Christian Clarity: The Straight Line: That Christ Should Suffer

That Christ Should Suffer

Acts 26:22-25 Having therefore met with the help which is from God, I have stood firm unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying nothing else than those things which both the prophets and Moses have said should happen, namely, whether Christ should suffer; whether He first, through resurrection of the dead, should announce light both to the people and to the nations. And as he answered for his defence with these things, Festus says with a loud voice, Thou art mad, Paul; much learning turns thee to madness. But Paul said, I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but utter words of truth and soberness;

I. The Inheritance of God

That God inherits and is an inheritor is expressly declared by God as spirit and life:

Zec 2:12 And Jehovah shall inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

and

Psalm 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; for Thou shalt inherit all the nations.

and

1 Samuel 26:19 And now, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If Jehovah have moved thee against me, let him accept an oblation; but if the sons of men, cursed be they before Jehovah; for they have driven me out this day from adhering to the inheritance of Jehovah, saying, Go, serve other gods.

Seeing then that God is indeed an inheritor, how is it that God could indeed inherit anything from anything or anyone as He is solely God? That is, the revealed nature of God is such that He is the sole Creator of all things that have being or will have being and this expressly through His Word. How then could anyone give to God what was not already His, seeing that He has made all that exists and that He is His Word? Indeed, He has Himself spoken as spirit and as life to say:

Romans 11:34-36 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counsellor? or who has first given to Him, and it shall be rendered to him? For of Him, and through Him, and for Him are all things: to Him be glory for ever. Amen.

and

Isaiah 44:6-8 Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and beside Me there is no God. And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people? And the coming things, and those that shall happen, let them declare unto them. Fear not, neither be afraid. Have I not caused thee to hear from that time, and have declared it? and ye are My witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no Rock: I know not any.

Expressly then, God must inherit from Himself as there is no other beside Him capable of creation. It is necessary then, in order for His Word in the Holy Scriptures to be fulfilled, that God must inherit from Himself. But true inheritance is predicated on both the death of the one leaving the inheritance behind to another and the actual life of the other in order to truly receive the inheritance.

The living truth of the Holy Trinity is then established. God sent His Son, the second Person of the Trinity to die and to be resurrected so that God should be both the Giver and Receiver of everything He has Himself created. That is, God is both the Author, the source of our life in Christ and through His death and resurrection the Finisher of our faith. We are God's inheritance. He is our inheritance.

Heb 9:16,17 (For where there is a testament, the death of the testator must needs come in. For a testament is of force when men are dead, since it is in no way of force while the testator is alive.)

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 Then the end, when He gives up the kingdom to Him who is God and Father; when He shall have annulled all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that is annulled is death. For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says that all things are put in subjection, it is evident that it is except Him who put all things in subjection to Him. But when all things shall have been brought into subjection to Him, then the Son also Himself shall be placed in subjection to Him who put all things in subjection to Him, that God may be all in all.

Christ giving up the kingdom to the Father and the Holy Spirit in no way takes the kingdom from Himself or makes Him less God as He is fully divine in Himself. His subjection to God is the perfect union of the Trintiy. The word subjection is not to be confused with the fallen human heart's notion/deception of an emotional economy amongst those who rule among men and those who are ruled.

II. The Redemption of Our Souls

Romans 3:24 ...being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Ephesians 1:7 ...in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offences, according to the riches of His grace;

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, wherein the Holy Spirit has set you as overseers, to shepherd the assembly of God, which He has purchased with the blood of His own.

Redemption is the buying back of an estate from those into whose hands the estate had formerly been given. We were given to sin for a time according to the wisdom of God in order that we should see and witness the enemies of God, His power over them in wrath and His love in and for us. But having been given to sin by God by an act of His Speech, God both honors His Word in delivering us and destroys sin in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

III. The Revelation of the Nature of God

Psalm 98:2 Jehovah hath made known his salvation: His righteousness hath He openly shewed in the sight of the nations.

God demonstrates who He is and that He will unavoidably be known as He really is by His creatures. He makes Himself subject to one of His creations (death) for a time in order to both free His chosen part of His total creation from death and be one with His creation in having passed through death.

Creating Speech, which was itself not created was given as a sacrifice to free those who were slaves to a speech which could create nothing. In order that those who should, in God's will, Speak the Same Speech as He Himself speaks and therefore be one with Him and that He should be in them (as He is His Word) it was necessary that those who did not and could not be united with God by anything or attribute of themselves be made free from the flesh and the vaniities/worthlessness/death/lies of non-creating speech (sin) by His living, abiding, and creating Word. This Word, Jesus Christ, having suffered at the hands of this living non-creating speech and this speech through the means of the flesh in having killed His flesh, the Word of God in resurrection was then spoken freely by those of His choosing in whom He now abides, having newly created them by the very Word He is and speaks through them in oneness with them and all who hear His voice. We are then no longer subject to death and sin.

Acts 12:24 But the word of God grew and spread itself.

God's blood makes us one with God in Christ. We are not made one with a less-than-God but God Himself. The blood of bulls and goats or any other over which man has or will have authority is unable to redeem man to God. As well, man's own blood is insufficent in that he is himself fallen in sin. Even the blood of a sin-less man (which does not exist) would not be enough to reconcile man to God. Only God is both sin-less and not under the authority of man and not-man and is able to go through death in order that those of His choosing should be resurrected in Him as new creation, being given His own divine nature.

Hebrews 2:5-9 For He has not subjected to angels the habitable world which is to come, of which we speak; but one has testified somewhere, saying, What is man, that Thou rememberest him, or son of man that Thou visitest him? Thou hast made him some little inferior to the angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour, and hast set him over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast subjected all things under his feet. For in subjecting all things to him, he has left nothing unsubject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him, but we see Jesus, who was made some little inferior to angels on account of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; so that by the grace of God He should taste death for every thing.

IV. That the Scriptures be fulfilled.

John 13:18 I speak not of you all. I know those whom I have chosen; but that the scripture might be fulfilled, He that eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.

and

Zec 13:7-9 Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, even against the man that is My fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn my hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass in all the land, saith Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will answer them: I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, Jehovah is my God.

and

Isaiah 53:10-11 Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise Him; He hath subjected Him to suffering. When Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see a seed, He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the fruit of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant instruct many in righteousness; and He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I assign Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong: because He hath poured out His soul unto death, and was reckoned with the transgressors; and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

to be continued...

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen