Unity v. Contradiction

By its very nature and definition, contradiction stands opposed to unity. So, unity in the Holy Spirit does not occur when humans contradict what is written in God's Holy Words. For example: the following five Bible verses are often used to declare Satan as the "ruler of the world."

1. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. John 12:31
2. I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; John 14:30 
3. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. John 16:8-11
4. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 2:1-2
5. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 1 John 5:19

The interpretation that Satan is the actual ruler of the world is not EXPLICITLY stated in the Holy Bible anywhere. Therefore, the interpretation is an addition to what was actually written. It is merely a CONCLUSION that is drawn from scriptures. However, God hides wisdom from scholars and reveals it to little children, Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21. (Therefore, feel free to be a little child that obeys God by testing the teachings of this particular interpretation.)

For the purpose of illustrating HOW speculations or interpretations of scripture cause arguments, the same five scriptures from above are presented with another CONCLUSION of who really holds the title "Ruler of the World." Please read the same five passages again along with why this interpretation is given.

1. "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of the word [Jesus] will be cast out."
1. Does not this reading of John 12:31 testify in agreement with John 1:11?
1. If so, there is no guessing as to who the ruler of the world is because scripture proves scripture.
2. Opponents to the interpretation that Jesus is the ruler of the world will say this very same thing so let's not stand upon John 1:11 alone.
3. Jesus as the ruler of the world also agrees with the idea that Jesus was the right eye and the right hand of God that got cut off by humans to prevent the entire body of God from going to hell, Matthew 5:29-30.
2. I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world [ the father*] is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
1. * as opposed to "my father" There is a big difference between Jesus' use of  pronouns like  "the" and "my" when referencing the title "father." Please do not confuse them here.
1. John 3:6 identifies the difference between the two pronouns.
2. Remember Jesus was both son of man and son of God.
2. This reading of John 14:30 agrees with the sign of Abraham slaying Isaac because Abraham was one of Jesus' fathers of flesh. Abraham had nothing in Isaac any more than other humans had any justification to kill Jesus.
3. The interpretation of Jesus as the ruler of the world also agrees with Isaiah 53:10.
3. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of the world [I (i.e. Jesus)] has been judged.
   1. Grammatically speaking, all three reasons for judgment are consistently and contextually in regard to Jesus
   2. Jesus was judged by:
   1. Caiaphas, the High Priest, Matthew 26:57
   2. Pilate, Matthew 27:11
   3. Herod, Luke 23:8
   4.   Yet as of this point in time, Satan has not yet been judged.
   3. This reading of John 16:8-11 agrees with the reading of John 12:31 above and,
   4. Agreement also exists with the fact that the moment of Jesus' death on the cross judgment came into the world, John 12:31, because now the Holy Spirit is legally entitled to do unto others as man has done unto Jesus, Matthew 7:12. It is a timing issue. Man judged Jesus in whom the Holy Spirit dwelled, so now the Holy Spirit judges man. Thus, Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world. However, it was man's rejection by wrongfully casting Jesus out that brought judgment from Jesus into the world. Its a timing thing with regards to man's God given authority.
4. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 2:1-2
   1. So how does this verse identify Jesus as the ruler of the world? It has three statements that tend to be equated with each other but are not actually saying the same thing. 
      1. "according to the course of this world" - This phrase refers to man's God-given authority that is being used by man to work evil in agreement with Satan's will.
         
      2. "according to the prince of the power of the air" - This is referring to Satan's God-given authority.
         
      3. "of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience" - This is referring to Satan's demonic spirit at work to destroy the sons of disobedience.
         
   2. Not one of these phrases explicitly gives Satan the God-given title of "Ruler of the World" along with the sole autonomy that comes with that title and position. Instead, it implies that Jesus is the one who is able to raise the dead.
5. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is in bondage to the evil one. 1 John 5:19
   1. A child molested by an adult is in bondage to and cannot get away from the adult's will but that bondage does not make the adult the ruler of the world. The same is true with Satan. Satan may be able to deceive one person at a time, but he cannot deceive everyone at the same time although it may appear that way during the end-times.
   2. Man chooses to bring sin into the world, Matthew 18:7, Romans 5:12. Satan is not the one who brings sin into the world. Man is. The sin man brings into the world opens the door to Satan's strongholds and causes man to be in the power of the evil one. But, that is just because man was made a little lower than angels while on earth. Man, however, never looses the power and authority to repent, thus, defeating evil by doing good, Romans 12:21. This very fact alone means Satan has never ever had full autonomy over the world which comes with the title ruler of the world according to Genesis 1.
       
      

Now one interpretation has Bibles verses that seam to support it. While at the same time, so does the other. Which is correct? Can we know which is correct? Or, do we just give up and agree to disagree in order to keep the peace and just settle for less than full Christ-defined unity that leads the whole world to Christ? If we are going to seek unity with Christ, we have to same the same thing Christ says. Jesus spoke only the word that His Father gave Him. Otherwise, we will become children of Satan instead of children of God. Satan would absolutely love it for you to believe that he is the ruler of the world so that you will feel powerless to escape him. But, you are not alone, even the disciples' question in Matthew 8:27 indicated that they did not at first know the correct answer. 

 

Jesus came to set the captive free, Isaiah 61:1, and Jesus did it by being the ADAM that Adam was called to be in Genesis 1. Yet, Adam rebelled against that calling. However, Adam was given by God all authority over everything in the world in Genesis 1:26 and God's words cannot be broken, John 10:35, especially not by a falling man. There are a lot more verses that explicitly state Jesus operated on earth as the ruler of the world even though Jesus was never explicitly called the ruler of the world in the Bible. In fact, every phrase describing the ruler of the world in Genesis 1 has a corresponding verse elsewhere in the Bible explicitly stating that Jesus fulfilled each phrase of that definition.

So, either you will believe man is the ruler of the world or Satan is. The one contradicts the other. If some of us believe the former while others believe the later, we will be a house divided against itself and we will not stand in the day of evil. Jesus tells us to stand in Luke 21:36. Hence the necessity to conform our thoughts to the words of God. Or, we can accept every wind of doctrine that comes our way, Ephesians 4:14. The choice really is ours.