Third, as a man who was flesh, He was made sin on behalf of man. This is so mysterious that we cannot explain it thoroughly. The Bible says clearly in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that Him who did not know sin God made sin on our behalf. God not only caused Him to bear our sins but even made Him sin on our behalf. When He was crucified on the cross, in God’s eyes, sin was crucified there. When He bore our sins, He dealt with our sins, our sinful acts, but when He was made sin, He dealt with our sin, our sinful nature.
In theology, sin is divided into two categories. One category is our own sins, the sins committed by ourselves; these are our sinful acts. Another category is the original sin which came from Adam; that is our sinful nature. That is why the Lord Jesus had various statuses on the cross. As a created man He bore our sinful acts, our own sins. Furthermore, He was in the likeness of the flesh of sin, and as such a One He was made sin on our behalf. In this way He dealt with our sinful nature so that God could condemn the sinful nature which we inherited from Adam.
Fourth, the blood shed by Him was the blood of Jesus, the Son of God. In the Son of God was divinity, and in Jesus was humanity. Hence, His blood was the blood of both God and man. In Acts 20:28 Paul charged the elders in Ephesus to shepherd “the church of God, which He obtained through His own blood.” This verse speaks of God’s own blood. Perhaps you have never thought that the blood shed by Jesus on the cross was God’s own blood and that, at the same time, it was also man’s blood because He was a man. For the redemption of man’s sins, genuine human blood must be shed. The blood of calves and goats cannot redeem man from his sins. Only man’s own blood can do this. However, because man is limited, the efficacy of man’s blood is also limited. Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus was also God, and the blood He shed was the blood of the Son of God. The Son of God is infinite; hence, the efficacy of His blood is boundless and eternal. This explains why He alone could die for millions of people. If He was only a perfect man, He could die only for one person but not for millions of people. However, He was a God-man. His being a man denotes that the nature of His blood is genuine human blood, while His being God denotes that the efficacy of His blood is eternal and limitless. It is unlimited both in time and in space. Thus, His blood can wash away the sins of millions of people in all places and at all times. This is what it means to be both all-inclusive and unlimited.
Therefore, the redemption which He accomplished by the shedding of His blood is an eternal redemption. Eternal means unlimited. He accomplished an eternal, unlimited redemption. His blood is unlimited, His redemption is unlimited, and therefore, He as the Redeemer is also unlimited. This is His all-inclusiveness, and this is also His unlimitedness.
Finally, in His death He had another status-He was the divine grain of wheat. All the previous statuses were for bearing and taking away our sins so that our sinful acts and sinful nature could be dealt with. They were for solving our problems on the negative side. Now on the positive side, He was the divine grain that fell into the ground to die to bring forth innumerable grains, including you and me. Do not forget that the grains are so many that they are truly innumerable. From the first century to His second coming, how many grains do you believe He will have? He is multiplying all the time. He is unlimited and all-inclusive. We truly have seen that our Lord is both all-inclusive and unlimited in what He is.
Home | First | Prev | Next