He (Jesus Christ) is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness 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. Colossians 1:17-19
Have you ever stopped to consider the cost of our salvation to Jesus Christ? What was the price that He paid? Unless you begin to understand the cost; how can you really appreciate the gift? The foreknowledge from before creation could not erase the utter agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane as He knew the time was imminent. As we just read last Friday in the verses before, Christ is God–the perfect echoing image of the Father. He was the creator of the universe. He then in the fullness of time, came to earth to face every temptation with its fullest intensity as a man; yet, with steady determination to obedience, He had lived the entirety of His life in perfect righteousness. Now He had come the time that He should be tried by evil men, rejected and hung on the cross. The physical agony was almost more than bearable. The emotional agony of rejection by the very ones He came to save was unthinkable. Still, none of that compared to the most agonizing fact of all. For a moment in time, He would have to die spiritually and be sudden separated from God the Father and the Holy Spirit. To become the firstborn from the dead; He had to die-not just physically, but also He had to taste spiritual death. For Christ, that was the most painful thought of all. His agonizing cry sounded throughout the heavens and the earth,
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Mark 15:33-34
There could be no greater agony for Jesus Christ than this, the utter rejection for a moment in time as God the Father and the Holy Spirit turned their fullness of wrath against sin upon Himself, the Son. This is part of the great mystery of the cross that will be more fully revealed once we see Him face to face; because, at no point did He lose His deity. He experienced unthinkable guilt, despair, and shame as He, perfect righteousness, bore our sins upon His shoulders. Then after tasting spiritual death (the separation from the Father) He cried out “It is finished,” followed by ” Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” at which time He rejoined His Father in heaven. His body then died as well. He was buried and on the third day He arose from the dead; having conquered death. But you see it was more than having just conquered physical death; He had conquered the spiritual death that plagues all of humanity. Now, He could be the firstborn of all those who had been dead spiritually. He IS the fullness of the gospel story.
Yes, it did please the Father that in Christ all fullness would dwell. Only the Son had willingly died, trusting the Father’s will. He who was perfect Sovereignty had also been the perfect obedient servant who with perfect resignation bowed to the Will of the Father so that sinful men and women might be saved from eternal death to being spiritual alive in Him, through Him and by Him.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
Let me share with you this quote from Jonathan Edwards as he discusses the Excellent Diversities of Jesus Christ; because I do believe that he provides more clarity than I can to this discussion.
Such diverse excellencies are expressed in him towards men, that otherwise would have seemed impossible to be exercised towards the same object; as particularly these three, justice, mercy, and truth. The same that are mentioned Psalm 85:10 “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” The strict justice of God, and even his revenging justice, and that against the sins of men, never was so gloriously manifested as in Christ. He manifested an infinite regard to the attribute of God’s justice, in that, when he had a mind to save sinners, he was willing to undergo such extreme sufferings, rather than that their salvation should be to the injury of the honour of that attribute. And as he is the Judge of the world, he doth himself exercise strict justice; he will not clear the guilty, nor at all acquit the wicked in judgment. Yet how wonderfully is infinite mercy towards sinners displayed in him! And what glorious and ineffable grace and love have been and are exercised by him, towards sinful men! Though he be the just Judge of a sinful world, yet he is also the Saviour of the world. Though he be a consuming fire to sin, yet he is the light and life of sinners. Romans 3:25,26 “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Jonathan Edwards The Excellency of Christ
Having done this, Christ completed the work to bring peace between God and a sinful world. Our peace is based upon His divine substitution. He took upon Himself my sin, my guilt and my shame. In replace He cloaked me in His righteousness; proclaiming me a child of God. This is what He offers to all who will accept this His Gift of Salvation. That is the gospel–the good news for all who will believe and the final destruction who all who choose to remain in darkness and death. First, you must recognize that without Christ you are a sinner, hell-bent; separated for eternity from perfect righteousness. Then, realizing the price He paid for your salvation; come, just as you are running to the foot of the cross where salvation can be found. After which, being filled with His Holy Spirit; remember, the price of His love for you. When you consider the price of His love; how can you not desire to bow before Him with total dedication, trusting Him to be your guide? He is the treasure your heart seeks. He is the love your heart longs for. Won’t you come today?
