10. Chapter IX
The Eternal Purpose (1906)
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Chapter IX
The Plan of Redemption
For Humanity Only, and Why. - Subjected in Hope. - Justly Condemned. - In Love and Mercy Redeemed. - Triumphantly Restored. - Relationship of the Plan of Redemption to the Eternal Purpose.
"Ye are bought with a price." "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, ... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19.
While the plan of salvation as presented in the preceding chapter is seen to be as wide as creation, and to include all of the salvable element of the whole creation, the plan of redemption belongs exclusively to humanity; for though a host of angels have sinned, it is clear from testimony already considered that no provision has been made for their recovery. The reason for this becomes manifest as the purpose and plan of God unfolds.
Of the plan of human redemption, as of the broader plan of salvation just considered and which includes it, it is likewise true that Jehovah alone is the Author, and hence that he is primarily the Savior of men, as he declares. Isa. 43:10, 11. Yet in a secondary sense his only-begotten Son is presented as our Savior. Matt. 1:21; Acts 5:31. Here let us again call to mind the responsibilities of the Son of God as the great Chief Executive in a dominion founded by Jehovah in absolute righteousness, and destined for eternal duration. We have already considered him in his priestly (fatherly) office and have noted how, therefore, the government is upon his shoulders. We have observed that in accepting the office of fatherhood and priesthood to the prospective creation he became the willing sponsor for all - the surety to Jehovah, the great Legislator and supreme Lord of all, that his righteous law should be maintained and honored and that all his purposes in regard to this great family should be accomplished. If any individual of that family should sin and thus come short of the glory of God, he was in perfect harmony with the just sentence of the divine law - death.
Thus while from the beginning of creation there was an individual responsibility vested in every intelligent being, there was also a corporate responsibility vested in the Son of God - the priestly responsibility of a father for a great and growing universal family. True to this responsibility we find him ever active in all the affairs of his great family in heaven and in earth, as already noted. And if to humanity he has given a written revelation to acquaint men with God and with his mighty works, and to declare to them his testimonies, in some equally clear manner the heavenly hosts undoubtedly have all been instructed. And if to believing men have been given the illuminating influences of the Holy Spirit of God to guide into all truth, that Holy Spirit has not been withheld from the believing hosts of other intelligent beings, all of whom are under the same divine law and subject to its operations.
In the case of the angels, long experience with and clear knowledge of God manifestly preceded their trial; for even Satan is described as at one time glorious in the perfection of beauty, and an agent of universal blessing, commanding the love, esteem and confidence of the whole creation. Such wide and powerful influence necessitated time for its acquisition; and it was when a pinnacle of glory and honor had been attained, necessarily after the lapse of long time, that the very height of his glory suggested the disloyal thoughts of pride and ambition.
After such acquaintance with God, such knowledge of his holy law, and such experience of his grace, his crime was that of high treason. And nonetheless was the sin of all those angels who enlisted with him in the same unholy cause. A redemption of such sinners would be utterly useless; for the hardening of the heart necessary to such measures of presumption and violence would make it callous to any measures of love or mercy that could be devised.
Humanity is warned against such presumptuous willful sin, from which it is "impossible" to renew the sinner unto repentance. See Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-31. The sin of all of those angels which kept not their first estate of purity was thus equivalent to this "sin unto death," which men also may commit after they have been individually enlightened as the angels were previous to their trial. Consequently, there is no redemption provided for fallen angels. Nor will there ever be, for it is written - "Now once in the consummation of the ages, hath he [our Lord Jesus] appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" - Heb. 9:26 - and though "he died unto sin once, ... being raised from the dead, he dieth no more: death hath no more dominion over him." Rom. 6:9, 10. And, moreover, in order to redeem humanity it was necessary that he should take our human nature that so the exact penalty of the law might be paid, viz., a life for a life, a man's life for a man's life. Deut. 19:21; Exod. 21:23-25 - for since by man came death, by man also must come the resurrection, the deliverance from death. 1 Cor. 15:21, 22. "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, ... a body [a human body] hast thou prepared me, ... Lo I come to do thy will, O God." Heb. 10:5, 7. But the nature of angels he never took. Heb. 2:14-16. Nor do the fallen angels hope for deliverance having no such promise, but on the contrary, the assurance of final destruction. In view of that coming judgment, we are told that "the devils believe and tremble." Jas. 2:19. See also Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34-41.
