"This sacrifice unites all the attributes of God together for a believer's interest....The flames of the one centre in Christ so that the streams of the other might flow down to us."
Where in Scripture do we see a more vivid display of God's justice and mercy than in the Cross? The Cross gloriously displays God's just wrath and vengeance of His infinitely violated nature by us rebelliously wicked humans. Where else do we see more vividly God's extreme displeasure with our violation of Him? Our sins are not merely a breaking of the law but a violation of the very character and nature of a supreme and holy Being. Sin is a very personal rebellion from the almighty powerful Creator. We can see this by God's forsaking His Son at the Cross. God did not merely turn His head at the sight of His Son, but rather the Father judged the Son on the Cross with a personal and vile wrath.
So in the Cross we see this exacting justice being poured out to enable the efficacious grace of our Saviour. How glorious! I can more easily understand the exacting justice of God than I can His grace, and His grace is what separates our religion from every other religion in the world. This glorious display of His grace bound up in the person and work of Jesus Christ is the pinnacle of the glory of the Godhead ("to the praise of His glorious grace"). How amazing! God's most glorious display of His Being meets our greatest need for mercy and grace, so that now His grace has been "lavished" on us in the form of every spiritual blessing. We lack NOTHING! Every need was met in the person of Jesus Christ, and we can now approach this throne of grace with full confidence and assurance because we have a great High Priest interceding for us. O God, let me today better see and savor your glorious grace! Let that grace change me and by your grace and power display your exceeding value and glory to this world around me through me.
"How can forgiveness of sin be attained? The only remedy is proposed in Christ, and Christ as a sacrifice. It is not Christ risen or ascended or exalted; not Christ only as the Son of God or the head of angels; not Christ as Creator of the world or by whom all things consist. But Christ answering the terms of the first covenant, as disarming justice. And this he did as a sacrifice." [pg 101-102]
This is such a heavy paragraph to ponder. Forgiveness cannot be attained without the cross. Not just Christ, but the cross of Christ. Without the cross there would be no substitute. No sacrifical lamb. No atonement for sin.
Remember what Paul said as he laid out the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 :
"[1]Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
[2]by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
[3]For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
[4]and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures"
See: Paul says - I delivered to you as of FIRST IMPORTANCE that Christ what? That Christ created the world? That Christ is God? That Christ only ascended? That Christ is exalted?
No. The first importance is: "That Christ DIED for our sins according to the scriptures". Do we see it? Do we see the importance of the cross, the atonement, the sacrifice? Do we live like it? Do we walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ?
Notice again that Paul says "of first importance." Not second, not third - but, FIRST.
O, the gloriousness of the cross!
"I take, O cross, thy shadow For my abiding place; I ask no other sunshine than The sunshine of His face; Content to let the world go by, To know no gain nor loss, My sinful self my only shame, My glory all the cross."
The blindness of the Jews that is so visible to us, must in fact be an area for us to be cautious in. No matter how well we 'see', 'understand', or 'know' Jesus as the Messiah, we are at least as blind as those Jews who have since perished in their blindness if the Holy Spirit does not invade our lives and grant us life in God.
We can 'see' in some degree the pattern of Jesus on the pages of the Scriptures. We can even in some measure imitate that pattern, outwardly to a more copious extent for sure. BUT, Jesus was/is no mere example. Yes, over and over again the writers of Scripture exclaim that we should follow the model that we have in Jesus. However it can not stop there…Consider 1 Peter 2:21ff
"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
It appears that Jesus suffered only for our example if we stop here, but Peter did not cease writing, but rather continues…
"and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
The sacrifice of Jesus purchases us and guarantees that we, once purchased, will follow Jesus and walk with Him. The impact of the cross is far more reaching than we have lived up to thus far. God give us grace to live in You, in the reality of You, for the glory of You, alone.
3 comments:
"This sacrifice unites all the attributes of God together for a believer's interest....The flames of the one centre in Christ so that the streams of the other might flow down to us."
Where in Scripture do we see a more vivid display of God's justice and mercy than in the Cross? The Cross gloriously displays God's just wrath and vengeance of His infinitely violated nature by us rebelliously wicked humans. Where else do we see more vividly God's extreme displeasure with our violation of Him? Our sins are not merely a breaking of the law but a violation of the very character and nature of a supreme and holy Being. Sin is a very personal rebellion from the almighty powerful Creator. We can see this by God's forsaking His Son at the Cross. God did not merely turn His head at the sight of His Son, but rather the Father judged the Son on the Cross with a personal and vile wrath.
So in the Cross we see this exacting justice being poured out to enable the efficacious grace of our Saviour. How glorious! I can more easily understand the exacting justice of God than I can His grace, and His grace is what separates our religion from every other religion in the world. This glorious display of His grace bound up in the person and work of Jesus Christ is the pinnacle of the glory of the Godhead ("to the praise of His glorious grace"). How amazing! God's most glorious display of His Being meets our greatest need for mercy and grace, so that now His grace has been "lavished" on us in the form of every spiritual blessing. We lack NOTHING! Every need was met in the person of Jesus Christ, and we can now approach this throne of grace with full confidence and assurance because we have a great High Priest interceding for us. O God, let me today better see and savor your glorious grace! Let that grace change me and by your grace and power display your exceeding value and glory to this world around me through me.
-QuoVadis
"How can forgiveness of sin be attained? The only remedy is proposed in Christ, and Christ as a sacrifice. It is not Christ risen or ascended or exalted; not Christ only as the Son of God or the head of angels; not Christ as Creator of the world or by whom all things consist. But Christ answering the terms of the first covenant, as disarming justice. And this he did as a sacrifice." [pg 101-102]
This is such a heavy paragraph to ponder. Forgiveness cannot be attained without the cross. Not just Christ, but the cross of Christ. Without the cross there would be no substitute. No sacrifical lamb. No atonement for sin.
Remember what Paul said as he laid out the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 :
"[1]Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
[2]by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
[3]For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
[4]and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures"
See: Paul says - I delivered to you as of FIRST IMPORTANCE that Christ what? That Christ created the world? That Christ is God? That Christ only ascended? That Christ is exalted?
No. The first importance is: "That Christ DIED for our sins according to the scriptures". Do we see it? Do we see the importance of the cross, the atonement, the sacrifice? Do we live like it? Do we walk in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ?
Notice again that Paul says "of first importance." Not second, not third - but, FIRST.
O, the gloriousness of the cross!
"I take, O cross, thy shadow
For my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
The sunshine of His face;
Content to let the world go by,
To know no gain nor loss,
My sinful self my only shame,
My glory all the cross."
From the Hymn: Beneath the Cross of Jesus
The blindness of the Jews that is so visible to us, must in fact be an area for us to be cautious in. No matter how well we 'see', 'understand', or 'know' Jesus as the Messiah, we are at least as blind as those Jews who have since perished in their blindness if the Holy Spirit does not invade our lives and grant us life in God.
We can 'see' in some degree the pattern of Jesus on the pages of the Scriptures. We can even in some measure imitate that pattern, outwardly to a more copious extent for sure. BUT, Jesus was/is no mere example. Yes, over and over again the writers of Scripture exclaim that we should follow the model that we have in Jesus. However it can not stop there…Consider 1 Peter 2:21ff
"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
It appears that Jesus suffered only for our example if we stop here, but Peter did not cease writing, but rather continues…
"and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."
The sacrifice of Jesus purchases us and guarantees that we, once purchased, will follow Jesus and walk with Him. The impact of the cross is far more reaching than we have lived up to thus far. God give us grace to live in You, in the reality of You, for the glory of You, alone.
am
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