Before Christ’s execution on the cross we were forever separated from God. He was to us simply a righteous Judge, a God who was distant from us. We could not lift a finger to bridge that chasm between us & the Almighty. But God, who is rich in mercy, reached down when we could not reach up- let alone, even look up!
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! -Romans 7:24-25
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! -1 John 3:1
And you, who once were alienated & hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy & blameless & above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable & steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven -Colossians 1:21-23
He broke through what we are unable to break! God came down to serve & to save us. In Christ’s short life on earth, He surrounded Himself with sinners: liars, thieves, betrayers, murderers, hookers, the pious… they sound like us. He went to the lowest of society & broke through those social barriers. He also surrounded Himself with a core group of 12 men that He poured into. They were going to preach the Gospel to all nations. The faith you have now is a result of the overwhelming power of the Holy Spirit in those men who were obedient to Messiah’s command to tell the world everything about Himself!
Now the Lord is the Spirit, & where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. -2 Corinthians 3:17
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. -1 Corinthians 3:7
One of the 12 betrayed Him! Judas saw Christ as simply ‘Rabbi’. I think that he serves as a great example to us that Jesus is more than a teacher. We have to remember that God came down here to make dead people alive. Judas never understood this God-Man before him. He only associated with Jesus; I don’t think he really knew Jesus. In Matthew 26, Judas asks “is it I, rabbi?” He never got close to Jesus! He may have known the Torah & the Law, but Judas never examined the Christ who is the fulfillment of the law. Jesus was just a teacher to Judas, he never came to believe in Him as the Redeemer & Sustainer of all things.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin & death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh & for sin [as a sin offering], he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. -Romans 8:1-4
That serves as a great warning to us, Christ is not simply some profound teacher, He is God… And the Spotless Lamb did something that we would never accomplish- He brought us at peace with the El-Shaddai, the Almighty Sufficient One!
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, & through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. -Colossians 1:19-20
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who 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, & is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him & kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet & call Him Lord & God. But let us not come 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
I just recently finished going through Matthew & Mark & my mind was blown. The Spirit revealed something profound to me, & I credit J.I. Packer’s “Knowing God” as well. In Matthew 28, look closely at the dialogue between the angel & the women. Then contrast that with the risen Christ’s words to them.
“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you in Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” (vv. 4-7)
And Messiah’s words, “Greetings! Do not be afraid; go & tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (vv. 9-10)
Did you catch that? It’s a subtle change that reveals an astounding act of God. Let’s go back to Matthew 12 real quick. I believe this passage reveals to us how Kingdom-minded Jesus was. He calls us brothers before the payment on the cross was made.
"Who is my mother & who are my brothers? Here are my mother & my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother & sister & mother.” (vv. 48-50)
First, what does the crucifixion do for us? We are cleansed from our sins & we stand justified because we have been given Christ’s righteousness! He took all our iniquity upon Himself & paid the death we could not pay after living the perfect life we could not live.
But, because of our separation, we still could not call on God as our Father. Before the death & resurrection of Christ, God is only a righteous Judge to us, not a Great Father. We were children of wrath, but as 1 John 3 declares, how great is the love the FATHER has lavished on us! We are NOW children of God because of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice. We are finally enabled by the Spirit to cry, “Abba, Father!” -Romans 8:15
Back to Jesus, “Go, & tell my brothers,” He says. It’s like Jesus whips adoption papers out of His primitive first-century backpack!! “My brothers” declares the Risen Lamb. We are children of God & Jesus shows our Holy Adoption through His words. He tells the women to go tell His brothers, they aren’t simply disciples to Christ any longer- but brothers. He bridged the gap, that chasm between us & God. What He envisions in Matthew 28:48-50 has come because we are in the eternal family of the Lord Most High. We certainly can approach the throne of grace with complete confidence now because we are His own! -Hebrews 4:16
They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted. -Isaiah 62:12
Christ swooped in, on mission, to make dead people live. He brought us at peace with God through a sacrifice that had to be made. The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled with Christ crucified & lifted on high. An amazing gift, an amazing truth: we are now sons & daughters of the Lord Most High! Romans 8 says that we have not been given a spirit that makes us slaves again to fear, but we have received the Spirit (our promised seal) of sonship. The adoption went through! We’ve been approved! In Jesus, you are fully accepted and approved by God!
We are enabled through Christ, by the Spirit, to cry “Abba, Father.” We are God’s children,
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs- heirs of God & co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings that we may also share in his glory.” -Romans 8:16-17.
“The gospel declares that in Christ you already are. It liberates us by revealing that our identity is locked in Christ, & our connection in & with Christ & His finished work for us is the truest definition of who we are.” -Tullian Tchividjian
The Spirit reminds us of the truth of our adoption daily! “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (v. 23)
“There is a righteous restlessness simply because we live in what theologians refer to as the already and not yet. We live in between the times of Christ’s first coming and His second coming. We have been rescued from slavery but we haven’t yet entered the Promised Land, so to speak. We are making our way through the wilderness of this life with God as our guide, but we’re not home yet.” -Tullian Tchividjian
Praise be to our Lord, Jesus Christ for bringing us at peace with God. And to the Father for making a way for us. And to the Spirit for teaching us the Way of the Master.
Daddy, I pray that you would come take us home quickly. But while we wait, give us patience. Show us what You are doing & teach us how to be just like You. Spirit, keep purging us from the things that hurt us. Remind us that we are children of God! Remind us that nothing can shake us, because our Father is before us. We stand because Christ paid the debt for us, hallelujah! Help us in our weaknesses, lead us in the way everlasting. May we be pruned into the image of Christ. Our Father, who is in heaven, may Your Name be hallowed in us in every way. Teach us how to worship, give us faith when ours is fleeting, remind us of our sonship, captivate us by Your glory, draw us near to Jesus. May we never lose sight of our Savior, give us discernment in all things, challenge us to depend upon You all the more. Abba, be glorified, sanctify, & purify our dirty souls with Christ’s perfect blood. You are holy, so far above us. May Your Word search throughout our hearts, dividing the lies from the truth. Remind us that worship is not just singing, it’s every moment, living in the Light that You are. Help us to pick up the sword of the Spirit & be armed with Christ to hack & slash out temptation & the evil one. You are mighty, thank You for revelation, don’t stop teaching us. We love You.
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