Tuesday: Jesus Is Our Champion
Compare 1 Samuel 8:19-20 and Hebrews 2:14-16. What did the Israelites look for in a king, and how were these wishes fulfilled in Jesus?
The Israelites wanted a king to be their judge and their leader in battle because they forgot that God was their king. The complete restoration of God’s rule over His people came with Jesus. As our King, Jesus leads us in the battle against the enemy.
Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com
Hebrews 2:14-16 describes Jesus as the champion of weak human beings. Christ faces and defeats the devil in a solo combat and delivers us from bondage. This description reminds us of the battle between David and Goliath. After being anointed as king (1 Samuel 16), David saved his brethren from slavery by defeating Goliath. The terms of engagement determined that the winner of the combat would enslave the people of the other party (1 Samuel 17:8-10). Thus, David acted as a champion of Israel. He represented them.
Read Isaiah 42:13 and Isaiah 59:15-20. How does Yahweh describe Himself in these passages?
Hebrews 2:14-16 alludes to the notion that God would save Israel in a solo combat. Note this passage from Isaiah: “For thus says the LORD: ‘Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children’” (Isaiah 49:25, ESV).
As Christians we often think that we are engaged in a solo combat with Satan. When we read Ephesians 6:10-18, we see that yes, we are in combat with the devil. But God is our champion, and He goes to battle before us. We are part of His army; that is why we have to use His armor. Also, we do not fight alone. The “you” in Ephesians 6 is plural. We as a church take the armor and fight together behind our champion, who is God Himself.
| What does it mean to put on the armor of God? That is, in our daily struggles with self, temptation, and so forth, how can we avail ourselves of the power that enables us through God’s strength to be faithful? |
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At primary school, Pero was a big Maori kid while I was a skinny somewhat reactive Pakeha. (Maori name for a Caucasian person. Pakeha literally means dwelling place for fleas - but that is another story altogether) For some reason Pero keep an eye on me at school and when I got into scraps with other kids, He would suddenly appear at my side and with a happy smile give the other kids a push in the right direction. Big Pero was my champion, my shield and strong deliverer, and stood by me until I found my feet and I learned that I did not need to get into scraps.
Jesus is presented to us in today's study as our Champion in the battle between good and evil. The Bible uses that metaphor a number of times, particularly in Ephesians. While we can rejoice in Christ's championship, it is vitally important to understand that we as Christ's representatives are to be champions for others in his name.
Does our championship for others know no bounds?
Metaphors are used to help us understand an underpinning reality. What is the underpinning reality of Jesus as our Champion? Hebrews 2:14-16 is also talking about Jesus as the "second Adam" of humanity. Thus, along with the other passages mentioned by today's lesson, there is also a connection with Romans 5:12-19.
While the first Adam was originally created with a heart that was motivated by other-focussed love AND therefore also willingly lived in harmony with the principles that are necessary for true life, the first Adam unfortunately subsequently 'fell' for Satan's deception that there was a supposedly more superior way of life that God was holding Adam back from. This 'fall' involved loss of trust in God and an embracing of a self-seeking motive which, in turn, put him out of harmony with the principles that are necessary for true life. And thus "just as sin came into the word through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people" (Romans 5:12). The entry of sin into humanity therefore put humanity into a terminal state due to its now inherent tendency to a self-seeking heart and living out of harmony with the principles that are vitally necessary for life - as per Psalm 51:5.
The only way humanity could be genuinely 'saved' was for another head of humanity to enter humanity, become a 'valid', authentic human and undertake the same journey of temptation as the first Adam, but this time not let go of other-focussed love no matter what temptation was thrown up - including preserving one's own life in the face of the threat of death (John 15:13). This is what Jesus did as the second Adam. This is how the second Adam defeated Satan and death. And as a consequence, humanity now has two 'Adam's' - each with a different inheritance. The inheritance of first Adam is death/perishing via self-seeking, the inheritance of the second Adam is eternal (abundant) life via being restored to other-focussed love (Psalm 51:10) and living in harmony once again with the principles that promote true life.
While each human is born under the inheritance of the first Adam, God works to offer each person the opportunity to be "reborn" (John 3:3-6) back into alignment with the second Adam and therefore back into harmony with true/abundant life. Everyone is given an opportunity and is given every assistance to embrace and live-out that opportunity - but no-one is forced to do so.
This is how Jesus is our Champion via being our substitute second Adam, our faithful High Priest, and so on. Multiple metaphors illustrating various facets of the same underpinning reality.
