The Ways of the Heart
Chapter 4: The Ways of Spiritual Masters
by Frank Allnutt

Satan learned from being banished from heaven to earth that he could never be
come self-sufficient and supplant God as Lord of heaven and all creation. We can only imagine how embittered he was by his fate and how much he must have wanted to retaliate against God. Of course, he was no match against Almighty Father. But his evil, scheming mind came up with a vindictive payback. He did the worst thing possible: He lured Adam and Eve away from God. Consequently, they suffered critically sin-damaged spiritual hearts, and were made spiritually dead and separated from God. They would live out their mortal lives enslaved to their flesh, to Satan, to sin, to the world order, and to the death-curse of God’s law (Figure 4-1). We can only imagine the sadness it brought to God’s heart. Oh, how He loved Adam and Eve! But there was more sadness to come: All of Adam and Eve’s descendants—all of future mankind—would go the fallen way of their first two ancestors (Figure 4-2).


Figure 4-1:

Figure 4-2:

As following generations came and went, there were always a few who worshiped God. Satan perhaps thought he had little cause for concern; after all, he was successful in keeping most people from God. As for those who were rescued from him, he could make their lives on earth miserable. So he mounted tremendous persecution against generations of the children of Adam.

God then chose Abraham and his people to be His own, and promised them a land of “milk and honey.” Generations passed, and they were taken into captivity in Egypt. God raised up Moses to lead them out of Egypt, and they eventually entered the Promised Land. They became lawless, as they had been before and would be again. They were repeatedly conquered and taken captive. But a remnant always returned. Their Temple of God in Jerusalem was destroyed, rebuilt, then destroyed again.

Yet there was always a remnant of true believers that Satan could not eliminate.

“A Savior is Born”
One night in the city of Bethlehem, an extraordinary baby was born. An angel of the Lord proclaimed to the world: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10, 11).

“A Savior, who is Christ the Lord”! The words must have struck terror in the heart of Satan. He could not stand by and allow mankind to be rescued from his grasp and reconciled to God by this newborn Savior.

Satan became obsessed with one thought: The Christ must not succeed. His first counteract was to have the Christ-child killed. He enticed King Herod to kill all firstborn males, but the baby Jesus was whisked away to safety.

Satan’s next plan unfolded three decades later when he sought to tempt Jesus away from His earthly mission and Lordship. But, we know from Luke chapter four that Jesus would not yield to him.

Then came Christ’s death on the cross. Imagine the victory celebration that must have taken place in Satan’s domain! But, of course, when Christ rose from the grave and saved all who believed in Him, Satan’s apparent victory turned into defeat. Christ was raised from the tomb in victory over death, Satan, the world, and sin. The old man—with Adam’s heart, life and nature —died with Christ, and the new man—with a new heart, Christ’s life and nature—was resurrected in victory and freedom with Him!

Satan was no match against Jesus the Christ. So he directed all his authority and power toward waging spiritual war against God’s beloved creation, man. Even so, a remnant of every generation has been rescued from his enslavement and placed into freedom and victory in Christ. The spiritual war will rage on until Christ returns for His own and to bring judgment on all that is ungodly.

We were Redeemed and Reconciled to God
It was through Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection that we believers were redeemed from Satan and reconciled to God.

Redemption and reconciliation are technical word in Scripture. Redemption means “to buy for a price and to set free.” “Reconciliation” “Reconciliation” means restoration of relationship and fellowship and peace with God where once there was enmity.

We were held in bondage to the realm of darkness, to being of the old humanity in Adam; and, to the flesh, Satan, sin, the world, and the death curse of God’s law. They were our “spiritual masters,” and we were their slaves. However, God, out of His love for us, redeemed us—bought us for the highest price ever paid for anything: the life of His Son (“atonement”):

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the richness of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).

Through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained [our] eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12).

You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18, 19).

For your have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:20).

Redemption did not deliver us from the captive old heart so that we might be set free in an independent, self-sufficient life. That was never God’s plan for mankind. Redemption is a two-part process: First, through salvational faith and grace, we were crucified with Christ and delivered from slavery in Adam, and then we were resurrected with Christ, with new hearts, and placed into freedom in Him. God’s way is for us to be free in Christ. Freedom can only be found in Christ; outside of Him, there is no true freedom.

Christ came to set us free
Before you became a Christian, you were a captive, and you needed to be set free. And that’s why God sent us His Son: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free” (Galatians 5:1).

Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). The “truth” is the spoken Word of God, but also the expression of God Himself in the person of His Son (John 1:1). Jesus bore witness of this when He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6); and “I am the true vine” (John 15:1; see Figure 4-3). Jesus not only shows us the way to God, He is the way! He is the only way to the Father; He is the Truth, He is the Word, and He is eternal life; and only in Him and through Him can man experience freedom and reconciliation with God (“atonement”).

The crucifixion with Christ of the old man and the resurrection with Christ of the new man brought about several radical changes in our relationships. In this and following sections we will use some new illustrations based on God’s Model of the Heart to visualize that, when you were crucified with Christ, you “died” to—were released and removed from—old-man relationships with Satan, sin and death, the world order, and the authority and condemnation of God’s law (Figure 4-3). Through your resurrection with Christ you were reconciled to God—made “alive” to, or placed into, new-man relationship with God, God’s love, God’s kingdom, and God’s grace (Figure 4-4).
Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome:

Figure 4-3: Christ came to set us free

For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Romans 5:10, 11).

Figure 4-4:

At the time you became a Christian, God took you out of old spiritual relationships and placed you into new ones.

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