by A. W. Pink
(1.) The limited design in the Atonement follows, necessarily, from the eternal choice of the Father of certain ones unto salvation. The Scriptures inform us that, before the Lord became incarnate He said, ""Lo, I come, to do Thy will O God"" (Hebrews 10:7), and after He had become incarnate He declared, ""For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me"" (John 6:38). If then God had from the beginning chosen certain ones to salvation, then, because the will of Christ was in perfect accord with the will of the Father, He would not seek to enlarge upon His election. What we have just said is not merely a plausible deduction of our own, but is in strict harmony with the express teaching of the Word. Again and again our Lord referred to those whom the Father had ""given"" Him, and concerning whom He was particularly exercised. Said He, ""All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.... And this is the Father''s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day"" (John 6:37, 39).
And again, ""These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee; As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him....I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gayest Me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy Word.... I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine.... Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovest Me before the foundation of the world"" (John 17:1, 2, 6, 9, 24).
Before the foundation of the world the Father predestinated a people to be conformed to the image of His Son, and the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus was in order to the carrying out of the Divine purpose.
(2.) The very nature of the Atonement evidences that, in its application to sinners, it was limited in the purpose of God. The Atonement of Christ may be considered from two chief viewpoints----Godward and manward. Godwards, the Cross-work of Christ was a propitiation, an appeasing of Divine wrath, a satisfaction rendered to Divine justice and holiness; manwards, it was a substitution, the Innocent taking the place of the guilty, the Just dying for the unjust. But a strict substitution of a Person for persons, and the infliction upon Him of voluntary sufferings, involve the definite recognition on the part of the Substitute and of the One He is to propitiate of the persons for whom He acts, whose sins He bears, whose legal obligations He discharges.
Furthermore, if the Law-giver accepts the satisfaction which is made by the Substitute then those for whom the Substitute acts, whose place He takes, must necessarily be acquitted. If I am in debt and unable to discharge it and another comes forward and pays my creditor in full and receives a receipt in acknowledgment, then, in the sight of the law, my creditor no longer has any claim upon me. On the Cross the Lord Jesus gave Himself a ransom, and that it was accepted by God was attested by the open grave three days later; the question we would here raise is, For whom was this ransom offered? If it was offered for all mankind then the debt incurred by every man has been cancelled.
If Christ bore in His own body on the tree the sins of all men without exception, then none will perish. If Christ was ""made a curse"" for all of Adam''s race then none are now ""under condemnation."" ""Payment God cannot twice demand, first at my bleeding Surety''s hand and then again at mine."" But Christ did not discharge the debt of all men without exception, for some there are who will be ""cast into prison"" (cf. 1 Peter 3:19 where the same Greek word for ""prison"" occurs), and they shall ""by no means come out thence, till they have paid the uttermost farthing"" (Matthew 5:26), which, of course, will never be. Christ did not bear the sins of all mankind, for some there are who ""die in their sins"" (John 8:21), and whose ""sin remaineth"" (John 9:41). Christ was not ""made a curse"" for all of Adam''s race, for some there are to whom He will yet say, ""Depart from Me ye cursed"" (Matthew 25:41). To say that Christ died for all alike, to say that He became the Substitute and Surety of the whole human race, to say that He suffered on behalf of and in the stead of all mankind, is to say that He ""bore the curse for many who are now bearing the curse for themselves; that He suffered punishment for many who are now lifting up their own eyes in Hell, being in torments; that He paid the redemption price for many who shall yet pay in their own eternal anguish ''the wages of sin, which is death''"" (G. S. Bishop).
But, on the other hand, to say as Scripture says, that Christ was stricken for the transgressions of God''s people, to say that He gave His life for the sheep, to say that He gave His life a ransom for many, is to say that He made an atonement which fully atones; it is to say He paid a price which actually ransoms; it is to say He was set forth a propitiation which really propitiates; it is to say He is a Savior who truly saves.
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KJB John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth,
and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
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God''s Wrath Truly And Surely Averted
We are not able to know where or when the Spirit of Truth goes and comes (John 3:8), but no matter if we did know (and we do not), the Spirit works immediately apart from any cooperation from men and wholly apart from any means, imparting new life, and that not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Truth is communicated when it is written on the heart by the Spirit of God, so there is a new creature. The new birth imparts Eternal Life and new desires (Ps 110:3; 37:31; 1John 3:6,9; 5:18; Ps 119:165; 2Cor 5:17; Eze 36:26; John 3:6; 10:28; Tit 1:2; 3:7; Rom 12:3). Where before, people being as they are as unsaved men (none righteous, none that understandeth, none that seeketh after God, all gone out of the way, unprofitable, none that doeth good, no, not one, their throat is an open sepulchre, they have used deceit, the poison of asps is under their lips, mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their ways, the way of peace have they not known, no fear of God before their eyes, when they see Jesus there is no beauty that we should desire Him, He is despised and rejected of men - Isa 53:2-3; Rom 3:10-18), they are clearly shown from Scripture that they will not seek after God and they have no desire toward God, but only go after their own lusts. As it is written, Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. Salvation is of the Lord.
As it is written, Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. The new life is created by God apart from any means, ye must be born again, and the new life and immortality is revealed by the preaching of the gospel (2Tim 1:7-10). The distinction between regeneration and conversion is shown with that.
As it is written, God makes one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour. Sin is the mark on the vessel made unto dishonour, it is sin that separates a man from God, and even as men see this, they hold fast their sin and will not repent. As it is written, Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. With the one made unto honour, it is the precious blood of Christ that makes the difference.
Men of themselves refuse to turn to God. Men will brag of their own works, trampling under foot the blood of Christ, claiming it is their mind, their decision, something they have done, that has turned God''s wrath away. No, it is not man''s decision, but instead Christ is the propitiation for the sins of God''s people, those chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the earth, and for them the blood averts God''s wrath from the sins of the elect. To those God''s love is freely imparted (Isa 53:6; Rom 5:8-10; Rev 5:12; 13:8; Eph 1:6-8; 2:4-5; Tit 3:3-5; 1Joh 3:1, 16; 4:9-10). The unrighteousness is gone, and God''s wrath is averted. Salvation is the gift of God.
Consider these few thoughts about the Mercy Seat shown in the Old Testament, and how wonderfully it pictures Christ as the propitiation for the sins of the elect. The Mercy Seat is placed over the Ark of the Covenant, as a lid. On the top is two cherubim facing each other, their wings extended and coming together. In the Ark are the Tables of the Law (Ex 25:16). On the day of Atonement, blood is sprinkled on them, and so when God looks, the law is covered by the blood, taken out of the way, and so God''s wrath is turned away from the chosen people, the elect, for of the elect, it is written, According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Of those to be saved, the elect, it is said, He hath chosen us, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, for the wrath is averted and God''s love is freely bestowed on His chosen, for Christ is the propitiation for their sins. Salvation is of the Lord (2Cor 5:19; Rom 1:18; 3:25; 4:15; 7:6; Gal 3:11,13; 2Cor 3:13; Eph 2:15; Eph 1:4; Tit 1:2; 1Pet 1:19-20; Rev 5:12; Eph 2:8).
According as the Father hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world, Christ averts the wrath from us and we see that through faith in His blood, and we are granted faith by the operation of the Holy Ghost. The Father has chosen us, the Son dies for us, and by the Spirit we are born again. God''s wrath is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness, but how precious does grace appear when we first believe.
By grace,
Bob Krajcik
Mansfield, Ohio
May 31, 2005
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KJB John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth,
and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.