Christology
1. Why did Christ die?
The
Bible reveals so many amazing attributes of who God is and what He’s like.[1] Perhaps the most important aspects of His
character to begin to understand the need for Jesus’ death on the cross are
His holiness, justice, and righteousness.
God is “majestic in holiness”
(Ex. 15:11). The only attribute of God
that we ever see repeated when praising God is His holiness, “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Isa. 6:3, Rev.
4:8). It literally means separate. God as our Creator (Gen. 1-2) is separate,
different from us. One of the ways that
He is different is that He is completely righteous and just, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation
of His throne” (Ps. 97:2). His
righteousness means that He is perfect; He cannot sin, lie, or make mistakes (Num.23:19;
Isa. 44:20; Tit. 1:2).[2] His justice means that He “will by no means leave the guilty unpunished”
(Ex. 34:7, Nah. 1:3). God cannot approve
evil and cannot have sin in His presence (Hab. 1:13).
As previously stated, God is all-knowing, all-seeing, and everywhere at once.[3] “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13, ESV). This is problematic for man because he is sinful[4]. Try as we may, none of us can perfectly keep God’s holy Law (commandments). We know if we’ve sinned just once that we’ve broken His entire holy standards (Jas. 2:10). Every human will die and will be judged according to what he/she has done (Heb. 9:27, 2 Cor. 5:10). Man is radically corrupt and totally depraved in his sins. God is just in exacting punishment on sinners for breaking His perfect requirements. Punishment, in this case hell, is what we all deserve.
At this point it is God’s graciousness, mercifulness, and lovingkindness that helps us see why Jesus died. Without holiness accredited to his/her account, “no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14, ESV). How can sinful man become holy? How does a law-breaker become righteous before a judge? The answer is that there must be an exchange of debt before the judge and in love the judge must accept it. Jesus Christ, Son of God, came as a baby to the Earth to live among His creation for over 30 years. He was tempted in all ways[5] but never sinned. God, in love, sent His only Son into the world to live the perfect life that we cannot live to take the punishment that we deserve (John 3:16, 1 Pet. 3:18). He became the perfect high priest (Heb. 3:1, 4:14), perfect sacrificial lamb (Rev. 4:11-14), and perfectly satisfied the wrath of God (Is. 53:3-6, 10) for all who will repent and believe. Believers don’t receive grace from His perfect life alone. The cross was bloodied. We must understand why. In Hebrews 9:22 we learn that “according to the Law…all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”. His fulfillment of the Law was complete as He willingly offered His life and body on behalf of His people (Heb. 10:10, 14, John 10:11, 18). Knowing wretched sinners have no way on their own to enter God’s presence, God graciously sent His Son and Christ willingly intervened. He paid the debt in full for sinners so that they wouldn’t get what they deserve (this is mercy). God remains just because the penalty for sinners was paid for by Jesus. But the cross doesn’t simply get us back to zero with God. Instead, through faithfully believing in His life, death, and resurrection we receive all of the rewards of His perfect life (this is grace). This is called imputation, otherwise known as the great exchange. Once the sinner realizes that Christ willingly took his/her punishment so that his/her guilty status could be seen by God as “righteous”, the only true response is repentance, faith, and worship. Why did Christ die? To satisfy the curse of the law, demonstrate grace, and redeem sinful man to worship Him forever.
[1] See response to Theology Proper - #2 and #3 for a short description of some of His attributes.
[2] See responses to Bibliology - #2 and #3.
[3] See responses to Theology Proper - #2 and #3
[4] See response to Anthropology - #1. – “Who and what is man?”
[5] See next response for more on this.
As previously stated, God is all-knowing, all-seeing, and everywhere at once.[3] “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13, ESV). This is problematic for man because he is sinful[4]. Try as we may, none of us can perfectly keep God’s holy Law (commandments). We know if we’ve sinned just once that we’ve broken His entire holy standards (Jas. 2:10). Every human will die and will be judged according to what he/she has done (Heb. 9:27, 2 Cor. 5:10). Man is radically corrupt and totally depraved in his sins. God is just in exacting punishment on sinners for breaking His perfect requirements. Punishment, in this case hell, is what we all deserve.
