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PART 4: THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST
17. The Deity of Jesus Christ
There are few questions that introduce us to more important issues than the question, “Who is
Jesus Christ?” Our study in several chapters will focus on two major areas:
a. The Person of Christ: The focus here is on Jesus’ nature; i.e., His claim to deity and
His humanity.
b. The Work of Christ: Our focus here is His death and exaltation; i.e., His resurrection,
ascension into heaven, His being seated at the Father’s right hand and His promised
return.
Why is it important for all of us to have right views as to the identity of Jesus Christ? The
Bible indicates that what we think about Christ is very important for these reasons:
1) He is presented in Scripture as the only mediator between God and humanity. This is true
in both directions:
a) He is the only mediator through whom God has fully and finally revealed Himself to
people.
“My Father has given Me authority over everything. No one really knows the Son
except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to
whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” Matthew 11:27
“Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus replied,
‘Philip, don’t you even yet know who I am, even after all the time I have been with
you? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father! So why are you asking to see
Him?’” John 14:8-9
b) He is the only mediator through whom people are redeemed and brought into a
relationship with God.
“For there is one God, and there is one who brings God and human beings together,
the man Christ Jesus….” 1 Timothy 2:5
2) Our thinking about Jesus Christ is important because the Bible indicates that our very
salvation depends upon a right confession of Christ.
a) Romans 10:9-10: “If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him
from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it
is by our confession that we are saved.”
To have wrong views of Christ is to make saving faith a moral impossibility.
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b) John 20:30-31: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His
disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in His name.”
3) The Church is built upon a right confession of Christ.
“You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of
God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. We are His house, built on the
foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus
Himself.” Ephesians 2:19-20
If we do not have right views of Jesus Christ, we are not a true church of Christ.
4) The preservation and proclamation of the gospel depend upon a right confession of Christ.
According to Romans 1, the gospel centers on Jesus Christ:
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of
God--the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures
regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who
through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His
resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 1:1-4
5) The way to test the accuracy of any religious teacher or group is to consider its confession
of Christ.
The Bible calls on us to test the message of religious groups by its doctrine concerning
Jesus Christ:
“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test
them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in
the world. This is the way to find out if they have the Spirit of God: If a prophet
acknowledges that Jesus Christ became a human being, that person has the Spirit of God.
If a prophet does not acknowledge Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has
the spirit of the Antichrist.” 1 John 4:1-3
1. A BASIS STATEMENT CONCERNING THE PERSON OF CHRIST!
Q. #20: Who is the Redeemer of God’s elect?
Answer: The only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who being the eternal
Son of God, became man, and so was and continues to be God and man, in two
distinct natures and one person forever.
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A. Three Basic Elements.
1. Jesus Christ is truly and really God: All that may be said of God may be said of
Christ.
“In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Colossians 2:9
An earlier catechism question asked, “Who is God?” The answer was given, “God is
a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness,
justice, goodness and truth.” All of this is to be applied to Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus Christ is truly and really man: Therefore, all that may be said of man (without
sin) may be said of Christ.
“For there is one God, and there is one who brings God and human beings
together, the man Christ Jesus….” 1 Timothy 2:5
3. Jesus Christ was and continues to be God and man, in two distinct natures, but one
person forever.
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His
being….” Hebrews 1:3
…no beginning
and no
end…
began
but never ends…
B. Every Heresy Denies One or More of These Elements.
1. Some groups deny His full deity: Examples here include Mormons, Jehovah
Witnesses, and New Age philosophy.
2. Some groups deny His full humanity: That was an issue in 2nd and 3rd centuries, as
some thought that Jesus was God or a god in a human body, but not really human.
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For example, Apollinarius taught that Jesus Christ had a human body, but not a
human will or spirit. The human spirit was replaced by the divine spirit. Few
people today would doubt that Jesus was fully human. What is the evidence?
(1) He had a human body: He was sometimes tired (John 4:6) and hungry
(Matthew 4:2).
(2) He had human emotions: Hew was angry (Mark 11:15-17), He loved (Mark
10:21), and He was sad (John 11:35).
(3) He had human experiences: He was tempted (Mark 1:13), He learned (Luke
2:52), He worked (Mark 6:3), and He obeyed His parents (Luke 2:52).
3. Others deny the two natures: They teach that He is either a man with divine
qualities or God in human disguise; or the natures remain separate so as to form
two persons.
2. THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR THIS DOCTRINE
Most people today recognize the true humanity of Christ. What many say is that He was
only a human being - although a great religious teacher.
What evidence is there to suggest that Jesus was more than just a wonderful man or more
than a great moral teacher? There is a great deal of evidence.
A. What He Said About Himself.
When one looks at all Jesus taught and claimed, there is little doubt that He was
conscious of being a man whose identity was God.
1. His Teaching centered on Himself.
The teaching of all the other religious leaders of the world tend to focus on ideas
and opinions outside of themselves. But, by contrast, many of the things He taught
centered on Himself. And His teaching addresses the great needs and longings of
our hearts.
(1) He said to people, in effect, “If you want to have a relationship with God, you
need to come to me.”
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except
through Me.” John 14:6
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(2) He pointed out that the human heart has a deep hunger.
psychologists of the twentieth century have all recognized this.
•
•
•
The leading
Freud: “People are hungry for love.”
Jung: “People are hungry for security.”
Adler: “People are hungry for significance.”
Jesus said: “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to Me will ever be
hungry again.” John 6:35
(3) Many people are walking in darkness, depression, disillusionment, and despair.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t be
stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to
life.” John 8:12
(4) Many are fearful of death. Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in Me, even though they die like everyone else, will live
again. They are given eternal life for believing in Me and will never perish.”
John 11:25-26
(5) Many are burdened by worries, anxieties, fears, and guilt. Jesus said, “Come
to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you
rest.” Matthew 11:28
(6) Many are also looking for someone who can give their lives direction. Jesus
said, “Follow Me.” Mark 1:17
Summary: He said to receive Him was to receive God (Matthew 10:40), to
welcome Him was to welcome God (Mark 9:37), and to have seen Him was to have
seen God (John 14:9).
2. There are Indirect Claims to consider.
(1) He claimed the authority to forgive sins.
“Several days later Jesus returned to Capernaum, and the news of His arrival
spread quickly through the town. Soon the house where He was staying was so
packed with visitors that there wasn’t room for one more person, not even
outside the door. And He preached the word to them. Four men arrived
carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t get to Jesus through the
crowd, so they dug through the clay roof above His head. Then they lowered
the sick man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus
said to the paralyzed man, ‘My son, your sins are forgiven.’
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But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there said to
themselves, ‘What? This is blasphemy! Who but God can forgive sins!’
Jesus knew what they were discussing among themselves, so He said to
them, ‘Why do you think this is blasphemy? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed
man, “Your sins are forgiven” or “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk”? I
will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins.’
Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, ‘Stand up, take your mat,
and go on home, because you are healed!’
The man jumped up, took the mat, and pushed his way through the stunned
onlookers. Then they all praised God. ‘We’ve never seen anything like this
before!’ they exclaimed.” Mark 2:1-12
C.S. Lewis says in his book Mere Christianity:
One part of the claim tends to slip past us unnoticed because we have heard
it so often that we no longer see what it amounts to. I mean the claim to
forgive sins: any sins. Now unless the speaker is God, this is really so
preposterous as to be comic. We can all understand how a man forgives
offenses against himself. You tread on my toe and I forgive you, you steal my
money and I forgive you. But what should we make of a man, himself
unrobbed and untrodden on, who announced that he forgave you for treading
on other men's toes and stealing other men's money? Asinine fatuity is the
kindest description we should give of his conduct. Yet this is what Jesus did.
He told people that their sins were forgiven, and never waited to consult all
the other people whom their sins had undoubtedly injured. He unhesitatingly
behaved as if He was the party chiefly concerned, the person chiefly offended
in all offenses. This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws
are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin. In the mouth of any
speaker who is not God, these words would imply what I can only regard as
a silliness and conceit unrivaled by any other character in history.
(2) He claimed that one day He would Judge the world.
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then
He will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in His
presence, and He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from
the goats.” Matthew 25:31-32
Jesus said that He would decide what happens to every one of us at the end of
time. Not only would He be the Judge, He would also be the criterion of
judgment. What happens to us on the Day of Judgment depends on how we
respond to Jesus in this life.
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3. We have His Direct Claims.
(1) He claimed to be the Messiah = The Christ = The Anointed One.
When the question was put to Him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed
One?” Jesus said, “‘I am … and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the
right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ The high
priest tore his clothes, ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?’ he asked, ‘You
have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’” Mark 14:61-64
(2) There was the claim to be God the Son.
On one occasion, when the Jews started to stone Jesus, He asked, “Why are
you stoning me?” They replied: “We are not stoning you for any of these, but
for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” John 10:33
Jesus claimed to be the unique Son of God; God made flesh. There are several
logical possibilities:
The claims are untrue: If the claims were untrue, either He knew they were
untrue, in which case He was an imposter, and an evil one at that. That’s the first
possibility. Or, He did not know, in which case He was deluded; indeed, He was
insane. That is the second possibility.
The claims are true: This is the third possibility.
A man who was merely a man said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a
great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on a level with the man who
says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make
your choice. Either this man was, an is, the Son of God; or else a madman or
something worse… but let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His
being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
C.S. Lewis
B. The Evidence That Supports What He Said.
In order to assess which of these three possibilities is right, we need to examine the
evidence that we have about His life:
1. His Teaching.
The teaching of Jesus is widely acknowledged to be the greatest teaching that has
ever fallen from anyone’s lips.
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They are read more, quoted more, loved more, believed more, and translated
more because they are the greatest words ever spoken…. Their greatness lies
in the pure lucid spirituality in dealing clearly, definitively, and authoritatively
with the greatest problems that throb in the human breast…. No other man’s
words have the appeal of Jesus’ words because no other man can answer
theses fundamental human questions as Jesus answered them. They are the
kind of words and the kind of answers we would expect God to give. Bernard
Ramm
2. His Works.
Jesus said that the miracles He performed were in themselves evidence that “the
Father is in Me, and I in the Father” (John 10:38).
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11).
He multiplied a lunch so that it could feed thousands of people (Mark 6:30-44).
