First and the Last
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- Apr 13, 2024
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1 Corinthians 15:24-28:
"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all."
This passage means that the role of the Son, Jesus Christ in his mediatorial and redemptive function, will be fulfilled and completed. Once the purpose of the Son's role in redemption is accomplished, the Sonship will be subject to God, leading to God being "all in all."
Since the role of the Son of God is temporary and not eternal, why did God choose to reveal Himself through the Son? Why did He beget the Son? The primary purpose of the Son is to be our Savior. The work of salvation required many roles that only a human being could fulfill, including the roles of sacrifice, propitiation, substitute, kinsman-redeemer, reconciler, mediator, advocate, high priest, last Adam, and example. These terms overlap in many ways, but each represents an important aspect of the work of salvation that, according to the plan of God, could only be done by a human being.
According to God’s plan, the shedding of blood was necessary for the remission of human sins (Hebrews 9:22). The blood of animals could not take away human sin because animals are inferior to humans (Hebrews 10:4). No other human could purchase redemption for someone else because all had sinned and so deserved the penalty of death for themselves (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Only God was sinless, but He did not have flesh and blood. Therefore, God prepared a body for Himself (Hebrews 10:5), that He might live a sinless life in flesh and shed innocent blood to save humanity.
He became flesh and blood so that He could through death defeat the devil and deliver humanity (Hebrews 2:14-15). In this way Christ is our propitiation—the means by which we obtain forgiveness, the satisfaction of God’s justice, the appeasement of God’s holy wrath (Romans 3:25). The sacrifice of Christ is the means by which God pardons our sin without compromising His righteousness. We are saved today through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ—through the offering of the Son of God (Hebrews 10:10-20; John 3:16). Thus the Son is the sacrifice and propitiation for our sins.
When the Son of God became a sacrifice, He also became a substitute for us. He died in our place, bore our sins, and paid the penalty of death for our sins (Isaiah 53:5-6; I Peter 2:24). He was more than a martyr; He actually took our place. He tasted death for every person (Hebrews 2:9). Of course, the only way Jesus could be our substitute and die in our place was by coming in flesh as a descendant of Adam.
Through His humanity, Jesus Christ is able to mediate, that is, to go between humanity and God and represent humanity to God. As a mediator, Jesus reconciles us to God; He brings us back into fellowship with God (II Corinthians 5:18-19). The gap between a holy God and sinful humans was bridged by the sinless man Jesus Christ: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5).
We should notice how carefully Paul maintained the oneness of God in this verse. There is no distinction in God, but a distinction between God and the man Christ Jesus. There are not two personalities in God; the duality is in Jesus as God and Jesus as man. It is not God who mediates between God and humans, nor is it “God the Son” who does so. Rather it is the man Jesus who mediates; only a sinless man could approach a holy God on behalf of humanity.
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
The Greatest mystery is not whether God is One or Three. The greatest mystery is how an all full powerful God can be contained in a human body and be sinless.
There is another aspect of Christ’s victory over sin in the flesh. Not only did Jesus come in the flesh to die, but He also came to give us an example of an overcoming life so that we could follow in His footsteps (I Peter 2:21). He showed us how to live victoriously over sin in the flesh. He became the Word of God enacted in flesh (John 1:1). He became the living Word so that we could understand clearly what God wanted us to be like. Of course, He also gives us power to follow His example. Just as we are reconciled by His death, we are saved by His life (Romans 5:10). His Spirit gives us the power to live the righteous life that He wants us to live (Acts 1:8; Romans 8:4).
"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all."
This passage means that the role of the Son, Jesus Christ in his mediatorial and redemptive function, will be fulfilled and completed. Once the purpose of the Son's role in redemption is accomplished, the Sonship will be subject to God, leading to God being "all in all."
Since the role of the Son of God is temporary and not eternal, why did God choose to reveal Himself through the Son? Why did He beget the Son? The primary purpose of the Son is to be our Savior. The work of salvation required many roles that only a human being could fulfill, including the roles of sacrifice, propitiation, substitute, kinsman-redeemer, reconciler, mediator, advocate, high priest, last Adam, and example. These terms overlap in many ways, but each represents an important aspect of the work of salvation that, according to the plan of God, could only be done by a human being.
According to God’s plan, the shedding of blood was necessary for the remission of human sins (Hebrews 9:22). The blood of animals could not take away human sin because animals are inferior to humans (Hebrews 10:4). No other human could purchase redemption for someone else because all had sinned and so deserved the penalty of death for themselves (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Only God was sinless, but He did not have flesh and blood. Therefore, God prepared a body for Himself (Hebrews 10:5), that He might live a sinless life in flesh and shed innocent blood to save humanity.
He became flesh and blood so that He could through death defeat the devil and deliver humanity (Hebrews 2:14-15). In this way Christ is our propitiation—the means by which we obtain forgiveness, the satisfaction of God’s justice, the appeasement of God’s holy wrath (Romans 3:25). The sacrifice of Christ is the means by which God pardons our sin without compromising His righteousness. We are saved today through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ—through the offering of the Son of God (Hebrews 10:10-20; John 3:16). Thus the Son is the sacrifice and propitiation for our sins.
When the Son of God became a sacrifice, He also became a substitute for us. He died in our place, bore our sins, and paid the penalty of death for our sins (Isaiah 53:5-6; I Peter 2:24). He was more than a martyr; He actually took our place. He tasted death for every person (Hebrews 2:9). Of course, the only way Jesus could be our substitute and die in our place was by coming in flesh as a descendant of Adam.
Through His humanity, Jesus Christ is able to mediate, that is, to go between humanity and God and represent humanity to God. As a mediator, Jesus reconciles us to God; He brings us back into fellowship with God (II Corinthians 5:18-19). The gap between a holy God and sinful humans was bridged by the sinless man Jesus Christ: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5).
We should notice how carefully Paul maintained the oneness of God in this verse. There is no distinction in God, but a distinction between God and the man Christ Jesus. There are not two personalities in God; the duality is in Jesus as God and Jesus as man. It is not God who mediates between God and humans, nor is it “God the Son” who does so. Rather it is the man Jesus who mediates; only a sinless man could approach a holy God on behalf of humanity.
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
The Greatest mystery is not whether God is One or Three. The greatest mystery is how an all full powerful God can be contained in a human body and be sinless.
There is another aspect of Christ’s victory over sin in the flesh. Not only did Jesus come in the flesh to die, but He also came to give us an example of an overcoming life so that we could follow in His footsteps (I Peter 2:21). He showed us how to live victoriously over sin in the flesh. He became the Word of God enacted in flesh (John 1:1). He became the living Word so that we could understand clearly what God wanted us to be like. Of course, He also gives us power to follow His example. Just as we are reconciled by His death, we are saved by His life (Romans 5:10). His Spirit gives us the power to live the righteous life that He wants us to live (Acts 1:8; Romans 8:4).