Donnels Creek Church

Category: Lent

  • Law & Gospel

    The Law Still & the Covenant of Works Still Stands but Only Christ Has Fulfilled It.

    He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.

    For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. – Romans 2:6–16

    Romans 2:6–16 can feel jarring when we read it carefully. Paul says God “will render to each one according to his works,” and that “the doers of the law will be justified.” For many readers, that sounds like a problem. Isn’t Paul the apostle of justification by faith alone? How can he speak this way without undermining the gospel?

    The answer is not that Paul is changing subjects, softening the law, or secretly describing Spirit-enabled obedience. The answer is much simpler, and much more bracing: Paul is not preaching the gospel here at all. He is stating the demands of the law. Romans 2:6–16 belongs to the covenant of works, not the covenant of grace.

    That becomes clear once we pay attention to where this passage sits in Romans. Paul announces the gospel in Romans 1:16–17. Immediately after that, he turns to the revelation of God’s wrath. That section begins in 1:18 and continues through 3:20. Only in 3:21 does Paul pivot with the words, “But now.” Romans 2:6–16 is firmly located in the indictment section. Paul has not yet begun to explain how sinners are saved. He is explaining how God judges justly.

    When Paul says that eternal life is given to those who persist in well-doing, he is not describing Christians or regenerate obedience. He is describing what the law requires. Lifelong, uninterrupted, perfect righteousness. Not sincerity. Not progress. Not faithfulness mixed with failure. The law offers life only on those terms.

    In this sense, Paul is doing exactly what Jesus does with the rich young ruler. When the man asks how to inherit eternal life, Jesus does not lower the standard or redirect him immediately to grace. He points him straight to the commandments: Do this, and you will live. Jesus is not pretending. He is telling the truth. Works really will save you, if you do them perfectly. The problem is not with the law. The problem is with the man/woman.

    And Jesus’ own explanation confirms this. When the disciples realize what that standard actually means and ask, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus doesn’t say, “I didn’t really mean that.” He says, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” The covenant of works stands. The impossibility lies entirely with fallen humanity.

    Paul is doing the same thing in Romans 2. He is not suggesting that the covenant of works was suspended at the fall. He assumes it remains in force. God still judges according to works. Eternal life still belongs to perfect obedience. The doers of the law really will be justified, if any exist. Romans 2 only becomes confusing when we assume Paul must be describing the way of salvation whenever he speaks about life or justification.

    Paul will say plainly that no one meets this standard. None is righteous. No one does good. By works of the law no human being will be justified. Romans 2 is not an exception to that verdict. It is part of the argument that establishes it.

    Paul lets the law stand in its full severity. Judgment really is according to works. The covenant of works really does demand perfect obedience. And that is precisely why the gospel is necessary.

    When Paul finally turns to Christ in Romans 3, everything changes, not because the standard changes, but because the representative does. Righteousness is revealed apart from the law. Justification is a gift. Eternal life is received, not earned. And the obedience the law required from us is found entirely in Christ.

    Judgment Day, then, is not a future justification based on our works. It is the public acknowledgment of a verdict already rendered. Believers are openly acquitted, not because they became doers of the law, but because they are united by faith to the one Man who was.

    Romans 2 allows the law to speak fully so that grace may remain grace. It does not threaten justification by faith alone; it protects it. The covenant of works still stands. The law is still just. The standard has not changed.

    The only thing that has changed is that God has provided a Savior who fulfilled that covenant in our place.

    And that is not bad news.
    That is the necessary prelude to the gospel.

  • Psalm 132:11-18

    The Lord swore to David a sure oath
        from which he will not turn back:
    “One of the sons of your body
        I will set on your throne.
    12 If your sons keep my covenant
        and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
    their sons also forever
        shall sit on your throne.”

    13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
        he has desired it for his dwelling place:
    14 “This is my resting place forever;
        here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
    15 I will abundantly bless her provisions;
        I will satisfy her poor with bread.
    16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
        and her saints will shout for joy.
    17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
        I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
    18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
        but on him his crown will shine.”

    Reflection

    As a believer, journaling is a extremely valuable. Writing prayers, questions and thoughts. Today’s reflection is better suited for those who journal HOWEVER . . . those who do not are still able to participate.

    Below are several statements made from this entry. Read and ponder each and write your reaction to the hope that can be found in that statement. If you don’t journal, you can simply think through them.

    The purpose of this exercise is to determine what are the implications for you on each of these statements.

