SCRIPTURE
STUDIES
VOLUME FIVE - THE
ATONEMENT BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
STUDY
XV
“A RANSOM FOR ALL” THE ONLY BASIS FOR AT-ONE-MENT
At-one-ment
Impossible Without a Ransom — Secured but not Compelled — To be the
Ransomer Became a Favor — The Significance of Ransom and
Redeem — What Ransom was Paid for Man? — Justification by Faith
thus Secured — “Ye
are Bought with a Price” — By Whom? — Of Whom? — For
what Purpose? — How Love Cooperated with Justice — The “Ransom for All” was not Taken Back
— Fatherhood Rights of the First Adam Purchased by the Second Adam
— Ransom not Pardon — Man’s Death not a Ransom
— False Reasoning of Universalist Theories — Justice
not Obligated by the Ransom — The Only Name — The
Mediator’s Method Typed
in Moses — Ransom, Substitution — Was a Different Plan Possible?
“There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man
Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due
time.” 1 Tim. 2:5,6
AT-ONE-MENT between God and man was wholly dependent upon the
presentation of an acceptable sacrifice for man’s sins.
Unless the divine sentence or “curse” could be lifted from
mankind, it would stand as a perpetual embargo, to hinder man’s recovery
or restitution back to divine favor, fellowship and everlasting life.
Under the divine law, the only word of God to man would be, You are
a sinner; through your own wilful transgression in Eden you have brought
your trouble upon yourself: I have pronounced the sentence of death
against you justly, and I cannot remove that sentence without violating my
own justice, [page 422] the very foundation of my throne, my Kingdom. (Psa.
89:14) Hence your sentence must stand forever.
It must be met by you unless an acceptable substitute takes your
place under it.
We have seen clearly that the penalty or sentence against mankind
was not eternal torture, but, as plainly and distinctly stated by the
Creator to Adam, it was death. To
suppose that it was any other penalty than death would be to suppose that
God had dealt dishonestly with Adam and Eve in Eden—that he misinformed
and deceived them. We have
seen that a death sentence is a just sentence against sin—that life
being a conditional grant, the Creator had full right to revoke it: but it
requires no particular ability of mind to discern that an eternity of
torture for Father Adam would not have been a just
penalty for his partaking of the forbidden fruit—even attaching to that
act of disobedience all the culpability of wilfulness and intelligence
that can be imagined; much more, it would not have been just to have
permitted such a sentence of eternal torture to be entailed upon the
countless millions of Adam’s posterity.
But the death sentence, with all its terrible concomitants of
sickness and pain and trouble, which came upon Father Adam, and which
descended naturally through him to his offspring (inasmuch as an impure
fountain cannot send forth a pure stream), all can see to be both
reasonable and just—a sentence before which all mouths must be stopped;
all must admit its justice—the goodness and the severity of God.
Knowing definitely the penalty pronounced against sin, we may
easily see what Justice must require as a payment of that penalty, ere the
“curse” could be lifted and the culprit be released from the great
prison-house of death. (Isa. 61:1) As it was not because the entire race
sinned that the sentence came, but because one man sinned, so that
sentence of death fell directly upon Adam only, and only indirectly
through him upon his race, by heredity—and in full accord with these
facts Justice may demand only a corresponding price—Justice must,
therefore, demand the life of another as [page 423]
instead of the life of Adam, before releasing Adam
and his race. And if this
penalty were paid, the whole penalty would be paid—one
sacrifice for all, even as one
sin involved all. We have
already seen that the perfect Adam, the transgressor, who was sentenced,
was not an angel, nor an archangel, nor a god, but a man—in nature a
little lower than that of angels. Strictest
Justice, therefore, could demand as his substitute neither more nor less
than one of Adam’s own kind, under similar conditions to his, namely,
perfect, and free from divine condemnation.
We have seen that none such could be found amongst men, all of whom
were of the race of Adam, and therefore sharers, through heredity, of his
penalty and degradation. Hence
it was, that the necessity arose that one from the heavenly courts, and of
a spiritual nature, should take upon him the human nature, and then give
as substitute, himself, a ransom for Adam and for
all who lost life through him.
Amongst the angels who had retained their first estate and loyalty
to God, no doubt there might have been many found who would gladly have
undertaken the accomplishment of the Father’s will, and to become
man’s ransom price: but to do so would mean the greatest trial, the
severest test to which loyalty to God could be exposed, and hence the one
who would thus manifest his devotion and his loyalty and his faith would
be worthy of having the very highest position amongst all the angelic sons
of God, far above the angels and principalities and powers, and every name
that is named. Moreover, it
was a part of the divine purpose to make use of this opportunity to
illustrate the fact that whoever seeks to exercise his own selfish
ambitions (as Satan did), shall be degraded, abased, while, on the
contrary, whoever shall most thoroughly humble himself, in obedience to
the Heavenly Father’s will and plan, shall be correspondingly exalted.
God so arranged his plan as to make this feature a necessity; to
the intent that in this manifestation of divine sympathy and love for the
world, an opportunity might also be afforded for the manifestation of the [page 424]
love, humility and obedience of the Only Begotten of
the Father—his well-beloved Son, whom he delighted to honor.
As we have seen, our Lord Jesus (who, in his prehuman condition, we
recognize as the archangel, the highest or chief messenger, the Logos, the
Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth) had up to this time
been the agent of Jehovah in all the work of creation, and, as the first
begotten, had been with the Father from before the creation of all others,
and had known him intimately, had beheld his glory, and been the channel
of his power. And inasmuch as
he was already the first, the chief in the heavenly Kingdom, next to the
Father, the Apostle informs us that this work of redemption, this
privilege of executing the divine will in respect to man, was given to him
as a mark of special confidence, and as a favor because of the honors
which according to divine law must attach to so great obedience, humility
and self-sacrifice. (Matt. 23:12; James 4:10; 1 Pet. 5:6)
With confidence in the Son and desiring his attainment of the high
exaltation which would accrue as a result of that faithfulness, the Father
gave the first opportunity to him, who had, in all the past, enjoyed
pre-eminence in the divine plan, that thus he might continue to be the
pre-eminent one—“that in all things he might have the pre-eminence:
for it pleased the Father that in him all fulness should dwell.
And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to
reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things
in earth or things in heaven [fallen men and fallen angels, recovering and
reconciling so many of each as, under fullest opportunity, will return to
divine favor].” Col. 1:18-20
The selection of a spirit being to become man’s Redeemer does not
imply that the sacrifice of a spirit being’s existence was necessary as
the redemption price of an earthly being’s existence: quite the
contrary. Divine Justice could no more accept the sacrifice of a spirit
being for man than accept the sacrifice of bulls and goats as the ransom
price. As the blood of bulls
and goats could never take away [page 425]
sin, because they were of an inferior nature, so the
death of angels or archangels could never have taken away Adam’s sin,
nor become a suitable atonement sacrifice for him, because these were not
of his nature. It was man’s life that had been
forfeited through sin, and only a man’s
life could be accepted as the redemption price, the ransom-price.
