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One of the hot buzz phrases today and of the past decade is, "I need to find myself." Other popular buzz phrases include: "Who am I?", "Why am I here?", "Where am I going?", and no doubt many other similar phrases. Man is looking for life and purpose in himself, and it does not exist there. God’s Word speaks of us prior to salvation, Ephesians 2:1:
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Unregenerated man is spiritually dead; consequently, he will never find life and purpose in himself. The Bible declares that Jesus Christ is the source of life, John 10:10:
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus Christ is the quickening spirit of life. John 14:6:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
In order to enter into life, a miraculous birth must occur. All mankind after Adam was spiritually stillborn: born wrong the first time; therefore, requiring a need for a born-again experience or being born a second time—this time right; this time in Christ Jesus who fathers us in the faith. Then and only then will the quest to find life and purpose end. If you haven’t yet made your choice for life, click on to "Further With Jesus" and make your decision today. If you refuse, you’ll be found in the number of John 5: 40 speaking:
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.
GOD SAID, Romans 5:1, 2, 8, 10, & 11:
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
GOD SAID, I John 1:7:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
GOD SAID, John 1:29:
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
MAN SAID: Jesus Christ was just another man with a philosophical axe to grind. He was a great prophet to some and there is not one stitch of evidence that a man named Jesus Christ ever lived to others.
Now THE RECORD: At GodSaidManSaid, we received an e-mail message from B.C. containing the following question:
Hello.
Why was Jesus the ultimate sacrifice? I understand that He died for our sins and that He was God’s Son, but why was it so significant that it was a human that died—that it had to be Jesus that died? Thank you. I hope I contacted the right people.
Signed, B.C.
Dear B.C.:
We do not pretend to know the answer to this question in all its beauty, but what we do know is a colossal revelation in its own right. It will answer a multitude of other questions and is truly foundational to a believer’s understanding of the Word of God.
Understanding why Jesus Christ was sent to die for our sins requires an understanding of the problem He came to solve. In the beginning, our great-great grandparents, Adam and Eve, lived in a place called Paradise, where they were to live forever. In this perfect place, there was only one voice to which they were supposed to listen and obey, and that was the voice of their Creator—God. God’s only, "thou shalt not," to His son Adam and to Adam’s wife Eve is recorded in Genesis 2:16-17:
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shall surely die.
But one day a second voice was heard: the voice of rebellion—Satan’s voice (Genesis 3:1- 6). Eve, in mankind’s first act of unbelief and disobedience, chose to believe the words of Satan. She also gave the deadly fruit to her husband Adam and he ate. That day, the Spirit of God left them and they died spiritually, even though they lived on for many years physically. Thus, the verse in Ephesians 2:1 that depicts man’s position prior to salvation, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;" Because the spirit of life no longer dwelt in our original parents, they were not able to pass it on to their children; consequently, we were spiritually stillborn. In order for God to remedy this problem, we needed to be BORN AGAIN—born a second time.
God had given Adam and Eve total dominion (Genesis 7:26-28) over all the earth, but when Adam followed his wife’s lead—rejected the Word of the Creator for the word of the Devil—he in essence surrendered that dominion unto the Devil. Satan is known as the god (lower case g-o-d) of this world. II Corinthians 4:4:
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Adam and Eve not only surrendered the dominion of the earth unto Satan, but all of their progeny, which includes all mankind, was sold into carnality. Thus the Lord Jesus Christ is known as the Redeemer—one who buys back. All unregenerated men are under the spell of Satan’s bondage and in order to be free they must be delivered by Christ Jesus. There are rules of spirit-flesh engagement that God created. He doesn’t arbitrarily change the rules of truth; He works in accordance to them. Satan had gained control of the earth and the hearts of men. Keep in mind that Satan was once perfect and without sin, but one day he chose to rebel against the God of all.
Satan’s contention was that God’s standards were unattainable; therefore, because of his contention, he endeavored to make God the one in error instead of God’s creation. You can see this principle in Job 1:6-11:
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
God asks Satan, "Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?"