The Plight of Humanity
The case of humanity has been just the reverse of that of the angels, for the human race was tried representatively in its progenitor, Adam; and that in the very dawn of human existence when knowledge and experience were but meager. And when the operation of the divine law - "the perfect law of liberty" - which necessarily requires absolute perfection as the unqualified condition of everlasting life, brought upon them its penalty - death - the whole race by the law of heredity was involved both in the sin and in its penalty, before they were born. The purpose of this law of heredity, when not thus perverted by sin, was to link the whole race in a sacred bond of brotherhood; but this bond, ordained to life and happiness, proved thus through sin to be unto death. But, in the far-seeing wisdom of God, there was a still deeper purpose in this law of heredity which involved us all in one man's sin and penalty, for this seeming calamity made possible the redemption of the whole race by one, the man Christ Jesus. Rom. 5:12, 18-21; 11:32-36.
Our plight was vastly different then from that of the angels and our condition was most pitiable, though the sentence was just and right, because to grant eternal life to any being short of perfection would introduce sin into the new order of things and so perpetuate the evils which God hath promised shall never enter there: -"There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth." Rev. 21:27. It would be to unsettle the very foundations of the divine government, as we observed when considering the divine law. Therefore the sentence of death was not only just, but it was imperative. God could not do otherwise and be just, and in justice secure his pledges of eternal peace, prosperity and happiness to the righteous.
So since the divine standard of righteousness must be maintained, any means devised for our deliverance could only become effective after first satisfying the claims of this penalty of sin which had been justly passed upon us. It should be observed that Adam's sin, while it was truly sin, and fraught with the inevitable consequences of sin to himself and to his posterity, was not such a sin as that described in Heb. 6:4-8, for knowledge and experience were necessarily meager, and repentance was not impossible, either with Adam and Eve or with their posterity.
Their sin was like the sin of a young child curiously tampering with the thing forbidden. The child is told not to meddle with fire, that fire is destructive and will burn him to death. A deceiver tells him this is false, that fire will not destroy him: he ventures the experiment to see for himself, though he knows he ought to trust and obey the manifest parental love, and turn from the wicked deceiver. He is quickly caught in the flames; and now he knows by experience that fire burns, but his experimental knowledge is costing his life, and he repents of having tried the experiment. Here the pitiful parent hearing the cry comes to the rescue and is badly burned himself in his effort to save the child, who is thenceforth safeguarded by this painful experience of both parent and child. And now the child knows also the depth of self-sacrificing parental love and gratefully returns filial love and prompt obedience. And not only he, but other children of the family who have trusted parental wisdom and have not sinned against parental authority now have the additional testimony of observation, against sin, and a deeper sense also of self-sacrificing parental love.
But has the child also learned that fire is a bad thing? No: he sees that fire is a good thing, and most necessary to the comfort and well-being of all men, but that he must obey the law of fire. If we obey the law of fire it will serve us nobly; but if we disobey, it will consume us.
While for wise ends which the full accomplishment of his eternal purpose will clearly reveal, God subjected humanity to this trial in its infancy, yet, knowing that repentance was not impossible, he quickly flew to our relief at great cost; and now humanity knows from painful experience that disobedience to the law of God subjects the sinner to its consuming wrath. And as repentant man comes to realize the pardoning love of God and the great cost at which he redeemed us, we, and not we only, but also the whole universal family of God, praise and adore his goodness, while we honor his holy law which is ordained to bless the obedient with eternal life in perfect peace and assured prosperity.
