"For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined he also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified".
Romans 8:29-30
This is another post, in my series on the atonement of Jesus. Our definition of atonement is; “God killed His perfect Son to save hate-filled rebels from the wrath they deserved from Him”. Today I want to think deeply about the purpose of Jesus' death on the cross. Why did Jesus die? What did God ordain, plan, and accomplish in the death of His perfect Son? What was the purpose in the atonement of Jesus?
Today's post is not going to be popular. Many people do not agree, and in fact, get angry at this truth. The purpose of Jesus death has been debated for millennia. Godly men and women have been on multiple sides of this discussion. I believe the Bible is clear on this issue, but I write my thoughts out today with great humility. I do not take lightly the death of Jesus. I do not write today's thoughts out in a trivial manner, as if God's purposes are something to be discarded. Jesus is my Savior and without the purpose of God in Jesus' death and the death Jesus accomplished for me, I would still be lost in the bondage and desire for my sin. But we must think for a few moments about the purpose of Jesus' death.
Before I explore a little of God's purpose in Jesus' atonement, I want to make a few points clear up front, so as not to be accused of something I do not believe.
First, I believe God is sovereign. What God plans and ordains is always accomplished. What God desires (in His will of decree), He always makes sure happens. God, being the God Most High, is in total control of everything, including the salvation of man. God is sovereign over salvation.
Second, I believe that not all humans will be saved. I am not a universalist. Hell will be full of humans. Not all those who hear the Gospel message, who know of Jesus death, will be in heaven. The hardness of the human heart. The human bondage and desire for sin. The reality of fallen humanity leads me to believe that not all people will be saved.
Third, even though God is sovereign over salvation and we know not all will be saved, this does not mean the Gospel should not be offered to all. I believe it is our duty as Christians to evangelize all people. Whether it is the atheist at work, the Buddhist in the neighborhood, the "Christian" next to us in church, or the morally good family member, every single human must be told the good news of what Jesus accomplished.
Fourth, I believe in the power of Jesus. Jesus' death is sufficient to save all humanity. There is power in the blood of Jesus. If God wanted all humanity to be saved, Jesus blood is sufficient to save all humanity and God is powerful enough to bring salvation to all humanity. God is not limited in His power. Jesus is not limited in His ability. The atonement is not limited in its sufficiency.
Fifth, I believe in the penal substitutionary atonement of Jesus. Jesus was my substitute in a perfect life and in His atoning death. Jesus lived the perfect life I could not, in my place and God imputed it onto me. Jesus also stood in my place, when He went to the cross and satisfied the wrath/holiness of God against my sin. God imputed my sin and punishment upon Jesus as He was dying on the Cross. I believe payment for sin either took place on the cross or takes place in Hell.
Sixth, I believe God does not do anything arbitrary or without a purpose. God never plans an event or goes about his ordained plan without having a purpose in His actions. Because God is sovereign, every action he takes has a purpose and that purpose is perfectly accomplished. Jesus death had a clear purpose, planned by God, since eternity past. And becasue God is sovereign and in total control, God accomplished His purpose perfectly on the Cross.
All 6 of these points now bring us to a few thoughts on God's purpose for Jesus' atoning death.
There is an idea or picture in Christianity that goes something like this..."when Jesus died on the cross He was thinking and picturing you". I agree with this logic to a certain extent. God sent Jesus (and Jesus totally, perfectly, humbly agreed) to die for sinners (their enemies). God and the Son, planned in eternity past to save a people for themselves. God knowing we are lost, sinful, and deserve His wrath, created and accomplished a plan through Jesus to save His enemies. So Jesus came to this earth knowing He was going to save His people. This means yes, Jesus was on the cross thinking of His people that He was saving by standing in their place.
Jesus had specific people in mind when he agreed to live and die. Jesus was not arbitrary. Jesus was specific. God was not random. God was intentional. As Jesus declares in John 10:11, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays His life down for the sheep". Jesus was sent by God to rescue the sheep. Isaiah the prophet makes clear, "we all like sheep have gone astray....and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all". God knowing humans are lost, sent Jesus to secure the sheep that are lost, the elect people He loved. So Jesus went to the cross to stand in for specific people that He was thinking about, not a random, conglomerate of "unknowns".
The question that needs to be asked is whether God or humans are the most powerful force in salvation. If God is the most powerful being in salvation then what He wanted to accomplish and secure in the death of His Son was fulfilled and humans are in God's grace for salvation. If humans are the most powerful being in salvation then salvation rests in man's ability and power to secure their own salvation and God is at a loss in accomplishing His plan.
