It is (Re)-Written: Heavenly High Priest ep. 2/7
- Dec 15, 2023
- 7 min read
THE OFFENDED GOD
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous - [1 JOHN 2:1]
The Bible teaches that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Galatians 3:13) For the Bible to say “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse” means that the redemption from the curse is already past to a Christian. Consequently we can simply note that the law is not cursed, neither is the law the curse for “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12) but there is a ‘curse of the law'. What then could this curse possibly be? and on who does this curse fall upon? Well the verse says ‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse…’ which therefore means the curse is upon the unredeemed. The curse is on people who cannot keep the law and are therefore condemned and cursed by it.
Following after this we ask, can a Christian keep the law and if so then how? Paul continues by saying, “…[Jesus] being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Galatians 3:13). If Jesus took away the curse, then the law cannot condemn for it has nothing to condemn the individual who has Christ as His intercessor; an intercessor who offers that most excellent gift to the Father on our behalf saying, “This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many” (Mark 14:24). Christ then is our righteousness for “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) and in Christ, the law has nothing to condemn or curse. And since Christ is our righteousness, our righteousness is in heaven. This is why the apostle Paul wrote, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” (Romans 7:18). Some Christians are taught to believe that once they accept Christ everything is done, but as we learned from the previous lesson, a new phase in the process of salvation has only just begun in which we depend daily on the intercession of our Lord to sustain us in our walk. So, does God simply overlook our sins because of the intercession of Christ? When a Christian commits sin, what happens?
(Psalms 32:2 KJV) Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
The Scriptures teach that the Father hates sin, but does not impute sin to the justified Christian. How is our Father able to do this? He adopts a stance of chastisement. Consider the following:
“And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.” (Leviticus 26:27-28)
“If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons” (Hebrews 12:7)
Yes, the Father says ‘I am going to spank you’. He deals with us as would a loving parent to his wayward child. Through justification we were born again and born into the family of God “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1) and nothing short of our decision to leave can remove us from that family. “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,…nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39). Now as we grow in the family of God, the Father obeys the maxim “Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die” (Proverbs 23:13) for “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” (Proverbs 22:15).
And so, when the Father appears to hide His face (read Deuteronomy 31:18) He is actually loving us through the chastisement process, and we are developing and growing. In this cooperation between the Father and the Son through their Spirit, the Father chastises us by allowing trials and tribulations into our lives which then drive us to rely on the intercession of Jesus...and Jesus our intercessor is saving us everyday from those our daily problems with sin, “That we should be saved from our enemies” (Luke 1:71) “according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (Philippians 3:21) “and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12) “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18) “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Hebrews 7:2)
What beautiful promises in the word of God. The only thing that can disrupt this process of ‘entire, constant and eternal consecration to Jesus, God’s Son’ could be a misunderstanding of the easily misconstrued verses in Hebrews 6:4-6. We shall examine these texts at a later episode. What we can know for now is that we are not competent to judge others, let alone ourselves “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) and so we should exclaim together with Paul “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24) and commit the keeping of our souls “unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20)
We must know what God thinks of us, that what He thinks about Jesus is what He now thinks of us; we must know “the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6) “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). With this confidence we are to meet our daily trials.
Conclusion
The Father has bestowed upon us great love and has called us His sons. As was proved by creation, whatever God says is true, and if it were not in existence it must come to, for “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35) and “God is not a man, that he should lie” (Numbers 23:19) This love, He brings to bear upon us as a chastening father, and allows trials and tribulations to accompany our lives so that we may know “the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6) Our Lord, the beloved, has trodden this path before for “though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8) and as it was with Christ so must it be with us. God allows and brings us tests and trials to mold and grow us, to teach us to lean on our Intercessor and all these “things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28)
(1 John 3:2 KJV) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
(1 John 3:3 KJV) And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
1. Imagine that a child is being taught to ride a bicycle by his parent. When the child falls from the bike, does the parent expel the child from the family? or does the parent lovingly correct and encourage the child to continue in the attempt? How does your answer measure up to our starting text [1 John 2:1] and this lesson in general?
2. Read the following quotations and deduce points relevant to this lesson
“If one who daily communes with God errs from the path, if he turns a moment from looking steadfastly unto Jesus, it is not because he sins willfully; for when he sees his mistake, he turns again, and fastens his eyes upon Jesus, and the fact that he has erred, does not make him less dear to the heart of God. He knows that he has communion with the Saviour; and when reproved for his mistake in some matter of judgment, he does not walk sullenly, and complain of God, but turns the mistake into a victory. He learns a lesson from the words of the Master, and takes heed that he be not again deceived.” - [Ellen White, Review and Herald, May 12, 1896.]
“It does not follow that we must give our wicked nature free rein, or sin much more freely, because our sins are cleansed by the blood of Christ, but we must rather much more diligently resist sin, and yet we must not despair because of our weakness, for we have an advocate and a purger, Christ Jesus the Just, and therefore acceptable to his Father” - [The Reformation Bible, commentary section on 1 John 2:1]
“We are called the sons of God! It is too wonderful for the human mind to fully grasp. Poor, unworthy, miserable creatures, worthy of nothing, yet God has had such an infinite love for us, that he has made us worthy to be his sons; and he gives us everything that he gives to Christ.” - [Ellet J Waggoner, Study on the Letter to the Romans, GC Daily Bulletin, March 20, 1891 par. 6]
“The Father's presence encircled Christ, and nothing befell Him but that which infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world. Here was His source of comfort, and it is for us. He who is imbued with the Spirit of Christ abides in Christ. The blow that is aimed at him falls upon the Saviour, who surrounds him with His presence. Whatever comes to him comes from Christ. He has no need to resist evil, for Christ is his defense. Nothing can touch him except by our Lord's permission, and "all things" that are permitted "work together for good to them that love God." Romans 8:28” - [Ellen White, Thoughts From The Mount of Blessing, pg 71, par. 2]
NEXT: THE COVENANT
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