VICTORY IN CHRISTIAN WARFARE
(Second Edition)
CHAPTER 6 Christ’s Warfare on Earth: A Promise Kept
All humanity, “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” Isaiah 53:6. Thus, all mankind finds no joy in God’s holiness and all have turned their backs on God and sought their own pleasure away from God.
God’s Love for Humanity
Nature and the revelation of God given in the Bible, alike testify of God’s love. Look at the beauty of nature. Think of its marvellous adaptation to the needs and happiness of mankind and all living creatures. “Consider the wondrous works of God.” Job 37:14.
Consider the sunshine and the rain, the variation in the surface of the earth in its hills, mountains, seas and plains, the sky above with its brilliant blue, the covering of the bare brown earth with a living carpet of green, the variety of plants and living creatures. All speak to us of God, “the Creator” (Isaiah 40:28) of all that there is, and His love for all His creatures.
It is God who supplies the daily needs of all. As one of the authors of the Bible said so beautifully—
“The eyes of all wait upon thee;
And thou givest them their meat [food] in due season.
Thou openest thine hand,
And satisfiest the desire of every living thing.”
Psalm 145:15, 16.
God’s Love Letter to Humanity
God says, “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3) and “as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” Ezekiel 33:11.
In pouring out His heart of love for humanity, God devised the “gospel” (Matthew 4:23) which is a plan to save mankind, because God was not content to see the human race become extinct with the death of both Adam and Eve. Thus, the good news of the “everlasting gospel” (Revelation 14:6) exists because God is love.
God is love, and God has written a love letter to humanity, for these are the people whom God loves. This love letter is known as the Bible and it is given to humanity because God cares for them.
In the Bible God makes Himself known to humanity with the hope that they will be drawn to Him and will, therefore, enter into a close, intimate, loving relationship with Him. The Bible then is the means to an end and not the end in itself, the end being that humanity would love God with their whole heart.
Such is the love letter, the Bible, which God has written to humanity. God has much to say to us and He hopes that we will listen and be instructed. Ultimately, God designs that the Bible should lead us to love Him with the whole heart just as His love for us is unsurpassed.
The love of God for mankind is immeasurable, and He will not be turned away from His purpose to save humanity. Praise God that the love in His heart for us is steadfast!
God’s Love in the Face of Rejection
In the face of His rejection by humanity, God says, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.” Song of Solomon 8:7. “God hath said, I will dwell in them [mankind], and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Corinthians 6:16.
The relationship between God and humanity was broken when Adam and Eve sinned and transferred their love, affections, and allegiance from God to Satan, God’s rival. It is the longing desire of God’s heart to mend the broken relationship with humanity.
Humanity’s Need of Christ
God, as the “Maker” (Job 4:17) of human beings and, therefore, the One with all knowledge about His creation, knew that mankind could not recover themselves and overcome sin in their own strength, by their own best efforts.
Looking forward to the future and seeing every human being who would ever live, God says, “I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land” (Ezekiel 22:30), that is, “stand in the gap” (Ezekiel 22:30) for the world, “that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” Ezekiel 22:30. A solution to this problem, that only the wisdom of the divine mind could devise, was found.
God “saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.” Isaiah 59:16. So, God devised the “gospel” (Matthew 4:23) which is a plan whereby sinful human beings could once again be found “faultless” (Jude 1:24) and “holy and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4), just like the sinless character of Adam and Eve when they were created. Therefore, God sent His Son, Christ, to the earth to live among mankind.
To reiterate, the question that arises is, “How can the everlasting covenant cause humanity to overcome all sin and, hence, keep God’s law of love?” Specifically, how could Christ, coming to the earth in human flesh, that is, becoming incarnate, help humanity to be saved from “everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9), from eternal death? We will answer these questions in this chapter.
The Promise Kept
God says, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” Psalm 89:34. God had made a promise to Adam and Eve after they had sinned that God would make a way for all humanity to be saved from eternal death. God keeps His promises and this promise to Adam and Eve regarding the everlasting covenant is no exception.
The Incarnation of Christ
Over 2,000 years ago, Christ, a member of the Godhead, took on Himself human flesh. He became a Representative of the human race and a “Saviour” (2 Timothy 2:10), the One who saves, when He was born as a baby boy named “Jesus.” Matthew 1:21. Christ in human flesh was known as Christ incarnate.