He stopped a storm (Mark 4:35-41).
He enabled the paralyzed to walk (John 5:1-9).
He even brought individuals who had died back to life (John 11:38-44).
3. His Character.
It was not just His miracles that made His work so impressive. It was His love,
especially for the loveless (for instance, the lepers and the prostitutes), that seemed
to motivate all that He did.
Ultimately, it was His love shown on the cross. When they tortured Him and nailed
Him to the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they
are doing” Luke 23:34
Here was a man who exemplified supreme unselfishness but never self-pity;
humility but not weakness; joy but never at another’s expense; kindness but not
indulgence. He was a man in whom even His enemies could find no fault and where
friends who knew Him well said He was without sin. Surely no one could suggest
that a man with a character like that was evil or unbalanced? Nicky Gumbel
4. His Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecies.
For example, when certain wise men came to Jerusalem looking for the Child born
to be king of the Jews, a disturbed Herod inquired of the Teachers of the Law
where the Christ was to be born. They answered, “In Bethlehem in Judea, for this is
what the prophet has written.” Matthew 2:5
Jewish scholars of that day regarded this statement to be a Messianic prophecy,
even though it was written nearly 700 years before Jesus’ birth.
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There are many other prophecies, over 330, which speak of Christ being betrayed
for 30 pieces of silver (Ps.41:9; Zech.11:12), mistreated (Isa.53:4-6), crucified
between robbers (Isa.53:12), buried in the tomb of a rich man (Isa.53:9), and so on.
Many of them were written between 1000 and 500 B.C., and yet all of them were
literally fulfilled in Jesus in one 24-hour period.
As Josh McDowell points out in his book, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, by
using the modern science of probability in reference to just these eight prophecies,
it has been estimated that the chance of any one man fulfilling them would be 1 in
1017 (1 followed by 17 zeros).
If we did the same thing with 48 prophecies, it’s estimated that the chance of one
man fulfilling them would be 1 followed by 157 zeros. Yet, we have over 300!
5. Other Biblical Statements.
These are statements made by others. In some cases, the statements were made by
individuals who lived with Christ and knew Him intimately.
(1) These biblical writers assert that Jesus possessed attributes that can only be
ascribed to one who is God.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Eternal existence — Isaiah 9:6; Revelation 1:8; Hebrews 13:8.
Omnipotence — Philippians 3:28.
Omnipresence — Matt. 18:20; 28:20.
Omniscience — John 2:24; 21:17; Revelation 2:23.
Sinlessness — John 8:46; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Equality with God was recognized — John 5:18; 10:30-33; Hebrews 1:1-3;
Colossians 2:9.
(2) The biblical writers assign divine names to Christ.
a. Yahweh: In the Old Testament Hebrew, this name appears many times as
God’s sacred name. There are passages where Yahweh is found, which are
quoted in the New Testament and applied to Jesus Christ.
Mark 1:3 (quoting Isaiah 40:3): “A voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
Acts 2:21 (quoting Joel 2:32): “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.”
b. Other Names – Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:23.
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(3) The biblical writers ascribe divine honors to Christ.
a. Worship and prayer are addressed to Him, when we are told only to worship
God — 1 Corinthians 15:19; Matthew 28:19.
b. He is regarded as equal to the Father and Spirit — 2 Corinthians 13:14.
(4) The biblical writers call Jesus God.
a. John 1:1-2: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
Pre-existence: “In the beginning was the Word.”
Co-existence: “And the Word was with God.”
Undiminished Deity: “And the Word was God!”
Not one recognized religious leader – not Moses, Buddha, Mohammed, or
Confucius – ever claimed to be God. And yet, here that claim is applied to
Jesus Christ.
b. John 1:18: “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at
the Father’s side, has made Him known.”
c. John 20:28: “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”
There are basically two ways of understanding this verse. Either Thomas is
in a state of shock at realizing that Jesus is alive and he’s swearing
(something a pious Jew would never do).
Or, Thomas is making a confession that Jesus is God. The fact that Jesus
goes on to pronounce a blessing upon those who, like Thomas, believe on
Him would support the later interpretation.
d. Titus 2:13: Paul refers to our “…looking for the blessed hope and the
appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.”
The Greek New Testament read like this: “…the great God and our Savior
Jesus Christ.”
There is a rule of grammar in Greek known as Granville Sharp’s rule: “When
‘and’ connects two nouns of the same case, if the article (the) precedes the
first of the said nouns and is not repeated before the second noun, the latter
always relates to the same person that is expressed or described by the first
noun.”
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Thus, this verse is asserting that Jesus is the great God and Savior.
e. Hebrews 1:8-9: “But about the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last
for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You
have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God,
has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.’”
The theme of Hebrews is to show the superiority of Jesus Christ over
everything that existed in the Old Testament economy. Here the author is
showing that Jesus is superior to angels. His superiority is to be seen in the
fact that He is addressed as God by God.
6. His Resurrection.
Everything about Christianity depends upon Jesus’ physical resurrection from the
dead. We will consider the evidence for His resurrection in the chapter on the
exaltation of Christ.
When we think about who Jesus is, there are only three possibilities: either He was and
is the Son of God, or else He was a madman or something worse.
We are faced then with a frightening alternative. The man we are talking about was
(and is) just what he said or else a lunatic or something worse. Now it seems to me
obvious that he was neither a lunatic nor a fiend; and consequently, however strange or
terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that he was and is God.
God has landed on this enemy occupied world in human form. C.S. Lewis
3. SOME AREAS OF APPLICATION. Because Jesus Christ is God…
A. He is able to do all that He promises to do in His invitations.
He promises to give life, forgiveness and spiritual rest to those who believe on Him.
The evidence that we have considered points to the conclusion that Jesus is able to
fulfill His every promise.
B. He is able to fulfill all of His threats to those who remain impenitent.
He made Himself the central figure of the Day of Judgment, saying that people’s
eternal destiny depended upon their response to Him.
C. He is worthy of being the object of our faith, love and obedience.
He calls us to believe on Him, to love Him with all of our hearts, and to follow Him. As
God, He deserves such commitment.
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D. We may address Him in prayer and acknowledge His glory in our worship.
We may come before the Second Person of the Trinity with all of the reverence which
is likewise the rightful portion of the First and Third Persons.
E. He is able to keep us secure to the end.
Assurance and confidence grow as we get to know and trust in our mighty Redeemer.
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18. THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST
People often find the gospel hard to believe because the issues with which it deals surpass
human understanding. But it is sad that so many make faith more complicated than it is by
finding difficulties in the wrong places. Examples:
a. Jesus’ Miracles – People say, “Granted, Jesus did a lot of good. But how can it be
believed that He walked on water, fed the 5,000, or raised the dead?”
b. Jesus’ Atonement – People ask, “How can we believe that someone’s death put away all of
our sin?”
c. Jesus’ Resurrection – People ask, “How can we believe that Jesus not only came back to
life, but returned in a resurrection body? The idea that someone stole the dead body or that
He was resuscitated it easier to accept.”
People on the edge of faith often find these issues perplexing. But the real difficulty does not
lie in any of these areas…not in the Good Friday message of the atonement or the Easter
message of the resurrection, but in the Christmas message of the incarnation.
The staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man; that He took
humanity to Himself without loss of deity, so that Jesus was as truly and fully divine as He
was human. As J. I. Packer states, “It is here, in the incarnation, that the most profound and
most unfathomable depths of the Christian revelation lie.”
Once the incarnation is grasped as a reality, these other difficulties dissolve. In other words,
if Jesus is the God-Man, what is so difficult about believing He performed miracles? What is
so startling about the claim that His death atoned for human sin? What is so foolish about
believing in a literal, historical, bodily resurrection?
Thus, our topic in this chapter, the incarnation, is an important one. Once we grant it, all the
pieces fit perfectly together.
Q. #21:How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
Answer: Christ, the Son of God, became man by taking to Himself a true body and a
reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the
Virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.
As we look at this answer, two main subjects concern us:
(1) That Jesus was a historical person;
(2) That Jesus was a Divine-Human person.
1. JESUS CHRIST WAS A HISTORICAL PERSON
The Catechism says, “Christ…became man by taking to Himself a true body and a
reasonable soul….” The statement raises the question concerning the historicity of Jesus
Christ.
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What evidence is there that one called Jesus of Nazareth even existed? The evidence is
two-fold:
A. Evidence Outside the Bible.
1. Tacitus, in his Annals (dated about A.D. 116) told how Nero tried to fasten guilt for
the fire of Rome on “Christians”:
“Christus, the founder of the name, was put to death as a criminal by Pontius Pilate,
procurator of Judea, in the reign of Tiberius….”
Presumably because Tacitus had access to the Roman archives, he discovered that
Jesus Christ had been crucified when Pilate was Procurator and Tiberius was
Emperor.
2. Lucian, a satirist of the second century, spoke scornfully of Christ and of Christians.
He alluded to Christ as “…the man who was crucified in Palestine because he
introduced the new cult into the world.”
3. Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote about A.D. 66 in his Antiquities:
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man,
for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with
pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He
was (the) Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us,
had condemned him to the cross. Those that loved him at the first did not forsake
him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had
foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe
of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.”
4. Pliny the Younger (A.D. 112), in a letter to Emperor Trajan, on how to treat
Christians:
“They affirmed, however, that the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they
were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang
in alternate verse a hymn to Christ as to a god, and bound themselves to a solemn
oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft, adultery, never to
falsify their word, not to deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it
up.”
Summary: This testimony from non-Christians is sufficient to lay to rest any idea that
Jesus never existed.
B. Evidence Inside the Bible.
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1. The Gospels. The Gospels give us the details about Jesus. Some approach the Gospels
in a skeptical way as being historically unreliable. But there are solid reasons for
accepting the Gospels with confidence:
a. Their authors were Christians who loved truth, wrote soberly and did not
whitewash themselves.
b. Their material comes from eyewitnesses, either themselves (Jn. 15:27; cf. 4:26) or
others from whom material was gathered with great care (Lk. 1:1-4).
2. The Entire New Testament. Sometimes people say, “The New Testament was written
a long time ago. How do we know that what they wrote down has not been changed
over the years? How do we know that what we read in our Bibles is an accurate
rendering of the original?”