    1. From verse 15 to verse 18 there are 6 “I’s” that refer to the Lord and one statement, “saints will shout for joy.”
    2. “We are far too easily pleased.” C.S. Lewis
    3. Christian grown is maturing from “I” to “Thou”.
    4. The little you can do poorly our Lord can do perfectly.
    5. One day (while in eternity) we shall look back on our best, our happiest, our most glowing day in this life and it will seem as a warm dark coal compared to the bonfire of joy in the new heavens and the new earth.

  • Jesus Came to Die to Give Us a Clear Conscience

    How much more will the blood of Christ,
    who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

    Hebrews 9:14

    Some things never change. The problem of a dirty conscience is as old as Adam and Eve. As soon as they sinned, their conscience was defiled. Their sense of guilt was ruinous. It ruined their relationship with God—they hid from him. It ruined their relation to each other—they blamed. It ruined their peace with themselves—for the first time they saw themselves and felt shame.

    All through the Old Testament, conscience was an issue. But the animal sacrifices themselves could not cleanse the conscience. “Gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:9-10). As a foreshadowing of Christ, God counted the blood of the animals as sufficient for cleansing the flesh—the ceremonial uncleanness, but not the conscience.

    No animal blood could cleanse the conscience. They knew it (see Isaiah 53 and Psalm 51). And we know it. So, a new high priest comes—Jesus the Son of God—with a better sacrifice: himself. “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14). The animal sacrifices foreshadowed the final sacrifice of God’s Son, and the death of the Son reaches back to cover all the sins of God’s people in the old time period, and forward to cover all the sins of God’s people in the new time period.

    So here we are in the modern age—the age of science, Internet, organ transplants, instant messaging, cell phones—and our problem is fundamentally the same as always: Our conscience condemns us. We don’t feel good enough to come to God. And no matter how distorted our consciences are, this much is true: We are not good enough to come to him.

    When our conscience rises up and condemns us, where will we turn? We turn to Christ. We turn to the suffering and death of Christ—the blood of Christ. This is the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give the conscience relief in life and peace in death

    Key Phrase 🙂

    We can cut ourselves, or throw our children in the sacred river, or give a million dollars to the United Way, or serve in a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving, or perform a hundred forms of penance and self-injury, and the result will be the same: The stain remains, and death terrifies. We know that our conscience is defiled—not with external things like touching a corpse or eating a piece of pork. Jesus said it is what comes out of a person that defiles, not what goes in (Mark 7:15-23). We are defiled by pride and self-pity and bitterness and lust and envy and jealousy and covetousness and apathy and fear—and the actions they breed. These are all “dead works.” They have no spiritual life in them. They don’t come from new life; they come from death, and they lead to death. That is why they make us feel hopeless in our consciences.

    The only answer in these modern times, as in all other times, is the blood of Christ. When our conscience rises up and condemns us, where will we turn? We turn to Christ. We turn to the suffering and death of Christ—the blood of Christ. This is the only cleansing agent in the universe that can give the conscience relief in life and peace in death.

    From John Piper: Fifty Reasons Christ Came To Die

    Reflection

    1. In what way(s) does this reading provide you comfort, relief and assurance?
    2. How can we become enslaved or dominated to our conscience?
    3. Reflection is your private time and your answers can be personal. According to this writing, in what ways did Jesus show His love for you?

  • Psalm 132:1-10

    Today’s entry is a foundation for the Wednesday post. This is a wonderful Psalm but it may raise questions as to how does this point to the Easter message. In two days the remainder of the Psalm 132 will be addressed and it will be more clear the importance of this foundation.

    Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor,
        all the hardships he endured,
    2 how he swore to the Lord
        and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
    3 “I will not enter my house
        or get into my bed,
    4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
        or slumber to my eyelids,
    5 until I find a place for the Lord,
        a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

    6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
        we found it in the fields of Jaar.
    7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
        let us worship at his footstool!”

    8 Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
        you and the ark of your might.
    9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
        and let your saints shout for joy.
    10 For the sake of your servant David,
        do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

    Content from Hidden Streams

    Reflection

    1. This Psalm ties with 2 Samuel 7. It would be good to read the whole chapter for context. For this question, verse 12-17 actually makes reference to TWO sons. What future sons would build God’s temple? (if more help is needed to think of the sons, one was the next king after David. The second can be found by looking at John 2:19 AND Hebrews 1:5. That Hebrews passages quotes 2 Samuel 7:14.)
    2. In your life: a) What has Christ built? b) What is Christ building?
    3. Chad Bird, the commentator, makes reference to Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Meditate and ponder in what ways are you crucified in Christ?