I agree, not only did Jesus live a perfect life of righteousness, but more importantly I believe, Jesus took our sins on himself to save us from the wages of sin. Not only did his blood blot out the record of our sins, He sent the Holy Spirit to work on our hearts to transform us into His Image.
These are some extracts from articles by EG White on Justification.
Man was under sentence of death for the transgression of the law of God. He was under condemnation as a traitor, as a rebel; but Christ came to be his substitute, to die as a malefactor, to suffer the penalty of the traitors, bearing the weight of their sins upon his divine soul.
He died to make an atonement, to redeem, cleanse, restore, and exalt man to a place at his right hand.
He bore the sin of the world, endured the penalty, yielded up his life as a sacrifice, that man should not eternally die.
When God pardons the sinner, remits the punishment he deserves, and treats him as though he had not sinned, he receives him into divine favor, and justifies him through the merits of Christ’s righteousness. The sinner can be justified only through faith in the atonement made through God’s dear Son, who became a sacrifice for the sins of the guilty world. He can be delivered from the guilt of sin, from the condemnation of the law, from the penalty of transgression, only by virtue of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ.
By reason of the sacrifice made by Christ for fallen men, God can justly pardon the transgressor who accepts the merits of Christ. Christ was the channel through which the mercy, love, and righteousness might flow from the heart of God to the heart of the sinner. “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Excerpts from Articles in the Signs of the Times by EG White on Justification by Faith
Mar 6, 1893
Mar 13, 1893
Mar 20, 1893
Thanks for your input Shirley.
To me there is no difference between Jesus living a perfect life of righteousness (as per my brief unpacking of the metaphor of Jesus as our substitutionary second Adam) and His taking our sin problem on Himself to save us from the wages of sin. Thus, I agree with every one of the points you bolded in the EG White excerpts you reproduced from and referenced. I am familiar with those articles.
A key point appears to be the notion of "penalty". Much of Christianity proposes that God must apply a penalty for sin - and therefore in addition to any consequences that arise from sin - in order to be "just". I have reviewed another pair of articles written by Ellen White, apparently very late in her life, in which she seems to conceive of the notion of penalty as something that is of sin and therefore inherent from sin rather than something that needs to be additionally applied for sin. This accords with Galatians 6:8 and Romans 8:2 that both describe a 'penalty'/consequence that arises from sin itself. If this is the case, then salvation/redemption is about Jesus getting involved to actually restore the human condition that is otherwise terminal.
I acknowledge this restoration inseparably has both a collective humanity as well as individual free-will beings dimensions and that I only outlined the former briefly in my original comment. Therefore I also agree with your statement that Jesus also sends the "Holy Spirit to work on our hearts to transform us into His Image" as part of the inheritance 'package' under the second Adam.
Hebrews 2:14-16 one of my favorite scriptures.
He took on flesh and blood so that He may die. By dying He overcame death. Death was an end but Christ made an exit where there was no exit.
Jesus is called I am the way because He alone conquered death. Those who accept Him passes from death unto life.
David's freedom did not last long but Christ provided a change in our eternal destiny.
A good champion not only defeats our enemy, he shows us how we can do the same. The last question of the day I felt was a really good question. How can we avail ourselves of the power that enables us through God’s strength to be faithful. The short answer is Luke 6:12. Jesus did this right before choosing his 12 disciples. If Jesus life is to be our example, then this to me speaks volumes as to how I can avail myself of that same power.
“But God is our champion, and He goes to battle before us. We are part of His army; that is why we have to use His armor. Also, we do not fight alone. The “you” in Ephesians 6 is plural. We as a church take the armor and fight together behind our champion, who is God Himself.”
The lesson writer uses wording which cause me to wonder – goes to battle *before* us; we are *part* of His army; we have to *use* His armor; *you* is plural; fighting *behind* our champion.
I see Faith to be the believer's ever-sounding trumpet, calling all to constant vigilance in all circumstances the faithful encounters in life. It is Christ's constant call, admonishing the believer to engage Christ’s living Faith and so resist the devil – and he will flee from us!
Should the believer see him/herself as being 'outside'/separate from the Lord Christ Jesus, responsible for mounting his own battle, he/she experiences the temptation to engage in single battles using his/her own strength/ways.
Just as the Hebrews clamored for a king to represent them in the flesh, so are those who think they need to ‘help themselves’. All weapons of our spiritual warefare are already in place, the battle lines are known, heaven's battle strategy for us is to have - FAITH.
For a believer to be in Christ, means just that – we are in Him by faith as we apply His Truth and Light; these are the weapons doing the battle for us.