This question was addressed back in chapter 5, which deals with “The Accuracy of
the Bible Documents.” Here are some additional thoughts:
We know that what we read in our Bibles is an accurate rendering of the original
through the science of textual criticism. Textual Criticism deals with ancient
documents of all types. It seeks to compare copies in order to determine the accuracy
and reliability of a particular document.
The late professor F.F. Bruce (who was Rylands professor of biblical criticism and
exegesis at the University of Manchester) shows in his book, Are the New Testament
Documents Reliable? how rich the New Testament is in manuscript attestation by
comparing the texts with other historical works.
The table below summarizes the facts and shows the extent of the New Testament
evidence:
Work
Herodotus
Thucydides
Tacitus
Caesar’s Gallic
War
Livy’s Roman
History
New Testament
When Written
488-428 B.C.
460-400 B.C.
A.D.100
58-50 B.C.
59 B.C. A.D.17
A.D. 40-100
Earliest Copies Time Span
(yrs)
A.D. 900
1,300
A.D. 900
1,300
A.D. 1100
1,000
A.D. 900
950
No. of copies
8
8
20
9-10
A.D. 900
900
20
A.D.130 (full
manuscripts
A.D. 350
300
5,000+ Greek
10,000 Latin
9,300 others
There are nine or ten copies of Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars, and the oldest was written
some nine hundred years later than Caesar’s day. For Livy’s Roman History we have
not more than twenty copies, the earliest of which comes from around A.D. 900.
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Tacitus wrote fourteen volumes on the history of the Roman Empire. Only twenty
partial copies survive. These twenty copies depend on two major manuscripts, one from
the ninth century and one from the eleventh century. The history of Thucydides is
known almost entirely from eight manuscripts from about A.D. 900. The same is true of
the history of Herodotus. Yet no classical scholar doubts the authenticity of these
works, in spite of the large time gap and the relatively few manuscripts.
As regards the New Testament we have a great wealth of material.
Testament was probably written between A.D. 40 and 100.
The New
• We have excellent full manuscripts of the whole New Testament dating from as
early as A.D. 350 (a time span of only three hundred years).
• We have papyri containing most of the New Testament writings dating from the
third century, and even a fragment of John’s Gospel dating from about A.D. 130.
• There are over 5,000 Greek manuscripts, over 10,000 Latin manuscripts and 9.300
other manuscripts, as well as over thirty-six thousand citings in the writings of the
early church fathers.
As one of the greatest textual critics ever, E.J.A. Hort, said, “In the variety and fullness
of the evidence on which it rests, the text of the New Testament stands absolutely and
unapproachably alone among ancient prose writings.”
F.F. Bruce summarizes the evidence by quoting Sir Frederic Kenyon, a leading scholar
in this area:
The interval then between the dates of original composition and the earliest extant
evidence becomes so small as to be in fact negligible, and the last foundation for any
doubt that the Scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written has
now been removed. Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the
New Testament may be regarded as finally established.
2. JESUS CHRIST WAS A DIVINE-HUMAN PERSON
A. How Did Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, Become Man?
The Catechism says Christ became man “by taking to Himself a true body and a
reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Here we are confronted with both the fact of the incarnation and its accomplishment by
a virgin conception:
1. The Fact of the Incarnation (that is, that God took flesh, our humanity, to Himself).
There are several general statements about the incarnation in Scripture:
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1/ John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have
seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of
grace and truth.”
2/ Philippians 2:7: “Jesus…made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness.”
3/ Galatians 4:4: “When the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman,
born under law….”
4/ Romans 8:3: “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by
the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to
be a sin offering.”
From these verses, we may draw the following conclusions:
a. Jesus’ incarnation was a true incarnation.
He did not merely take to Himself the “appearance” of a body. It was a real
body. This needs to be emphasized because in the very early days of the church,
certain false teachers taught that Jesus Christ did not have a true body.
These false teachers said that Jesus had a phantom body; He appeared as a man,
but the incarnation was not real. They distinguished between Jesus and Christ.
They said that the divine Christ entered Jesus at the time of His baptism, but left
His body when He was on the cross. All that was on the cross was a mere
phantom.
The Apostle John wrote his first epistle primarily to counter this false teaching:
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we
proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and
testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and
has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you
also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with
His Son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:1-3
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they
are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is
how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not
acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you
have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” 1 John 4:1-3
The test of any religious teacher is this: “Do you believe that the eternal Son of
God came in the flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ?” All cults deny this.
b. Paul emphasizes that Christ came “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Rom. 8:3).
This corrects another heresy: Was the body, the flesh, of Jesus Christ, sinful or
not?
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1) There were people in the early church, as there today (for example, Karl Barth),
who said that our Lord’s human nature was sinful, as ours is, that He was “born
of a woman,” and therefore inherited a sinful nature.
Their teaching is that though His human nature was sinful, He was able not to
sin. He rose above it; He conquered temptation. His work of salvation is that if
we look at Christ and seek His help, He will enable us to do the same. That is
how He saves us.
If that teaching were true, Paul would have said, “…God did by sending His
own Son as a sinful man.” But he goes out of his way not to say that, but to
say, “…God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man.”
Paul wants us to realize that our Lord’s human nature was not sinful. And, of
course, what is taught here is confirmed by many other passages of Scripture:
(1) 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that
in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
(2) Hebrews 4:15: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in
every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.”
(3) Hebrews 7:26: “Such a high priest meets our need--one who is holy,
blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”
At this point, the Roman Catholic doctrine goes too far. In an effort to safeguard
the fact that Jesus’ human nature was sinless, the Roman Catholic doctrine
states that the human nature of Mary was also sinless. This is called the doctrine
of the Immaculate Conception, that Mary was conceived without sin.
But there is no evidence in Scripture to support the claim. What is taught in
Scripture is not that Mary was sinless, but that the cell within her that was to
develop into the Son of God was cleansed from sin. Mary remained sinful. But
in some miraculous way, that which she transmitted to her Son was set free
from sin.
2) What does this phrase, “likeness of sinful flesh” mean? The answer is that
although His human nature was not in itself sinful, it did have some of the
characteristics that belong to our human nature, as the result of sin.
Sin not only polluted human nature, it brought into it certain weaknesses and
limitations. These weaknesses are not sinful in and of themselves, but they are
affects of the fall. This would include fatigue (Jn 4:6), pain, sorrow, the
capacity to be tempted and His ignorance regarding the time of His return.
2. The Incarnation was Accomplished by a Virgin Conception.
a. Challenges to the virgin birth of Christ have taken many forms, from mockery to
outright denial. Here is a summary of some of the challenges:
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1) “Illegitimate child”: One source claims that Jesus was the illegitimate child of
a Roman soldier who had a love affair with Mary.
There is nothing new about this theory of Jesus’ origin. His enemies often had
questions about the identity of His parents (see Jn.6:42; 8:41). Of course, none
of this has any basis in historical fact; its sole purpose was to make Jesus
illegitimate and remove His divine nature.
2) “Natural child”: Others (e.g., Hugh Schoenfield in the Passover Plot) have
postulated the theory that Jesus was the natural son of Joseph and Mary.
Schoenfield wrote: “There was nothing peculiar about the birth of Jesus. He
was not God incarnate and no virgin mother bore him. The church in its
ancient zeal fathered a myth and became bound to it as dogma.”
3) “Indifference”: It has also been suggested that it makes no difference if the
virgin birth really happened. What matters, it is said, is whether it is “true” in
our imaginations.
Of course, the virgin birth means nothing if it is not rooted in fact. If the virgin
birth were anything less than literal in the fullest sense, Christ would be just
another man. And that is what the adversaries of the virgin birth want to
prove.
4) Counterfeits: A number of religions have claimed the equivalent of a virgin
birth:
• Greek mythology taught that Dionysus, the god of wine, was born out of the
union of his human mother, Semele, the god of Zeus.
• In ancient Assyrian mythology, Semiramis, wife of Nimrod, gave birth to
Tammuz, who was supposedly conceived by a sunbeam.
• One legend about the Buddha claims he was miraculously conceived when
an elephant entered his mother’s belly. Ten months later Buddha was born.
• Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, often asserted that her son
was conceived by the gods.
5) Legends: Some recognize that the Bible teaches the virgin birth, but that the
biblical accounts are not to be trusted.
b. In contrast to these false views, we stand on solid ground when we assert the
trustworthiness of the biblical account that Jesus’ incarnation was accomplished by
a virgin conception. Here is a summary of the biblical material:
1) The birth was natural; it was the conception that was supernatural. Mary was
not fertilized by male sperm.
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If Mary was not fertilized by male sperm, how was Christ conceived?
2) The Holy Spirit was the source of His life in some miraculous way:
“‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The angel
answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of
God.’” Luke 1:34-35
“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was
pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found
to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a
righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in
mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as
your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’” Matthew
1:18-20
In these two passages, we are told that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
This was not a union of the Holy Spirit and Mary, the kind of thing one reads
about in mythology. In some miraculous fashion, the Holy Spirit was responsible
for the creation of the seed of life in the uterus of Mary. This had never happened
before, and it has never happened since. This is how the incarnation was
accomplished.
B. Why Did Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, Become Man?
1. The incarnation made it possible for Him to die for our sins.
There are many passages that link together the incarnation of Christ with the
crucifixion of Christ.
a. Hebrews 2:14, 16-17: “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in
their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of
death--that is, the devil…. For surely it is not angels He helps, but Abraham’s
descendants. For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in
order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God,
and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.”
How could Jesus Christ bear our punishment unless He became like us? If He was
to take our sin and guilt upon Himself, He had to also take on human nature and
become incarnate.
b. 1 John 3:8: “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been
sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy
the devil’s work.”
It is as if, since the fall, the devil has been taunting God, saying, “You made
humans in your image, but I’ve mastered them! What can you do about it?”
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If God had saved us by any other method, the devil would not have been silenced.
If a great spiritual power had acted on our behalf from heaven, Satan could have
said, “That is not fair! Let your Savior come to earth and I’ll defeat Him, too!”
A substitute, one of us, fully obeyed God and satisfied His justice. Therefore, the
devil was silenced.
