Say, heavenly pow'rs, where shall we find such love?-- John Milton, Paradise Lost (Book III 1.213)
Which of ye will be mortal to redeem
Man's mortal crime, and just th' unjust to save.
You can determine the importance of a thing by the priority given to it.
Consider medical treatment, for example. The average healthy person would never voluntarily injest a chemical cocktail whose properties would cause hair loss, vomiting, appetite loss, weakness, lethargy, immunosuppresion, sleep disruptions, general malaise and a host of other unpleasant consequences. Not even on a dare or a bet.
Take that same person, and tell them that they have a form of cancer which responds very well to Chemotherapy. Though still unpleasant, it suddenly seems a small price to pay. Life, in this example, is shown to take priority over convenience.
In addressing God's Redemption of Creation, it is no exaggeration to say that we are examining the single most pivitol event of all Time.
How can that be said with confidence? By examining the priority given to it by God Himself in His Word. (I Peter 1.19,20-- But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,).
When did God foreordain this? Before Man ever rebelled, before He created man a living soul, and even before He said "let there be light," the sacrificial death of Jesus had already become an accomplished fact in the mind of God.
Let's back up a little...
Knowing, then, that this is the pivitol event in history, it is impossible to give a full accounting of it here.
Redemption, in a theological sense, is the complete reversal of the curse initiated in The Fall (see previous post). It is, principally, the final payment of the totality of divine Wrath upon Sin. Secondarily, it is the reconciliation -- by God -- of fallen man to Himself.
The redeemed -- as those who will benefit from redemption are called -- had the plan gradually revealed to them:
Adam and Eve, received the promise of the Messiah, and then had their ineffective fig-leaf coverings replaced, by God, with clothes made from the skins of animals, foreshadowing sacrificial death as the remedy for sin. (Genesis 3)
Notice that the promise of the final resolution of sin (Messiah, or Seed of the Woman) was given greater priority than the temporary, symbolic measure of animal sacrifice. Notice also that God prepared the skins FOR Adam and Eve, a foreshadowing of divine grace, apart from works.
There were countless other types and symbols throughout Biblical history: God's substitute for Issac, Noah's Ark, and Passover being only three of them.
Everything was setting the stage for the Great Event.
Keep in mind, the sacrifice must be: (1) Freely Offered. (2) Unblemished. (3) Of Sufficient Value to Redeem.
None in the natural family of man would be a suitable sacrifice. All of us are tainted, having received, through Adam, a fallen nature. A sacrifice suitable to God must free of Sin. The sacrifice must also be of adequate value.
The sacrifice had to be sufficient to satisfy God's wrath against man's sin, and it had to be holy.
The only way God could be true to His Holiness, at the same time as extending grace and compassion to His Image-bearer, is to have His Son receive the due penalty of Divine Wrath in man's place. Sin having been punished, those who are found to be "In Christ" could be reconciled to God.
Having seen what was accomplished, namely the propitiation of sin, the restoration of relationship with God, and even the beginnings of the reversal of our corruption, let us examine the cost.
The Triune God had to send His Son to rescue us. Jesus, fully-God and fully-Man, was born into obscurity, misunderstood, mistreated, betrayed, sold out, mocked, beaten, cursed, humiliated, spat upon, forced to carry a cross, His scalp pierced with a mock crown, stripped naked, and then whipped until he was unrecognizable as a man, and His back looked like a ploughed field. Then He was committed to a form of death so horrific that even the bloodthirsty Romans had to devise a new word to describe the suffering involved. The word? "Excruciating".
This was the price. But as we saw in the opening remarks, there are times when the price, as unpleasant as it may be, has a 'payoff' that outweighs the price.
Jesus shared in our every weakness as people, yet did not sin. He knew apprehension. He would recoil at pain. He slept and wept and ate. He even sweat blood while praying in the Garden the night of His arrest.
Jesus had a priority that outweighed the pain, the shame, and the horror He would endure. It is summed up nicely in one verse:
Hebrews 12:2 "...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
What was the joy set before Him?
The result of the Cross: the Redemption of Man.
Consider medical treatment, for example. The average healthy person would never voluntarily injest a chemical cocktail whose properties would cause hair loss, vomiting, appetite loss, weakness, lethargy, immunosuppresion, sleep disruptions, general malaise and a host of other unpleasant consequences. Not even on a dare or a bet.
Take that same person, and tell them that they have a form of cancer which responds very well to Chemotherapy. Though still unpleasant, it suddenly seems a small price to pay. Life, in this example, is shown to take priority over convenience.
In addressing God's Redemption of Creation, it is no exaggeration to say that we are examining the single most pivitol event of all Time.
How can that be said with confidence? By examining the priority given to it by God Himself in His Word. (I Peter 1.19,20-- But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,).
When did God foreordain this? Before Man ever rebelled, before He created man a living soul, and even before He said "let there be light," the sacrificial death of Jesus had already become an accomplished fact in the mind of God.
