The book of Hebrews reveals that when the Lord Jesus died, He presented Himself as the all-inclusive offering to replace all the offerings in the Old Testament. According to Hebrews 9:14, Christ “through the eternal Spirit offered Himself spotless to God.” Although Christ is both human and divine, He presented Himself to God as the all-inclusive offering not only by Himself, the divine-human One, but also through the eternal Spirit.
The Lord’s offering Himself to God through the eternal Spirit can be compared to His ministering on earth by the Spirit. Before the Spirit descended upon Him, He was already both divine and human. Although He was divine and human, when He was about to begin His ministry, God anointed Him with the Spirit. This was the Spirit who descended upon Him. But before the Spirit came upon Him, He already had within Him the essence of God’s divinity. However, for His ministry He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. During the three and a half years of His ministry, He did not act merely by Himself as the One who is both human and divine, but also by the anointing Spirit. He moved and ministered by this Spirit. Especially as He was presenting Himself to God on the cross as the all-inclusive offering, He presented Himself through the eternal Spirit.
When the Lord Jesus cried, “My God, My God, why did You forsake Me?” it was during the time He was bearing our sins (1 Pet. 2:24), being made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21) and taking the place of sinners (1 Pet. 3:18). This means that God judged Him as our Substitute for our sins. In the sight of God, Christ became a great sinner. Concerning this, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf.” When did God make Christ sin for us? Was it during the whole period of the thirty-three and a half years of the Lord’s life on earth? No. If the Lord Jesus had been made sin by God during all of His life, then God could not have been with Him, and God could not have had His delight in Him. I believe that it was during the last three hours Christ was on the cross, from twelve o’clock until three o’clock in the afternoon, the hours when darkness came over the whole land, that God made Him sin. God made Christ not only our Substitute; God even made Him sin on our behalf. Because Christ was our Substitute and was made sin in the sight of God, God judged Him. I believe that it was during this time, at about the ninth hour, that the anointing Spirit left the Lord Jesus.
We have pointed out strongly that before the Holy Spirit, the anointing Spirit, descended upon the Lord Jesus, He already had the divine essence within Him as one of two essences of His being. Now we need to see that the divine essence never left Him. Even when He was on the cross crying out, “My God, My God, why did You forsake Me?” He still had the divine essence. Then who left Him? The anointing Spirit through whom He presented Himself to God left Him. After God accepted Christ as the all-inclusive offering, the anointing Spirit left Him. But although the anointing Spirit left Him, He still had the divine essence.
The death of the Lord Jesus was not merely the death of a man; it was the death of a God-man. For this reason, His death has eternal effectiveness. The Lord’s death has eternal power for our redemption. Otherwise, it would not be possible for one man to die for so many people. An individual person is limited because a human being is not eternal. If the Lord had died merely as a man, His death would have been limited in its effectiveness. He could have been a Substitute for one person, but not for millions of persons. However, the Lord’s death was the death of a God-man and therefore was an eternal death accomplishing eternal redemption, redemption with eternal power and effectiveness.
Before the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord Jesus, the Lord already had the divine essence. When He was baptized, He was baptized as a God-man. After His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him as the God-man to anoint Him for His ministry. For three and a half years He ministered by this Spirit. Then on the cross He presented Himself as the God-man to be the all-inclusive sacrifice through the eternal Spirit. After God had counted Him as a sinner to be our Substitute, even making Him sin for us, and had accepted His offering, God as the Holy Spirit who had come upon Him forsook Him. Nevertheless, the Lord was still a God-man and died as such. This means that even though God as the Spirit left the Lord, the Lord died not merely as a man but as a God-man. Therefore, there is in His death a divine and eternal element. His death has accomplished eternal redemption with eternal power and effectiveness.