It was for this cause that it was necessary that our Lord should
leave the glory of his prehuman condition, and humble himself, and become
a man, because only by becoming a man could he give the ransom-price.
While the Scriptures point out that our Lord humbled himself in
leaving the higher spiritual nature and in taking the lower human nature,
they nowhere point this out as being our sin-offering.
On the contrary, he humbled himself thus, in order that he might
become the sin-offering and pay our ransom price.
The Apostle distinctly points this out, saying, “Verily, he took
not hold upon the nature of angels [as though referring to the angels
which sinned] but he took hold on the seed of Abraham.”
Inasmuch as the children whom God had foreseen and purposed to
redeem, and to deliver out of the bondage of sin and corruption, were
partakers of flesh and blood, “he also himself took part of the same
[flesh and blood, human nature]; that through death he might destroy him
that hath the power of death, that is, the devil,” and deliver them.
(Heb. 2:14,16) He states the matter most explicitly, saying, “As by a man
came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.” (1 Cor. 15:21)
The Apostle John bears similar testimony, saying, “The Word was
made flesh.” (John 1:14) To
this agree also the words of our Lord Jesus, after he had come into the
world and after he had reached manhood’s estate; he said, “God sent
not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through him might be saved.” (John 3:17)
He does not intimate that the world had yet been saved, or that
anything had yet been done for the world’s salvation, except the sending of the one who would redeem the world by the sacrifice
of himself. The first step [page 426]
in the performance of his mission was, as our Lord
declared—“The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister [to serve others], and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
Here we have proof positive that in the laying aside of the glory
which he had with the Father before the world was, and exchanging the
higher nature for the human nature, our Lord had not given his life as a
ransom, but had merely made the preparation for that work which was
immediately before him. This
is further confirmed by the fact that it was as soon as he had reached
manhood’s estate, under the law, as soon as he was thirty years of age,
he at once presented himself a living sacrifice, consecrating his life,
laying it down, as represented in his symbolical immersion by John at
Jordan.
There was fulfilled, as the Apostle points out, the prophecy of
old, “Lo I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do
thy will, O God.” He had
come to do the will of God, to offer the sacrifice for sins, and hence he
had not previously offered it. In
that act of his consecration he presented himself a living sacrifice to
God’s service, even unto death. Mark
that at this particular point the Apostle says he set aside the typical
Law Covenant sacrifices that he might establish the second, the
antitypical, the real sacrifice for sins, his own death (and his members)
for the sealing of the New Covenant between God and men, by himself, the
Mediator of the New Covenant. And our text tells us the same thing, that it was the “man
Christ Jesus who gave himself
a ransom for all”—not the prehuman Logos.
The
First Step in the Program
The Apostle (Heb. 2:5-9) reviews the entire plan of God, and noting
the divine promises of human restitution, quotes from the Prophet David (Psa.
8:4-8), that the divine plan ultimately is to have mankind perfect, as the
lord of earth, controlling earth and its creatures, in harmony with the
laws of the divine Creator, saying, “We see not yet all [page 427]
things put under him [man—as indicated in the
prophecy].” We see not yet man in the image of God and lord of earth;
but we do see the divine purposes to this end already begun. We see the first step in this program, viz., “We see Jesus,
made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honor [the perfection of human nature] that he by the grace
of God should
taste death for every
man [and thus make possible human restitution].”
We see the work of man’s salvation thus begun by Jehovah, in
providing a suitable ransom price for our redemption, one equal in glory
and honor and absolute human perfection with the first man, Adam; one who,
to this end and for this purpose, had left the glories of a higher nature,
and been made lower than the angels, although previously possessed of a
higher nature than they. We see this one provided for the very purpose of “tasting
death for every man.” We
see that he took the human nature “for the suffering of death”—the very penalty that was
against our race. Seeing
this, we can rejoice that the good purposes of our Heavenly Father for our
ransom and restitution, and full reconciliation to himself, have been
amply arranged for, and upon a plane of absolute justice, by which God can
be just and yet be the justifier of them that believe in Jesus.
Thus the sacrifice which our Lord Jesus gave for man’s sin was
not a spiritual one, which would not have been a proper, acceptable
sacrifice because it would not have been “a corresponding price”—in every particular the exact ransom
price for Adam.
The
Significance of “Ransom” and “Redeem”
This brings us to the consideration of the word ransom,
which in the New Testament has a very limited and very definite
signification. It occurs only twice. Once
in our Lord’s own description of the work he was doing, and once in the
Apostle’s description of that completed work—our text.
The Greek word used by our Lord is lutron-anti,
which [page 428] signifies, “a price in offset, or a price to
correspond.” Thus our Lord
said, “The Son of Man came...to give his life a ransom [lutron-anti—a price to
correspond] for many.” (Mark 10:45)
The Apostle Paul uses the same words, but compounds them
differently, anti-lutron,
signifying, “a corresponding price,” saying, “The man, Christ Jesus,
gave himself a ransom [anti-lutron—corresponding
price] for all, to be testified in due time.” 1 Tim. 2:6
There is no room for quibbling or disputing the meaning of these
texts. Only by handling the
Word of God deceitfully can any be blinded to the force and real meaning
of this, the Lord’s testimony to the work which has been accomplished by
our great Mediator. And the
more this thought of a ransom—a “corresponding
price”—is considered, the more force does it seem to contain,
and the more light does it shed upon the entire work of the Atonement.
The thought, and the only thought, contained in it is that as Adam,
through disobedience, forfeited his being, his soul,
all his rights to life and to earth, so Christ Jesus our Lord, by his
death, as a corresponding
price, paid a full and exact offset for Father Adam’s soul or
being, and in consequence for all his posterity—every human
soul—sharers in his fall and in his loss. Rom. 5:12
This same thought is abundantly expressed in many other scriptures,
which speak of our Lord’s work as that of redeeming, purchasing, etc.
We have directed special attention to the word “ransom,” anti-lutron, because it presents the thought in the purest and
most unmistakable form. The
words, “redeem,” “redeemed,” “redeemer” and “redemption,”
while they contain the thought of a price being paid, contain the
additional thought of setting free, or liberating those for whom the price
was paid. Hence these words, both in the English and in the original,
are sometimes used in connection with the sacrifice, or giving of the
price of redemption, and at other times used with reference to the setting
at liberty of the redeemed ones, their deliverance.