Christ fulfilled the prophecy which foretold that Christ Himself, would become incarnate and would be “the LORD…a man of war: the LORD is his name.” Exodus 15:3. Christ as a “a man of war” (Exodus 15:3), as a Warrior, would enter into warfare between Himself and Satan. “For this purpose,” Christ, “the Son of God…” (1 John 3:8), would be, “manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8.
The Nature of Christ
Christ, when He was born into the world as the baby boy named “Jesus” (Matthew 1:21) was “God with us.” Matthew 1:23. At the same time, Christ was the “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5. “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ” (Ephesians 5:32) for God said, “In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Colossians 2:9.
Jesus Christ was born with the divine nature, a sinless nature, which was mysteriously blended with the sinful nature of humanity. He was born into the world with two natures, blended in one Person in a way that we know not how. He was 100% God and 100% man at one and the same time.
On this subject of the nature of the incarnate Jesus Christ, we would do well to heed God’s words, “Draw not nigh hither” (Exodus 3:5), do not come near: “put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5. “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of…[God’s] law [of love].” Deuteronomy 29:29.
What we do know, however, is that Christ was born sinless unlike the rest of humanity. If this was not so, Christ Himself would have sinned from His birth because of a sinful nature. He would thus be disqualified from being the Saviour of mankind from the moment of His birth.
In other words, Christ was born with two natures blended into one Person—the divine nature “without iniquity, just and right” (Deuteronomy 32:4) which is incapable of sin, blended with the sinful, human nature “that cannot cease from sin.” 2 Peter 2:14.
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Galatians 4:4, 5. Christ in His human nature was “made under the law” (Galatians 4:4), “in the likeness of sinful flesh [sinful human nature]” (Romans 8:3), just like the rest of the human race who are “them that were under the law.” Galatians 4:5.
To be “made under the law” (Galatians 4:4) meant that, in His human nature, Christ was faced with the utter impossibility of being able to “cease from sin.” 2 Peter 2:14.
When the time came for Christ to become incarnate, Christ said according to the prophecy that God gave beforehand, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me)” (Hebrews 10:7), written of me in the Bible which is the word of God, “to do thy will, O God.” Hebrew 10:7. Christ also said, “A body hast thou prepared me” (Hebrews 10:5) indicating that mankind’s sins spring from the appetite and passions of the lower nature of the body and from a sinful mind.
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7) in character and “the thought of foolishness is sin.” Proverbs 24:9. The mind controls the whole man and, from the mind flows thoughts and feelings which lead to words and actions, and actions repeated lead to habits, and habits form the character which is either holy or unholy.
We must be careful to understand that Jesus Christ did not have an evil, depraved heart for He was divine as well as human and, hence, Jesus Christ was perfect and holy and no evil thoughts arose in Christ’s pure mind to defile Him.
The Incarnate Christ’s Conflict With Sin and Satan
Satan, “the tempter” (Matthew 4:3) came to Christ when Christ was on earth, “when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, [and] he was afterward an hungred [famished, that is, exhausted by want of food].” Matthew 4:2. Satan, thinking to overcome Christ with sin in Christ’s weakened state, tempted Christ with humanity’s three great leading temptations—appetite, presumption, and the love of the world.
But Christ achieved a victory over Satan on behalf of the human race, for Christ was mankind’s Representative before God. How did Christ succeed in this contest with Satan? The answer to this question is of supreme importance to humanity because Christ, in His life on earth, is the perfect Example for the human race in their own warfare against sin and Satan.
Two Natures in Conflict
The blending of the two natures in Christ resulted in a constant conflict in Him between the sinless, divine nature and the sinful, human nature. Now God says, “Let not sin therefore reign in your…body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield…[yourself] unto God…and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Romans 6:12, 13.
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16. The battle with sin that Jesus Christ faced was a battle for the mind—whether His mind would be subject to the will of God or to the will of Satan.
Christ was called by God to “choose…whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15), whether God or Satan. It was left up to Christ to choose which of His two natures would have supremacy.
Thus, although Christ was born sinless, He faced the same problem of temptations to sin and the impossibility of not falling into sin as all mankind does. For the only difference between Himself and humanity was that His divine nature caused His mind to be pure and free from “evil thoughts” (Mark 7:21.
