Chapter 19. Three Reasons Why God Would Be Reconciled to the World in Christ and No Other Way
Hence, nothing can ever make a breach again between God and us, such that we should once more become His enemies. Therefore, when we understand this reconciliation with all its properties and consequences, we understand what it truly means to be reconciled to God.
Consequence 8 There is one more consequence or property of this reconciliation that I must add to what I have mentioned before, and that is this: if we are reconciled to God in Christ, then certainly the work of reconciliation is a very difficult task; it is a mighty and hard thing.
Heaven and earth had to be moved before this could be accomplished, and God even shakes the heaven and the earth in this work. It was the most difficult work that God Himself ever undertook, and the most difficult work the Son undertook. For when
He took it upon Himself, we find that He sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, and before He completed it, it cost Him His very heart's blood. Therefore, it was not an ordinary or simple task to reconcile God and humankind, but a most challenging and arduous work, because it was accomplished in Christ.
Chapter 19 Three Reasons Why God Would Be Reconciled to the World in Christ and No Other Way 1. Because God the Son is most glorified this way.
2. Because God the Father is most glorified this way.
3. Because there was no other way as effective to melt the hearts of sinners or to encourage them to come to God.
But there still remains the task of showing you the reasons why God chose to reconcile Himself to the world through Christ and no other way. I will give you just these three reasons.
Reason 1 First, because in this way, the Father glorifies His Son. Had it not been for this method of atonement, we would have had little understanding of the glory of the second Person of the Trinity, nor indeed of the third Person, nor the distinction of the Persons.
Therefore, before the Gospel was made known to humankind, the distinction of the Persons in the Trinity was very little understood. In places where the Gospel is not revealed or made known, there is no full understanding of the distinction of the Persons in the Trinity.
Now, for the sake of glorifying the Trinity, and more specifically to glorify the second Person—the Son of God, who plays the central role in the work of reconciliation—God chose this way of reconciliation. It is true that the third Person, the Spirit, is sent by Christ, and in the completion of the work of reconciliation, the glory of that Person also appears. However, the main weight of the work lies upon the Son, and it is for the glory of the Son of God that He appointed this way to be reconciled to the world.
Indeed, it is such a work that the Son Himself takes great glory in it and considers this to be a significant part of His glory—that He is appointed by God the Father to be the Mediator, to reconcile God and humanity. Please observe this: the work of reconciliation between God and us is something in which Christ Himself takes
glory. It is what He counts as next in importance to the glory He has personally with the Father, as He was begotten by Him from all eternity. Next to that, Jesus Christ glories in being appointed to be a Mediator between the Father and sinful humanity.
That Christ Himself glories in this work can be seen in Scripture. The passage in John 13:31 is remarkable for this. "Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, 'Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him.'" Glorified now—when? It was when Judas betrayed Him, and He was about to shed His blood and die for the sins of humanity, to complete and perfect this work of atonement or reconciliation. "Now," He said, "is the Son of Man glorified." It is as if He had said, "I was indeed designated by the Father from all eternity to undertake this work of reconciliation. I came into the world for this very purpose, and all this time I have been preparing for it, but the main work is still to be accomplished. Now I am about to die, and this death of mine will bring the work to completion. Now," He said,
"is the Son of Man glorified."
Yes, this is the glory I have anticipated from all eternity; this is the glory I rejoiced in when I was in the bosom of the Father. For I knew of this; I knew I was appointed to be a Mediator; I knew it would cost
Me My blood to complete this work, and now the time has come for it to be performed. Therefore, now the Son of Man is glorified. I say,
Jesus Christ considers it His glory to be appointed to stand as a Mediator between God and us.
You will find, therefore, that when Scripture speaks of Christ's being appointed for this work by God, He rejoiced in it exceedingly. Psalm
40:6 states: "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast not required. Then said I, 'Lo, I come.'" What is it that God spoke to Him,
to which His ear was opened? What God the Father said to Him was this: "Son, the work of reconciliation between Myself and sinful humanity, I have appointed and designated you to it. I have appointed you to be a Mediator between us, and to undertake to make satisfaction such that sinful humanity and I may be at peace, so that mercy and justice may be reconciled together."
For let me tell you, as I have mentioned before, God and we could never have been reconciled unless mercy and justice were reconciled.
Now God the Father tells Jesus Christ that He has appointed Him to this work. And Christ says, "Mine ear hast thou opened." Oh, I accept this work gladly; yes, even though I know I must become a sacrifice for the sins of humanity.
Observe what follows in verse 7: "Then said I, 'Lo, I come; I am ready and willing to do this work, for in the volume of the book it is written of me, that I should do thy will.'" That is, it was written in the Scriptures before Christ ever came into the world, that He should come to perfect this great work. And in verse 8, He says, "I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart."
What was this will of God? Certainly, this will of God spoken of here was that Christ should be a Mediator between God and humanity, to bring about this reconciliation. And, oh, He says, "I delight to do this will of Thine, even though it is a will that will cost Me dearly." He says, "Thy law, this law that requires Me to come and be a sacrifice and to shed My blood, so that I may be a Mediator between humanity and God—this law is within My heart."