Truth and Light are only found in the Living Word, Christ Jesus; being in Him is our fortress, and the power of His Word mounts our defense when we find ourselves in battle.
Faith in His living Truth and Light becomes our battle armor and battle strategy; - “…for God’s Message is full of life and power, and is keener than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and penetrates between the joints and the marrow, and it can discern the secret thoughts and purposes of the heart ...” - Heb.4:11-13 Weymouth New Testament.
Believers should never see or find themselves as fighting separated from Christ Jesus, using their own strength. Our faith resists the temptation to do it alone, allowing the shield of Christ’s Faith to be the strength of our Salvation; His living Truth and Light faithfully applied in our life shields us from harm.
Phil, I am glad to hear you agree that Jesus bore the penalty for our sins, as Peter said:
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness 1Peter 2:24
What is your understanding of sin? Does it have power to 'apply' its consequences?
Hi Shirley. Thanks for your invitation to briefly elaborate some things.
In a nutshell, my understanding of sin is as per the summary statement of 1 John 3:4 - sin is anomia or absence of harmony with law (ie lawlessness). But then I must go on to also state that law in this context refers to the principles that underpin and infuse the reality of life - as per the Principles of Life that you often refer to. These principles are not independent of God, but are the 'mechanisms' that God has employed through which He administers His life-giving power. Principles are by definition and nature cause-and-effect constants that foster the order necessary for life. If we live in harmony with the principles of life, life is the outcome. Conversely, if we are out of harmony with the principles of life, life is consequently compromised and ultimately precluded. For example, if I do not or am not able to live in accordance with what is needed to have healthy cellular function, my quality of health will be adversely impacted as will my quality and length of life and I will likely have a shorter lifespan on this earth than if I had greater quality cellular health. This is a functional description of what Paul refers to in Romans 8:2: the law (cause-and-effect principle) of sin and death versus the law (again cause-and-effect principle) of the Spirit of life. It is also consistent with a functional unpacking of what Galatians 6:8 is referring to when it states that those who sew to the flesh reap destruction from the flesh rather than saying they reap destruction from the Spirit. Conversely, the one who sews to the Spirit will reap life and that life will be mediated by the Spirit. Paul makes a clear distinction between the differing sources of two differing outcomes. So, yes, I would propose that 'sin' does have the power to 'apply' its inherent consequences because this is what the very mechanism/principle of sin is and does.
While what I have described above is the more 'behavioural' manifestation of 'sin', I also note that, importantly, sin at its core is primarily a heart-orientation matter (other-focussed, other-benefiting vs self-seeking). We see this at the inception of sin in Genesis 3:6 where Eve's newly embraced self-seeking desire then manifest in behaviour that was out-of-harmony with what would otherwise have been needed to instead preserve her immortality that she had been blessed with prior to the Genesis 3 encounter.
Just a couple of days ago I re-looked at 1 Peter 2:24. If I look back to the Greek, I find a more broad meaning than is typically understood by a seeming face-value reading of the English translation. Again briefly, the Greek word used is hamartias which is a plural noun. Harmartia is a derivative of two words a + meros which means not having a share in - or being precluded from. What I therefore find that 1 Peter is referring to is the same thing that, for example, Hebrews 2:17 is referring to - Jesus being made authentically human - an authentic substitute - in order to be the second Adam and this time not fall like the first Adam did. Thus, as a consequence of doing this, Jesus was subjected to fierce temptation and assault from Satan (both directly and indirectly through maleficent treatment of Jesus at the hands of humans - including but not limited to the cross experience). In becoming an authentic human, Jesus necessarily subjected Himself to being tempted and assailed by evil and this is the 'price He paid' - the 'penalty' involved - in being our Saviour-Redeemer via being the successful second Adam and the Lamb of God with both metaphors referring to the exact same underpinning reality/phenomenon.
I hope the above gives some further insight as to where I am coming from and some of the basis/reason why I embrace the view/s I do. There is so much more to the fuller picture, but that is as brief as I can be for now.
Thank you Phil for explaining your opinions on these issues. Two statements caught my attention:
Principles of Life
These principles are not independent of God, but are the 'mechanisms' that God has employed through which He administers His life-giving power.
I agree the LORD 'administers' His life-giving power, either giving it or removing it from humans.
Jesus necessarily subjected Himself to being tempted and assailed by evil and this is the 'price He paid' - the 'penalty' involved - in being our Saviour-Redeemer via being the successful second Adam
I don't agree that being the perfect/righteous second Adam paid the price. Yes, His righteousness is credited to those who have faith in His atoning sacrifice which paid the price for their sins.