In the awful agony and degradation which sin has wrought the whole creation has had an actual demonstration of the exceeding sinfulness of sin and of the righteousness of God in thus safeguarding his eternal dominions from it, so that "affliction shall not rise up the second time." Nahum 1:7-9.
If judgment had not followed the first violation of the divine law, other intelligent beings who have not sinned, might well have inquired, "What assurance have we that this element of discord will not increase and be tolerated to an unlimited extent?" And the answer would be, "None whatever, for the weakness of the administration, the insecurity of the government, must endanger every interest of the righteous." Therefore the just judgment of God, in view of the very first infraction of the law on the part of any being, was necessarily to condemnation, and that to death, since continuance of life is the reward of the law and cannot be in any sense its penalty. The wages of sin is death, whether that sin be the darkest of crimes or one of lighter hue; for "whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all," he has "become a transgressor of the law." Jas. 2:10-12; Deut. 27:26.
But while the sentence of death passed upon the offenders promptly and justly, the execution of the sentence in the cases of both angels and men was delayed. This delay in man's case has made possible the increase of the race, and has allowed time for the outworking of the merciful plan of redemption. In the case of fallen angels, it serves the divine purpose in permitting the test of character to be applied through them to the whole human race, individually as well as collectively, within an appointed time, even as it has been applied to all the hosts of the heavenly mansions in the period allotted to their probation.
It was here, in the satisfaction of the just and imperative claims of the divine law at great cost, that the priestly office of the Son of God magnified the law and made it honorable in the eyes of the whole creation, revealing invincible justice as its sure foundation, true holy love as its very essence, and infinite wisdom and power as its unchallengeable authority.
To the angels, God had long been known as a God of wisdom, power, benevolence and love, but never had they seen these attributes in the light of such a trial as now presented itself. The attention of the whole creation was focused on the earth when the great enemy of God and of all his loyal subjects successfully attacked the infant human race with the subtle weapons of falsehood and flattery, and brought the whole race under the condemnation of the law to death; and now that penalty was to be paid for them by the vicarious sacrifice of the Son of God.
But why the permission of an evil so appalling and requiring such a price for its remedy? Here was a question whose deep philosophy of wisdom only the unfolding purpose of God could eventually show. Strange and unfathomable were the ways of God, but loyal angels had learned by long experience to trust him where they could not trace his deep designs: so they waited and watched for the development of his plans.
Love and Mercy Triumphant and Justice Vindicated
Soon, yes, coupled with the very terms of the penalty of man's sin, they hear the promise of a deliverance provided: the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. Later - The seed of Abraham shall bless all the families of the earth. Later still, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you. Now his hitherto forgotten law goes forth from Mount Sinai, and instruction follows on an extended scale, and the way is prepared for the redemption of the race. Then "in the fullness of time" the tidings go forth. "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." The Son of God leaves the heavenly courts, takes our human nature, assumes our load of sin and shame, and then pours out his precious blood a ransom for all mankind. And this, not independently of the heavenly Father whose just law condemned us, but in obedience to his will: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." Therefore he "redeemeth our life from destruction," for he is slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. Psa. 103:13, 4, 8.
The Obedience of Christ.
The Son of God, as sponsor for the whole creation, did not shrink from the responsibilities of that office in our case when God pointed out to him his plan for our rescue, but for the joy set before him he willingly undertook for us - the joy of beholding a redeemed and glorious race created in the image of God rescued from the power of the grave; and then his own salvation and reinstatement at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens with an exceeding and eternal weight of glory, even above and beyond the glory that he had with the Father before that, for our sakes, he became poor.
The inspiration of this blessed hope deepens even more the love of Jesus for the afflicted and dying race, just as a mother's love yearns most for the afflicted child of her care; and so also the heart of Jehovah yearns for us, for he so loved us. The sacrifice was mutual and equal: Jehovah gave the idol of his heart, always dear, but never before so dear. The heart of each was revealed to the other in the focus of self-sacrificing love. Truly, "Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," met the loving trusting response, "Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock of my Salvation."