“For even Christ pleased not himself” because He could say “the reproaches” (Romans 15:3), the criticism, defamation, shame, and disgrace, “of them that reproached thee [God]” (Romans 15:3), that criticised, defamed, shamed, and disgraced you, “fell on me.” Romans 15:3. So Christ chose to do the will of God at all times regardless of the circumstances in which He found Himself.
Here then is the first indication of the solution of the sin problem of mankind in that they need a new nature in order to overcome sin. This new nature is humanity combined with divinity just like that which was found in the incarnate Christ. This then is the first part to the answer to the questions posed earlier.
Also, here we see the role of the will in deciding the course Christ’s life would take. This then is the second part of the solution to mankind’s sin problem, in that they too must chose to do God’s will at all times. They must choose to obey God’s law of love at all times. That is, in essence, they must submit their will to God’s will.
The Necessity of Faith
Christ, “being not weak in faith…He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God…being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Romans 4:19-21. Christ had faith in God that He was able to keep Him from sin. By faith in God and by the proper exercise of His will, Christ submitted and committed Himself to God. It was His joy to obey God.
The Necessity of the Holy Spirit’s Help
Christ, while He was in human flesh, could say in truth, “I am as a man that hath no strength.” Psalm 88:4. He was “without [moral] strength” (Romans 5:6) to resist temptation. Hence, Christ prayed, asking God for the help of the Holy Spirit, and, hence, He was found “striving according to his working” (Colossians 1:29), the Holy Spirit’s working, “which worketh in…[Him] mightily.” Colossians 1:29. That is to say, Christ received moral strength from the Holy Spirit.
As a result of Christ’s faith, submission, prayers, and striving, Christ was given a guarantee by God that “according to the power that worketh in…[Him]” (Ephesians 3:20), by the power of the Holy Spirit, “sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:14. What is grace? It is God’s unmerited favour whereby humanity receives the blessings of God so that they can overcome all their sins.
This then is the third part of the solution to the sin problem of humanity in that they too, having already submitted themselves to God’s will, must have faith in God, must pray, and must be found “striving according to his working” (Colossians 1:29, the Holy Spirit’s working, “which worketh in…[them] mightily.” Colossians 1:29. That is, they must receive moral strength from the Holy Spirit.
Thus, something more than the exercise of the will was necessary for Christ to be able to overcome sin. God gave an indication of this when it was said of Christ, “The Word” (John 1:14), who was Christ, “was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten [the sole child] of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14.
This meant that Christ needed the all-powerful help of the Holy Spirit in order to overcome sin. The Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17) and “the Spirit of grace and of supplications.” Zechariah 12:10. Supplications mean humbly and earnestly asking God for help by praying to God. It is through “the Spirit of grace” (Zechariah 12:10) that overcoming power is bestowed upon mankind to keep them from sinning.
Moral strength then to follow the way of truth was available to Christ by means of the all-sufficient grace provided by the Holy Spirit, if Christ would choose to do God’s will. Now, in the case of all mankind who are sinners, grace is unmerited. How much more then should Christ who was born sinless receive God’s grace, receive God’s favour?
God’s assurance to Christ of His grace was given when God said, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), in other words, set your will to be obedient to God’s law of love and go in that direction, “and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh [of the sinful nature]. For the flesh [the sinful nature] lusteth [wars] against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh [sinful nature]: and these are contrary the one to the other so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the” (Galatians 5:16-18) condemnation of the “law.” Galatians 5:18.
Christ was He “who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him [God] that was able to save him from death…was heard in that he feared.” Hebrews 5:7. That is, Christ had reverence for God.
The only way open before Christ in His quest to overcome sin was through the help of the Holy Spirit for He could pray “Help, LORD” (Psalm 12:1) and He would be heard by God and indeed receive God’s help. For God says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Psalm 66:18.
God said, if Christ chose to “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) then God would say of Christ in truth, “Ye are of God…and have overcome them [Satan and the other demons]: because greater is he [God] that is in you, than he [Satan] that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4. For the Holy Spirit’s power working in Christ was greater than the power of Satan and all the other demons who would tempt Christ to sin.
The promised aid of the Holy Spirit made Christ such that “He shall not fail nor be discouraged” (Isaiah 42:4) “for with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37. “Though he [Christ] were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” Hebrews 5:8, 9.