2. The incarnation made it possible for Jesus Christ to “sympathize” with us.
a. Hebrews 4:15-16: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as
we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of
need.”
b. Hebrews 2:18: “Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to
help those who are being tempted.”
Jesus, by means of the incarnation, came to experience all of the pain and trials of
life. He knows what it is to be weary, disappointed by people, disserted by
friends, and rejected by family, to feel grief and sorrow, to weep and to be
tempted.
He entered into these things; He experienced them. Therefore, He encourages us
to come to Him in prayer, knowing that He understands and cares about what we
are going through.
3. The incarnation made it possible for Jesus Christ to provide us with an example of
how the life that is pleasing to God should be lived.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature
God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself
nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being
found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:5-8
God the Father calls on us to practice humility and self-renunciation in our dealings
with one another. In this way, we express the attitude of Christ.
Conclusion:
Scripture emphasizes the fact that Jesus Christ is not only a historical person, but a divinehuman person. He assumed our nature in the incarnation.
How are we to think of the incarnation? The New Testament does not call us to try to figure it
out. But it does call us to respond in faith to the Word made flesh and to worship God for this
expression of His greatness and love.
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19. THE DEATH OF CHRIST
Having considered the Person of Christ, we will now begin to examine the work of Christ;
i.e., what He did to restore us to God. The catechism summarizes the biblical answer:
Q. #26:
Answer:
Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist?
Christ’s humiliation consisted in His being born, and that in a low condition,
made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and
the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power
of death for a time.
entering human nature
receiving a low position
submitting to the Law
Suffering miseries
suffering God’s wrath
death
This chart helps us to see the steps by which Jesus lowered Himself for us. His humility is
also described in this passage:
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did
not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the
very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a
man, He humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!” Philippians
2:5-8
In coming into our world, Jesus did not divest Himself of His deity. This He could not do and
still be God. But He did lay aside His rights and prerogatives. Think of what this must have
meant:
He existed with the Father and Spirit:
1. Worshipped by all the angels.
2. Freely exercised His powers without restraint.
3. Enjoyed the companionship of the Father and
Spirit without suffering.
Condescended to come into a situation where…
1. He was despised by the people He created.
2. He Restrained the exercise of His powers.
3. He suffered all through His life.
Let us think about the steps by which he lowered Himself for us:
a. He took upon Himself human nature: C. S. Lewis once said that this was like a shepherd
becoming a lamb in order to sacrifice Himself to save the rest of the flock. Yet Jesus
lowered Himself even more to save us, because there is a far greater difference between
God an humanity, than there is between human beings and animals.
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b. He was born in a low condition: When Jesus became man, He didn’t live in a mansion
surrounded by servants or come with great social standing. He was born in poverty.
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we
should desire Him.” Isaiah 53:2
c. He submitted to the Law: Jesus Christ, as God, gave the Law to the people of Israel. He
was even worshipped when He gave the law. But when He became a man, it was His
responsibility to keep it perfectly all the time: All the ceremonial laws, moral laws, and
civil laws throughout His life.
d. He underwent miseries: He knew hunger, pain, sorrow, and poverty. He also knew what it
was like to be tempted, ridiculed and unjustly hated.
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”
Isaiah 53:3
e. He experienced the wrath of God: His suffering came to full expression when He suffered
the full consequences of sin, in becoming subject to the wrath of God for us.
f. He died and was buried: Christ paid the penalty for sin in full when He died on the cross.
His burial was proof that He died. He remained under the power of death for a time,
which is the meaning of the statement in the Apostle’s Creed, “He descended into hell.”
This is what is meant by Jesus’ humiliation. We will concentrate on the lowest part of His
humiliation: His death on the cross. For this is the aspect most emphasized by the Bible. Our
study is in four parts:
1. THE CENTRALITY OF HIS DEATH
In order to understand the cross, we need to consider the meaning of crucifixion. Invented
by Persians and later taken over by both Greeks and Romans, it was the cruelest method
of execution ever devised, because it deliberately delayed death until maximum torture
has been inflicted. The victim could suffer for days before dying.
ROMANS: The Romans used it to execute non-Romans convicted of murder,
insurrection, or armed robbery.
1. Cicero, the Roman orator, condemned it as “a most cruel and disgusting punishment.”
Elsewhere, he said, “The very word ‘cross’ should be far removed not only from the
person of a Roman citizen, but from his thoughts, his eyes, and his ears.”
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2. Celcus, a philosopher, mocked Christians for worshipping a dead man. Archeologists
have found a scratching or grapheto on one of the walls of the Palatine Hill (one of the
7 hills on which Rome was built). It pictures a man on a cross with a donkey’s head
being worshipped! It was supposed to represent Christ on the cross.
JEWS: The Jews could not bring themselves to believe that God’s Messiah would die
under God’s curse, strung up on a tree. For the Jewish law had said, “Anyone who is
hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” Deuteronomy 21:23
Trials and Crucifixion
1. Jesus’ Trials: Jesus endured six illegal trials, three Jewish and three Roman. Before
the Romans, He was stripped and tied to a whipping post. He was flogged with four
or five thongs of leather interwoven with sharp jagged bone and lead.
He was then taken to the Judgment Hall where a crown of thorns was thrust onto His
head. He was mocked by a battalion of soldiers and hit about the face and head. He
was then forced to carry a heavy cross bar on His bleeding shoulders until He
collapsed, and Simon of Cyrene was forced into carrying it for Him.
2. Jesus’ Crucifixion: When they reached the site of crucifixion, He was again stripped
naked. He was laid on the cross, and six-inch nails were driven into His forearms, just
above the wrist. His knees were twisted sideways so that the ankles could be nailed
between the tibia and the Achilles’ tendon. He was lifted up on the cross, which was
then dropped into a socket in the ground.
There He was left to hang in intense heat and unbearable thirst, exposed to the ridicule
of the crowd. He hung in unthinkable pain for six hours while His life slowly drained
away. Finally, victims of crucifixion would suffocate; they would be so weak that
they would not be able to push themselves up to catch another breath.
Yet the worst part of His suffering was not the physical trauma or torture of
crucifixion nor even the emotional pain of being rejected by the world and deserted by
His friends, but the spiritual agony of being cut off from His Father for us as He died
for our sins. Jesus endured such agony.
“Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ
crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom
God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of
God.” 1 Corinthians 1:22-24
While the cross was unpopular in the early days of Christianity, it’s still unpopular today.
1. It is a stumbling block to those who want to earn their salvation by good works.
2. It is foolishness to people who are caught up in their own wisdom and self-sufficiency.
Despite its unpopularity, it is central in Scripture. What’s the evidence for this?
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A. The Teaching of Christ.
1. He kept referring to the Cross as the “hour” for which the Lord came into the world.
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a
kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies,
it produces many seeds. Now My heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save
me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.” John 12:2324, 27
“Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.” John
17:1
2. He said He had come, not so much to live as to give His life up in death.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life
as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
3. The only service Jesus instituted in His own memory, “The Lord’s Supper” or
“Communion,” is a commemoration of His death (Mark 14:22-24).
B. The Teaching of the Evangelists.
The New Testament has 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John:
1. Matthew: 8 out of 28 chapters are devoted to the last week of Jesus’ life, including His
death on the cross.
2. Mark: 6 out of 16 chapters.
3. Luke: 6 out of 24 chapters.
4. John: 10 out of 21.
This disproportionate amount of space to His suffering is evidence of the centrality of His
death.
C. The Teaching of the Epistles.
1. Paul emphasized the cross:
“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to
me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.” 1 Corinthians 15:3
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life
I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for
me.” Galatians 2:20
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“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the
world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14
2. Peter emphasized the cross:
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you
were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” 1 Peter 1:1819
“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live
for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you
to God.” 1 Peter 3:18
3. John emphasized the cross:
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of
the whole world.” 1 John 2:2
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we
ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” 1 John 3:16
“We have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the
world.” 1 John 4:14
4. The author of Hebrews emphasized the cross (chapters 8-10).
D. The Teaching of the Book of Revelation.
When we come to the last book of the Bible, the cross is still central.
“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne.”
Revelation 5:6
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and
strength and honor and glory and praise!” Revelation 5:12
“These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Revelation 7:14
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E. The Teaching of the Church.
The cross is central in the teaching of the church. What is the evidence for this?
1. The message of Christians throughout the centuries has centered on the cross.
2. Some Christians make use of it in jewelry.
3. Many churches are built in the shape of a cross.
4. Many of the church’s great hymns focus on the cross. Examples: “O Sacred Head,
Now Wounded”; “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”
In the world of the first century, the cross was a means of execution. It was abolished in
315 A.D., because even the Romans considered it too inhumane.
2. THE NECESSITY OF HIS DEATH
A. The Cross Was Deliberate.
Jesus’ death is always seen in the New Testament as intentional, never an accident that
brought an end to an otherwise promising life.
1. Even the wickedness of those involved in His actual crucifixion was subject to the
eternal plan of God:
“This Man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and
you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.”
Acts 2:23
“Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel
in this city to conspire against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed. They
did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.” Acts
4:27-28
2. Jesus used the word “must” in connection with His sufferings:
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted
up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” John 3:14-15
“He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be
rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be
killed and after three days rise again.” Mark 8:31
“How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this
way?” Matthew 26:54
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B. The Cross Was Voluntarily Accepted.
Jesus realized that it was the purpose of God that He die for sin, just as the Old Testament
had predicted. But He voluntarily determined to fulfill His mission.
“Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not
desire, but a body You prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings You were
not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am--it is written about Me in the scroll--I have come to
do Your will, O God.’” Hebrews 10:5-7
“I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me.”
John 6:38
3. THE PURPOSE OF HIS DEATH
Granted that, in the mind of Christ, His death was central and necessary. Why? What
was its purpose?
A. A Revelation of God.
The death of Christ was the climax of God’s self-revelation. Through it both the
Father and Son were “glorified” (i.e., “revealed”; John 12:23; 17:1). What aspects of
God’s character are revealed in the cross?
1. God’s Justice: We look at the cross and see God’s hatred of sin and His
determination to punish it.