Thus in the dire extremity of human helplessness and woe Jehovah, our God, proves to the whole creation the depth of his love, the tenderness of his mercy, the resourcefulness of his wisdom, the greatness of his power. The inviolability of his law, which is the assurance to the whole creation of the stability and righteousness of his throne, and the security of all the interests of its loyal and obedient subjects, is fully vindicated by the payment of man's ransom. The open door and the path of life are thus set before the race and whosoever will, may enter and have eternal life as "the gift of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom 6:23.
Thus also is the loyalty of Jesus to Jehovah, as well as the depth of his love for his great family proved to the uttermost to the whole creation. And in the subsequent resurrection and exaltation of our Lord Jesus is further proof of the love, wisdom, power and grace of Jehovah. O love divine, all love excelling!
Subjected in Hope
What then are the maximum results - so far as we can now perceive them - of God's permission of this apparently premature test applied to humanity, involving its ruin, and in God's mercy, requiring its redemption, at a cost so high as the very life of his only-begotten Son?
Consider: (1) Does not the condemnation of the race for the very first violation of the divine law - and that, not for what men recognize as the worst of crimes, make manifest the sanctity of that law, which will not permit a breath of sin, nor a single vestige of its consequences to enter the eternal city of God - the new heavens and the new earth - to disturb its everlasting peace?
(2) Does not the vindication of justice, the fundamental principle of the divine law, at such high cost prove the inviolability of that law, and hence the absolute security of the righteous under its wise and just provisions?
(3) Does it not thus establish and confirm the divine authority, and prove the wisdom, power, love and mercy of our God?
(4) Does it not furnish the most absolute proof of the loyalty of our Lord Jesus to Jehovah, and his perfect acquiescence in every measure of that infinite wisdom, and so commend that wisdom to every creature in heaven and in earth as their only safe guide?
(5) Does it not therefore give ample assurance that all of God's glorious purposes shall be accomplished in him, as God hath ordained?
(6) Does it not point to him as the worthy heir of God to the universal and eternal kingdom at the right hand of the Majesty on high? No other being in the universe has such a record as he, or such an inheritance, or could therefore inspire such universal confidence. O ye myriad hosts of God's elect, behold your King! What grace the Father hath bestowed on him! Therefore, because of his obedience, even unto death, so amply proved and so universally exhibited, God hath highly exalted him, made him the Captain of our salvation, and on his head are many crowns; for he is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Heb. 2:10; Rev. 19:12, 16. Was he not a wise choice? Had the election been left to us, what seraph could we have chosen in his stead? Beholding the record, would we not choose Him out from among all the glittering hosts of God, and say -Bring Forth the royal diadem
And crown Him Lord of all?
And would not all the hosts of heaven join us and say, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing?" And would not the chorus of all creation be, "Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever?' Even so will it be when God hath established his New Jerusalem, his Zion, with its glorious King upon its holy hill. Rev. 5:12, 13; Psa. 2:6.
(7) Has it not also been making ready a people who, by God's grace, shall be joint-heirs with him for the blessing of the whole creation?
(8) In all this has not God, by the most crucial tests of self-sacrificing love, been proving himself and his dear Son to his creatures, just as he requires them to prove themselves to him, by crucial tests of loyalty, love and obedience, that when so proved, the whole fabric of his universal dominion may be indissolveably joined in an eternal bond of mutual confidence and love, both filial and fraternal, and in perfect loyalty and obedience to that divine Sovereign whose reign is thus established for the blessing and eternal glory of his whole family in heaven and in earth? And this universal confidence will be, not only in the integrity and power of the divine government, but also in the wisdom of it: that divine wisdom which could so successfully guide the universal ship of state over such a tempestuous sea, and amidst such rocks and shoals as the long period of the universal probation presented, finally into the blessed haven of eternal rest and peace - and all on schedule time, as we shall see when we come to consider the marvelous time element in it all.
