What
God Did For You And Me At Calvary!
"God
was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing
their trespasses to them… We implore you on Christ's
behalf, be reconciled to God. For God made Jesus who knew
no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness
of God in Him"
2 Corinthians 5:19-21.
Paul explains more clearly how we have been reconciled to
God… "God demonstrates His own love toward us in
that while we were still sinners Christ died for us…
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through
the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we
shall be saved by His life… We also rejoice in God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the
reconciliation" Romans 5:8-11.
There are two parts referred to here; 1) although we are sinners
we have been "reconciled to God through the death of
Jesus" on the cross, and 2) "having been reconciled,
we shall be saved by His life."
Why did the God of the Universe allow His Son to be born in
a cave, wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger because
there was no room in the inn, come to this earth as a child,
a baby, to live a life and to die a disgraceful, shameful,
humiliating, ignominious death on a Roman cross for you and
me?
Jesus died for the sins of the whole human race, however,
not everyone will accept what God has done for them. We get
an insight of the purpose of God for sending His Son into
the world from the Old and New Testaments.
John
the Baptist shares a very important insight with us on God's
reconciling the world to Himself when he proclaimed, "Behold!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
A little later he stated, "I saw the Spirit descending
from heaven like a dove, and He remained on Him. I did not
know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to
me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining
on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' And
I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God"
John 1:29, 32-34.
The "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"
is how God reconciled the world to Himself; and "He who
baptizes with the Holy Spirit" is how we are being "saved
by His Life!" In this meditation and the next, we will
let the Bible explain itself. This meditation is about what
God did for you and me at Calvary. The next meditation will
be on what He continues to do for us once we have accepted
His reconciliation for us.
Continuing
with the Lamb of God reference, the first reference in the
Bible to the sacrifice of a sheep was when Abel "brought
the firstborn of his flock" and offered it as a sacrifice
to the Lord. "And the Lord respected Abel and his offering"
Genesis 4:4.
The next reference to a sacrificial lamb was when "Isaac
spoke to Abraham his father and said, 'My father, look, the
fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?'
And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide for Himself the
lamb for a burnt offering.'" The full story is recorded
in Genesis 22. Because of Abraham's faithfulness the Angel
of the Lord proclaimed, "In your seed all the nations
of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My
voice" Genesis 22:18.
The next significant reference to a sacrificial lamb was the
Passover lamb. "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a
male of the first year… And they shall take some of the
blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of
the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh
on that night; roasted in fire… For I will pass through
the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn
in the land of Egypt… and against all the gods of Egypt
I will execute judgment; I am the Lord. Now the blood shall
be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I
see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall
not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt."
Exodus 12:5, 7, 8, 12-13. The Passover is a representation
of God's protection for His people at the end of the world.
The blood of the Lamb protects God's people.
In their wilderness journey, the Sanctuary service was established.
And when Christ died on the cross, the significance of the
Sanctuary service was ended. "And Jesus cried out again
with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold,
the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom"
Matthew 27:50, 51. The torn veil signified the end of the
sacrifice of lambs; for Jesus, "The Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world" was sacrificed for everyone
who accepts God's sacrifice for themselves. It's like the
blood of Jesus on the "doorposts and lintel" of
our hearts to protect us from the judgment of God "against
all the gods of this world" so to speak.
What else does the death of Jesus, and the torn veil, signify
to us? Let's listen to Paul when he wrote, "When one
turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is
the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty. We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror
the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same
image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord"
2 Corinthians 3:16-18.
God's
promises to Adam and Eve, to Abraham, and to His people of
all ages, including you and me, are fulfilled in Jesus, "the
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." And
in Him, we are being transformed into His likeness, and He
casts "all our sins into the depths of the sea"
Micah 7:19.
As we focus our eyes on the "Seed" of the woman
and the "Seed" of Abraham, we come to realize that
Jesus is that Seed, and He was "the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world" spoken of in Revelation 13:8.
From the very beginning of this earth's history, Jesus was
and is God's "salvation to the ends of the earth!"
Acts 13:47.
The Lamb
of God is God's gift to the world! Jesus died to pay the penalty
for the sins of the human race, from Adam and Eve to right
down to Christ's 2nd coming. God's reconciliation is offered
to every man and woman who comes into the world (John 1:9);
and it is received by everyone who puts their faith and trust
unreservedly in the One who paid the penalty for their sins,
"who are born… not of the will of man, but of God"
John 1:12, 13.
In the
words of Paul, "We implore you on Christ's behalf, be
reconciled to God. For God made Jesus who knew no sin to be
sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him" 2 Corinthians 5:20-21.
May God richly bless you this day!
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