God lifts up Brother Job as a perfect man, but Satan would have none of it. Satan responds to God and says that Job is faithful only because he is on the receiving side of God’s good things. He also tells God that if God would take away the benefits, "he will curse thee to thy face." God gives Satan leave to try Job. After Job’s first trial, the Bible records a second meeting between God and Satan. Job 2:1-5:
1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
2 And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.
5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Take special note of Satan’s response: "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life." Satan’s position was that man’s faithfulness to God will not measure up to the final test. When man’s life is on the line, his love for God will disappear and "he will curse thee to thy face." This was Satan’s argument, possibly even his defense.
This now takes us back to the first part of B.C.’s question, "Why was the blood of Jesus Christ shed for the sins of man?" The awesome task of Jesus Christ was to break the back of Satan’s argument and wrest from his hands the dominion of the earth that he had stolen by deception from Adam and make a way of escape for the repentant souls of men. In order for Jesus to reverse the situation of man’s blind bondage unto the Devil, He had to remedy the fall of Adam. Christ is known in the Scriptures as the last Adam—the second Adam. I Corinthians 15:45:
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last man Adam was made a quickening spirit.
I Corinthians 15:21-22:
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
And then Romans 5:12-21:
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passes upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift of grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Remember Satan’s argument, "Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life"? Herein lies part of the secret why the blood of the sinless Christ washes sin away. When Jesus Christ shed His blood upon the cross for the souls of men, this was the total act of obedience and a demonstration of Christ’s love for the Father. Speaking of the crucifixion, Jesus said in John 14:31:
But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Satan’s contention that "all that a man hath will he give for his life," in deference to obedience to the will of God, was broken when Jesus, in total obedience, went to the cross and shed His life’s blood and died because of His love for God and man. Leviticus 17:11 reads:
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Jesus Christ gave His life—the total offering of obedience—and vanquished the Devil, making a way of escape for a repentant man through the blood of redemption. Matthew 26:48-54:
48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.
51 And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear.
52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray unto my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
He gave His sinless life willingly and broke the grasp of Satan’s dominion for those who seek Him with all their heart.
This principle of the redeemer—he that buys back—is the concept of the second Adam. Romans 5:14:
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
The Bible says, "who is the figure of him that was to come." The similarities of the first man Adam and the second Adam, Christ Jesus, are enlightening. Adam was a son of God and the father of mankind. Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God as well as being born of a woman. In the beginning, the first Adam opened his sinless eyes in Paradise and was to live forever. The second and last Adam, Jesus Christ, came from forever where He dwelt with the Father before the world was and died on Calvary for the redemption of men. Adam was created fully mature and fully functioning. The average age of a fully matured male is estimated at 30 to 33 years, and because Adam was originally created to enjoy eternal life, he would therefore be ageless and would maintain his 30- to 33-year-old age forever. At the age of 30, the Lord Jesus begins His ministry. At the age of 33, the sinless Christ is crucified, breaking the back of Satan, and is resurrected the third day, reigning forever, sitting on the right hand of God His Father, fully mature and fully functioning. Note Adam’s sin and the end of life compared to Christ’s sinlessness and Redemption’s beginning.
By one man’s disobedience came Satan’s dominion and death to all mankind. By one man’s obedience came life and life everlasting to all who choose this last Adam, Jesus Christ the Righteous.
Let’s review B.C.’s question and the answer to it:
1. Why was Jesus the ultimate blood sacrifice?
A. Because of Satan’s argument;
B. Life is in the blood; and
C. Christ’s shed blood was the total offering of obedience that spoiled the Devil.
2. Secondly, why a human, or better said, why a son of man as well as the only begotten Son of God?
A. Remember, the rules of truth cannot be broken;
B. Adam, a son of God, surrendered dominion of the earth and of all his progeny to the Devil;
C. Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God and son of man destroys Satan’s argument with His blood—the total offering of obedience and makes a way of escape for repentant man; and
D. The second and last Adam redeems—buys back. He makes a way of escape via the Born-Again experience—born a second time and this time right: not as sons of the spirit of carnality but sons of God Almighty.
GOD SAID, Romans 5:1, 2, 8, 10, & 11:
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
GOD SAID, I John 1:7:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
GOD SAID, John 1:29:
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
MAN SAID: Jesus Christ was just another man with a philosophical axe to grind. He was a great prophet to some and there is not one stitch of evidence that a man named Jesus Christ ever lived to others.
Now you have THE RECORD.
References:
King James Bible