“God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He
did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins
committed beforehand unpunished--He did it to demonstrate His justice at the
present time, so as to be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in
Jesus.” Rom. 3:25-26
2. God’s Love: The cross both originated in the love of God and exhibits it.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the
world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10
“God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.” Romans 5:8
B. An Example to Believers.
In particular, His death was an example of love. His love is illustrated in various ways
in the New Testament:
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1. A love which gives itself:
“Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved
you and gave Himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins.” Ephesians 5:2 (NLT)
2. A love which serves the needy:
“We know what real love is because Christ gave up His life for us. And so we also
ought to give up our lives for our Christian brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16-17
3
A love which does not seek revenge:
Peter says, “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should
follow in His steps….When they hurled insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when
He suffered, He made no threats.” 1 Peter 2:21, 23
C. A Conquest of the Devil.
This is not explained in Scripture. But by the cross Christ overthrew principalities and
powers (demonic forces) and especially their prince, Satan:
“God stripped the spiritual rulers and powers of their authority. With the cross, he
won the victory and showed the world that they were powerless.” Colossians 2:15
“By His death, He destroyed him who held the power of death – that is the devil.”
Hebrews 2:14
D. A Sacrifice for Sin.
1. Of the four purposes, this one receives the emphasis in the New Testament, where
we are told that Christ not only “died for our sins” (Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians
15:3; 1 Peter 3:18), but that He “bore” them (1 Peter 2:24).
In the Old Testament., we read that if someone violates God’s Law, “he shall bear
his iniquity” or “he shall bear his sin.” (Leviticus 5:17). “To bear sin” is to
suffer the consequences of one’s sin, to bear its penalty.
2. We also read that it was possible “to bear someone else’s sin”; i.e., to become a
substitute.
This is exactly what Jesus Christ did for us. He did not deserve the cross. He
came into the world to be our substitute.
“He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are
healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own
way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
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“Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the
spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was
numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:5-6, 12
“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree … by His wounds you have
been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
4. THE ACHIEVEMENT OF HIS DEATH!
What did Christ achieve or accomplish by dying as a sacrifice for sin? In a word, He
accomplished “salvation.”
a. Jesus’ testimony: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Luke
19:10
b. The angel told Joseph: “She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him
the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
c. John’s testimony: “The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” 1 John
4:14
d. Paul’s testimony: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:15
The New Testament uses four images to describe that which the cross accomplished.
Each image is taken from a different area of everyday life:
A. The Law Court.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1
“Justify” is a legal term. It has to do with our status before the court. In justification,
God declares that we are without legal guilt, that we have a right standing in the eyes
of His law. This was possible because our guilt (punishment) was charged against
Christ who paid the penalty for our sin.
B. The Marketplace.
Debt is not a problem confined to the present day; it was a problem in the ancient
world, as well. If someone had serious debts, he/she might be sold into slavery in
order to pay them off.
Suppose a customer offers to pay the debt and then lets the slave go free. In doing so,
he would be “redeeming him” by paying a “ransom price.”
Redemption is another term that the Bible uses to describe the achievement of Jesus’
death. It is a business or economic term. It means to purchase a slave’s freedom by
the payment of a price. This is what the Bible says Jesus did for us in His death on the
cross. We were the slaves. His death purchased our freedom.
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“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a
ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28
“It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from
the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious
blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18-19
What is the result of this redemptive work of Christ? We are released from our
slavery to sin.
“He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained
eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:12
“In Him we have redemption through His blood.” Ephesians 1:7
“You were slain, and with Your blood You purchased for God people from every tribe
and language and people and nation.” Revelation 5:9
Jesus entered the marketplace to buy us back at the cost of His own blood.
C. The Temple.
The animal sacrifices in the Old Testament also give us a picture of that which the
cross accomplished. It is explained in Leviticus 4:“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Say to
the Israelites: “‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any
of the LORD’s commands” (4:1) — 4 steps had to be followed:
1. Bring an animal without defect: “He must bring to the LORD a young bull without
defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.” Leviticus 4:3
2. The worshipper lays his hands on the head of the animal: “He is to lay his hand on
its head.” Leviticus 4:4
This symbolized a transfer of punishment. The worshiper was saying, “I transfer
the punishment I deserve for my sin to this innocent animal, as if the animal
committed my sin.”
3. The animal is killed: “He is to slaughter it before the LORD.” Leviticus 4:4
4. The blood is poured out on the altar. There was a clear purpose: “In this way the
priest will make atonement [“covering”] for him for the sin he has committed, and
he will be forgiven.” 4:35
These animal sacrifices did not actually take away sin. They were intended to be a
picture or illustration of the coming sacrifice of Christ. Sacrifices were performed all
the time. What the people needed was the fulfillment, the perfect Lamb. Jesus was
that sacrifice:
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“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we
could be made right with God through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
Only the blood of Christ, our substitute, can take away our sin, because He alone was
the perfect sacrifice.
D. The Home.
Often in family life there is a need for what the Bible calls reconciliation. What is true
in a marriage or family is also said to be true in our relationship to God.
To “reconcile” means to change from a hostile to a friendly relationship. We were
God’s enemies, the object of His divine displeasure. But God sent Christ to take our
sin upon Himself. Having punished Christ for our sin, fellowship is now restored.
“By God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven
and on earth by means of His blood on the cross. This includes you who were once so
far away from God. You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts
and actions, yet now He has brought you back as His friends. He has done this
through His death on the cross in His own human body. As a result, He has brought
you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before
Him without a single fault.” Colossians 1:20-22
4 IMAGES OF THE CROSS
1.
2.
3.
4.
Image
Law Court
Marketplace
Temple
Home
Key Term
Justification
Redemption
Sacrifice
Reconciliation
Result
Penalty of sin paid
Power of sin broken
Pollution is removed
Partition is destroyed
Benefit
Forgiven
Set free
Cleansed
Peace with God
1/ The image of the Law Court gives us the term Justification. It means that the penalty of
sin is paid and we can be forgiven.
2/ The image of the Marketplace gives us the term Redemption. It means that the power of
sin is broken and we can be set free.
3/ The image of the Temple gives us the term Sacrifice. It means that the pollution of sin is
removed and we can be cleansed.
4/ The image of the Home gives us the term Reconciliation. It means that the partition of sin
is destroyed and we can be at peace with God.
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Conclusion: How should the death of Christ affect us? It should affect us in 3 ways:
1. We Must Experience Salvation: We do not become Christians by merely assenting to the
fact that Jesus died on a cross. We must see the need of trusting the whole issue of our
acceptance with God on the death of Christ. It is illustrated by Paul’s use of personal
pronouns to describe his own reliance upon Jesus Christ:
“Christ loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
2. The Focus for Christian Growth: Once we are saved, the death of Christ is still our focus.
We deal with sinful habits by reckoning ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God.
“In the same way, you should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and
alive with God through Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11
3. The Death of Christ Motivates Us to Serve God Out of Love: That which enables us to
serve God and to share the gospel is gratitude for the fact that He sent Christ to die for us.
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20. THE EXTENT OF THE ATONEMENT
In our last study, we considered that which the death of Christ accomplished. We now want
to consider those for whom Christ made atonement. It brings us to the issue of the extent of
the sacrifice of Christ.
a. This is a matter that has divided evangelical Christians. What was the purpose of God the
Father in sending His Son and the primary intention of Christ in laying down His life in
sacrifice?
b. Was it the intention of God (Father and Son) to provide salvation for every individual, or
was it God’s purpose to secure salvation only for those individuals who will in fact be
saved?
There are 3 areas where there is agreement: All evangelical believers agree on the following:
a. There is no question about the intrinsic value of the sacrifice of Christ.
It was amply sufficient to redeem all humankind, all angels and the whole world, even a
thousand worlds besides, if God had so intended.
b. There is no question that unbelievers receive certain blessings from the death of Christ,
even if they never attain unto salvation.
For example, Christians in society, acting as salt and light, restrain evil and promote
righteousness, blessings which benefit everyone. Ultimately, these benefits come from
the saving work of Christ.
c. There is no major contention as to whether all will in fact be saved.
With deep sorrow at the thought of the destiny of the lost, all evangelicals confess that
ultimately some people will be saved and others will be lost.
The precise point at issue concerns God’s purpose: Was it to secure salvation only for a
certain number of people (the elect)? Or, was it His purpose to provide salvation for
everyone? The two views may be defined further:
a. Definite Atonement.
This view maintains that the Father’s purpose in sending Christ and the Son’s purpose in
dying was to secure salvation only for those who are in fact saved. Sometimes this view
is called “limited atonement.” Christ died for all of the sins of some people.
b. Hypothetical Universalism.
This view maintains that that God’s intent was to provide salvation for everyone. Not
everyone will be saved. But this is because of human unbelief, not by divine design.
Christ died for all of the sins of all people.
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It should be emphasized that both views place some limitation on the atonement. Those
holding to definite atonement limit the extent of the atonement (to the elect), while
advocates of hypothetical universalism limit the power or efficacy of the atonement.
Charles Spurgeon, an advocate of definite atonement, described the matter like this in a
sermon on “Particular Redemption”:
We are often told that we limit the atonement of Christ, because we say that Christ has not
made a satisfaction for all men, or all men would be saved. Now, our reply to that is, that,
on the other hand, our opponents limit it: we do not. The Arminians say, Christ died for
all men. Ask them what they mean by it. Did Christ die so as to secure the salvation of all
men? They say, “No, certainly not.” We ask them the next question – Did Christ die so
as to secure the salvation of any man in particular? They answer “No.” They are
obliged to admit this, if they are consistent. They say “No; Christ has died that any man
may be saved if”- and then follow certain conditions of salvation. Now, who is it that
limits the death of Christ? Why, you. You say that Christ did not die so as to infallibly
secure the salvation of anybody. We beg your pardon, when you say we limit Christ’s
death; we say, “No, my dear sir, it is you that do it. We say Christ so died that he
infallibly secured the salvation of a multitude that no man can number, who through
Christ’s death not only may be saved, but are saved, must be saved, and cannot by any
possibility run the hazard of being anything but saved. You are welcome to your
atonement; you may keep it. We will never renounce ours for the sake of it.