Now, most people I know never say that humans are the most powerful beings in salvation. Most people I know declare confidently, salvation is from the Lord. Yet, they claim to hold the power of humanity in salvation. They claim that God's grace cooperates with the human will and power. They claim that God is unable to secure His people without His people making a choice or decision. They claim that God made salvation possible and it is now up to the power of humans to take the power within themselves and finish the job. But Jesus is very clear that salvation rests first and foremost in the power of God to accomplish what he decrees when he says in John 16, "you did not choose me, but I choose you". The power to save people rests in God's power.
Another way to think through this point is asking a second question. Did God make salvation a possibility or did God make it a sovereign decree? If God makes salvation possibility that we can choose to accept or reject, then he loses His power, sovereign nature, and is relying on the human power to accomplish what He wants. It is as if God was in heaven saying, "I hope humanity has the power becasue I can't seem to accomplish this without them". If God accomplishes what He ordains in His plan of salvation then humanity rest in the grace, love, and power of God to save them and God is still perfectly sovereign over salvation. Again, most human beings I know do not say God just made salvation possible. No, they declare confidently and securely that that God accomplished His salvation the way He decreed.
We as humans want God to have the power in salvation. But when we understand what God's power in salvation means, we reject this notion. If God has the power to save, He saves that which He intends to save. God's power in salvation means it is not up to humans to save. God sent Jesus on a mission. God's mission was to accomplish the salvation of those He intended to save. God did not have to create this plan. God had every right to let humans remain in sin and get what they deserve and desire. Yet God chose to enact His power to send Jesus to save people in His grace. God's grace is all through God's power to save certain people. If it was up to the human power in salvation, all humanity would be stuck. As Ephesians 2 makes clear, "we are by nature children of wrath, dead in our trespass and sins". Humanity has no power to save and must rely solely on the power of God to secure the salvation of His people.
A third way of thinking through the purposes of God is thinking through the back end of salvation. Many Christians I know believe that "once saved, always saved" truth. They believe that salvation, after they have come into it, rests in the power and grace of God to secure it to the end. Most people rest in the power of God in salvation on the back end. But the same people hold to the power of humanity on the front end. They believe that humanity has the power to get into salvation. They believe that it is up to them and their power to get saved to begin with. Human power to get in and God's power to stay in. Here is the deal. God in His holiness hates sin. God in His holiness abhors the sinful, wicked person (this is every human). Yet, many people hold to God's grace that their sin will not remove the salvation God has given them. Many people hold to the grace of God in keeping them saved, even as they wrestle and commit sin in their life. They hold to God's power in sealing them in the Spirit, making a way for them to get to heaven. Most Christians know they need God to keep them and secure them in salvation becasue they can't do it on their own. Yet these same people think they got saved by their own power. No, they are clear it was the power of God to wash them and the death of Jesus that redeemed them. But they claim it was their own power to chose God, their ability to want God, the human desire to be saved. These people want human power to get in and God's power to stay. Jesus death and the purpose of Jesus death was not to give humans power but to demonstrate God's power by securing a people for Himself. it is God's power alone (demonstrated in his grace) that saves people and keep people. God's grace alone is the power that saves people. This means Jesus died to secure a specific people in His power for Himself.
All three of these arguments of God's purpose point to one fact. Salvation is either in God's power, accomplishing perfectly God's purpose or salvation has no power in God and rests completely in the power of man to save themselves (with the help of Jesus' sacrificial death). I believe God accomplishes His plan of salvation perfectly. This means, yes Jesus was thinking of me when He went to the cross. In fact, Jesus was thinking of every single person He was dying for when He went to the cross. Jesus substituted Himself for specific people and satisfied God's wrath for specific people. Jesus died on the cross for His sheep, the elect of God. I believe the purpose of Jesus' atonement was to perfectly accomplish salvation for the elect of God.
Like I said, this belief does not make me popular.
This belief does not make me popular because most people misunderstand God's love (they define it on human terms), God's goodness (again defining it on human terms), God's grace (thinking they deserve it), and God's sovereign control over His salvation. I know I would have never wanted God without Him first acting in my life. I know in my power, salvation would have never been accomplished in me. I know that in my control, I would be spending eternity in Hell, getting exactly what I deserve and want. Yet in God's grace, He sent His perfect loving Son to go to the Cross for me to secure my salvation. I know it is only by God's grace alone in Christ alone for His glory alone that I am saved and experience the fullness of God's salvation. I know that Jesus' atonement accomplishing the salvation of particular people God elected, does not make me popular. But I rest today in the grace of God to still perfectly accomplish that which He sets out to accomplish in my life for His glory, which rests in His power alone to save me.
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