And the many foes of the doctrine of the ransom, of whom the [page 429]
chief is Satan, sometimes with great cunning attempt
to divert the attention away from the price given for man’s release from
the curse of death, by pointing out those texts of Scripture in which the
words “redeem” and “redemption” are applied merely as relating to
the full deliverance of mankind from death.
By calling attention to the deliverance, and “handling the Word
of God deceitfully,” they attempt to obscure the fact that the future
deliverance, and all the blessings that now or in the future will come to
mankind by divine grace, are of the Son, and through or by means of the ransom-sacrifice of
himself, which he gave on our behalf, and which was “finished” at
Calvary. John 19:30
The translators of our Common Version English Bible unwittingly
aided these opponents of the ransom, by using the word “redeem” to
translate Greek words which have considerably different meanings.
That the English reader may have this matter clearly before his
mind, we will here cite all the various Greek words rendered “redeem,”
“redeemed” and “redemption,” and following each will give the
definition furnished by the learned lexicographer, Prof. Young, in his Analytical
Concordance, as follows:
The word “redeem” is sometimes used as the translation of the
Greek word agorazo.
This word is defined by Prof. Young to signify “to acquire at the
forum.” Still more
literally, it would signify, to purchase in the open market; for the root
of the word, agora,
signifies market-place
and is so used repeatedly throughout the Scriptures: Matt. 20:3; Mark
12:38; Luke 7:32; Acts 16:19. The
following are all the instances in which the word agorazo
is translated “redeemed” in the New Testament:
“Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood.” Rev. 5:9
“And no man could learn that song, but the hundred and forty and
four thousand which were redeemed
from the earth.” Rev. 14:3 [page 430]
“These were redeemed
from amongst men, being the first fruit unto God and unto the Lamb.”
Rev. 14:4
The thought in each of these cases is that of public purchase; and
all the other uses of this word agorazo, throughout the New Testament, emphatically support a
most commercial signification. The
word occurs in the New Testament in all thirty-one times. In the above three instances it is rendered redeemed, in thirteen
instances bought, in fifteen instances buy.
We call especial attention to the signification of this word,
because the tendency to deny that there was a purchase of our race
effected by a price
given for man’s release from the “curse” is prevalent and a growing
one—very subversive of the true “faith, once delivered to the
saints.”
Another word rendered “redeem,” “redeemed” and
“redemption,” is related to the above, and formed out of it by the
addition of a prefix, ex, which signifies out
of—exagorazo. Prof. Young gives to this word the definition,
“to acquire out of the forum.” Still
more literally, to publicly purchase and take
possession of. The
only uses of this word in the New Testament are as follows:
“Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us.” (Gal. 3:13)
The Apostle is here pointing out that Christians who had been Jews
and had therefore been under the Jewish or Law Covenant, had not only been
purchased from under its sentence, but were also released from its
dominion. The word agorazo
signifies the purchase, and the prefix ex
signifies the release by that purchase, so that they were no longer under
the dominion of the Law.
“God sent forth his son, made of a woman, under the Law, to redeem them that were
under the Law [Covenant], that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
(Gal. 4:4,5) This is a similar statement to the foregoing, and signifies
the purchase of the Jewish people from under the dominion of the Law, and
the liberation of believers from it, that they might become sons of God.
Compare John 1:12.
[page 431]
“See that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time,
because the days are evil.” (Eph. 5:15,16; Col. 4:5) This is a similar use of the word exagorazo: the Lord’s
people realize that they are in the midst of evil, the tendency of which
is to absorb their energy, influence and time in things sinful or foolish,
or at least unprofitable, as compared with the more weighty interests
which lie closest to their hearts, as children of God.
We are, therefore, to
purchase and to secure out of the evil
time, and apart from these unfavorable influences, as large a proportion
of time as may be possible for devotion to higher interests—our own
spiritual sustenance and strengthening, and for the assistance of others
in spiritual things. Such
purchase will cost us something of self-denial, of gratification of our
own natural appetites and tendencies, and something also of the good
opinion and fellowship of others, who will “think it strange” that we
run not with them to the same excesses as formerly. 1 Pet. 4:4
Another Greek word is also rendered “redeemed”—namely lutroo.
Prof. Young defines lutroo to signify “to
loose by a price”—that is, to set
free by the payment of a price.
The basis or root of this word is lutron,
which, as noted above with anti,
used either as a prefix or a suffix, signifies a corresponding price.
This word, lutroo, occurs three times in the New Testament, as follows:
“We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel.” (Luke
24:21) The apostles were
disappointed at our Lord’s death, and declared this disappointment by
saying that they had expected that the Lord would have set Israel at
liberty from the Roman yoke, by the payment of a price.
They had not yet been endued with the holy Spirit, and did not
understand the length and breadth, the height and depth of the divine
plan, by which not only Israel but the whole world was redeemed, not only from the Roman yoke, but from Satan’s yoke,
and from the great prison-house [page 432]
of death, by the ransom price which our Lord gave,
and which was finished in death.
“Our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself, that he might redeem us from all
iniquity.” (Titus 2:14) The
price which our Lord gave on behalf of mankind is not only intended to
secure to them an awakening from the tomb, in God’s due time, during the
Millennium, and an opportunity then to come into harmony with God on the
terms of the New Covenant; but more than this, it means to those who hear
the good tidings now, a message of present relief from the thraldom of
iniquity—that we should no longer be servants of sin, but should become
the servants of him who died for us, who bought us with his own precious
blood.
“Ye know that ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers; but with
the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot.” (1 Pet. 1:18,19) The
thought in this text is the same as in the preceding one.
It relates not so much to our ultimate deliverance from death, in
the resurrection, as to our present loosing
from an evil course, vain conversation, foolish talking, and iniquity in
general. This liberty was purchased for us by the
blood of Christ, as well as the grander liberty of the resurrection, which
is yet future. Without the
payment of the ransom price, without the satisfaction of Justice, God
could not accept us as sons, could not therefore deal with us as with
sons, could not seal us as his sons with the spirit of adoption into his
family, and hence these various agencies of his grace, which now are open
to believers, and which are to us the
power of God unto salvation, breaking in our hearts the power of
sin, and establishing instead the mind or spirit of the Lord, as the
ruling power, could not have come to us.
Another Greek word, rendered “redemption” is lutrosis.
Prof. Young gives as its definition, “a loosing”—literally, setting
free, deliverance. This
word does not contain the thought of a price being paid, and hence it
should not have [page 433]
been rendered by our English word, redemption, but
rather by the word “deliverance.”
It occurs twice:
“She, coming in that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord,
and spake of him [the babe Jesus] to all them that looked for redemption [deliverance]
in Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:38) Anna spoke to those who were looking for
deliverance in Jerusalem—expecting freedom from the Roman yoke, but not
necessarily understanding that the greater deliverance was to come by a
payment of a ransom price.