Let's back up a little...
Knowing, then, that this is the pivitol event in history, it is impossible to give a full accounting of it here.
Redemption, in a theological sense, is the complete reversal of the curse initiated in The Fall (see previous post). It is, principally, the final payment of the totality of divine Wrath upon Sin. Secondarily, it is the reconciliation -- by God -- of fallen man to Himself.
The redeemed -- as those who will benefit from redemption are called -- had the plan gradually revealed to them:
Adam and Eve, received the promise of the Messiah, and then had their ineffective fig-leaf coverings replaced, by God, with clothes made from the skins of animals, foreshadowing sacrificial death as the remedy for sin. (Genesis 3)
Notice that the promise of the final resolution of sin (Messiah, or Seed of the Woman) was given greater priority than the temporary, symbolic measure of animal sacrifice. Notice also that God prepared the skins FOR Adam and Eve, a foreshadowing of divine grace, apart from works.
There were countless other types and symbols throughout Biblical history: God's substitute for Issac, Noah's Ark, and Passover being only three of them.
Everything was setting the stage for the Great Event.
Keep in mind, the sacrifice must be: (1) Freely Offered. (2) Unblemished. (3) Of Sufficient Value to Redeem.
None in the natural family of man would be a suitable sacrifice. All of us are tainted, having received, through Adam, a fallen nature. A sacrifice suitable to God must free of Sin. The sacrifice must also be of adequate value.
The sacrifice had to be sufficient to satisfy God's wrath against man's sin, and it had to be holy.
The only way God could be true to His Holiness, at the same time as extending grace and compassion to His Image-bearer, is to have His Son receive the due penalty of Divine Wrath in man's place. Sin having been punished, those who are found to be "In Christ" could be reconciled to God.
Having seen what was accomplished, namely the propitiation of sin, the restoration of relationship with God, and even the beginnings of the reversal of our corruption, let us examine the cost.
The Triune God had to send His Son to rescue us. Jesus, fully-God and fully-Man, was born into obscurity, misunderstood, mistreated, betrayed, sold out, mocked, beaten, cursed, humiliated, spat upon, forced to carry a cross, His scalp pierced with a mock crown, stripped naked, and then whipped until he was unrecognizable as a man, and His back looked like a ploughed field. Then He was committed to a form of death so horrific that even the bloodthirsty Romans had to devise a new word to describe the suffering involved. The word? "Excruciating".
This was the price. But as we saw in the opening remarks, there are times when the price, as unpleasant as it may be, has a 'payoff' that outweighs the price.
Jesus shared in our every weakness as people, yet did not sin. He knew apprehension. He would recoil at pain. He slept and wept and ate. He even sweat blood while praying in the Garden the night of His arrest.
Jesus had a priority that outweighed the pain, the shame, and the horror He would endure. It is summed up nicely in one verse:
Hebrews 12:2 "...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
What was the joy set before Him?
The result of the Cross: the Redemption of Man.
7 comments:
Wow!
In this and the previous post, you have eloquently and easily explained the reason for the need of Redemption, and the cost associated with it.
The salvific work of Christ is not to be taken lightly. It is good to remind ouselves of the suffering that Christ endured for our sake. It is even better to remember that we have not done (and cannot do) anything deserve it.
Theophilus said "Adam and Eve, received the promise of the Messiah, and then had their ineffective fig-leaf coverings replaced, by God, with clothes made from the skins of animals, foreshadowing sacrificial death as the remedy for sin."
I never made that connection! May I just ask, did you read this revelation somewhere, or did you make the connection yourself? (of course God revealed it, but I guess I'm just asking how?)
Thanks for the thoughts
Samantha,
I honestly can't remember whether I heard it somewhere or if I noticed it during personal Bible study.
-T
Excellent, and I second Samantha's comments about the fig leaves.
I've also always been intrigued by Abraham telling Isaac that God would provide the lamb for the sacrifice, and then offering the ram from the thicket.
It's entirely possible I'm reading way too much into that text, but God did eventually provide a Lamb for the sacrifice, as well...
Good point J.K. I guess I hadn't picked up on that.
I wonder if that set the stage for Cain's offering being rejected and Ables offering being received. One was plant like(like the fig leaf) representing man's way of covering their sin while the animal sacrifice was God's?
Good post Wes, but I'm actually commenting on the comment by Anonymous re. Cain and Abel's sacrifices. From Genesis 2:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door", I conclude that the problem with Cain's sacrifice was not that it was of the fruit of the soil, but that his attitude and motives were wrong. However I admit that the "plant vs animal" theory is attractive. I guess it is one of those points of interpretation that will always be partly a matter of opinion - it could be that God had told them to bring an animal, so Cain's sin was in not doing so - but we are not really told this in the text, so I'm more inclined to view his sin as the root of bitterness and jealousy which was already latent and which led to the fruit of killing his brother.
Post a Comment