2Cor 5:21. Be reconciled to God. 21God made Him(Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
1Co 15:3-4 MKJV For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, (4) and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures;
The renewed covenant has 4 aspects:
Justification - through His shed blood blotting out the record of sins from the Book of Life
Reconciliation - at peace with God, names written in the Lamb's Book of Life
Sanctification - changed character
Mission - spreading the Good News
Thanks Shirley
With regard to 2 Corinthians 5:21, while English translations have translated that verse as you have stated, a literal translation of the verse would be "He made Him who knew (ie, had no personal experience with) missing the mark to be one who had missed the mark that, in Him, we might become the rightness of God". I have looked in scripture and can find no other parallel verse regarding Jesus being made to actually be sin. However, there are several other verses in the NT regarding Jesus needing to be made authentically human in order to validly save/redeem them (eg Hebrews 2:14,17; 4:15; Galatians 4:4; Romans 8:3; Philippians 2:7; ). Therefore in the absence of the former and the presence of the latter, I cannot find evidence to support that this verse is talking about other than Jesus being made authentically human in order that we could authentically have a second chance opportunity to share in His inheritance of eternal life. This accords with Romans 5:19 stating that it was Jesus obedience that attained salvation for the many - no mention of paying a penalty. Not saying anyone has to believe this, just outlining the evidence trail that I have found and been following.
Thanks again for your willingness to dialogue...
There are many passages that describe Jesus Christ as the atoning sacrifice. Based on the Sanctuary System sins were transferred to the spotless lamb and then it was slain and its blood collected and applied in various ways to the Sanctuary. So when the Word of the LORD says the Lamb who takes away your sins or Jesus says this is My blood that is shed for the remission of sins they all imply that people's sins are transfered to Jesus.
I believe Paul in 2Cor 5:21 was referring to Isa 53:1-12
Read the whole of Isa 53, and notice these statements
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
10Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.
Hello Shirley,
I would be very interested an explanation (based on the bible) of how sins are transferred to the sin offering and then make their (various) ways into the Sanctuary. From my research, it is rabbinic tradition that sins were confessed on the head the sin offering. I am aware of nothing in the Pentateuch that teaches this.
Thanks.
Richard
I believe that when the sinner laid his hands on the head of the sacrifice according to Lev 1:1-5 he transferred his sins to it. It was slain and its blood applied to the altar to make atonement for the sinner to be forgiven.
Lev 16:21 helps me understand this process.
I believe that he confessed his sin to the priest otherwise how would the priest know it was the correct offering. So every time in Leviticus when it says the people must "lay their hand on the animal" I believe it included confessing their sin.
I also find people confessing their sins to the LORD and asking to be forgiven in Solomon's prayer of dedication 1Kings 8:35-39; David's prayer Ps 51:3; Daniel's prayer Dam 9:4,20
In the New Testament people are often called to "repent" or confess their sins.
1John 1:7,9
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Thanks again Shirley for your willingness to dialogue.
Because you don't know me personally, I just wanted to assure you that I do carefully read (ie study in-depth) extended bible passages rather than base my views on single verses - I only refer to verses as a summary to keep things concise within this blog. I study into things a lot because it is the foundation that enables me to help others - and I am privileged to be in a position where I interact with a lot of people, so I am very mindful of my responsibility in what I share both in deed and in word.
Isaiah 53 is a chapter that I have looked at extensively - including going through each and every line, and even going back to the original languages. So I am very familiar with its development of thought. The reason I see the same thoughts differently is that I am operating from a different base of presuppositions - which I may comment briefly about a bit further below as it pertains to the input from all readers in this constructive discussion thread.
I am glad we can interchange input across time. While you and I have some differing views, I know we are both trying to represent our God and serve Him (including via serving others) to the best of our ability with honest hearts that desire to know truth.
Thank you for responding. I want to be sure I have a clear understanding of the basis for your belief on this.
Leviticus 1:4 states that the offerer lays one hand on the head of the sacrificial animal, but nothing about confession, then the animal is sacrificed. Leviticus 16:21 states that on the Day of Atonement, the high priest lays “both his hands on the head of the live goat” and confesses over it all the sins of the people. The animal is not sacrificed. These appear to be two different rituals with two very different purposes that are not identical.
