Rick Holland ~ Jesus – The Only Mediator
June 25, 2010
“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6
Jesus Christ is God. In fullness, He is perfect deity. He makes this very clear throughout Scripture. He says in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one”. Jesus was also fully man: perfect deity wrapped in human flesh. Passages from John 1 say, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being...He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
God is transcendent. He alone is above all. Psalm 113:4-6 says, “The Lord is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth?” God is also immanent. He is, as Matthew 1:23 says, “God with us.” Colossians 1:17 says, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” David wrote in Psalm 139 of God’s continual presence throughout the earth, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your right hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,’ even darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day.”
And this is where it becomes amazing! God – full and complete perfection and holiness - the only God, sent His only Son, whom He loved, “in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin,” as Romans 8 says, “therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Jesus, the Son of God, lived, died, and was raised to life, is now seated at the right hand of God. And do you know what He does there? He pleads for sinners like you, like me. “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners and exalted above the heavens.” He is our mediator. He was abandoned by man and by God at the Cross. He knows everything we have every gone through for He was fully man, and yet He never sinned! He alone bore the wrath of God in our place, but now He has glory at the right hand of His Father. Jesus Christ is immanence and transcendence come together!
I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way.
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave.
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will.
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still.
But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross.
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace.
Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!
Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me.
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose.
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You.
Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!
© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin
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