At this point it is God’s graciousness, mercifulness, and lovingkindness that helps us see why Jesus died. Without holiness accredited to his/her account, “no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14, ESV). How can sinful man become holy? How does a law-breaker become righteous before a judge? The answer is that there must be an exchange of debt before the judge and in love the judge must accept it. Jesus Christ, Son of God, came as a baby to the Earth to live among His creation for over 30 years. He was tempted in all ways[5] but never sinned. God, in love, sent His only Son into the world to live the perfect life that we cannot live to take the punishment that we deserve (John 3:16, 1 Pet. 3:18). He became the perfect high priest (Heb. 3:1, 4:14), perfect sacrificial lamb (Rev. 4:11-14), and perfectly satisfied the wrath of God (Is. 53:3-6, 10) for all who will repent and believe. Believers don’t receive grace from His perfect life alone. The cross was bloodied. We must understand why. In Hebrews 9:22 we learn that “according to the Law…all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness”. His fulfillment of the Law was complete as He willingly offered His life and body on behalf of His people (Heb. 10:10, 14, John 10:11, 18). Knowing wretched sinners have no way on their own to enter God’s presence, God graciously sent His Son and Christ willingly intervened. He paid the debt in full for sinners so that they wouldn’t get what they deserve (this is mercy). God remains just because the penalty for sinners was paid for by Jesus. But the cross doesn’t simply get us back to zero with God. Instead, through faithfully believing in His life, death, and resurrection we receive all of the rewards of His perfect life (this is grace). This is called imputation, otherwise known as the great exchange. Once the sinner realizes that Christ willingly took his/her punishment so that his/her guilty status could be seen by God as “righteous”, the only true response is repentance, faith, and worship. Why did Christ die? To satisfy the curse of the law, demonstrate grace, and redeem sinful man to worship Him forever.
[1] See response to Theology Proper - #2 and #3 for a short description of some of His attributes.
[2] See responses to Bibliology - #2 and #3.
[3] See responses to Theology Proper - #2 and #3
[4] See response to Anthropology - #1. – “Who and what is man?”
[5] See next response for more on this.
2. He was "tempted in all things as we are" (Heb. 4:15). Discuss and relate to counseling theory and practice.
An
amazing and essential truth to understanding Jesus Christ is to recognize that
despite temptation He never sinned. When
personally examined, Pontius Pilate the Governor found “no guilt in this man” (Luke 23:4, 14, 22). Pilate said that King Herod found no guilt in
Him either (Luke 23:15). The “chief priests” who wanted Him dead had
to lie “false testimony” when He was
before His accusers because they too could not find anything worthy “to put Him to death” (Mark 14:55-58). We should marvel at these truths because they
reveal Christ’s Deity. When we
understand that Jesus never sinned even though He was “tempted in all things as we are” we find comfort and rest in His
power to help us through our own temptations (Heb. 4:15).
