“Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt. 26:53)
I think many people forget that the Lord could have called those legions at any time in His life, He could do anything at any time that He wanted to while He walked on this planet. He simply chose not to. He submitted to the will of the Father, willingly, without murmuring or complaint, all that He did He did for the glory of God.
Have you read the accounts in the Scriptures of what just one angel can do, much less twelve legions? There are no battles with God, He has no challengers to His Sovereignty, none can stand against Him, and those who attempt to, including Satan himself, are of no consequence to Him, none require any effort from Him. He who spoke everything into existence could just as easily un-speak it if He chose to. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)
The Jews did not kill Jesus, nor did the Gentiles, the Romans, the Pharisees or anyone else. “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 10:18) “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” (Luke 23:46)
No one can stand against God.
This planet is full of people who believe themselves to have power, from the rulers of nations to the store manager down at the local convenience store, they believe themselves to hold not only power over their own lives, but over the lives of others, pride is what enables this, and with free will comes the ability to express that pride.
At the time of Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven the angels had free will, that much is certain, how that free will is expressed today by those who remained in heaven I cannot say, no one can, but we can use ourselves to a degree to come to at least some finite conclusions to that notion. We have free will, a gift from God, for without free will love cannot be expressed, given or received, nor can it be rejected and turned from. With the understanding of the Sovereignty of God, the fact that Jesus had the ability to lay down and take up His life, the conclusion that we are not sovereign, nor can we bring ourselves back to life after death shows us who is in charge, and offers us only two choices, accept in all humility that we are in God’s hands in respect to our final destination, or pride, there are no other options.
Yet that rebellion of pride does not affect the Sovereignty of the Lord, there can be no effective challenges against the King.
Satan pondered these truths for quite some time I believe, in ways that no man can fully attain to, before making his decision to rebel, but I want you to notice something here, he did not say “I will be the Most High,” or “I will be better than the Most High, but said “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:14)
Competition for selfish reasons, for vainglory may be the seed that sprouts the sin of pride. Winners are remembered, losers are forgotten.
“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” (Eccl. 9:5) “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” (Phil. 2:3)
This is the path of humility that recognizes the Sovereignty of the Lord God, for none can stand against Him, human, demon, angel, seraphim or cherubim, none.
When you put your life completely in the hands of God you are in the only safe place there is, but few will realize this truth, they focus on the temporal, the here and now, how their lives are going, how they personally are being affected by the circumstances that surround them at the moment, few have an eternal view in this life. How would you live your life for the glory of God if you knew for a fact that everywhere you went, there was twelve legions of angels surrounding you?
Live your life for Christ in that truth, but better yet, that the Lord God is the One that is constantly watching over you. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jer. 29:11) Use great caution though, for the knowledge of this truth has also led many men of God into the trap of pride.