  • Jesus Came To Die To Make Us Holy, Blameless & Perfect

    For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
    Hebrews 10:14

    He has now reconciled [you] in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and
    above reproach before him.     Colossians 1:22

    Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 1 Corinthians 5:7

    One of the greatest heartaches in the Christian life is the slowness of our change. We hear the summons of God to love him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength (Mark 12:30). But do we ever rise to that totality of affection and devotion?

    We cry out regularly with the apostle Paul, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). We groan even as we take fresh resolves: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Philippians 3:12).

    That very statement is the key to endurance and joy. “Christ Jesus has made me his own.” All my reaching and yearning and striving is not to belong to Christ (which has already happened), but to complete what is lacking in my likeness to him.

    One of the greatest sources of joy and endurance for the Christian is knowing that in the imperfection of our progress we have already been perfected—and that this is owing to the suffering and death of Christ. “For by a single offering [namely, himself!] he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). This is amazing! In the same sentence he says we are “being sanctified” and we are already “perfected.”

    Being sanctified means that we are imperfect and in process. We are becoming holy—but are not yet fully holy. And it is precisely these—and only these—who are already perfected. The joyful encouragement here is that the evidence of our perfection before God is not our experienced perfection, but our experienced progress. The good news is that being on the way is proof that we have arrived.

    The Bible pictures this again in the old language of dough and leaven (yeast). In the picture, leaven is evil. We are the lump of dough. It says, “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

    Christians are “unleavened.” There is no leaven—no evil. We are perfected. For this reason we are to “cleanse out the old leaven.” We have been made unleavened in Christ. So we should now become unleavened in practice. In other words, we should become what we are.

    The basis of all this? “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” The suffering of Christ secures our perfection so firmly that it is already now a reality. Therefore, we fight against our sin not simply to become perfect, but because we are. The death of Jesus is the key to battling our imperfections on the firm foundation of our perfection.

    Reflection

    1. Meditate, ponder and if journaling, write your thoughts concerning Hebrews 10:16 that “In the same sentence he says we are ‘being sanctified’ and we are already ‘perfected’.”
    2. Like the previous question meditate, ponder and write your thoughts what John Piper mentioned concerning Christian’s being unleavened.

    from John Piper: Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die

  • Atonement

    The apostle Paul declared that he was determined to know nothing save Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).  This was the apostle’s way of emphasizing the extreme importance of the cross to Christianity. 

    The doctrine of atonement is central to all Christian theology.  Luther called Christianity a theology of the cross.  The figure of a cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. 

    The concept of atonement reaches back to the Old Testament where God set up a system by which the people of Israel could make atonement for their sins.  To atone is to make amends, to set things right.

    Both the Old Testament and New Testament make it clear that all human beings are sinners.  As our sins are against an infinite, holy God who cannot even look upon sin.  Atonement must be made in order for us to have fellowship with God. 

    Because sin touches even our best acts, we are in capable of making a sufficient sacrifice.  Even our sacrifices are tainted and would require a further sacrifice to cover that blemish, ad infinitum. We have no gift valuable enough, no work righteous enough to atone for our own sins.  We are debtors who cannot pay their debts.

    In receiving the wrath of God on the cross, Christ was able to make atonement for His people.  Christ carried, or bore, the punishment for the sins of human beings.  He atoned for them by accepting the just punishment due for those sins. 

    The Old Testament covenant pronounced a curse upon any person who broke the law of God.  On the cross, Jesus not only took that curse upon Himself, but He became “a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).  He was forsaken by the Father and experienced the full measure of hell on the cross.

    Orthodox Christianity has insisted that the Atonement involves substitution and satisfaction.  In taking God’s curse upon Himself, Jesus satisfied the demands of the God’s holy justice.  He received God’s wrath for us, saving us from the wrath that is to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

    A key concept in the Bible regarding the atonement is captured in the phrase, “on behalf of.” Jesus did not die for Himself, but for us.  His suffering was vicarious*; He was our substitute.  He took our place in fulfilling the role of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

    vicarious: 1. acting or done for another. 2. being able to experience something through the actions by someone else.

  • Jesus Came To Die To Bring Us to Faith and Keep Us Faithful

    This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Mark 14:24

    I will make with them an everlasting covenant. . . . And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. Jeremiah 32:40

    The Bible speaks of an “old covenant” and a “new covenant.” The term covenant refers to a solemn, binding agreement between two parties carrying obligations for both sides and enforced by an oath. In the Bible the covenants God makes with man are initiated by himself. He sets the terms. His obligations are determined by his own purposes.