“Christ being come an high priest...neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place;
having obtained eternal redemption
[deliverance]
for us.” (Heb. 9:11,12) The
Apostle is not referring to how our Lord obtained the eternal redemption of deliverance, and
hence makes no reference here to the price paid: he refers merely to the
present and future deliverance of God’s people, and not to the method by
which that deliverance was secured, prior to our Lord’s entrance into
the holy place—the sacrifice of himself as man’s ransom price.
Another Greek word, translated “redeemed” in the New Testament,
is poieolutrosin.
Prof. Young defines its meaning to be, “to
make a loosing,” i.e., to
set at liberty, to deliver. It
occurs but once.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people
[literally, wrought redemption for his people].” (Luke 1:68)
The preceding verse shows that this expression was a prophecy:
things not completed are here mentioned as though they had been
accomplished: the first step toward Israel’s deliverance had been taken,
and it was spoken of joyously as though the entire matter were already
accomplished. This word does
not contain the thought as to how
the deliverance will be secured: other scriptures show us that it is
secured by the payment of a corresponding price, a ransom, and is to come
through the setting up of the Kingdom of God.
This word should not have [page 434] been translated “redeemed” but rather delivered,
as a guard against confusion of thought by the English reader.
Another Greek word, improperly rendered “redemption” is apolutrosis.
It contains no thought respecting a purchase price, but simply
signifies deliverance,
setting free. Prof. Young
defines its meaning to be “a
loosing away.” The
word occurs ten times, and is only once properly translated
“deliverance.” Note the following:
(1) “Then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption [deliverance]
draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28) There
is no reference here to the ransom or the conditions precedent to the
Church’s deliverance, but merely to the deliverance itself.
(2) “Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption [deliverance]
that is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:24) The Apostle does not in these
words refer to the ransom, but merely to the deliverance which the
Lord’s people have, now reckonedly and by and by prospectively, in the
resurrection. He is treating the matter from God’s standpoint: believers
are freely, unconditionally, justified; aside from any works of merit on
their part. This is
accomplished through the deliverance
which God has provided in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In the following verse the Apostle proceeds to show how this
deliverance was effected, saying, “Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation [literally, a mercy seat or channel of mercy] through
faith in his blood [the sacrifice, the ransom price given for the
sins of the whole world].”
(3) “Even we ourselves [the faithful Church] groan within
ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption
[deliverance] of our body
[the Church, the body of Christ, which is to be glorified with the head in
due time].” (Rom. 8:23) Nothing
in this statement has the slightest reference to the redemption
accomplished at Calvary, the purchase-price: it refers purely and solely
to the deliverance
of the Church, which is to be a part of the result of the redemption
finished at Calvary—the ransom. [page 435]
(4) “Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption [deliverance].”
(1 Cor. 1:30) Nothing here
has any reference to the redemption-price paid at Calvary.
The Apostle is speaking, not of what our Lord did for us, but of
what he is yet to do for us. He
is our wisdom in that we are to lay aside our own wills, and accept his
will, and thus have the spirit of a sound mind, and “walk in wisdom.”
He is our righteousness, in that, as our representative, he gave
himself a ransom
for all, and now in his righteousness represents all those who
come unto the Father by him. He
is our sanctification, in that, through his merit, we are accepted of the
Father as (reckonedly perfect) living sacrifices, while really it is the
power of Christ in us that enables us to present ourselves living
sacrifices, and to walk in his footsteps, and to fulfil our covenant. He
is our deliverance (mistranslated “redemption”), in that the fact that
he lives, who, by the grace of God, bought us with his precious blood, is
the guarantee that we shall live also; that he will, in due time, deliver
from the bondage of corruption, death, his Church, which he purchased with
his own blood. The
deliverance, and not the purchase, is here referred to.
But it is because he purchased that he has the right to be to any,
wisdom, justification, sanctification, deliverance.
(5) “He hath made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption [deliverance]
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace.” (Eph. 1:7) The Apostle does not here refer to the redemption
purchase at Calvary. On the
contrary, he is speaking of our acceptance with the Father, and declares
that this acceptance with Jehovah is based upon something which he did for
us in the Beloved One, our Lord Jesus, and through whose blood (the
sacrifice, the ransom) we have deliverance.
The construction of the sentence shows that the Apostle means that
our deliverance
is from the sentence of sin, death, for he explains this deliverance
as being “the forgiveness of sins.” The sense of the passage, then, is
this: The Heavenly Father, [page 436] who had already in his mind predestinated the
adoption of a “little flock” to be sons on the plane of the divine
nature, and joint-heirs with his first begotten and well-beloved Son, our
Lord, took the steps of grace necessary to the accomplishment of this his
purpose toward us. He made us
accepted in the Beloved; for in the Beloved, through his blood, through
his sacrifice, we have deliverance from the divine curse and wrath—the
forgiveness of our sins, from which we are made free or justified.
(6) “The earnest of our inheritance unto the redemption
[deliverance] of the
purchased possession.” (Eph. 1:14)
The possession which Christ purchased by the sacrifice for sins as man’s substitute
includes mankind in general or so many as will accept the favor on the
gospel conditions, as well as the Church, the Bride.
The time for the deliverance is in the Millennial Kingdom and the
Church is to be delivered first—“early in the morning.” But the earth was part of man’s original estate and was
purchased by the same sacrifice once for all: hence it too is to be
delivered from its share of the curse and shall become as the garden of
the Lord—Paradise. The purchase
is accomplished but the deliverance
waits for God’s “due time.”
(7) “In whom we have redemption [deliverance]
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:14)
This statement is similar to the foregoing.
We, the Church, already have deliverance,
that is, the forgiveness of our sins, and hence harmony with the Father.
The word “redemption” here has no reference to the sacrifice
for sins, but merely to its effect upon us, setting
us free from our sins. The
Apostle, however, does not ignore the sacrifice, but declares that our
deliverance from the bondage and control of sin is through the efficacy of
our Lord’s blood—his death, his sacrifice for sins, the ransom paid.
(8) “Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed
unto the day of redemption
[deliverance].”
(Eph. 4:30) There is no reference here to the redemption sacrifice
finished [page 437]
at Calvary. Yet
not until that sacrifice was finished, and its merits presented in the
holy of holies, and accepted by the Father, did the holy Spirit come upon
any to seal them as sons of God. But
now these who have been sealed are to maintain this seal of sonship, this
begetting of the divine nature, not to lose it. The sealing of the Spirit is the first-fruit of the Spirit,
and is all that is communicated during this present life: for the full
measure of the blessing of the divine nature we must wait until the time
appointed of the Father, “the day of deliverance,” the Millennial Day, in which day the Scriptures
declare, concerning the Church, the Bride of Christ, “God shall help her
early in the morning.” (Psa. 46:5)
Whoever loses the holy Spirit and its seal will have neither part
nor lot in the first resurrection, in the morning of “the day of
[complete] deliverance” from the power of sin and death
(9) “For this cause he is the mediator of the New Covenant, that
by means of death for the redemption [deliverance]
of the transgressions that were made under the first [previous] covenant,
they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
(Heb. 9:15) Once more a
faulty rendering partially obscures the meaning; but when the thought is
seen to be deliverance, all is clear.
