THE PROPAGATION IN ASIA MINOR AND EUROPE THROUGH PAUL’S MINISTRY AND HIS COMPANIONS (20)
Read and pray: "Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory." (1 Timothy 3:16)
THE BLOOD OF JESUS, THE SON OF GOD
The blood that redeemed fallen mankind was the blood of Jesus, the Son of God. As human beings, we need authentic human blood for our redemption. Being a man, the Lord Jesus could fulfill this requirement. As a man, He shed human blood to redeem fallen human beings. He is also the Son of God, even God Himself. Thus, in His blood, there is the element of eternity, which guarantees its eternal efficacy. Therefore, as a man, He had authentic human blood, and as God, He has the element that gives His blood eternal efficacy.
1 John 1:7 says, "The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." The name Jesus denotes the humanity of the Lord, which was necessary for the shedding of the redeeming blood, and the title "His Son" denotes His Divinity, which is necessary for the eternal efficacy of the redeeming blood. Thus, "the blood of Jesus His Son" indicates that this is the appropriate blood, that of a true man, to redeem God's fallen creatures, with the divine guarantee of eternal efficacy, completely prevailing in space and eternal in time.
The blood that the Lord shed on the cross was the blood of Jesus, the Son of God. It was not just the blood of Jesus, but also the blood of the Son of God. Therefore, the redemption accomplished by the God-Man, who was mixed with God, is eternal. If the redemption accomplished on the cross had been done merely by a man, it would not have eternal efficacy. Although it could be effective for the redemption of one person, it would not be effective for the redemption of millions of believers. Since man is limited, one man cannot die for millions of people. But while man is limited, God is not. Similarly, although man is temporal, God is eternal. Thus, in Christ's redemption, there is the eternal and unlimited element of God. For this reason, in Hebrews 9:12, this redemption is called eternal redemption.
We need to see that the blood shed by the Lord Jesus on the cross is eternal blood. It is not merely the blood of a man, but the blood of a man mixed with the divine element. Therefore, this blood, the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, is eternal. In Acts 20:28, Paul had the boldness to speak of this blood as being the very blood of God.
THE GOD REVEALED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Some Christians today have a concept of God that closely resembles the Jewish concept, which says that God is God and that there is no human element in Him. But according to the Bible, the very God of the Old Testament became the God revealed in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, He was merely God, without any human element. But in the New Testament, we see the God-Man. Through the incarnation, the God of the Old Testament clothed Himself with human nature and became the God-Man. As such, He became the God manifested in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16).
God became the God-Man through conception in the womb of a human virgin and a human birth. In this way, the human element was added to the divine element; however, this does not mean that, as the God-Man, He is two persons. No, the Lord Jesus, the Savior, is one person with two natures: the divine and the human. Although this is very difficult to understand, it is a fact revealed in the Bible.
Now we can see that our God is the God revealed in the New Testament, not merely the God revealed in the Old Testament. The Jews, however, only have the God seen in the Old Testament. What is the difference between the Jewish God and our God? The difference is that the Jewish God is only God, without the human element, while our God, according to the New Testament, is no longer merely God; He is the God-Man. Our God has two natures: the divine and the human. This means that, as the God-Man, He is both the complete God and the perfect man, but they are not two persons, but one person only.
Although we have always believed and taught that the God-Man, Jesus Christ, is one person with both the divine and human natures, and is both the complete God and the perfect man, some opponents have falsely accused us of teaching that Christ was neither fully God nor fully man. They also accuse us of saying that the two natures, the divine and the human, are mixed in Christ to create a third nature.
This accusation is totally false and baseless, and we repudiate it. Those who falsely accused us do so by distorting our words in the booklet "The Four Major Steps of Christ". In this booklet, we clearly and emphatically state that our Savior is both the true God and a true man. Through the incarnation, neither the divine nor the human nature is lost. On the contrary, although they are mingled to form the God-Man, both the divine and the human natures remain, and in no way is a third nature formed.
Although this truth has been clearly defined and presented, it has been maliciously distorted in an attempt to accuse us of heresy concerning the Person of Christ. According to the Bible, we definitely believe that our Savior, who shed His blood for our redemption, died on the cross as the God-Man.
Enjoy more: Hymn 96
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