Delivered Through Christ’s Gift of Himself
Minister: | Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: | 11/9/2014 AM |
Text: | Galatians 1:3-5 |
Psalters: | 320, 390, 363, 282 |
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper |
- The gift.
- The Lord Jesus Christ “gave Himself,” i.e., gave Himself up unto death: gave up His spirit.
- The Christ, Who is free from all sin, gave Himself; He was the perfect sacrifice.
- That Jesus gave Himself emphasizes that it was a voluntary.
- He gave Himself “for our sins.” i.e., in the place of, as a substitute.
- “Sins” is that which is committed against the Most High Majesty, earning from Him death, i.e., eternal wrath.
- These sins are an infinite number of willful violations of God’s Most High Majesty.
- Christ’s giving of Himself was “according to the will of God and our Father.”
- What is God’s purpose for willing Christ’s giving of Himself? “That He might deliver us from (out of) this present evil world.”
- That from which delivers His people is “the age, the present one, being evil.”
- “Age” denotes the world from the viewpoint of its historical development.
- That it is “present” means that it is now, current, and also near us, swirling around us which takes us up in its tide.
- It is “evil” in the sense of vicious and active.
- Jesus gave Himself unto death in order to “deliver” (snatch out, take out, rescue) us from this age.
- The word “out” is emphasized by being expressed twice.
- Jesus purchased us unto Himself so that we belong to Him now, and we do not belong to this age.
- The result is that blessings can be given to us.
- The content of the blessings (of which we are to be experientially aware): grace and peace.
- The further result is that all glory is given to God and to Jesus.