We will consider the arguments presented by those holding to definite atonement, as well as
answers to common objections:
1. ARGUMENTS FOR DEFINITE ATONEMENT
1. There are verses that indicate that Christ died for a specific, definable group.
a. Matthew 1:21: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name
Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
b. John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his
friends.”
c. John 10:11,16, 26: “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life
for the sheep…. I lay down My life for the sheep…. You do not believe, because you
are not of My sheep.”
d. Ephesians 5:25-26: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and
gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water
through the word.”
e. Acts 20:28: “Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own
blood.”
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f. Matthew 20:28: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give His life as a ransom for many.”
These statements do not necessarily rule out the possibility that Christ died for others.
But they do assert that the relationship of the work of Christ to those who are saved is
different from that which it bears to those who are lost.
2. There are verses that indicate that it was Christ’s purpose only to redeem certain
people.
a. John 6:37-39: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to
Me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do My will
but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I
shall lose none of all that He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.”
Jesus speaks of people who were given to Him by God the Father (vs.37). Those
given to Him – all of them – will come to Him. Their salvation is regarded as
certain. He tell us His purpose in coming into the world is that He “lose none of all
those that were given to Him.”
b. John 11:52: Jesus speaks of His purpose to “gather together into one the children of
God who are scattered abroad.”
c. Titus 2:14: “(Jesus) gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to
purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”
With hypothetical universalism, the possibility exists that no one would be saved.
Jesus, the Son of God, would come into the world on a mission of salvation; He would
die on the cross, but nothing would happen. With definite atonement, people are
actually saved.
3. There are verses that indicate that Christ’s death did not just make salvation
possible, but that it actually secured salvation.
There are verses that indicate more than a general intention to save everyone on
condition that they believe. These verses suggest that Christ’s death actually achieved
salvation.
a. His death is said to have redeemed us (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Matt. 20:28). This
implies that the people in view are actually redeemed.
b. The Scripture uses the term propitiation (Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Jn. 2:2, 4:10) or sacrifice
of atonement to describe what Jesus’ death accomplished. This implies that God’s
wrath is actually appeased and that He does not deal any further in terms of His
righteous anger with these for whom Christ died.
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c. The Scripture uses the term reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-20) to describe what Jesus’
death accomplished. The term implies that those who were God’s enemies are
actually brought back into His fellowship.
“What kind of redemption would this be where the redeemed are still under the power
of the enemy? What kind of propitiation, where God still deals in wrath? What kind of
reconciliation where estrangement continues to exist and is even sealed for eternity?
These three terms, separately and jointly, bear witness to the fact that the Scripture
views the work of Christ as bringing about the effectuation of salvation.” Roger
Nicole
4. There is the argument based on God’s grace.
If Christ’s death did not actually remove God’s wrath and save, if it only rendered God
generally favorable toward us if we fulfill a further condition (faith), then a human
ingredient has been added to the work of Christ. It is this human ingredient which
determines the difference between the saved and the lost.
The conclusion that follows is that the work of Christ by itself actually saves no one.
This view would appear to contradict 3 (above), and detract from the Scriptural
language.
5. There are verses which indicate that the ability of people to believe on Christ is a gift
of God and a result of the saving work of Christ.
a. Acts 13:48: “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of
the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.”
b. Acts 18:27: “When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him
and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to
those who by grace had believed.”
c. Philippians 1:29: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to
believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him.”
d. 2 Thessalonians 2:13: “From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the
sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”
If the death of Christ was universal in its scope, it is difficult to see why faith was not
given to all people. Yet it is clear that all people do not believe. The conclusion follows
that the death of Christ, as well as our faith response, was designed only for a limited
number.
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6. There is the argument based on the judgment of God.
If we hold that Christ died as a substitute for everyone, bearing the divine penalty for
their sin, it would appear that at the Day of Judgment there will remain nothing to be
punished, and consequently all people should be saved. But, in fact, all people will not
be saved. So how could Christ have been a substitute for these people?
Here is the classic statement of this argument by the Puritan theologian, John Owen:
“God imposed His wrath due unto, and Christ underwent the pains of hell for, either all
the sins of all people, or all the sins of some people, or some sins of all people.
If the last, some sins of all people, then have all people some sins to answer for, and so
shall no one be saved….
If the second, that is it which we affirm, that Christ in their stead and room suffered for
all the sins of all the elect in the world.
If the first, why then, are not all freed from the punishment of all their sins? You will
say, ‘Because of their unbelief; they will not believe.’ But this unbelief, is it a sin, or
not? If not, why should they be punished for it? If it be, then Christ underwent the
punishment due to it, or not. If so, then why must that hinder them more than their
other sins for which He died from partaking of the fruit of His death? If He did not,
then did He not die for all their sins?”
[This argument is illustrated in a chart that appears on page 214]
7. There is the argument based on the work of Christ as a Priest.
The Bible, especially in Hebrews, describes Christ as a great High Priest. Priests
functioned in two ways: they offered sacrifice for sin and made intercession for the
people. These two actions were often joined together (Isa. 53:12; Rom. 8:34).
The intercession of Christ was clearly restricted to the saved: “I pray for them. I am not
praying for the world, but for those You have given Me, for they are yours.” John 17:9
Would He have prayed for only a few if He had died for everyone? Consistency
demands that His priestly work in offering sacrifice would be as extensive as His work
in offering intercession. If He prayed only for the elect, then He died only for the elect.
8. There is the argument based on the knowledge of God.
At the time of Christ’s death on the cross, the eternal destiny of many unbelievers had
already been settled by their death (e.g., that of some people at the time of the Flood
and of the ruin of Sodom and Gomorrah). Can we imagine that Christ died with the
intent of bearing the sins of those who were then and there already in hell? If not, He
did not die for all.
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If we also reflect on the fact that Christ’s knowledge, as to His divine nature, is not
limited as to time, the same reasoning would apply to all believers — past, present and
future — who die in their sins. Can we imagine Christ dying for those whom He
knows will reject Him and go to hell?
9. There is the argument based on the love of God.
The view that Christ died for all people would seem to exalt the greatness of God’s
love. But, in reality, the view limits the power and depth of His love. We magnify
God’s love, not if we represent it as frustrated and defeated by human sin and unbelief,
but by recognizing that it overcomes all such obstacles.
10. There is the argument based on the Trinity.
To suggest that Christ died for everyone, while acknowledging that God only applies
salvation to a few, is to imply that there is a serious division of purpose within the
Trinity:
a. How could Christ, the Son, die for more people than what the Father had given
Him?
b. How could Christ, the Son, die for more people than those who are born again by the
Holy Spirit?
Unity and harmony in the Trinity would seem to necessitate that Christ die only for
those whom the Father has chosen, and only for those to whom the Holy Spirit applies
salvation.
2. ANSWERS TO OBJECTIONS RAISED AGAINST DEFINITE ATONEMENT
While it is not possible here to deal with these objections in detail, the following answers
provide a summary:
1. There are verses which seem to imply that God has a universal saving will.
These passages do not necessarily imply that God wills the salvation of every member
of the human race. They do show the general kindness and love of God, who takes
special delight in the salvation of the sinner, but really proves no more.
a. 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord…is patient toward you [some translations have “us”], not
wishing [or “willing”; or “purposing”] for any to perish but for all to come to
repentance.”
(1) One answer: The Bible speaks of the will of God in more than one way.
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1/ God’s sovereign, efficacious will by which God brings things to pass with
absolute certainty. Nothing can resist the will of God in this sense.
2/ God’s preceptive will, which refers to His commands, His laws. It is God’s
will that we do what He commands, or face the consequences.
3/ The Bible speaks of the will of God has reference to His disposition, to what
is pleasing to Him.
When we apply these three possible definitions to the verse, what do we find?
1/ If the verse is referring to the sovereign, efficacious will of God, then no one
will perish. This verse would then be a proof text for universalism.
2/ If reference is being made to God’s preceptive will, it would then mean that
God does not allow anyone to perish. He forbids it. This idea makes no sense.
3/ God takes no delight in the perishing of people. This idea fits with what the
Bible says elsewhere. If this is what Peter means, then the verse does not
deny limited atonement. It would only be saying that God does not want
people to perish.
(2) A second answer: The antecedent of any is us [or you]. If us refers to Christians,
then Peter is saying that God is not willing that any of us Christians [the elect]
should perish.
b. 1 Timothy 2:4: “God our Savior…wants all men to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth.”
The idea that God wants all men to be saved may be understood as referring to His
general will, as in 2 Peter 3:9. Or, “all men” may mean, as it does earlier in this
same chapter, “all kinds of men,” “men of all classes and categories,” including
even kings, and others in authority (2:2) who also seem to be unlikely objects of
divine grace, and Gentiles (2:7).
c. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The verse may be interpreted as asserting the general worldwide direction of the
love of God, rather than to imply that every person in the world is uniformly the
object of His saving love. It is not a love confined to Jews. It applies to Gentiles, as
well.
2. There are verses which seem to imply that the death of Christ was designed for all
people, the world, everyone, etc.
These terms need to be considered in their context. When that is done, we see that the
scope is not all-inclusive of the human race. For example, if I say, “Let all keep these
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study notes,” it is clear that the word “all” applies to members of this class, not the
entire human race.
Likewise, many of the verses which use terms like “all” and “everyone” are
surrounded by terms which emphasize that a particular group of people is implied.
Examples:
a. Isaiah 53:6: “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
The “all” are those who know peace with God and healing (vs. 5). We also read:
“He bore the sin of many” (vs. 12) and He “will justify many and bear their
iniquities” (vs. 11).
b. Romans 8:32: “He gave Him up for us all.”
The “us all” are God’s elect (vs. 33) who are justified (vs. 33), whom nothing can
separate from the love of God (vss. 35-39).
c. Hebrews 2:9: Christ tasted “death for everyone.”
The “everyone” are further described as those who are brought as “sons to glory”
(vs. 10), as “holy” (vs. 11), as “the children that God had given Him” (vs. 13), as
“His brothers” who have been delivered from slavery, and as people for whom
Christ made atonement (vs. 17). The context makes it plain that “everyone” refers
to all of the redeemed.
d. 1 John 2:2: “He is the atoning sacrifice (propitiation) for our sins, and not only for
ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
(1) It may be that John has in view the scope of Jesus’ death: It was not limited to a
small group, for example, to Jewish Christians, but applies to people from
various nations and people-groups. He is not the atoning sacrifice for only one
group. While previously the Jews were the main objects of blessings, there is a
concern here to say that Jesus’ death is without such racial or national barriers.
