THE NATURE AND SACRIFICE OF JESUS CHRIST:
Even though we are early in the consideration of the Bible, it is necessary to introduce the events in the garden and how they will ultimately relate to the Lord Jesus Christ. We must understand how Jesus removed sin by his own sacrifice. As we now know: ‘sin is the transgression of the law’ 1 John 3:4. The post-Adamic inclination we have toward sin is inherent in our natural flesh, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not,” Romans 7:18. The result of these propensities inevitably produce sin, therefore human nature is often styled ‘sin’ even though no active transgression may have taken place. We have the term “sin” also used in a secondary sense in reference to Jesus, where God made him ‘to be sin on our behalf’,
2 Corinthians 5:21 for the purpose of reconciliation. Despite having this very same nature, with the same tendencies, Jesus endured the same propensities, without sinning, therefore he could be “offered once to bear the sins of many,” Hebrews 9:26-28. The Lord Jesus Christ was not a replacement, but became a ‘representative’ sin-bearer of the human race, by virtue of his being born of a woman, Galatians 4:4 and thereby partaking of the death-stricken nature common to all man-kind. This resulted in his being “tempted in all points as we are…that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil”, Hebrews 2:14. It was only because he too possessed human nature, that he was able to fulfill the principle upon which God is pleased to offer the forgiveness of our sins. “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself,” 2 Corinthians 5:19. Working through His obedient Son, God thereby condemned the sinful nature in human flesh: “…God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us…” Romans 8:3-5. God is righteousness in condemning ‘sin in the flesh’ and this is ratified by Jesus when he overcame all natural inclinations that typically would lead to sin John 8:46 when it was dramatically accomplished at his crucifixion, Romans 3:23-26. He denial of human nature was God’s ‘will’ required as Jesus acquiesced in his prayer in the Garden, Luke 22:42. This fulfilled the Genesis 3:15 promise of the seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent (sin).
No less is required of us, but Paul reminds us: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, Romans 3:23. This tells us we need the intervention of our Lord Jesus Christ. We, on our own, cannot succeed as Jesus did. We must become one with Jesus, and we do this through baptism, which requires confession of our sins, and whereby we become participants in the crucifixion of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins… “all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death”. Romanss 6:3
If we are “‘dead with Christ’, we shall also live with him,” Romans 6:8. In baptism, we are enjoined to his death, but also his resurrection! We must continue to exercise this principle to “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”, Galatians 5:24.