To Israel our Lord’s death meant more than to the Gentiles.
It meant not only redemption from Adamic transgression, and its
penalty, death, but it meant additionally to the Jew deliverance
from the “curse” or penalty of the Law Covenant, which rested upon
that nation, because of failure to comply with its terms.
The Israelites were under the “curse” which came upon Adam,
just the same as the remainder of mankind; but additionally they were
under the “curse” of their Law Covenant, instituted through Moses, its
mediator, at Sinai. It is to this double “curse” upon that people that
reference is made in the hymn which says:
“Cursed by the Law, and bruised by the fall,
Christ hath redeemed us, once for all.”
[page 438]
(10) “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance.”
(Heb. 11:35) This is the one
instance in which the translators have properly rendered this word: they
probably tried to render it “redemption,” and found that it would make
rather strange reading to say, “not accepting redemption,” and then
translated it properly—“deliverance.”
In the Old Testament, the words “redeem,” “redeemed,”
“redeemer” and “redemption” are generally good translations of the
original Hebrew words, for instance: Gaal
signifies, to free—by avenging or repaying. Young
“I know that my Redeemer liveth.” Job 19:25
“They remembered...the high God, their Redeemer.”
Psa. 78:35
“Who redeemeth
thy life from destruction.” Psa. 103:4
“One of his brethren may redeem him: either his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem
him...or if he be able he may redeem
himself.” Lev. 25:48,49
“Ye have sold yourselves for naught and ye shall be redeemed without money.”
(Isa. 52:3) Compare 1 Pet.
1:18.
“The Redeemer
shall come to Zion.” Isa. 59:20
Our object in citing the instances in which redemption
appears in our English New Testament, without the original Greek word
containing a thought of a ransom-price,
is to guard the reader against the deceptive methods of certain
sophistical writers and teachers. Denying
the ransom,
denying that the world was purchased
by our Lord’s death, these are prone to cite passages where the word redeem
is improperly used for deliver,
and then give the inference that deliver
is the only meaning of redeem,
in every instance. In view of
the carelessness of our translators the only safe and proper method to
pursue in a case such as this where much depends on the exact meaning of a
word, is to get at the original word and its meaning.
[page 439]
We have demonstrated that in many instances the holy Spirit has
expressed through the New Testament writers the thought of purchase
of our race and of corresponding
price paid, in the very strongest terms, interpretable only on the
lines of commercial transaction, or the substitution of the
purchase price for the thing bought.
We have shown also that in other cases where the word used merely
means deliverance
nothing conflicts with the thought that such deliverance will be secured
as a result of a ransom [anti-lutron,
corresponding price], but that generally the context explicitly refers to
the deliverance as being thus secured.
But while the Scriptures are thus explicit in their assurance that
our Redeemer bought
the world with his own life, “his own precious blood,” it is merely in
order to give God’s people “full assurance of faith,” letting them
know that the remission of the death penalty is not a violation of God’s
justice but its satisfaction by his love.
It also assures us of the unchangeableness of divine law, which could not be broken, but
instead provided redemption at so great a cost. This assurance that God’s love and justice operate in
fullest harmony, gives us confidence that the same principles will
continue to rule the universe forever—satisfies us that the “wrath,”
the “curse,” will be lifted from all who come into harmony with God
through Jesus the Mediator, and that all who do not avail themselves of
this grace will be swallowed up of the Second Death—for “the wrath of
God abideth on them.” Acts 3:23; John 3:36; Rev. 22:3
But so far as the redeemed are concerned it matters not how God’s
love and justice arranged the matter of our forgiveness, because to them
it is a free gift, to be had only by accepting it as such.
We cannot purchase it, nor can we compensate God for this
“gift.” The question then
arises, If it is a “gift” to us, why should we trouble to investigate,
or why should the Lord be particular to reveal the fact that this gift was
secured to us at a cost,
at a price,
by the death of Christ? and why should the Scriptures so particularly
point out to us that his death was the exact
price, the corresponding
[page 440]
price, that was due for our sins?
We answer, that God thus explains to us the details of his
operations on our behalf, to the intent that we may the better understand
him and his laws, and their co-ordination and operation.
He so explains, in order that we may understand that he is not
abrogating or setting aside his own sentence against sin—that he is not
declaring sin allowable, permissible, excusable.
He wishes us to realize that his justice is absolute, and that
there can be no conflict by which his love could dominate or overpower and
overthrow the sentence of justice; that the only way that his just
sentence against sin and sinners could be set aside was by meeting the
requirements of justice with a corresponding
price—“a ransom.” Man
had sinned, man had been sentenced to death, man had gone into death.
There could be, therefore, no hope for man except as love and mercy
might provide a substitute for Father Adam. And a substitute, as we have
seen, must be of the same nature as Adam, human nature; the substitute
must be equally free from sin, free from the curse, free from wrath;
similarly holy, similarly harmless, similarly separate from sin and
sinners, similarly approved of God, as was Adam before his transgression.
We have seen that our Lord Jesus was made flesh—(not sinful
flesh) but holy, harmless, separate from sinners.*
We have seen that the man Christ Jesus was thus a
perfect man, the counterpart of the first man, Adam, and thus we
see that he was all ready to be our Redeemer, our ransom, to give his life
and all human rights for the purchase, the redemption, of Adam and the
race of Adam, which lost life and all human rights in him.
We have seen that our Lord, “the man Christ Jesus,” did
consecrate, did sacrifice, did give up on man’s behalf all
that he had. This he
clearly set forth in his teaching on this subject.
He represented himself as the man who found a treasure hidden in a
field, and who went and sold
all that he had, and bought that field. (Matt. 13:44) [page
441] The field represents the world of mankind, as well as
the earth itself. (Eph. 1:14) In
this world of mankind our Lord saw a treasure—prophetically he saw the
result of the redemptive work, the deliverance of many from the bondage of
corruption into the full liberty of sons of God (the Church in this age,
and the worthy of the world in the age to come).
It was in view of this treasure that the field was bought. Speaking of the result of the ransom, and of the work of
redemption, as it shall finally be accomplished by the close of the
Millennial age, the Prophet speaking of our Lord says, “He shall see of
the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” (Isa. 53:11)
Our Lord was fully satisfied to give his life, and all he then had,
to purchase the world.
—————
*Page 103.
What
Ransom Was Paid for Man?