(2) John may have meant to indicate that the death of Christ is not confined to one
generation, but is perennial in its effect: “not just for our age, but for the
redeemed of all ages.”
(3) The term “propitiation” (to turn aside wrath) is so strong that if the verse is
teaching that Christ’s sacrifice was for everyone, then outright universal
salvation would seem to be in view. The verse then says more than what
advocates of hypothetical universalism suggest.
3. There is the argument that says that Christ had to die for everyone in order to have a
well-meant gospel offer.
The critics of definite atonement often urge that this doctrine inevitably undermines the
sincere offer of grace to all people. How, they ask, can an honest invitation to salvation
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be addressed to people for whom no provision has been made by God in Christ? This
objection is frequently thought to have great weight, but it appears to rest on the
premise that a co-extensive provision is necessary for a sincere offer of any kind. This
premise is palpably false even at the lowly level of many of our offers.
For instance, most advertisers who offer some objects on the pages of a newspaper do
not feel that honesty in any way demands of them to have a stock co-extensive with the
circulation figures of the newspaper. If this be true even at the humble level of our
finite lives, on what basis shall we presume to say that a co-extensive provision is
necessary for a divine offer? Really the only requisite for a sincere invitation is that if
the conditions stated in the offer be fulfilled that which is proffered be actually granted.
But this is precisely what the supporters of definite atonement are asserting.
Many strong believers in particular redemption have been enthusiastic and winsome
proclaimers of the indiscriminate offer of grace to all people without distinction and
without exception. Indeed they are the ones who have a real and complete salvation to
offer, not something which must be supplemented by the human consent in order to be
at all effective. Emphatically they should be foremost in missionary and evangelistic
zeal: gratitude for salvation received in Christ cannot permit them to become resigned
to anything less. Roger Nicole
3. APPLICATION
What does all of this mean to us as Christians?
1. Definite atonement strengthens our appreciation for the love of God.
God’s love is not just some benevolent attitude that He has toward everyone in general.
It is specific and particular. When He sent Christ to the cross, He sent Him to die for
me; He sent Him to secure my salvation; He sent Him to remove all of the barriers that
had come between us, so that I might be saved.
2. It gives us a real gospel to preach.
As was stated above, we have “a real and complete salvation to offer.”
The gospel is not “believe that Christ died for everybody’s sins, and therefore for
yours,” any more than it is, “believe that Christ died only for certain people’s sins, and
so perhaps not for yours.” The gospel is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who died
for sins, and now offers you Himself as your Savior.” This is the message which we are
to take to the world. We have no business to ask them to put faith in any view of the
extent of the atonement; our job is to point them to the living Christ, and summon them
to trust in Him. J. I. Packer
3. It gives assurance of salvation.
If we are trusting in Christ as our Savior and believe He died for our sins, then we have
assurance that He has redeemed us, reconciled us, pardoned us, and turned God’s holy
wrath aside for us. We are assured of salvation (Rom. 5:9-11; 8:31-39).
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Illustration of the argument by John Owen:
3
“Not a Sin”
Why be punished?
1
2
“All sins of all people?”
”Unbelief”
(Then why aren’t all saved?)
Sin or not?
5
“He did not die for it”
4
“A Sin”
Then He did not die for all
the sins of all people (No.1).
Did He die for
it or not?
“He died for it”
Then why won’t they be
saved?
What prevents them?
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21. THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST
We have already examined what things were like for Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry
and what He did to restore us to God. This is described as the state of humiliation.
Entering human nature
Receiving a low position
Submitting to the Law
Suffering miseries
Suffering God’s wrath
Death
God the Father observed the extent to which Jesus humbled Himself and, in response, “God
exalted Him to the highest place” (Philippians 2:9). We therefore come to His exaltation.
Q. #27 – Wherein consists Christ’s exaltation?
Answer: Christ’s exaltation consists in His rising again from the dead on the third day, in
ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming
to judge the world at the last day.
Here we notice 4 steps: Resurrection, ascension, session and Jesus’ Second Coming:
SECOND COMING
SESSION
ASCENSION
RESURRECTION
Each stage takes us a step higher than that which preceded it. We will consider the meaning
and significance of each of these four stages:
1. THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
A. The Evidence for the Resurrection.
What evidence is there to support the staggering Christian claim that Jesus of Nazareth is
alive? There are four major lines of evidence:
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1. The Body Was Gone.
The tomb was empty. There can be no doubt about this fact. The question is how to
explain it. Different theories have been suggested:
a. The women went to the wrong tomb.
It is said that it was dark and they lost their way. However, it was not completely
dark, for “it was just after sunrise” (Mk. 16:2). Also, at least two of them had
observed where Joseph and Nicodemus had placed the body.
“The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the
tomb and how His body was laid in it.” Luke 23:55
Even if they mistook the tomb, would Peter and John have made the same mistake,
and others who doubtless came later, including Joseph and Nicodemus themselves?
b. The Swoon Theory.
This is the view that suggests that Jesus did not die on the cross; He only fainted.
He then revived in the tomb. But the evidence contradicts it. For one thing, the
separation of the blood and water when Jesus was pierced support the claim that He
died. How could He have survived 36 hours in a tomb without food or medical
attention, move the stone, and appear to the disciples in such a way as to convince
them He had conquered death?
c. Thieves Stole the Body.
There is no evidence for this conjecture. Why would grave wrappings be left
behind undisturbed, or the Roman guard not know about it?
d. The Disciples Removed the Body.
This theory is even mentioned in Scripture:
“‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we remember that while He was still alive that deceiver said,
‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made
secure until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal the body
and tell the people that He has been raised from the dead. This last deception will
be worse than the first.’” Matthew 27:63-64
“While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and
reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests
had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of
money, telling them, ‘You are to say, “His disciples came during the night and
stole Him away while we were asleep.” If this report gets to the governor, we will
satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So the soldiers took the money and did as
they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to
this very day.” Matthew 28:11-15
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People will sometimes suffer a little inconvenience for what they know is a lie.
But no one in his/her right mind will die for what they know is a lie. The disciples
died for their belief in the resurrection.
e. Roman or Jewish Authorities Stole the Body.
The Christian Church was founded on the resurrection. If the authorities had the
body, all they had to do was produce it, and the Church would have collapsed.
Thus, all these theories fall to the ground. The body was gone.
2. The Grave Wrappings Were Undisturbed.
Perhaps the most fascinating piece of evidence relating to Jesus’ absence from the
tomb is John’s description of the grave wrappings:
“Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter
and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but
he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen
wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and
lying to the side. Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw and believed—for
until then they hadn’t realized that the Scriptures said He would rise from the dead.”
John 20:3-9 (NLT)
The body of Jesus was wrapped by linen clothes, with a separate cloth used to wrap
the head, turban style. If the body had been taken by either the enemies or friends of
Christ, what would they do with the grave wrappings?
There are only two choices: Either the wrappings would have been taken along with
the body (so that nothing is left in the tomb). Or, the wrappings would have been
removed and left in a heap after the body had been taken.
But when Peter and John went to the tomb, they saw the grave wrappings lying on the
slab. It was as if Jesus had simply passed through the wrappings leaving them
completely undisturbed (Jn.20:3-9). The undisturbed condition of the grave wrappings
is a powerful evidence of the resurrection. That is why John saw and believed (John
20:8).
3. The Lord Was Seen.
We are told of 10 separate appearances by Jesus Christ. Paul refers to many of them:
“He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, He was seen by
more than five hundred of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive,
though some have died by now. Then He was seen by James and later by all the
apostles. Last of all, I saw Him, too….” 1 Cor. 15:5-9 (NLT)
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How are we to understand these appearances? There are several possibilities to
consider:
a. Were they inventions?
If they were inventions, they were not very good ones: It included the doubts and
fears of the disciples. Also, there is no account of an actual resurrection. And, if
this were a made-up story, it is doubtful that anyone would have chosen Mary
Magdalene, a woman previously demon possessed (Lk.8:2), as the first witness.
b. Were they hallucinations?
A hallucination is an apparent perception of an object when no such object is
present. Hallucinations occur as a climax to a period of exaggerated wishful
thinking. Also, circumstances of time, place and mood must be favorable for such
an experience.
However, with regard to the appearances of Jesus, both of these factors are
missing.
Far from wishful thinking, it was just the opposite. When the women first found the
tomb empty, they fled in “trembling and astonishment” and were “afraid.” When
Mary Magdalene and the other women reported that Jesus was alive, the apostles
“would not believe it”, and their words “seemed to them an idle tale”. When
Jesus Himself came and stood in their midst “they were startled and frightened,
and supposed that they saw a spirit”, so that Jesus “upbraided them for their
unbelief and hardness of heart”. Thomas was adamant in his refusal to believe
unless he could actually see and feel the nail-wounds. When later Christ met the
eleven and others by appointment on a mountain in Galilee, “they worshipped him;
but some doubted”. Here was no wishful thinking…no blind acceptance. The
disciples were not gullible, but rather cautious, skeptical and “slow of heart to
believe”. They were not susceptible to hallucinations…. Their faith was grounded
upon the hard facts of verifiable experience.
Not only so, but the outwardly favorable circumstances were missing too. If the
appearances had all taken place in one or two particularly sacred places, which
had been hallowed by memories of Jesus, and their mood had been expectant, our
suspicions might well be aroused.
But this was not the case. Indeed, an investigation of the ten appearances reveals
an almost studied variety in the circumstances of person, place and mood in which
they occurred. He was seen by individuals alone (Mary Magdalene, Peter and
James), by small groups and by more than five hundred people together. He
appeared in the garden of the tomb, near Jerusalem, in the upper room, on the
road to Emmaus, by the lake of Galilee, on a Galilee mountain and on the Mount of
Olives.
There was variety in mood also. Mary Magdalene was weeping; the women were
afraid and astonished; Peter was full of remorse, and Thomas of incredulity. The
Emmaus pair were distracted by the events of the week and the disciples in Galilee
by their fishing. Yet through their doubts and fears, through their unbelief and
preoccupation the risen Lord made Himself known to them.