Another consideration is that Leviticus 1 deals with the burnt offering, not the sin or guilt offerings. So no sin is involved. I note that in Leviticus 5:5-6 and Leviticus 6:1-7 where sin and guilt offerings are dealt with in more specific detail, that the offerer confesses his sin and makes restitution before he brings his offering for atonement. So it appears that confession for the sin and guilt offering is performed separately from the actual sacrifice.
Would you please explain how your understanding aligns with these parts of Leviticus?
I agree that Solomon’s, David’s and Daniel’s prayers are beautiful confessions, but they do not really shed any light on this question on the transfer of sin to the sanctuary.
1 John 1:7-9 speaks of confession and cleansing, but not the transfer of sin to the sanctuary, so again, I am not understanding how this sheds light on the question of sin transfer. This portion of scripture states that the blood of Jesus cleanses from sin, not that it transfers sin to the sanctuary.
If I have missed something here, I would appreciate your help in clarifying this.
Thank you.
Richard, I have explained all that I understand on the subject, I have nothing further to add.
I appreciate the dialogue, and I will attempt to ask questions and share thoughts it has stimulated. I too, if I understand you correctly, disagree with your statement (Jesus necessarily subjected Himself to being tempted and assailed by evil and this is the 'price He paid' - the 'penalty' involved - in being our Saviour-Redeemer via being the successful second Adam). I think my disagreement is that I believe your statement is incomplete (as it seems Shirley is saying) as our salvation required more than an authentic human who never missed the mark, who never lived/moved/acted outside of faith in His Father (Rom. 14:23).
Such a life would address the claim by Satan that God's character, as expressed in the law, was faulty, and the law could not be obeyed. However, how does a righteous 2nd Adam, born of woman, under the law, save those who are already sold under sin, with nothing good in themselves, including any desire for God or righteousness? I don't see where you have shown that critical need is met, where that chasm is crossed.
In Gen 3:16 God puts enmity between the seed of the woman (I believe this is Christ), and the serpent and his offspring. Christ said the devil had no hold over/nothing in Him. And living out Jn 3:16 - Jesus obeyed His Father and accepted our sins and their Principles of Life (PofL)-the 2nd death - separation from Zoe/Life and bios life (Jn 14:30-31)
On what basis does God remove the results of a 1st Adam heritage from the OT Jesus (Joshua) and give him the results of a 2nd Adam heritage per Zech.3:1-5? To me the only way PofL is maintained with "taken away your sin" is as Is 53:5-6 says, it (the PofL of humanities' sin) was placed where God desired, on Himself, the body/sacrifice He had prepared before the foundation of the world (1Pet 1:18-20).
Is it possible that 1Jn 4:19 also states a PofL? Maybe the cross, with its mysterious victim, is the most powerfully beautiful, evocative, love reaction inducing visualization of God's love for me, for us? When I choose to behold and keep beholding such love, I am by PofL enabled to accept the love He has for me and that acceptance will result, again by PofL, in my love for Him and others?
I am not sure I have added anything, however I thank both of you for sharing your thoughts. I am blessed.
Hello Shirley,
I am OK with your response and thank you for it. I struggled for many years trying to rationalize the sin transfer model for the sanctuary, but finally gave up and just let scripture interpret itself.
Richard
Did God not make Jesus to be sin for us, as the KJV translates 2 Corinthians 5:21? This translation did not make sense to me, not only in the context of the verse (see 2 Corinthian 5:14-15, which obviously speaks of Christ as an offering), but with respect to my understanding of the Mosaic sacrificial system. I did some research on this and found an article by Richard Averbeck (a noted Old Testament scholar) on this issue that made a lot of sense to me. Here is a relevant excerpt from the article:
Of interest are the Jewish translations of the 1 Corinthians 5:21:
The Mounce Reverse-Interlinear New Testament, New Living Translation and New Matthew Bible also translate this verse similarly. So it would seem that rather than woodenly translate this verse literally from the Greek (as the KJV, its variants and others have done), a competent translator would at least consider this passage of Paul’s letter in the context of his cultural and religious background (the Mosaic sacrificial system), and handle the word of truth with a precision that does not obscure its true meaning. (2 Timothy 2:15.)
I gained a new insight from this lesson because I not thought of David and Goliath as types of Christ and Satan. Recognizing the parallel helps in understanding how the one person - Christ - could redeem all of humanity. He won the battle with Satan, who claimed humans as his followers. And, just as David's kinsmen followed up on David's victory over Goliath, so we need to claim the victory Christ won and follow up on it by inviting others to join His army.
Absolutely. Jesus is our champion. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the King of Kings.