When Christ was lifted up on the cross, Satan, the devil, the old serpent, was dealt with (John 12:31-33; Heb. 2:14). This means that the serpentine nature within fallen man has been dealt with by the death of Christ. We may use the illustration of a mousetrap. Mice are a nuisance and they are difficult to catch. However, you may catch them if you use a trap and some bait. When a mouse comes out of hiding seeking for something to eat, he will see the bait, walk into the trap in an attempt to seize the bait, and immediately be caught. In this way the mouse is caught and destroyed. In the universe there is a little “mouse,” Satan. Humanity became a trap in which he was caught. Adam became both the trap and the bait. Satan seized the bait, thinking that he had gained the victory by injecting himself into man’s body, but he did not realize that in doing so he became trapped. He was trapped, located in man’s flesh. One day the Lord Jesus put on the likeness of this flesh of sin. Then He brought this flesh to the cross and crucified it. By crucifying the flesh, He destroyed the devil who had injected himself into man. Now we can understand Hebrews 2:14 which says, “He took part of flesh...that through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the Devil.” Christ destroyed Satan in the flesh by His death. If we do not understand all of these verses, it will be difficult to have the proper meaning of Hebrews 2:14. How did Christ destroy Satan on the cross? By taking on the likeness of the flesh of sin and by bringing this flesh to the cross. There, through His crucifixion, Satan was destroyed.
In the eyes of God, we all have become serpents. Like the ancient Israelites who became serpents and needed a brass serpent to be lifted up as their substitute, we also needed Christ to die on the cross as our substitute. On the cross Christ was not only the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world (1:29), but He was also in the form of the serpent that He might deal with our serpentine nature and destroy the old serpent. When Christ was lifted up on the cross, the serpentine nature within fallen man was dealt with. When man receives the crucified and resurrected Christ that he may be regenerated with the divine life in Christ, his satanic nature must also be dealt with. This is why in John 3:14, when the Lord Jesus revealed the matter of regeneration to Nicodemus, He specifically mentioned this point.
Nicodemus might have considered himself as a good and moral man. But the Lord’s word in 3:14 implies that regardless of how good Nicodemus might have been outwardly, he had the serpentine nature of Satan inwardly. As a descendant of Adam, he was poisoned by the old serpent, and the serpent’s nature was within him. He not only needed the Lord to be the Lamb of God to take away his sin; he also needed the Lord to be in the form of the serpent that his serpentine nature might be dealt with on the cross and that he might have eternal life. In the principle set forth in chapter two, this is changing death into life. The serpent’s death is swallowed up by the divine life. By telling this to Nicodemus, the Lord Jesus seemed to be saying, “Nicodemus, you are a serpent. I am going to die for you as your substitute in the form of a serpent, not only to take away your sin, but also to deal with your serpentine nature and to destroy Satan.”
Verse 15 shows the purpose of verse 14. “That every one who believes in Him may have eternal life.” The word “that” in verse 15 indicates that this verse is an issue, an outcome, of verse 14. Christ died on the cross in the form of a serpent as our substitute. In doing so, He dealt with our serpentine nature and destroyed the serpent in our flesh. The issue of this is that we may have eternal life by believing in Him. Just as the poisoned Israelites lived by looking unto the brass serpent on the pole, we may experience the same thing today if we repent, lift up our heart, and gaze upon the very Jesus crucified on the cross. When we do this, our sin is removed, our serpentine nature is dealt with, Satan is destroyed in us, and we have life eternal. This is what it means to be regenerated. When we are regenerated, we receive the divine life other than our human life which was corrupted by the serpent and dealt with by Christ on the cross.
All men are condemned in Adam through his sin. In verse 18, the Lord revealed more to Nicodemus about his condition. He not only had the poisonous nature of the serpent, but was also under the judgment of God. This verse says, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” According to this verse, Nicodemus, a good gentleman, had been judged already. When were you judged? You were judged on the same day that Adam was judged. In other words, you were condemned before you were born. You were condemned six thousand years ago. Since you are a part of Adam, you were condemned when he was. Regardless of whether you are bad or good, you are already under the wrath of God (3:36). Although Nicodemus was a high-class gentleman, he was still condemned. He was a good man, a religious man, and a moral man, yet he was already condemned. Therefore, he needed the Lord’s redemption—the Lord had to die for him.
The actual condition of such a good man is not really good. His true condition is twofold: his nature has the poison of Satan within it and his position is under the condemnation of God. We are not gentlemen; we are serpents. As far as our nature is concerned, we have the poisonous element of Satan, the devil, an element which makes us “the children of the Devil” (1 John 3:10). As far as our position is concerned, we are already under God’s condemnation. Thus, the condition of the best person is the same as that of the worst.