Examine the following verses; “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:14-16, emphasis mine). Jesus is our only “advocate” and “mediator” with the Father (1 John 2:1, 1 Tim. 2:5). Believers in Christ do not have a human priest that sins, dies, or fails to intercede at all times. Christ is our “great high priest” in that He “intercedes” for His sheep because He is eternally alive sitting “at the right hand of God” (Rom. 8:34). Believers have the One who perfectly satisfied the requirements of the Law advocating for them to God. Beyond that wonderful truth is the reality that He can “sympathize with our weaknesses”. He’s not a distant god that can’t relate to what it’s like for us to be tempted or suffer. Jesus wept for the loss of a loved one (John 11:35), experienced need of food and sleep (Mark 4:38, Luke 4:2, John 4:6), and as seen in the wildness and the Garden of Gethsemane He was tempted to disobey the Father’s will (Matt. 4:1-11, 26:36; Luke 22:39). But He never sinned. He could have called down “twelve legions of angels” when persecuted and mocked but He instead chose meekness, selflessness, and perfect obedience (Matt. 26:53). How was Jesus able to endure through such temptations? “He kept entrusting Himself to Him (the Father) who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 2:23). It’s through this trust in God that we “find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
God promises that He “is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also” (1 Cor. 10:13). It also says that “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man”. If it weren’t enough that the perfect Son of God experienced temptation, overcame it every time, and now advocates for believers from Heaven (and that is enough) then take additional comfort in that God promises that nothing you are experiencing is unique or too much. Believers will be provided the way to “escape” or “endure”. Others have overcome it before. Christ overcame it Himself. And He empowers you to overcome it through grace. Hebrews 12:1-3 depicts Jesus as the perfect example. He is described as the “author and perfecter of faith” (v. 2). Verse 3 tells us to “consider Him” and His trials so that we “may not grow weary”. This is what counseling must do. We must help those who’ve been blessed with the Holy Spirit to see that nothing is too overwhelming for them because Christ knows it, advocates for them through it, and empowers them to escape it or endure it. They are promises from an all-powerful God who can sympathize. When the Psalmist in ch. 119:9-10 cried out, “How can a young man keep his way pure?”, the answer followed: seek the Lord with all your heart, keep your ways according to His word, and pray that He would graciously keep you from wandering. With Christ and His achievements at the center of the counselee’s thoughts, sin and suffering become increasingly more manageable.
Examine the following verses; “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:14-16, emphasis mine). Jesus is our only “advocate” and “mediator” with the Father (1 John 2:1, 1 Tim. 2:5). Believers in Christ do not have a human priest that sins, dies, or fails to intercede at all times. Christ is our “great high priest” in that He “intercedes” for His sheep because He is eternally alive sitting “at the right hand of God” (Rom. 8:34). Believers have the One who perfectly satisfied the requirements of the Law advocating for them to God. Beyond that wonderful truth is the reality that He can “sympathize with our weaknesses”. He’s not a distant god that can’t relate to what it’s like for us to be tempted or suffer. Jesus wept for the loss of a loved one (John 11:35), experienced need of food and sleep (Mark 4:38, Luke 4:2, John 4:6), and as seen in the wildness and the Garden of Gethsemane He was tempted to disobey the Father’s will (Matt. 4:1-11, 26:36; Luke 22:39). But He never sinned. He could have called down “twelve legions of angels” when persecuted and mocked but He instead chose meekness, selflessness, and perfect obedience (Matt. 26:53). How was Jesus able to endure through such temptations? “He kept entrusting Himself to Him (the Father) who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 2:23). It’s through this trust in God that we “find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
God promises that He “is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also” (1 Cor. 10:13). It also says that “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man”. If it weren’t enough that the perfect Son of God experienced temptation, overcame it every time, and now advocates for believers from Heaven (and that is enough) then take additional comfort in that God promises that nothing you are experiencing is unique or too much. Believers will be provided the way to “escape” or “endure”. Others have overcome it before. Christ overcame it Himself. And He empowers you to overcome it through grace. Hebrews 12:1-3 depicts Jesus as the perfect example. He is described as the “author and perfecter of faith” (v. 2). Verse 3 tells us to “consider Him” and His trials so that we “may not grow weary”. This is what counseling must do. We must help those who’ve been blessed with the Holy Spirit to see that nothing is too overwhelming for them because Christ knows it, advocates for them through it, and empowers them to escape it or endure it. They are promises from an all-powerful God who can sympathize. When the Psalmist in ch. 119:9-10 cried out, “How can a young man keep his way pure?”, the answer followed: seek the Lord with all your heart, keep your ways according to His word, and pray that He would graciously keep you from wandering. With Christ and His achievements at the center of the counselee’s thoughts, sin and suffering become increasingly more manageable.