I closed my last post with the thought that it is who Christ is, and what He has done that saves us. So, let's look at the Person of Christ in this post; WHO He is, and why this is important for our salvation.
What do we mean when we say that it is the person and work of Jesus Christ that saves? What is it about His person that is so special? Well, let me quote Paul in Colossians 1:11 – 20 -- May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
And the writer to the Hebrews says this: Hebrews 1:1 – 4 -- Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
And finally in John 1:1 – 5 -- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
What is so special about the person of Jesus Christ? Well, for all who think that the Bible is dull and lifeless – check this out – Isaiah 59:16 -- He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.
Let this sink in; God in the second Person of the Trinity, died on a cross to redeem His people! God the Father, knowing that no fallen human being could accomplish the work of salvation, sent His only begotten Son, the SECOND PERSON of the TRINITY, to die in our stead!
This is why the person of Jesus Christ is so important. I could not die for you – my life does not have infinite worth, nor am I sinless. No matter how ‘nice’ I could ever be, I am unable to save anyone; but Jesus Christ – He, whose life has infinite worth, was the only one capable of sufficiently priopitiating the wrath of an infinite God, who has been infinitely offended! Is any of this boring???
And those who have been redeemed can rest in the comfort of knowing that we cannot be snatched out of God's hands. What a comfort and blessing it is to know that God Himself came to Earth, incarnated as a man, and died on the cross for His people -- thereby ensuring that they would inherit Heaven, and that NOTHING can take that away from them! Boring? I think not!
John 6:35 – 40 -- Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 10:27 – 30 -- My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.
Jesus Christ is the only sacrifice that is acceptable to the Father. He whose life has infinite worth, took on the sins of His people to redeem them completely and utterly. He and the Father are one - Jesus Christ is deity, and because of this, those whom He died for, those whom He holds in His hand cannot be snatched out! Because Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Second Person of the Trinity we receive redemption, and can have assurance that we are kept in His infallible, immutable care. Praise the Lord!
I would like to close this post with Romans 8:1 - 4,28 - 39 -- There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit ... And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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