This is one reason why God chose this way of reconciling Himself to the world: because it magnifies the glory of His Son, and His Son acknowledges that it is His glory. Therefore, just when He was about to die, He declared these words: "With desire I have desired to eat
this Passover," because that was to pave the way for His death, which would bring about the fulfilment of this work of reconciliation.
Reason 2 A second reason why God chose this way of reconciling man to Himself is because, in this way, the Father Himself is most glorified.
The attributes of God shine with greater lustre in this way of reconciliation than if God had simply passed over the offence without any further action. Now, the glory of His wisdom, power, and justice shines forth, as well as His mercy. Not only does His mercy shine, but the other divine attributes of God are exceedingly radiant in this way of reconciliation. There is no clearer glass through which to behold the glory of God than the glory of the Gospel in the mystery of reconciliation.
Indeed, we do behold and see the glory of God in the mirror of creation, but in the Gospel—in the work of reconciliation in Christ— there is a brilliant glass in which all the beams of God's glorious attributes are united and shine with transcendent brightness.
Moreover, there is not only a lustre and radiance, but also a warmth that is felt in beholding them. In this way of reconciliation, God
Himself is glorified.
Therefore, in that text I mentioned, John 13:31, you find that as Christ acknowledged Himself to be glorified by this work, He also said, "My Father is glorified in Me." Likewise, in John 17, at the beginning, Christ says, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee." And in verse 4, He says, "I have glorified Thee on earth." How did He glorify God? "I have finished the work that Thou gavest Me to do,"—that work of mediation, that work of reconciliation between Thyself and sinful humanity. "That
work I have finished, and in that work, I have glorified Thee upon earth."
Indeed, this is the glory that God expects from the children of men— that He may be admired and magnified in this great work of reconciling the world to Himself through His Son. And that is the second reason.
Reason 3 A third reason is this: The Lord saw that there was no other way so effective in melting the hearts of sinful creatures and drawing them to come and be reconciled to Himself as this way. There was no other way to encourage the hearts of poor sinners to come and be reconciled to God as effectively as the consideration of the great things the Lord has done to make peace and reconciliation between Himself and sinners.
God foresaw this, and because He desired a way to break the hardest heart in the world and to draw the most stubborn and obstinate sinner to Himself, He chose this way above all others for reconciliation. This is illustrated in the parable of the vineyard, where the owner let it out to husbandmen. It tells us that when the master sent one servant, they beat him; he sent another, and they beat him too. Finally, he said within himself, "I will send my son; surely they will respect him."
It is as if He were saying, "Here are a company of hard-hearted, stubborn, and wicked creatures in this world. They have been presented with one argument and another to persuade them to come to Me, but their hearts are so hardened that they resist all the arguments they have heard. Nothing strikes their hard hearts; nothing melts them, nothing persuades them to come to Me. But I
have one argument left, and this will break even the most stubborn and hardened heart; and if they are among those appointed to life, if they are not lost creatures forever, what is this argument? It is this: I am reconciling Myself to the world in My Son. I will send My Son into the world to work out this reconciliation, and through this, I will reveal so much of My glory that when they come to see it, their hearts shall be filled with awe. They shall stand in wonder at the goodness and riches of My grace, their hearts will melt before Me, and at last, they shall be drawn to Me. When they come to hear of this, it will certainly be the most powerful argument."
It is the most dangerous thing in the world for the hearts of men not to be melted and not to be won over by this doctrine of our reconciliation with God in Christ. Remember this: if your hearts, when you come to hear of this doctrine, are not moved, are not drawn to God, it is a troubling sign that you may be lost creatures.
For God Himself sees this way of reconciliation as the most persuasive and compelling argument He could ever use to win the heart of any person. And if you do not find your hearts affected by this, you may take it as a sign of a very dangerous condition in which you are.
I dare appeal to those whose hearts God has won over to Himself: let them say, what was it that won their hearts? What was it that most effectively broke their hearts and caused them to turn to God? Was it not the revealing of this mystery of reconciliation in Christ? Was it not God's offer of mercy to the souls of poor, sinful creatures in Christ? Woe to those who sit under the ministry of the Gospel, hearing the blessed message of reconciliation in Christ, and yet do not find their hearts moved by this argument. For this was one special reason why God chose this way of reconciling Himself to the
world—that He might, through it, win the hearts of men and women to Himself forever.
Thus, you have now been shown all these aspects of the matter, in addition to the Scriptural proof of it. First, you have seen that there could be no reconciliation but in Christ. Secondly, that Christ was a fit Mediator to reconcile God and us together, and how that was so in particular. Thirdly, what Christ undertook to do for the reconciliation of us to God and what He continues to do to this very day. Fourthly, how we come to have an interest in what He has done for our reconciliation. Fifthly, the various properties or consequences of this reconciliation, which help us understand what kind of reconciliation it is. And finally, the reasons why God chose to reconcile the world to Himself in this way rather than in any other.