What our Lord did for us, what price he gave on our behalf, what he
surrendered, or laid down in death, since it was a corresponding
price, “a ransom for all,” should correspond exactly to
whatever was man’s penalty. Our
Lord did not go to everlasting torment, hence we have this indisputable
testimony that everlasting torment is not the wages of sin prescribed by
the great Judge, but merely a delusion, foisted upon mankind by the great
Adversary, and those whom he has deluded.
So surely as that which our Lord suffered in man’s room and
stead, as man’s substitute, was the full penalty which men would
otherwise have been obliged to suffer, so surely this is proof positive
that no such punishment as eternal torment was ever threatened or
inflicted or intended. Those
who know the testimony of God’s Word recognize its statements to be that
“Christ died for our sins”; that
he “died
the just for the unjust, to bring us to God”; that “he is the
propitiation* [hilasmos—satisfaction]
[page
442] for our sins [the Church’s sins], and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world”; that “the Lord hath
laid on him the iniquity of us all, and by his stripes [the things which
he suffered in our stead—self-denial even unto death]
we are healed.” What
harmony and consistency is seen in this Scriptural view of matters; and
how utterly inconsistent are the unscriptural delusions of Satan, handed
us by tradition and popularly received! 1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 3:18; 1 John
2:2; Isa. 53:5,6
—————
*Two Greek words are rendered “propitiation.”
Hilasmos
is correctly rendered
“propitiation” in two texts (1 John
2:2; 4:10), but hilasterion is incorrectly rendered “propitiation” in Rom.
3:25: it signifies propitiatory, i.e., place of satisfaction or propitiation.
The “Mercy Seat” or covering of the Ark of the Covenant was the
place
of making satisfaction—the propitiatory or hilasterion; but the Priest in sprinkling the blood of
atonement, the blood of the sin-offering, on the hilasterion accomplished hilasmos,
i.e., he made satisfaction or propitiation for the sins of the people.
“The wages of sin is death,” “The soul that sinneth it shall die,” say the
Scriptures. (Rom. 6:23; Ezek. 18:4) And
then they show us how completely this wage has been met for us, in the
declaration, “Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures,” and rose
again for our justification. (1 Cor. 15:3; Rom. 4:25) His death was the ransom
price, but his providing the ransom price did not give
justification. First, our
Lord must present that ransom price before the Father in our behalf; and
this he did when “He ascended up on high,” there to appear in the
presence of God for us. He
then and there imputed to the Church the merit of his ransom sacrifice.
Then comes justification as a result,
(1) of the ransom-sacrifice, and (2) its application for all men who will
believe and obey him. Thus
the resurrection and ascension of our dear Redeemer were necessary
adjuncts to make his death-sacrifice available.
“Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.”
(Heb. 9:22) Throughout the
Law dispensation God emphasized this feature of his arrangement by
requiring [page
443] the blood of bulls and of goats; not that these could
ever take away sins, but that in due time they might be recognized as
types or illustrations of better sacrifices, through which sins are
blotted out and canceled. The
expression, “shedding of blood,” signifies simple death, life poured
out, yet points to a sacrificial death, and not what is sometimes termed a
natural death—though strictly speaking no death is natural.
According to nature man was to live: death is the violation of the
law of man’s being, resulting from transgression, and its accompanying
“curse” or sentence.
So far as Justice was concerned, the Jews might have put our Lord
to death in any other form, and the requirements of Justice have been
equally well met. The
necessary thing was surrender of his innocent soul (being) as an off-set
or in exchange for a guilty soul (being) whose existence was forfeited
through transgression. Neither was it necessary, so far as the ransom feature was
concerned, that our Lord’s person should be wounded, and his blood
literally shed or spilled on the ground.
The penalty for sin was death, the cessation of being, and when that was accomplished
the penalty was met. The
requirement of the crucifixion and the pierced side were for other
considerations.
The blood falling upon the earth, at the foot of the altar of
sacrifice, represented that not only mankind had been purchased, but that
the earth itself was included, and the blood was sprinkled upon it. The shame and ignominy of the public crucifixion, as a
malefactor, was necessary, because our Heavenly Father had decided that
the testing of the obedience of our Lord Jesus should be to the utmost;
not only was he tested to see whether he would be willing to become a man, but
additionally, whether he would be willing to die as man’s ransom-price
or substitute, and additionally, whether or not he would be willing to
suffer the very extreme of ignominy, and thus prove to the last degree his
worthiness of the greatest exaltation at his Father’s hands. [page 444]
The Apostle presents the matter in this light; for after telling us
of how he left the heavenly glory for our sakes, and became a man, he
adds, “And being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death—even
the death of the cross. Wherefore,
God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name [title, honor, dignity]
which is above every name”—the Father’s name or title excepted.
(Phil. 2:8,9) Compare 1 Cor.
15:27.
Every reference of Scripture to justification
by faith—that we are justified by the blood of Christ, etc., is
a testimony corroborative of the foregoing—that “God was in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them,” but imputing them unto “him who died for us and rose again.”
(2 Cor. 5:19,21; 1 Thess. 4:14; 5:10) The guilt of the sinner was borne by
the Redeemer, who gave the full corresponding price for our sins, that all
seeking righteousness might be accepted as righteous, through the merits
of his sacrifice. (Rom. 5:17-19) The
fact that we needed to be justified
or made right, proves that we were wrong, unrighteous, unjust in God’s
sight. The fact that men could not justify themselves by works was
demonstrated by Israel under their Law Covenant, and proves that this
wrong or sin was in the very natures of men; and this rendered it
necessary that we should be redeemed and justified through the merit and
sacrifice of another—a spotless Redeemer.
Justified signifies to be made right; but we are not made right or perfect actually:
we are merely reckoned right or perfect because of our faith in and acceptance
of the righteousness of Christ and his sacrifice on our behalf. Everywhere
throughout the Scriptures this power of justification on the part
of our Redeemer is attributed to his sacrifice on our behalf.
That our own works could not justify us, or make us acceptable
before God, see Gal. 2:16; Rom. 3:27,28. That the Law could not justify
those under it, see Gal. 5:4; Rom. 3:20. That faith in Christ’s finished work alone justifies, see
Gal. 2:17; 3:13,14; Rom. 4:24,25, etc. [page 445]
Various scriptures more or less distinctly speak of our being
washed or cleansed or purified from sin.
All such scriptures are in support of the doctrine of the ransom
because it is distinctly stated in the same connection that the cleansing
power is “the blood of Christ”—the merit of our Lord’s sacrifice.
See 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5; 1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Pet. 2:22; Titus 3:5; Heb.
9:14; 1 Pet. 1:19.
