Sunday: Supreme Sacrifice
Studying the supreme sacrifice of Christ does so much to prepare believers for the end time. Often humans look to the goal ahead of them, and that makes sense. But it is also good to realize that the goal is behind them. We speak of Calvary. The goal, reached here by Jesus for us, is irreversible, final, and gives certainty to the goal ahead, as well.
Read Romans 8:3, 1 Timothy 1:17, 1 Timothy 6:16, 1 Corinthians 15:53. Why did God send His Son into the world?
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God sent Christ to be a sin offering, in order to condemn sin in the flesh. What does this mean? As an immortal Being, Christ could not die. Therefore, the Lord became a human, taking our mortality upon Himself so that, indeed, He could die as our substitute.
Though divine, and though in nature God, Jesus took on “human likeness”, and He humbled Himself “by becoming obedient to death” on the cross (Phil. 2:6-8, NIV) . In a way known only to God, the divinity of Christ did not die when Jesus died on the cross. In some way beyond human comprehension, the divinity of Jesus was quiescent during the nine months in the womb and in the days in the tomb, and Jesus never used it to aid His humanity during His life and ministry here.
Read Luke 9:22. What does this tell us about the intentionality of Christ’s death?
Christ was born to die. We can imagine that there was never a moment in eternity when He was free from thoughts of the mocking, the flogging, the beatings, and the heart-breaking crucifixion that He would face. This is unparalleled love, never witnessed before and not fully understood.
| What can we humans do in the face of this kind of love but fall down and worship in faith and obedience? What does the reality of the cross tell us about the worthlessness of human merit? |
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Romans 8:3
3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[a] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[b] And so he condemned sin in the flesh,
Law was powerless to do what? Save
Why? The obedience to the law was weakened by my sinful flesh
What is the solution?
God overcame the sin problem
By sending his Son (not with divine power) Reference:Philippians 2:6-8
In the same human weakness of my sinful flesh
To be a sin offering - when Christ came to this earth, He knew he was to be offered as a sacrifice for sin.
Condemned sin - overcame sin in the weak sinful humanflesh
By becoming obedient to death even death on the cross.
THE LAW can only JUSTIFY when we perfectly and flawlessly come in line with its demands OR CONDEMN when we fail to flawlessly do this. And no human has in himself or herself that ability. Jesus, as GOD and as HUMAN did that for every human that would ever live in this planet. But each human has to choose that for himself or herself and moment by moment and daily make this choice BY FAITH for that REALITY to then become REAL for his or her life now and then ETERNITY becomes REAL ALSO for him or her.
The struggles that the Apostle Paul had in Romans 7,and 8, are similar to us and our life styles. We cannot forget that Satan uses every temptation that is appealing, and when we see sin for what it is, realize the consequences.Romans 6:23 and 1John 3:4. How sorrowful we become, and pray for repentance and forgiveness. Jesus is the intercessor that makes us clean again. How thankful we are that we have a solution for all our sins and a gift of eternal life. The battle is not easy, but with protection, Ephesians 6:10-18, help is available.
Without Christ our lives are but a vapor. Thank God for the gift of redemption! Bless be his holy name forever more. Amen!
Esther Moran
St. Paul writes in Colossians 1:24, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the affliction of Christ on behalf of His body, which is the Church."
Hebrews 11:39, “God had foreseen something better for us, so that without us they should not be made perfect. “ and, Heb. 12:14-15, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” How should we understand the phrase “so that without us they should not be made perfect” other than our actions, our prayers, our voluntary sacrifices in union with Christ's and our intentions are instrumental and absolutely necessary for God’s final victory because He wants us to will to cooperate with Him in His victory? Could it be possible that if we do not strive “for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord” they will not made perfect just as God did not become man in the womb of Mary without her consent, He will not become all in all without many people resolutely uniting their prayers with the infinite prayer of Jesus in His Name? And there is 2 Peter 2:12, “Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought (you) to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of the Lord because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire?” I take as an indisputable starting point the idea that God wants us to will to cooperate with Him in His entire plan and to do all we can to try to hasten the coming of His Day when it will be revealed how God will be all in all and everything to everyone.
The question is: If we love as Christ loves, if we truly imitate Jesus and will to take upon ourselves the blame, the guilt and the punishment for all sins, should our constant prayer be, "If there is any more suffering that I can accept so as to hasten your final visible victory (2 peter 3:12), please give me the grace to ask for it?
I am meditating on the immortality of God. The Son of God has always existed. He became flesh as Jesus, but He has always been. Death could not defeat Him because of His divine nature. What humility to lay aside all His power to allow death to take His human life. Nevertheless in a great mystery His divine nature was unconquerable and He rose again and lives forevermore. What great love and sacrifice. Praise, glory and honor to the One who was and is and is to come!
Jesus said, "John 5:30 KJV
[30] I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."
It appears to me, by Jesus' own admission, that He did everything by the power of Divinity, as we have opportunity to do also. He is our example. We are also to overcome by His Divinity in us.
Selfish motivation finds no place in Divinity. This is what Jesus never participated in. Divinity is all about God's Love as the motivation for all thoughts and feelings. Jesus was always involved in Divinity as long as He lived. When He gave up The Divine Spirit, He died because He would accept the spirit of selfishness to motivate one thought or feeling of His Mind.
We have access to the same Divinity He had. We are given the choice to accept this Divinity and live eternally with God. The time to do this is always NOW.
Good comment men and women of GOD and am enjoying the study.
Given Mayeya
Romans 8:3
For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a voluntary sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh.
How I render this in light of other passages, is that the law was powerless to make one righteous because of the weakness of our sinful flesh(enslavement and spiritual death),but God did accomplish righteousness although not a righteousness of our own by sending His own Son as mortal yet without original sin, without knowing sin ,and not having sin in him to voluntarily die as a sin offering that by the voluntary sacrifice offered to Father in His unblemished blood as a ransom price for redemption , God condemned the enslavement of sin and spiritual death in our flesh. That we can fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. By God working in us by His Spirit to will and act toward His good pleasure as the product of our salvation by granted repentance and faith.
This passage does not say that God directly put to death nor even under His wrath Yeshua's flesh, but that God put to death devotion toward sin in our flesh. Accomplishing this feat through the voluntary death of the Son when he offered Himself as sinless up to Father as a ransom to redeem us from what brought about wrath.not being able to fulfill the righteous requirements of God's Law thus not being able to obey God.
Galatians 5:24
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires
Being conceived mortal without original sin, without knowing sin and sin being in Him to then die as sinless thus not becoming the embodiment of sin nor being treated as if a sinner by Father thus not dieing under Divine orge nor thymos is a mystery of The incarnation and working of God to atone and redeem the elect.
God does not as a mechanism of atonement punish the innocent in place of the wicked exodus 32:32, God does not punish the innocent with the wicked genesis 18:25-26, God does not punish the innocent for the sins of others Ezekiel 18:20. A sinner will die under wrath for their own sin, of which Yeshua never Committed to.
Why did Jesus sacrifice His immortality to save us?
The contributions are so inspiring. God bless everyone here.