Christ Succeeds Where Adam Failed
Jesus Christ “was in all points tempted like as we [human beings] are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3. In His temptations to sin, Christ met all the temptations any human being will ever meet in their life experience.
Christ in His life on earth passed over the same ground where Adam and Eve fell and Christ overcame on behalf of all humanity. The test which He endured was greater than any human being will ever be called upon to endure. His “strength” (Exodus 15:2) was found in His being in full, entire dependence upon God every step of the way that He took in His life on earth.
Jesus Christ “condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3), condemned sin in humanity, thus making a “new man.” Ephesians 2:15. Jesus Christ, during His entire life on earth, entered into singlehanded combat against the sinfulness of fallen human nature and against the temptations of Satan, who tried to cause Christ to sin and by this means overthrow the plan of redemption.
There was no sin in Jesus Christ being tempted, “in all points tempted like as we [human beings] are.” Hebrews 4:15. It is yielding to temptation that is sin. By faith in God’s power to give Him moral strength and by His submission to God, Christ was victorious in this combat with sin and Satan. God’s record is that Christ was “without sin.” Hebrews 4:15. The victorious Christ says to humanity, “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done.” John 13:15.
Christ, when He was on earth, said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments” (John 15:10) indicating that He had kept God’s law of love, in that, He was One “who did no sin.” 1 Peter 2:22. In all respects then, Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s prophecy. He maintained a holy character in His life as a man on earth and He did not break God’s law of love.
In other words, Christ fulfilled the prophecy about Him as Christ Himself was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” Hebrews 7:26. He was “the Holy One” (2 Kings 19:22) separate from all sinners. Christ fulfilled this prophecy in that He did not break God’s law of love during His life on earth—he was not tainted with sin.
Had Christ transgressed God’s law of love in even one particular, He would have been a sinner, His offering as a sacrifice for sin would have been a failure, but not upon a single point did Satan overcome Him with his temptations to sin.
Christ Dies for the Sins of Humanity
Before Jesus Christ was born, God said, “The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.” Isaiah 42:21. This was God’s prophecy of Jesus Christ that He would obey the requirements of God’s law which states: “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5) and “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” Leviticus 19:18.
When Christ came to the earth in human flesh as the man Jesus, He was such that “we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Hebrews 2:9. So, Christ as humanity’s Sin Bearer, exhausted the penalty of death when he did, in fact, “taste death for every man.” Hebrews 2:9.
It was Christ, as “the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5), who died almost 2,000 years ago for the sins of all mankind thus exhausting the penalty of death for sin. In so doing, “the everlasting covenant” (Hebrews 13:20) between Christ and God was ratified (confirmed) by the blood of Christ thereby making the plan of redemption secure for all eternity future.
From the time of Adam and Eve, grace had been extended by God to all mankind, but it was only by Christ’s death that the salvation of humanity was made sure. So, Christ’s death made secure the forgiveness of sins for all humanity and the bestowal of moral strength upon humanity. This forgiveness of sins is the fourth part of the solution to the sin problem of mankind as the third part already consisted of receiving moral strength from the Holy Spirit.
Christ, when He was on earth, said, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” John 10:17, 18.
Now, Deity cannot die for Christ is fully God, but Christ Jesus in human flesh could die the death of a man. Human nature would be inadequate to bear the weight of God’s punishment for sins, but Christ Jesus, with humanity and divinity combined, was able to bear the load of the punishment for the sins of all mankind.
And “Christ died for our sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:3. Christ’s life on earth ended when He was murdered. “They crucified him.” Matthew 27:35. His death was by crucifixion where His outstretched arms and his feet were nailed to a cross, which was constructed of two pieces of wood assembled in the shape of a “t.” That is, the cross had a horizontal piece of wood to which His hands were nailed and a vertical piece of wood to which His feet were nailed.
Christ “Jesus…[is He] who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2. The cross was a most cruel, shameful way to die.
The prophecy of Christ as a warrior against Satan was fulfilled in that Satan did indeed “bruise…[the] heel” (Genesis 3:15) of Christ by causing the death of Christ. By this “heinous crime” (Job 31:11) Satan himself sealed his own doom and death, for he was uprooted from any sympathy he might have had among the intelligences in the heavenly realms. That is, by this crime, Satan was unmasked before them as a “murderer” (John 8:44) and so Christ did indeed “bruise…[the] head [of Satan].” Genesis 3:15.