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Just as a clarification, I did want to make clear that when speaking about Christ having tasted death spiritually as He took upon Himself the sins of the world and hence had to be separated for a moment in time from the Father and the Holy Spirit; yet, His deity was not altered. This is part of the great mystery of the cross that in part we can only accept in faith. After having already writing this last night I went in search of others who might have pondered these thoughts and though I am not in agreement with those who believed Him to have descended into hell and remained separated from the Father for those three days. The taste of spiritual separation finished I believe at the moment that Christ cried out, It is finished and then “And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” Luke 23:45-46 In my search last night, the one that I found whom I most agree with is Billy Graham who wrote: “.Jesus’ cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) has puzzled many. Jesus is actually quoting the opening line of Psalm 22 and using it to express His deep agony on the cross. He is suffering the penalty for our sin, in our place.
The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Death includes two dimensions—physical and spiritual. Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body. Spiritual death is the separation of the spirit from God. Since Jesus was dying for our sin as our substitute, He was experiencing the agony of separation from His Father. It was the agony of hell.
There is an unfathomable mystery here. Jesus was both God and man united in one divine Person. He could not suffer and die with respect to His deity, but He could suffer the agony of separation from the Father and actually die physically with respect to His humanity. And He did, that we might, through repentance from sin and faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, be forgiven of our sin and reconciled with God.
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray … and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
Our greatest need is for forgiveness—and Christ came to make that forgiveness possible. Christ bridged the gap between God and man, and by faith in Him that gulf can be erased and we can come to know God personally. Faith is not just an idea in our minds or even a conviction in our hearts. It is a commitment of our lives to God and His truth.
Let God’s Word, the Bible, be the source of your understanding about God and His love. But beyond that, open your heart to Christ and commit your life to Him. It is the most important step you will ever take.”
Just as a clarification, I did want to make clear that when speaking about Christ having tasted death spiritually as He took upon Himself the sins of the world and hence had to be separated for a moment in time from the Father and the Holy Spirit; yet, His deity was not altered. This is part of the great mystery of the cross that in part we can only accept in faith. After having already writing this last night I went in search of others who might have pondered these thoughts and though I am not in agreement with those who believed Him to have descended into hell and remained separated from the Father for those three days. The taste of spiritual separation finished I believe at the moment that Christ cried out, It is finished and then “And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” Luke 23:45-46 In my search last night, the one that I found whom I most agree with is Billy Graham who wrote: “.Jesus’ cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) has puzzled many. Jesus is actually quoting the opening line of Psalm 22 and using it to express His deep agony on the cross. He is suffering the penalty for our sin, in our place.
The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Death includes two dimensions—physical and spiritual. Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body. Spiritual death is the separation of the spirit from God. Since Jesus was dying for our sin as our substitute, He was experiencing the agony of separation from His Father. It was the agony of hell.
There is an unfathomable mystery here. Jesus was both God and man united in one divine Person. He could not suffer and die with respect to His deity, but He could suffer the agony of separation from the Father and actually die physically with respect to His humanity. And He did, that we might, through repentance from sin and faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, be forgiven of our sin and reconciled with God.
“We all, like sheep, have gone astray … and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
Our greatest need is for forgiveness—and Christ came to make that forgiveness possible. Christ bridged the gap between God and man, and by faith in Him that gulf can be erased and we can come to know God personally. Faith is not just an idea in our minds or even a conviction in our hearts. It is a commitment of our lives to God and His truth.
Let God’s Word, the Bible, be the source of your understanding about God and His love. But beyond that, open your heart to Christ and commit your life to Him. It is the most important step you will ever take.”