Divine Standard
287
him; for it was to save the transgressor from ruin that He who was
equal with God offered up His life on Calvary. “God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (
John 3:16
).
Our Atoning Sacrifice
Jesus was the majesty of heaven, the beloved commander of the
angels, who delighted to do His pleasure. He was one with God, “in
the bosom of the Father” (
John 1:18
), yet He thought it not a thing to
be desired to be equal with God while man was lost in sin and misery.
He stepped down from His throne, He left His crown and royal scepter,
and clothed His divinity with humanity. He humbled Himself even to
the death of the cross, that man might be exalted to a seat with Him
upon His throne. In Him we have a complete offering, an infinite
sacrifice, a mighty Saviour, who is able to save unto the uttermost all
that come unto God by Him. In love He comes to reveal the Father, to
reconcile man to God, to make him a new creature renewed after the
image of Him who created him.
Jesus is our atoning sacrifice. We can make no atonement for
ourselves; but by faith we can accept the atonement that has been made.
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“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that
he might bring us to God” (
1 Peter 3:18
). “Ye were not redeemed with
corruptible things, ... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot” (
1 Peter 1:18, 19
). It was through
infinite sacrifice and inexpressible suffering that our Redeemer placed
redemption within our reach. He was in this world unhonored and
unknown, that, through His wonderful condescension and humiliation,
He might exalt man to receive eternal honors and immortal joys in
the heavenly courts. During His thirty years of life on earth His heart
was wrung with inconceivable anguish. The path from the manger
to Calvary was shadowed by grief and sorrow. He was a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief, enduring such heartache as no
human language can portray. He could have said in truth, “Behold, and
see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow” (
Lamentations 1:12
).
Hating sin with a perfect hatred, He yet gathered to His soul the sins
of the whole world. Guiltless, He bore the punishment of the guilty.
Innocent, yet offering Himself as a substitute for the transgressor. The