Evidently the accomplishment of these ends was God's purpose in this exceptional course in dealing with humanity, in permitting apparent calamity to befall the race in its infancy, and making its rescue the demonstration and proof of the righteousness, and of the love and mercy and power of God, and likewise his dear Son and heir. Thus he has manifested to all creation the strength of that arm and the tenderness of that heart in which all may safely trust to all eternity. To this end also the whole creation has been "subjected in hope" to the discipline and trials of the long period of probation, and every intelligent creature in heaven and in earth must and will realize that an end so blessed and glorious fully justifies the means which divine wisdom and grace devised for its accomplishment.
Thus viewed the plan of human redemption is seen to be an integral part of God's eternal purpose for his whole creation. It is the triumph of love and mercy over legal obstacles which only the wisdom of an eternal and omnipotent God could surmount. It is not a triumph of love over justice, but it is the triumph of love and justice; for God is herein shown to be just, and yet the justifier of him who, though justly condemned, believeth in Jesus.
It is the assurance also to the whole creation of the final triumph of Jehovah's Anointed King over the last ambitious scheme of Satan to rival the power of the Almighty: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men after me, ...and the prince of this world shall be cast out," said our Lord, in view of his triumph over Satan through death. John 12:31-33. Thus having spoiled the principalities and powers of the prince of this world, he made a show of them in their defeat openly, in view of the whole creation, triumphing over them in that great redeeming act by which Satan is shorn of his power, and man is delivered from his dominion. Col. 2:15.
Apart from its relationship to the whole creation, the stated object of the plan of redemption for humanity is the saving of that which was lost (Matt. 18:11), the "restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." Acts 3:19-21. What man lost, was all that he had -his life, and his inheritance, the earth. Isa. 45:18; Psa.115:16. And with this restoration will come all the subsequent blessings of the divine favor. When it is accomplished the desert shall blossom as the rose, the whole earth shall be man's paradise restored, and the whole world will be at rest in perfect and everlasting peace. Abraham shall lift up his eyes and behold the whole land of promise safely inhabited by his great family multiplied as the sand upon the sea shore. And the prayer of the church will be answered: - the will of God shall be done on earth, even as it is done in heaven.
Thus shall the earth, cleansed from the last vestige of sin and all of its entailments, and robed in the freshness and vigor of eternal youth, rejoicingly roll on in her appointed pathway as long as the sun and moon endure - to all eternity. It is given to the children of men for an everlasting habitation. Psa. 78:69.
The Second Death
But, notwithstanding the grace of God in redeeming the whole human race, it is still possible for individuals of the race, in the exercise of their free will and preferring the paths of sin and folly, to neglect and despise the offer, and thus, like the fallen angels, individually to incur the penalty of death. This penalty for individual willful persistent sin in defiance of God notwithstanding his proffered salvation through Christ Jesus, is in the Scriptures termed "the second death" by way of distinction from the death incurred through Adam's sin. Its utter and hopeless destruction is symbolized by two of the most destructive elements in nature, viz., fire and brimstone - "the lake of fire and brimstone," which "is the second death." Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15. This is "the fire prepared for the devil and his angels," and whosoever shall not be found written in the book of life shall be cast into this lake of fire. Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:15.
Against the danger of incurring this penalty by willful individual sin - by neglect of the offer of salvation through Christ, by unbelief in his meritorious sacrifice, and by hardening the heart against the wooings of divine grace, the Scriptures constantly warn and plead and reason and solemnly threaten. And if man turns a deaf ear to all that God can say or do for his recovery, then most deservedly will he finally hear the divine condemnation to the second death. Yet in pronouncing the penalty, God solemnly declares that the responsibility rests upon the sinner alone, for "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?" Ezek. 33:11.