Justification is symbolically represented as a robe of
righteousness, of pure linen, clean and white, by which the Lord covers
the blemishes and imperfections of all whom he accepts through faith in
his precious blood. All endeavors toward righteousness on our own part, aside
from the merit of Christ, are likewise symbolically represented as
“filthy rags” of our own righteousness. (Isa. 64:6)
True, certain scriptures refer to our efforts towards
righteousness, by obedience to the divine commands, as a cleansing work,
progressing throughout our entire Christian course, as the Apostle
expresses it, “Having our bodies washed with pure water,” and
cleansing of the Church by the “washing of water by the Word”: and
these are very proper presentations of the cleansing of our hearts, the
“putting away the filth of the flesh”: and these scriptures are very
properly understood to refer to a daily and a life work.
But all these cleansings of thoughts, words and acts—all these
endeavors to bring our mortal bodies into closer conformity to the will of
God in Christ, are based upon our previous acceptance of Christ and our
justification through faith in his blood.
The Scriptural thought is that from the time we consecrate
ourselves to God, all our imperfections are covered from the Lord’s
sight through the merit of the ransom-sacrifice, provided by Jehovah’s
grace, and laid hold of and appropriated by faith.
Since only that which is perfect could be acceptable of God, and since we, with all our
efforts and washings, would still be imperfect, it is manifest that our
acceptance with the Father is under the covering of the robe of Christ’s
righteousness, his perfection reckoned or applied or imputed to us.
Thus we are first “accepted in the [page 446]
beloved” (Eph. 1:6); and then daily manifest our
devotion to righteousness and our desire to please the Lord by efforts
toward holiness.
How frequently the Scriptures refer to our Lord as our
sin-offering, “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world!”
(John 1:29) All the
sacrifices of the Law, all the blood shed upon Jewish altars, pointed
forward to this great sacrifice for sin slain on our behalf; for, as the
Apostle assures us, the blood of bulls and of goats could never take away
sin—only the antitypical sacrifice could do this, “the precious
blood.” On this subject of
the sacrifice for sins, as presented in the New Testament, see Heb. 9:12;
10:10; Eph. 5:2; 1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Pet. 2:22-24; 2 Cor. 5:21—Diaglott.
That this sacrifice was for us, the Church, and for all mankind, is
likewise very clearly set forth in the Scriptures: “He, by the grace of
God tasted death for every man,” the just for the unjust, to bring us to
God—to open up for us and for all mankind a way of return or
reconciliation to harmony with the Heavenly Father, and thus indirectly to
open up for us the way back to eternal life, the Father’s favor or
blessing or gift for all those who are truly his children. On this point
see the following: 1 Thess. 5:10; Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:14,15;
John 10:15; 11:50-52; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18.
That it was the death of the man Christ Jesus, his “blood,”
that secured our release from sin and death, is most unequivocally stated
in many scriptures, and can only be repudiated by denying the inspiration
of the Scriptures, or by “wresting the Scriptures,” or by “handling
the Word of God deceitfully.” See
1 Pet. 1:2; Acts 4:12; 20:28; Rev. 5:9; 1:5; Rom. 5:9; Heb. 13:12.
“Ye
Are Bought with a Price.”
By
Whom? of Whom? Why? and for What Purpose?
“Ye are bought
with a price; be not servants of men.” 1 Cor. 7:23
[page 447]
“Thou hast redeemed [bought] us to God by thy blood.” Rev. 5:9
“There shall be false teachers among you, who shall privily bring
in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought
them.” 2 Pet. 2:1
The testimonies of Scripture, to the effect that man was
“bought,” are very unequivocal; and, as we have already shown, the
Greek word from which they are translated is agorazo, which signifies a public
purchase. The
questions naturally arise, (1) By whom was man purchased?
(2) Of whom was man purchased?
(3) Why was man purchased? We consider these questions in their
order.
(1) The scriptures already cited clearly and unequivocally assert
not only that mankind was purchased, but that the Lord Jesus Christ
himself was the purchaser; and furthermore, these and other scriptures
assure us most distinctly that the purchase price was the precious blood
of Christ—the sacrifice of his own life, the death of the man Christ
Jesus, who gave himself a ransom [anti-lutron—a corresponding price] for all.
Considering this question already indisputably proven, we proceed
to the next.
(2) Of whom was man purchased?
Opponents of the truth sneeringly inquire whether or not the Lord
purchased us from the devil; and assert that there was no one else to whom
the price could be paid: for according to the false reasoning of those who
deny the ransom, God would not be a
party to such a transaction. Their
claim is that God was ever anxious for man’s fellowship, and all along
has done all in his power to effect man’s reconciliation and recovery
from sin and death. They
reason therefore that God would not demand a ransom price, before
permitting man’s release. We reply, that such views are wholly contrary
to the Scriptural teaching, which, while representing that God is love,
and that he has sympathy for the sinner, declares also that God is just,
and that man having been justly sentenced, [page 448]
cannot be justly released from that sentence in any
other manner than by the payment of a ransom price for him.
While the Scriptures declare that Satan is identified with the
infliction of the penalty, death, saying, “As the children are partakers
of flesh and blood [human nature], he likewise took part of the same, that
through death he might destroy him that hath the power of death, that is,
the devil,” and elsewhere speak of Satan as being the “prince of this
world,” nevertheless they nowhere indicate that he has a title to rule
authoritatively in the world. (Heb. 2:14; John 14:30) On the contrary, the
Scriptures declare Satan to be the usurper, who, taking advantage of
man’s fallen condition, has blinded his mind toward God, and by
deceiving man has enslaved him, through ignorance, superstition and his
own weaknesses. Satan’s
identity with sin constitutes his power of death.
Had it not been for sin, Satan could have had no dominion over
mankind. It was because of
wilful sin that man was cast off from divine favor; but it was
subsequently, when he did not wish to retain God in his thoughts, that God
gave him over to a reprobate mind, etc. (Rom. 1:28)
The highest authority, therefore, that Satan could claim in
connection with the race would be the power of a usurper and the weakness
of his slaves.
Moreover, since the divine sentence went forth, “Thou shalt
surely die,” Satan and any other agency of evil is permitted
to cooperate in the carrying out of this divine decree. Thus does God
sometimes cause the wrath of man, and sometimes the wrath of evil spirit
beings, to work out his wonderful plans, and unintentionally to praise
him. (Psa. 76:10) But God has never recognized Satan as the owner of the
race. The race was God’s
creation, and owed its all to him, but because of a failure to recognize
him, and to render obedience, it came under the sentence, the curse, of
divine law, as unworthy of life, and there it rests.
It was divine Justice which smote our first parents with the curse
of death, and it is under the sentence of divine Justice that the race
still remains dead. Nor can
there be a hope [page 449]
of life for any, except through the redemption which
is in Christ Jesus. Since
divine Justice was the Judge whose sentence forfeited man’s life,
therefore to divine Justice the ransom price must of necessity be paid, in
order to secure the release of the culprit Adam, and his race sentenced in
him.