    The “old covenant” refers to the arrangement God established with Israel in the law of Moses. Its weakness was that it was not accompanied by spiritual transformation. Therefore, it was not obeyed and did not bring life. It was written with letters on stone, not with the Spirit on the heart. The prophets promised a “new covenant” that would be different. It would be “not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

    The new covenant is radically more effective than the old. It is enacted on the foundation of Jesus’ suffering and death. “He is the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrews 9:15). Jesus said that his blood was the “blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:24). This means that the blood of Jesus purchased the power and the promises of the new covenant. It is supremely effective because Christ died to make it so.

    What then are the terms of the covenant that he infallibly secured by his blood? The prophet Jeremiah describes some of them: “I will make a new covenant . . . this is the covenant that I will make . . . I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. . . . For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The suffering and death of Christ guarantees the inner change of his people (the law written on their hearts) and the forgiveness of their sins.

    To guarantee that this covenant will not fail, Christ takes the initiative to create the faith and secure the faithfulness of his people. He brings a new-covenant people into being by writing the law not just on stone, but on the heart. In contrast with the “letter” on stone, he says “the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). “When we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). This is the spiritual life that enables us to see and believe in the glory of Christ. This miracle creates the new-covenant people. It is sure and certain because Christ bought it with his own blood.

    And the miracle is not only the creation of our faith, but the securing of our faithfulness. “I will make with them an everlasting covenant. . . . I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me” (Jeremiah 32:40). When Christ died, he secured for his people not only new hearts but new security. He will not let them turn from him. He will keep them. They will persevere. The blood of the covenant guarantees it.

    from John Piper: Fifty Reasons Christ Came to Die

    Reflection

    1. According to this reading, what was the weakness of the Old Covenant?
    2. What did Christ do that made the New Covenant extremely effective?
    3. By what means believers in Christ kept in faith?

  • Psalm 10

    “The hiddenness of God is revealed in the crucified Christ.”

    Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
        Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

    2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
        let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
    3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
        and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
    4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
        all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
    5 His ways prosper at all times;
        your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
        as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
    6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
        throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
    7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
        under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
    8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
        in hiding places he murders the innocent.
    His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
    9     he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
    he lurks that he may seize the poor;
        he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
    10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
        and fall by his might.
    11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
        he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

    12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
        forget not the afflicted.
    13 Why does the wicked renounce God
        and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
    14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
        that you may take it into your hands;
    to you the helpless commits himself;
        you have been the helper of the fatherless.
    15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
        call his wickedness to account till you find none.

    16 The Lord is king forever and ever;
        the nations perish from his land.
    17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
        you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
    18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
        so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

    Reflection

    1. Yes or No: “Why do you stand far off?” (verse 1) Has it ever seemed as if GOd is far off, to busy for you?
    2. Yes or No: Does it seem at times that the wicked prosper when those pursuing righteousness suffer?
    3. Chad Bird said, “The Lord is always the crucified lord. He is the one suffering injustice. When we look at the crucified Christ, we do not say, ‘There is God!’ because there is nothing divine about him.” Meditate on this statement and if you are journaling/writing, describe your thoughts on this.
    4. The hiddenness of God is revealed in the crucified Christ. How does God, in Christ, join you in your suffering?

  • Jesus Came To Die To Take Away Our Condemnation

    Note: In my opinion, Romans is the greatest book of the Bible. This writing by John Piper is based mostly out of Romans 8 which is right in the middle of the greatest book. As you read this entry, write out the sentences or thoughts that catch your attention.

    Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:34

    The great conclusion to the suffering and death of Christ is this: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). To be “in Christ” means to be in relationship to him by faith. Faith in Christ unites us to Christ so that his death becomes our death and his perfection becomes our perfection. Christ becomes our punishment (which we don’t have to bear) and our perfection (which we cannot perform).

    Faith is not the ground of our acceptance with God. Christ alone is. Faith unites us to Christ so that his righteousness is counted as ours. “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16). Being “justified by faith” and being “justified . . . in Christ” (Galatians 2:17) are parallel terms. We are in Christ by faith and therefore justified.

    When the question is asked, “Who is to condemn?” the answer is assumed. No one! Then the basis is declared: “Christ Jesus is the one who died!” The death of Christ secures our freedom from condemnation. It is as sure that we cannot be condemned as it is sure that Christ died. There is no double jeopardy in God’s court. We will not be condemned twice for the same offenses. Christ has died once for our sins. We will not be condemned for them. Condemnation is gone not because there isn’t any, but because it has already happened.

