Read and pray: "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed." (1 Pet 2:24)
ECONOMICALLY ABANDONED BY GOD
Once we have shown that the Lord Jesus died on the cross as the God-Man, some may ask about Mark 15:34: “At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” This was the cry of the Lord as He bore our sins (1 Pet 2:24), having been made sin for us (2 Cor 5:21), and took the place of sinners (1 Pet 3:18).
This means that God judged Him as our substitute because of our sins. In God's eyes, Christ became a great sinner. As our substitute and being made sin in God's eyes, God judged Him and even abandoned Him.
According to Matthew 1 and Luke 1, the Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Later, for His ministry, He was anointed with the Holy Spirit, who descended upon Him (Lk 3:22). We need to understand that before the anointing Spirit descended upon the Lord economically, He already had within Him, essentially, the Holy Spirit who conceived Him as the divine essence, as one of the two essences of His being. Now we must see that the Spirit who conceived Him, as the divine essence, never left Him essentially. Even when He was on the cross crying out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He still had the Spirit who conceived Him, as the divine essence.
So, who left Him? It was the Spirit who anointed Him, through whom He offered Himself to God (Heb 9:14), who left Him economically. After God accepted Him as an all-inclusive offering, the anointing Spirit left Him. But although the Spirit who anointed Him left Him economically, He still had the Spirit who generated Him, essentially.
When the Lord Jesus, the God-Man, died on the cross under God’s judgment, He had God in Him essentially as His divine being. However, He was economically forsaken by the righteous and judging God. He was conceived and born of the Holy Spirit essentially, and thus, the Holy Spirit was one of the essences of His being. As He grew and lived on earth, the Lord had the Holy Spirit in Him essentially. Later, when He was baptized, He still had the Holy Spirit as an essential part of His being. However, at the time of His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him economically.
This means that the Lord Jesus had the Holy Spirit as one of the essences of His being essentially and also that the Holy Spirit descended upon Him economically. This does not mean, of course, that there are two Holy Spirits, but that the one Holy Spirit has two aspects: the essential and the economic. The essential aspect pertained to the being, the existence of the Lord Jesus, and the economic aspect pertained to His work, His ministry.
We need to be impressed with the fact that when the Lord Jesus was dying on the cross for our sins, God was in Him essentially. Thus, the one who died for our sins was the God-Man. But at a certain point, the righteous God, in judging this God-Man, forsook Him economically. God forsaking Him was an economic matter, related to the execution of God’s judgment.
Since He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God and with God, He had the Holy Spirit as the intrinsic essence of His divine being. Therefore, it was not possible for God to leave Him, to forsake Him, essentially. However, He was forsaken by God economically when the Spirit, who had descended upon Him as economic power for the execution of His ministry, left Him. Yet, God’s essence remained in His being.
Thus, He died on the cross as the God-Man, and the blood shed there for our redemption was not only the blood of the man Jesus but also of the God-Man. Therefore, this blood, by which God purchased the church, is the very blood of God.
THE PRECIOUSNESS OF THE CHURCH
Let us read Acts 20:28 again: “Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.” In exhorting the elders of the church in Ephesus, Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit and the blood of God to show his feeling regarding the preciousness of the church.
According to his understanding, the church is entirely precious. It is under the care of the Holy Spirit and was purchased by God with His own blood. Thus, it is a treasure in God’s eyes. Paul valued it as much as God did.
In 20:28 Paul exhorted the elders to value the church as much as God values it and as much as he valued it. The fact that God purchased the church with His own blood shows its preciousness in His eyes. Having paid such a high price for the church, it is certainly dear to Him. Furthermore, it is under the care of the Holy Spirit. According to Paul’s words in verse 28, the elders must regard it as highly precious, as a treasure in God’s eyes. In shepherding it, the elders must have the same feeling for it that God has.
Enjoy more: Hymn 392
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