Satan’s power, though willingly exercised by him, could not be
exercised were it not permitted by the great supreme Judge Jehovah, and
Jehovah would not have permitted the great calamity of death
to be inflicted upon mankind through Satan’s agency or otherwise, except
as a just penalty for sin—the penalty of Jehovah’s violated law.
Satan’s power, like that of a hangman, is a delegated “power of
death.” The hangman is
merely the servant of the law, to execute its penalties; and Satan, as the
servant of the law laid down by the supreme Judge of all creation, is
permitted and used for a time, as the executioner of the sentence
pronounced: “The wages of sin is death,” “dying thou shalt die.”
If a prisoner’s ransom or fine were to be paid, it would not be
offered to the jailer or executioner, but to the Court whose sentence
demanded it. So likewise the
ransom for sin could not be paid to Satan (though to some extent he serves
as an executioner of the penalty) but must be paid to the power which
condemned sin, which decreed the penalty, and ordered the execution of the
guilty.
Thus would reason answer us, that the ransom-price
for man’s sin should be paid to “God, the Judge of all.”
Now let us inquire, What say the Scriptures respecting the
sacrifice of Christ, the offering which he made?
Do they say that it was made to Satan or to Jehovah God?
We answer that in all the types of the Jewish dispensation, which
foreshadowed this better sacrifice, which does take away the sin of the
world, the offerings were presented to God, at the hands of the priest,
who typified our Lord Jesus. See
Lev. 4:3,4,24,29,31,34,35; 5:11,12; 9:2,6,7; Exod. 30:10; 2 Chron.
29:7-11,20-24.
This answers our question emphatically, and we need no [page 450]
further testimony on the subject.
But if further and direct testimony is desired, it is found in the
words of the Apostle, viz., “If the blood of bulls and of goats...sanctifieth
to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ,
who, through the eternal spirit, offered himself without spot
to God...and for this cause he is the mediator of the New
Covenant.” Heb. 9:13-15,26; 7:27; 10:4-10,12,20; Eph. 5:2; Titus 2:14;
Gal. 1:4; 2:20; 1 John 3:16; John 1:29; 1 Pet. 1:19; 1 Cor. 10:20; Rom.
12:1
Thus we establish before our minds the scripturalness of this
proposition, that God did require and did accept the death of Christ as
man’s ransom sacrifice.
(3) Why was man purchased?
Because in us, as fallen and imperfect creatures, the divine
qualities of justice, wisdom, love and power are very imperfect: some find
it more difficult than do others to grasp the reasonableness of the divine
method of requiring a ransom, and accepting it.
Those who cannot reason the matter out satisfactorily may very
properly, and should, acknowledge and accept the testimony of the divine
Word, irrespective of their ability to fully comprehend the why and the
wherefore of it. This is the safe and the proper course. Nevertheless, let us
offer some suggestions which may help some to grasp the subject.
As imperfect fallen creatures, in us these various qualities,
wisdom, love, justice and power are continually in more or less antagonism
with each other; but not so with our Heavenly Father: in him each of these
qualities is perfect, and in perfect accord with the others. There is no
clash. Wisdom first surveyed
the field, and laid out the best plan for man’s salvation, with the full
consent of divine justice, love and power. Under wisdom’s direction, man was placed at once under a
law, the penalty of which was the forfeiture of his existence, and all the
train of woes accompanying death. Wisdom
foreknew man’s fall, through inexperience, but felt justified in view of
the beneficial lessons, etc., in laying out the course of divine
providence and dealings as revealed in the Scriptures. [page 451]
As soon as man violated the divine law, Justice stepped forward,
pronouncing him a rebel, who had come under the sentence of death, and
drove him from Eden, from the source of subsistence previously arranged
for him, and delivered him over to Satan, to be buffeted by evil
circumstances, and to the intent that the full penalty of the violated law
might be inflicted—“Dying thou shalt die.” While this element of the
divine character (Justice) was dealing with man, the Love element was not
indifferent, but it was powerless, for two reasons: First, it could not oppose Justice, could not hinder the execution of the sentence,
could not deliver man from the power of Justice, because it is the very
foundation of the divine government; secondly, Love could not at that time
interfere to relieve man, by paying the ransom-sacrifice for sin, because
that would have been in opposition to the plan already marked out by
infinite Wisdom. Thus divine
Love and divine Power were held for the time, unable to relieve mankind,
and compelled to assent to the Justice of his execution and to the Wisdom
which permitted it to proceed through six thousand years of groanings,
tribulation—death. In
harmony with this, Love did not move to man’s release, except to
encourage and instruct him through promises and typical sacrifices,
foreshadowing the method by which Love eventually, in Wisdom’s due time,
would accomplish man’s rescue. Thus Love waited patiently for the auspicious moment when,
under Wisdom’s direction, it might act, and later might call to its aid
divine Power.
That moment for Love to act finally came, in what the Scriptures
term “the fulness of time” (Gal. 4:4), “in due time” (Rom. 5:6),
when God sent forth his son as “the man Christ Jesus,” that “he by
the grace [favor, bounty, mercy] of God should taste death for every
man.” (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 2:9) Not
until then was the divine Love manifested to mankind, although it had
existed all along; as we read, “Herein
was MANIFESTED the
Love of God,” “in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us.” 1 John 4:9; Rom. 5:8 [page 452]
By exercising itself in harmony with the law of God, and by meeting
the requirements of that law, divine Love did not conflict with divine
Justice. Love’s method was
not an attempt to overrule and oppose the sentence, nor to interfere with
its full execution, but to provide a substitute, a ransom, for man.
By meeting for man the death-penalty inflicted by Justice, Love
brought release to mankind from the Adamic curse (death) which divine
Justice had inflicted. This was divine Love’s triumph, no less than the
triumph of divine Justice. Love
triumphed in offering the ransom-sacrifice, Jesus, to Justice—the
element of God’s character which enforces his righteous decrees and
their penalties.
Nor is Love’s triumph yet complete.
It has accomplished the ransom, but its design is to accomplish
more, viz., to effect a restitution
for all of mankind, willing after experience to return to loyalty to God
and his righteous law. But as
Love waited more than four thousand years, under the direction of divine
Wisdom, before bringing the ransom-sacrifice, so must it wait for nearly
two thousand years more, after the ransom-price has been paid, before the
great work of restitution shall even begin. (Acts 3:19-21)
But Wisdom permits Love in the meantime to operate upon a special
class, the “little flock,” the elect of this Gospel age—to take out
from amongst the redeemed “a people for his name”—Christ’s Bride
and joint-heir, the Church.
The necessity for the purchase of the race by Christ lay then in
the fact that Father Adam had