    But what about condemnation by the world? Is that not an answer to the question, “Who is to condemn?” Aren’t Christians condemned by the world? There have been many martyrs. The answer is that no one can condemn us successfully. Charges can be brought, but none will stick in the end. “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies” (Romans 8:33). It’s the same as when the Bible asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Romans 8:35). The answer is not that these things don’t happen to Christians. The answer is: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

    The world will bring its condemnation. They may even put their sword behind it. But we know that the highest court has already ruled in our favor. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). No one successfully. If they reject us, he accepts us. If they hate us, he loves us. If they imprison us, he sets our spirits free. If they afflict us, he refines us by the fire. If they kill us, he makes it a passage to paradise. They cannot defeat us. Christ has died. Christ is risen. We are alive in him. And in him there is no condemnation. We are forgiven, and we are righteous. “And the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).

    Reflection

    1. Look through the sentences and phrases which caught your attention and that you wrote down. For each one, ponder further (you may want to write out your thoughts) why did it catch your attention?
    2. There is a difference between condemnation and conviction. Consider these two words and in your own way define both of them.
    3. How can our Lord use conviction in our lives and help us grow in holiness?

    From John Piper, Fifty Reasons Christ Came To Die

  • Redemption Applied

    You may have noticed by Thursdays are the typically a bit more weighty day of the week. In my notes they are called Theology Thursday. These entries have a bit more Scripture and tend to be subject focused. Today the attention is directed at the work of Christ and how it was applied to us. This helpful article from David B. Garner that was written in April of 2019.

    Born like any other young boy (Gal. 4:4), Jesus grew “in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Despite contemporary attempts by some to paint Him as a superhero, Mary’s flesh-and-blood offspring “had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isa. 53:2). The Son of God became one of us and matured mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially.

    Though never disobedient, He learned submission (Heb. 5:8)—by His steps of faith, He grew from immaturity to moral excellence. He was, in the fullest sense, a regular man with a tested and proven life: “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect” (2:17) and was made “perfect through suffering” (v. 10).

    Yet as thoroughly ordinary as Jesus is, His life explodes beyond the common. The God-man undertook a divinely appointed, unrepeatable, and decisive historical role. Like the Adam of Eden, the last Adam—Jesus Christ—was a public man. In His representative calling, Jesus became the “merciful and faithful high priest . . . [who made] propitiation for the sins of the people” (v. 17). Only this one man has accomplished that extraordinary, lasting ministry.

    Jesus’ human existence thus attains its value by His public function. At every moment, He acted with a look beyond Himself and to His people. The premier Prophet, He spoke to His people. The holy High Priest, He interceded for His people. The King of kings, He reigns over His people. Jesus came to live, die, and rise again for His people. He is the Shepherd; we are His sheep. He is the holy Redeemer; by Him we are wholly redeemed.

    Accordingly, the roots of biblical salvation draw life from this glorious Christ-for-us motif. Christ is cornerstone; we are the “living stones” that make up the “spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). The great architectural project of history puts each of us in our God-appointed place—every living stone supported and sustained by the chief cornerstone. Christ is the Vine; we are the branches. Life flows in us, because we draw on Him (John 15:4). Christ is the husband; we are His bride (Rev. 21:2; see Eph. 5:18–33). The Savior lovingly clutches us covenantally, intimately, and irreversibly.

    How does the work of this one man actually bless others? According to the Father’s wisdom, the Son of God sent from heaven accomplishes redemption; the Spirit of the Son applies that redemption to His people. By grace, the Spirit unites the people of God to the real Christ of history. The Son works savingly in the Spirit; the people of God participate in His saving acts by the same Spirit. By the will of the Father, the Spirit unites us to the Son.

    The Holy Spirit unites us to the ordinary, extraordinary man. We are placed into Christ and He into us. We belong to Him, and He belongs to us.

    No theological afterthought, this work of the Spirit possesses three distinct yet inseparable features. This grace toward us commences in the wise and gracious counsel of God before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3–6). It gains historical traction in the ministry of Christ, where the Spirit places us in Christ in His own death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation (Rom. 6:1–4; Eph. 2:6). Then when giving us faith, the Spirit effects this gracious union in us personally (Eph. 1:13–14). Summarily, union with Christ originates in divine election and covenant purpose. In the divine accomplishment of redemption, the Spirit binds us to Christ. At the moment of faith, the Spirit applies the work of Christ to us immediately, personally, and savingly.

    Appreciation for this ministry of the Spirit will prevent us from conceiving of salvation as an inanimate thing. Salvation must not be viewed first as a gift to unwrap but as the personal Savior we receive. The gift of the gospel is the Giver Himself.

    Jesus Christ “gave himself for us” (Titus 2:14), and we receive Him by the Holy Spirit: “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ ” (Gal. 4:6) and, “You . . . are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom. 8:9). The Holy Spirit unites us to the ordinary, extraordinary man. We are placed into Christ and He into us. We belong to Him, and He belongs to us.