You Can Know You Have Eternal Life
#
727 – The Divine Mystery Revealed (34)

by Jim Mettenbrink

[review previous article] [advance to next article]
     In the last article, we closed with the beginning of the unfolding of the mystery hidden from mankind through the ages (Colossians 1:26).  Since from the Garden of Eden man has failed God’s supreme command of total allegiance by being sinless and thereby bringing death to each of us, God resolved to save us by becoming human flesh and keeping His commandments for us (Matthew 5:17,18; Luke 24:44).

     God came into humanity via the virgin having been conceived by Holy Spirit, thus Jesus was man and God at the same moment (Matthew 1:18-24).  That Jesus came into the flesh and kept the law sinlessly, He became the acceptable sacrifice for the sins of the entirety of humanity.  He paid the penalty of sin (death) on the cross which God’s commanded animal sacrifices could not pay (Hebrews 10:5-10).  That Jesus did so was the continuing revelation of the Divinely planned mystery.

     Since Jesus had never sinned, He had always had fellowship with God, both through eternity and now as a human being.  Jesus experienced on the cross that which He had never known — the effect of sin.  For three hours, from noon until the moment of His death, the world turned dark (Matthew 27:45,46; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-46).  In that last moment, He cried out in anguish “
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  Having the sins of the world heaped on Him separated Him from the Father, the same result we suffer because of our sins.  He died and was buried as a human.  In His death we acknowledge His humanity.

     In His death, the penalty of your sin was paid.  Like a criminal, the penalty of crime is the prison sentence.  But once the penalty is paid, the record still shows the person to have been a criminal.

     On the last night before Jesus was crucified, as He instituted the memorial of His coming death, “
He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you.  For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’” (Matthew 26:27,28).  What is remission?  Why Jesus’ blood?  What is the connection between His blood and remission of sins?  The Divine mystery hidden through the ages continues to unfold!

[review previous article] [advance to next article]



      © Jim Mettenbrink; used by permission. rev.170514
      Permission guidelines for your use of this article.
      This article’s presentation in Exploring God's Word ©2017 David G. Churchill.
      For additional quality Bible-study materials, contact your local church of Christ or access Exploring God's Word at www.exploringgodsword.co.
      Send us your Bible-related questions.