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It is impossible to dismiss these revelations of the divine Lord as the hallucinations
of deranged minds. So, if they were neither inventions nor hallucinations, the only
alternative left is that they actually happened. The risen Lord was seen. (John
Stott, Basic Christianity)
4. The Disciples Were Changed.
The death of Christ left them despondent. But in Acts they emerge as men full of
confidence.
Peter had denied even knowing the Lord. He was hiding “for fear of the Jews.” A
few days later, he preaches with power and conviction in the very city where Jesus
was crucified.
James, the half brother of Jesus, was not initially a believer (Jn.7:5). Yet he became a
leader in the Jerusalem Church. His transformation was the result of having seen the
risen Lord.
B. The Significance of the Resurrection.
1. It indicates that all of the claims of Christ are true.
Jesus made some rather amazing claims. He affirmed that Abraham, the father of the
Hebrews, rejoiced to see His day (Jn.8:56), that Moses had written of Him, and that
the Old Testament Scriptures bore witness of Him (Lk.24:44).
Consider His titles: He claimed to be the Messiah, for He assumed the title “Son of
Man,” an accepted Messianic title derived from one of Daniel’s visions. He even
accepted the description “Son of God” (Jn.10:36), another Messianic title (Psalm 2:7).
And, when Peter said to Him, “You are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living
God,” He said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to
you by man, but by My Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17).
But, more than titles, He claimed He could forgive sin; He claimed authority to
bestow spiritual life (Jn.3:16); He said He was the judge of the world, that people’s
eternal destiny depended upon their response to Him.
He said that if we come to Him we would never thirst again; that He would give us
“rest”; and, that we will live after death. How do we know these claims are true?
The answer is that the resurrection was the vindication and confirmation of all these
claims:
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus… who through the Spirit of holiness was declared
with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead.” Romans 1:1, 4
In the resurrection, God the Father was making a public declaration. By this act, the
Father was saying, “My Son is all He claimed to be.”
When Jesus said, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I
give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My
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hand” (John 10:27-28); when He said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end
of the age” (Matthew 28:20), those are the claims of a living Christ.
2. It indicates that the sacrifice of Christ was accepted.
“He was delivered over to death for our sins….” Romans 4:25a
Who delivered Jesus over to death? God the Father did:
“He… did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all….” Romans 8:32
“This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge.” Acts
2:23
Why did God the Father deliver Jesus over to death? “He was delivered over to
death for our sins….”
God sent Christ to the cross because of our deliberate acts of rebellion. How do we
know whether or not the Father was fully satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ for our
sin?
Here is the answer: “…and was raised to life for our justification.” Romans 4:25b
The resurrection indicates that the sacrifice of Christ was accepted. In the
resurrection, God is saying, “My Son has borne the full punishment for all sin! I am
fully satisfied!”
The Bible refers to “an appeal to God for a good conscience-- through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 3:21
Paul asks, “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who
was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
Romans 8:34
Whenever conscience is quick to condemn us, tell conscience, “Jesus was delivered
over to death for my sins.” And, if conscience says, “How do you know He died for
all of them?” Tell conscience, “He was raised to life for my justification.”
3. It indicates that life can be significantly different.
a. The resurrection provides believers with a power that enables them to build a new
life for themselves right now.
“We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just
as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may
live a new life.” Romans 6:4
Believers have the ability to say “No” to temptation and sin and to live in faith,
love and hope.
b. In the future, our lives will also be significantly different.
Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we will also receive glorified bodies and natures to
go along with them (1 Corinthians 15). Corruption, decay, and disease will be
problems of the past.
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2. THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST
The New Testament refers to the ascension in many places:
(1) To Mary Magdalene, Jesus said, “Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet returned to
the Father.” John 20:17
(2) We read about the actual ascension: “After he said this, He was taken up before their
very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” Acts 1:9
(3) Paul says this about Christ: “He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was
seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was
taken up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16
Why is it important? Generally speaking, the ascension was the completion of the
resurrection. It is the ascension that leads to a whole new world of benefits:
A. Christ Was Able to Send the Holy Spirit to be With us Forever.
Jesus: “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away,
the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7
It is to our advantage that Christ ascended so that we might receive the Holy
Spirit. What are the advantages?
1. The Spirit makes Christ available to us continuously.
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you
forever--the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees
Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I
will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18
Sometimes we think, “If only I had been with Jesus like the disciples, to see His
miracles, my life sure would be different!” Jesus says, through the Spirit, we have
the advantage over the disciples.
By the Spirit, Jesus is with us “forever,” without interruption. If Jesus were
physically present some place in Jerusalem today, every plane and boat to Israel
would be packed with people who were trying to see Him. We would never see Him.
We have access to Him now, by the Spirit, to provide comfort to our troubled
hearts…all because of the ascension.
2. Christ is able to carry on a wider ministry today because of the work of the Spirit.
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He
will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will
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do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You
may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:12-14
We are able to perform greater works than even Jesus in 2 ways:
(1) His work of healing was confined to Palestine; today, by His Spirit, He often
heals through medicine and hospitals, which are located all over the world.
(2) In the days of His earthly ministry, He had a few followers. But the Holy Spirit
made possible the conversion of thousands on the day of Pentecost alone.
B. Christ is Now Preparing a Place for Us.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s
house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and
take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3
His ascension makes possible our ascension into heaven.
C. Each Christian Is Now Endowed With Spiritual Gifts.
Jesus Christ is so concerned that there be a church made up of spiritually growing
Christians that He ascended into heaven in order to make sure that His people were
amply supplied with gifts:
“He has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ. That is
why the Scriptures say, ‘When He ascended to the heights, He led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to His people.’”
“Notice that it says ‘He ascended.’ This means that Christ first came down to the lowly
world in which we live. The same one who came down is the One who ascended higher
than all the heavens, so that His rule might fill the entire universe. He is the one who
gave these gifts to the church….” Ephesians 4:7-11 (NLT)
This serves to underscore the importance of our gifts and the importance of each person
doing his/her part in order to contribute to the spiritual growth of the body.
D. The Sacrifice of Christ Could Be Presented to the Father.
“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one;
He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did He enter
heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy
Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer
many times since the creation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the
end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as man is destined to
die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the
sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring
salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” Hebrews 9:24-28
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Having offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross, our High Priest took His own blood
to heaven and offered it to God for us.
3. THE SESSION OF CHRIST
The catechism indicates that Jesus is now “sitting at the right hand of God the Father.”
“The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for
Your feet.’” Psalm 110:1
This, of course, is figurative language: God does not have hands; nor is Jesus literally sitting
in a chair in heaven. What does it mean?
(1) The right hand was considered the hand of honor.
To be seated at the right hand of a king was a special mark of honor. This means that
God has expressed more favor, more delight and honor to Christ, than to anyone else.
“To which of the angels did God ever say, ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your
enemies a footstool for Your feet’?” Hebrews 1:13
(2) The right hand was considered the hand of power.
Most people are right handed; it’s considered the hand of strength.
“In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One
and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:64
So, the expression means that Jesus is a King and that He shares in the government of
heaven, possessing sovereign, supreme power and authority.
A. It Means Christ Has Completed His Saving Work.
1. Hebrews 1:3: “After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
“Sitting down” is a sign of finality; it means that nothing further need to be done
concerning our sin. All the work necessary to save us has been completed, and that
our ultimate salvation is absolutely guaranteed.
2. Romans 8:34: “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that,
who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
Christ has completed His saving work. Condemnation is an utter impossibility for
those who are in Christ.
B. It Denotes God the Father’s High Regard For His Son.
The session of Jesus was a reward: “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit….” Psalm 110:1
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“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to
death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave
him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:8-11
If God has already rewarded His own Son for saving us, is it conceivable that anything
can go wrong with that salvation? If we believe Scripture, we will come to the
conclusion that we are secure.
C. This Is A Pronouncement As To What Christ Is Doing Now.
1. Acts 5:31: “God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He
might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.”
Jesus is seated at the right hand of God with all authority, and He’s using this
authority for our salvation, for our being made more and more like Him.
2. Hebrews 10:12-13: “When this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins,
He sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time He waits for His enemies to be
made His footstool.”
One day all His enemies will be placed under His feet: the devil, sin, even hell. He
will usher in His great Kingdom and we will be in that Kingdom forever.
D. This Is Descriptive of What Is To Happen To Us.
Positionally, we are already seated with Christ (Eph. 2:6). We are seated in heaven in
the person of our representative, Christ. But in the heavenly state, we will be honored by
Christ for our faithfulness:
“To Him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with Me on my throne, just as I
overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:21
In some way that goes beyond our present comprehension, we will also be honored.
4. THE RETURN OF CHRIST
This is the high point of Jesus’ exaltation. As the catechism states, “He is coming to judge
the world at the last day.” The Bible describes it:
“He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed.
He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Acts 17:31
A. The Manner of His Coming.
1. A physical coming.
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The same Jesus who was born in Bethlehem, walked on the Sea of Galilee and was
crucified in Jerusalem will return and set His feet on the earth.
“This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the
same way you have seen Him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11
2. A visible coming.
People will see Him with their own eyes:
“Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who
pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him.”
Revelation 1:7
“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations
of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the
sky, with power and great glory.” Matthew 24:30
3. It will be a sudden coming.
His coming is compared to the flood at the time of Noah, to the coming of a thief in
the night, and to the lightning that shines from east to west. We are told to be
spiritually alert, because when people least expect Him, the Son of Man will come.
4. He is coming in great power.
Jesus said, “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with
power and great glory.” Matthew 24:30
That glory was veiled during the days of His earthly ministry. At His return, all His
greatness, power and glory will be displayed for all to see.
B. The Purpose of His Coming.
He is coming “to judge the world at the last day.”
“He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and
wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
Micah 4:3
The Son of God will not let sin exist in the world indefinitely. He will right all wrongs.
Micah’s prophecy will be fulfilled. All of His people will be rewarded and all of His
enemies will be destroyed. And Christ will establish a Kingdom that will be without
end.
This is the highest point for Christ, and the highest point for us, the “blessed hope” of
the church. He will usher in “the new heavens and the new earth.”
Conclusion:
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And so, Jesus’ exaltation consists of His resurrection, ascension, session and return. In
the words of the Apostles’ Creed, “On the third day, He rose again from the dead; He
ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there
He shall come to judge the living and the dead.”