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Christ the Mediator To give effect to his eternal
purpose God chose and ordained the Lord Jesus, his one and only Son, in
accordance with the covenant into which they had entered, to be the
mediator between God and man; also to be prophet, priest, king, head and
saviour of his church; also to be the heir of all things and judge of the
world. From all eternity God
had given to his Son those who were to be his progeny, and the Son engaged
in time (as distinct from eternity) to redeem, call, justify, sanctify,
and glorify them. The divine Person who made the
world, and upholds and governs all things that he has made, is the Son of
God, the second Person of the Holy Trinity.
He is true and eternal God, the 'brightness of the Father's glory',
of the same substance (or essence) as the Father, and equal with him. It is he who, at the appointed time, took upon himself the
nature of man, with all its essential characteristics and its common
infirmities, sin excepted. He
was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, a woman
who belonged to the tribe of Judah, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her
and the power of God Most High overshadowing her.
And so, as the Scripture tells us, he was made of a woman, a
descendant of Abraham and David. In
this way it came about that the two whole, perfect, and distinct natures,
the divine and the human, were inseparably joined together in one Person,
without the conversion of the one nature into the other, and without the
mixing, as it were, of one nature with the other; in other words, without
confusion. Thus the Son of
God is now both true God and true man, yet one Christ, the only mediator
between God and man. The two natures, divine and
human, being thus united in the person of God's Son, he was sanctified and
anointed with the Holy Spirit to an unlimited extent, and in him are found
all treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
He is replete with all that is pleasing to the Father, being holy,
untouched by sin, and full of grace and truth.
Thus he has become thoroughly qualified to execute the work of a
mediator and surety. He did
not take this work upon himself uncalled, but was commissioned by his
Father so to act. His Father
also conferred upon him full powers of jurisdiction and commanded him to
pass judgment on all. The Lord Jesus most willingly
undertook the office of mediator, and in order that he might discharge it
he became subject to God's law, which he perfectly fulfilled.
He also underwent the punishment due to us, which we should have
borne and suffered, for he bore our sins and was accursed for our sakes.
He endured sorrows in his soul severe beyond our conception, and
most painful sufferings in his body.
His death was by crucifixion.
While he remained in the state of the dead his body sustained no
decay. The third day saw his
resurrection in the same body in which he had suffered.
In the same body also he ascended into heaven, where he sits at the
right hand of his Father, interceding for his own.
At the end of the world he will return to judge men and angels. By his perfect obedience to God's
law, and by a once-for-all offering up of himself to God as a sacrifice
through the eternal Spirit, the Lord Jesus has fully satisfied all the
claims of divine justice. He
has brought about reconciliation, and purchased an everlasting inheritance
in the kingdom of heaven, for all those given to him by his Father. Christ certainly and effectually
applies and communicates eternal redemption to all those for whom he has
obtained it. His work of
intercession is on their behalf. He
unites them to himself by his Spirit; he reveals to them, in and by the
Word, the mystery of salvation; he persuades them to believe and obey,
governing their hearts by his Word and Spirit; he overcomes all their
enemies by his almighty power and wisdom, using those methods and ways
which are most agreeable to the wonderful and unsearchable appointments of
his providence. All these
things are carried out in his free and sovereign grace, and
unconditionally, nothing of merit being foreseen by him in the elect.
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