Having fulfilled the prophecy about Himself, Jesus Christ stood before God as a perfect Representative of the human race. As mankind’s Representative, Christ is the Substitute for the penalty of sin for the whole human race, and the Surety, the Guarantee, that the human race will not become extinct on account of their sins. Now “this is the promise that he [God] hath promised us, even eternal life” (1 John 2:25) and this promise, has been made sure by Christ.
Christ, the Perfect Example for Humanity
Christ’s perfect, holy character of love was manifested when He lived in the midst of sin on earth approximately 2,000 years ago. For Christ, throughout His life on earth, kept God’s law of love and never deviated from it in any particular. So then, Christ, on one hand, is a perfect representation of God and, on the other hand, He is perfect specimen of sinless humanity.
Christ has combined divinity and humanity. Through “the gospel of Christ” (Romans 1:16), the law maintains its high and holy position as the standard humanity must meet in order to have eternal life, in that the law was not changed nor the standard lowered to meet mankind in his sinfulness. For the God’s law of love is unchangeable and eternal. Instead, God has made a provision for sinful humanity to come up to the high standard of God’s law of love.
Summary of the Solution to Sin as Effected by Christ
So far, we have seen that the answer to our earlier questions has four parts. The first part of the solution for the sin problem of mankind depended on their humanity being combined with divinity just like Christ. The second part of the solution for all humanity is to exercise their will in choosing to obey God’s law of love as Christ Himself did. In other words, choosing to submit their will to God’s will.
The third part of the solution to the sin problem of humanity is that they like Christ, having already submitted themselves to God’s will, must have faith in God, must pray, and must be found “striving according to his working” (Colossians 1:29), that is, the Holy Spirit’s working, “which worketh in…[them] mightily.” Colossians 1:29. For, Christ, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, received moral strength to overcome all temptations to sin. The fourth part of the solution for mankind is to be forgiven of their sins.
We have found the answers then to all the questions posed earlier about how the incarnate Christ could help humanity escape the condemnation of the law. For the bestowal of the divine nature on those who meet the necessary conditions of submitting their will to God’s will and exercising faith in God through prayer, allows them to receive moral strength from God which enables them to cease from sinning in the present and in the future. Further, the forgiveness of sins of mankind makes it possible for those who meet God’s conditions to be absolved from the penalty of eternal death for past sins.
In later chapters of this book, we will examine the details of how the four components of the solution to the sin problem of mankind are made effective in the life of an individual.
Christ’s Victory Over Satan
“God the Father” (John 6:27), “when he bringeth in the firstbegotten [firstborn] into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him.” Hebrews 1:6. “But unto the Son” (Hebrews 1:8), Christ, “he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre [a royal symbol of authority] of righteousness is the sceptre [is the royal symbol of authority] of thy kingdom.” Hebrews 1:8.
Speaking of Christ, God says, “Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.” Romans 6:9. “For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God” (Romans 6:10) that is, Christ lives according to God’s will. “This man [Christ], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” Hebrews 10:12.
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit” (1 Timothy 3:16), that is to say, preserved as One who is holy by the Holy Spirit, “seen of angels, preached unto the…[the world], believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16.
Christ did “war a good warfare.” 1 Timothy 1:18. He did “fight the good fight of faith.” 1 Timothy 6:12. “And having spoiled [damaged irreparably] principalities and powers” (Colossians 2:15), of Satan and his evil angels, “he made a shew [an exhibition] of them openly” (Colossians 2:15), before the onlooking universe, “triumphing over them in it.” Colossians 2:15. Thus, Christ “is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” 1 Peter 3:22.
When Christ ascended to heaven, the holy angels received him joyously and triumphantly. “God is gone up with a shout” (Psalm 47:5), Christ is ascended to heaven with a shout, “the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.” Psalm 47:5. The angels said among themselves, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.” Psalm 24:7, 8.
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.” Psalm 24:9, 10.
For “Christ Jesus…being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men [of human beings]: And being found in fashion as a man [as a human being], he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8.
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…in heaven, and…in earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11.
So, in the end of the great controversy, even Satan and his evil angels will “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:11. “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the LORD most high is terrible [to be reverenced and feared]; he is a great King over all the earth.” Psalm 47:1, 2.