Jesus Conquered Death and Hell
It is amazing, but not until coming to Water of Life Church in 1985 did I ever hear that Jesus went to hell. It is understandable why I never heard this in the Methodist church I was raised in, because I never even heard you needed to be born again - they just preached about 'good works'. But somehow you would have thought that in the charismatic churches I attended and all of the charismatic meetings I went to, I would have heard that. But if they said it, I sure do not remember it. And you may be thinking, "Well, what is the big deal about that?" Because if these preachers that I had been around had been sent by God, they would have been preaching the gospel. Jesus in hell is a part of the gospel - He died, was buried, went to hell and rose again. And having a revelation of what this man did for you and for me is the only way we will be able to walk upright in the gospel and serve God with our spirit in the gospel.
But sometime after 1985, I heard Doyle teaching this in bible school and I saw it with my eyes in the bible that Jesus went to hell for me, and I was stunned to say the least. Maybe I should not have been, but I was. I knew hell was a place you would never get out if you went there. But Jesus went there by the Spirit (I Peter 3:19), and it was ordained from the foundation of the world that He die, be buried, go to hell and be raised again on the third day. That was the Father's will for Jesus, so that we might have eternal life. And Jesus is the only One who has ever been there and gotten out, or ever will go there and get out. He went there, so that you and I would not have to - if we believe on Him.
Jesus conquered death and hell, and in Acts 2:24 it is talking about Jesus and says, "Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be holden of it." Death could not hold Jesus in the grave - it was not possible. That is an amazing thing. Jesus paid the penalty for sin (our sin), and that was death, and He overcame it. You know, if it was not possible for death to hold Jesus, then it is not possible for us not to overcome whatever it is that hinders us.
Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." This says fear of death is bondage.
Jesus tasted death for every man - Hebrews 2:9. And because He triumphed over it by believing the gospel, we can have everlasting life if we believe on Him. Jesus was raised from the dead, He will not die again; death has no more dominion over Him. He abolished death through the gospel. Likewise, you do not have to be afraid of death, because Jesus overcame death. And if you believe on the Lord Jesus, you can live for evermore. That is a promise of God to you.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24.
It is so clear in scripture, once God opens your eyes to see it, that Jesus went to hell and He came out by the power of God. So I am going to share some scriptures that definitely convinced my heart. There may be more, but these are the ones that are in my spirit to share.
In Psalm 16:8-11 it is talking about Jesus and it says, "I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
This is also in Acts 2:27, "Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." God did not leave Jesus' soul in hell, and His body saw no corruption, which was definitely the power of God at work in Him.
Psalm 88 and 89 are also about Jesus and you can read the whole chapter in both of these Psalms. But in Psalm 88:6-7 it says, "Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves." Jesus went to the 'lowest pit' and God's wrath was upon Him. He did this so that we could avoid this place if we trust in and rely on Him with our lives. And He came out by the power of God.
Hell is not some place you would want to go. In Mark 9:44 it tells us that the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. That would be constant torment, and yet Jesus went there for us. And He was there with all the sin, sickness and disease of the world on His body and with all of His bones out of joint. The Lord laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all - Isaiah 53:6. So it was our sin, sickness and iniquity placed upon the body of Jesus that marred His body. Plus He had all the torment of hell surrounding Him. And yet while He was in hell, He worshipped and praised the Father day and night for those three days, knowing and trusting what the Father had told Him. And what the Father had told Him was that on the third day He was going to be raised from the dead. If you ever get a revelation of what this man went through for the entire human race, it will absolutely change your wicked heart - as it has, and is, mine.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down His life for His friends. And Jesus calls us friends when we do what He tells us - John 15:13-14. It says in I Samuel 15:22 that obedience is better than sacrifice. As a matter of fact, the only sacrifice you will ever make, that I can find in the bible, is a sacrifice of praise and a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Also you will have to present your body as a living sacrifice unto God. But after what He did for us, that is just our reasonable service. Jesus sacrificed His life for us. He was made a perfect sacrifice. And all He requires of us is to believe this gospel; and to lay down our lives and pick up His life, daily.
It tells us in II Corinthians 5:15, "And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again." And in Galatians 2:20 - "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Our lives will be lived unto the One who gave Himself for us and was raised from the dead. This is no longer living your life unto yourself, but to the One who died and went to hell for you, and was raised up by the power of God, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father.
I do appreciate what Jesus did for me and for you. And really the only way to show that appreciation to Him is by believing what He did for us by obeying this gospel from the heart. He obeyed the Father in everything He did, even to the death of the cross, and we will have to obey Him to the point of dying to our flesh so that we can live after the Spirit. (Romans 8 talks about this.) If we live after the flesh, we shall die; but if we put to death the deeds of our flesh though the Spirit, we shall live.
In closing I want to share Philippians 2:5-11, because these scriptures have ministered to my heart numerous times. They show the humility of the Lord Jesus, and how that humility should be in us.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, 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: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 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, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Remember, we have that Spirit in us - and it conquered death and hell. Praise God!
