved a blasphemer’s punishment, since he claimed to be the divine Son of Man prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14. (Matthew 26:64) Paul further explained the theological import of his becoming a curse on our behalf in his Second Letter to the Corinthians.

He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB) 

Jesus identified himself with our sin. It was as if he were personally guilty of committing all the sins of mankind. The accumulated guilt fell on him, which apparently included the experience of being separated from the Father. This is a mystery that we try to understand and explain as best we can, realizing that we no doubt fall short. But we need some sort of handle to grasp theologically, and Paul gave us one.

The amazing transaction that Father God provided through his Son’s death and resurrection was that Jesus took upon himself the guilt and punishment for our sin and provided us with his perfect and proven righteous standing with God.

He “became” us, so to speak, and now we who believe are joined to him in the Spirit.

He became “one” with our sin, and we become one with him and his glorious relationship with Abba!

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" 16  The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, Romans 8:15-16 (NASB) 

This also is a mystery, one we joyfully accept. In fact, isn’t all of life a mystery? Even the most educated scientist, if he or she is honest, will admit that we still know very little at all about this thing called life. We know even less about eternal life, since we have only experienced a foretaste of it as yet. The important thing for us to grasp, as far as this article is concerned, is that Jesus took our sin, guilt, and punishment upon himself and provided us with his right standing with his heavenly Father. Then why on earth am I even writing a series of articles on how to deal with generational devastation? Hasn’t this already been taken care of by the Lord?

The Requirement of Standing by Faith

A careful reading of Isaiah 53 reveals that the same Hebrew verbs are used to describe how Jesus bore our sins and how he carried our sicknesses and diseases. If the first is true, then so is the second. If our sins are forgiven, then we are also healed. The logic is inescapable. This is confirmed in the New Covenant scriptures.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 (NASB) 


When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17  This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES." Matthew 8:16-17 (NASB) 

I imagine you see where I am going with this. Even though Jesus already paid the price to provide for our healing, people still get sick, even Christians. When we do, we are instructed to pray for one another for healing.

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15  and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. James 5:14-15 (NASB) 

If we used the thought process of those who deny the need to intervene in cases of experienced generational devastation, we would simply tell the sick person, “You don’t need prayer. You have already been healed.” This theology would lead us to disobey the clear biblical command to pray for the sick. Any time our theology encourages us to disobey God, something is fundamentally wrong.

When we pray for the sick, we apply our faith in the finished work of Christ to the present need. When we pray for people experiencing generational devastation, we do the same.

We live is a world that is still largely afflicted with the curse of the Law associated with Adam’s first sin. Even though we have been rescued from eternal death and destruction, we still have to face physical death and sickness. But we do so in light of what Christ has already won for us and in the hope of the resurrection.

We live in a tension between what has already been done in Christ eternally and what remains to be completed in our experience. That is why we need faith.

Experiencing what Christ already has accomplished for us often comes with a battle. That is why it is called “overcoming.” If Satan cannot keep us from believing in Jesus, he will do his best to prevent us from being effective and fulfilled in our service to him.

Even though our “old man” has been crucified in Christ and sin shall no longer has dominion over us (Romans 6:6,14), we still must apply our faith in his finished work on a daily basis in our battle against sin. Sin still has the power to tempt us, even though Christ’s victory is complete.

The ongoing battle does not negate Christ’s victory. It is an opportunity for us to live by faith.

When we encounter evidence of ongoing generational devastation in an individual or family which has confessed Christ as Lord and Savior, it is important first of all to teach that Christ has already conquered the curse of the Law. It is also necessary to show how to apply this truth in a practical way in order to experience the freedom Jesus died to give us.

To conclude, an ongoing struggle against sin does not negate Christ’s victory over sin. A battle against sickness does not mean Christ failed to defeat sickness and death.

Likewise, a fight against generational devastation is not an admission that the curse of the Law still has power over us. Instead, it is an opportunity to stand by faith in the finished work of Christ against that which seems to contradict his glorious victory. It is our fight of faith and our opportunity to overcome.