The sin and ruin of man gave occasion for the gracious interposition of God. In the curse upon the serpent was intimated the purpose of redemption. Genesis 3:15

There Is, However, No Self-Redemption

The fall of man wrought a change in both his nature and his condition. To be redeemed he must be placed where he was before, both as to character and as to state. His purity must be restored; his condemnation must be removed. Man cannot redeem himself, because--

1. The legal difficulty is insuperable. The divine law requires a perfect obedience. Matthew 22:37, Galatians 3:10

There can be no surplus obedience, no reparation for sin that is past.

2. The moral difficulty is insuperable. Job 14:14, John 3:6

There is no tendency in that which is sinful to that which is holy. No sinner can regain by self-effort alone the purity which he has lost; but this is indispensable to redemption. Hebrews 12:14

No Redemption by Other Creatures

It is equally certain that, while sinful man cannot redeem himself, no other creature can redeem him. The fact of creatureship necessitates dependence and obligation. The highest angel and all the angels are under law to God. That law is perfect, it exacts their whole power of love and service. By no possibility can they love and serve God except for themselves alone. To find a being qualified and able to redeem, we must find one over whom the law has no jurisdiction. In the presence of that being we are in the presence of God.

1. Nature furnishes presumptive evidence that God will redeem. Nature show the goodness of God. His gifts are not determined by the moral character of man. Psalm 103:10, 145:15, 16, 147:8, 9, Matthew 5:45, 6:26

2. In the world man is subject to many evils as to his body, but all around him are remedies in nature.

3. The universal presence of sacrifice is another presumption. It is probable that sacrifice did not originate with man, but in the appointment of God. Genesis 3:21

4. If nature is uncertain, revelation is clear and conclusive. From the fall of Adam to the birth of Christ the divine purpose was constantly being more fully and clearly revealed. Genesis 3:15, 4:4, 5:24-29, 6:8, 14:18, John 8:56, Isaiah 53:1-12, Daniel 9:24-27, Joel 2:28-32, Zechariah 13:1-7

5. The presence and work of the Holy Spirit also attested. Genesis 6:3, Exodus 31:2, 3, Judges 6:34, 11:29, Nehemiah 9:20, Isaiah 44:3, 4, 59:21, 63:11, Haggai 2:5

The Redeemer, or Messiah, Has Already Come

It is plain from the prophecies and from their historical fulfilment that the Messiah must have long since come. Genesis 49:10, Daniel 9:25, Haggai 2:6-9, Malachi 3:1

Jesus Christ the Messiah, as Shown by Fulfilled Prophecies

1. Was to be from eternity the fellow of God. Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2, Zechariah 13:7, Matthew 3:17, John 1:1-3, 1 John 5:20

2. To be born not by ordinary generation, but of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-33

3. In Bethlehem of Judea. Micah 5:2, Luke 2:4, 11, Matthew 2:4-6, John 7:42

4. To come while the sceptre still lingered with Judah, near by the close of the weeks predicted by Daniel, and while the second temple was yet standing. Genesis 49:10, Matthew 2:1, Daniel 9:25, Luke 2:1, Haggai 2:6-9, Matthew 24:1, 2

5. To be of the race of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah, of the family of David. Genesis 22:18, 49:10, 2 Samuel 7:16, Isaiah 11:1-9

6. To come in humble circumstances. Isaiah 53:2, Luke 2:7-24, Isaiah 49:7, Matthew 8:20, Mark 6:3

7. To make Himself known by works of mercy and of supernatural power. Isaiah 35:3-6, John 5:36, 37, Isaiah 42:7, 61:1-3, John 10:24, 25

8. To be despised and rejected of men. Isaiah 53:3-7, John 1:10, 11, Luke 23:18-21

9. To be cut off by a violent death and His body to be pierced. Isaiah 53:8, Daniel 9:26, Luke 23:23, 33, Psalm 22:16, John 20:25, Zechariah 12:10, John 19:34

10. Other prophecies concerning His death. Psalm 22:7, 8, Matthew 27:39-43, Psalm 69:21, Matthew 27:34, Psalm 22:18, John 19:23, 24, Exodus 12:46, John 19:33, 36, Isaiah 53:12, Mark 15:27, Isaiah 53:9, Matthew 27:57-60

11. To rise from the dead, to ascend on high, leading captivity captive. Psalm 16:9-11, Matthew 28:5-7, Psalm 68:18, Acts 1:9-11

The word incarnation comes from Latin words (in and caro, carnis, flesh) meaning "in the flesh." To become incarnate is to become a man. Remaining God, Christ became man and as such lived among men. The divine was not changed into the human, or co-mingled with the human so that it became what it was not before, but the divine took the human into union with itself and so entered a form or mode of being which was new as well as mysterious. As by faith we understand that the world was framed by the word of God, so by faith we understand that He who framed the world became incarnate. Hebrews 1:1-14, 11:3

While incarnation could not affect the nature and properties of Deity, it did affect their manifestation. The glory which the Son had with the Father was not visible when He was among men. John 17:5, Philippians 2:7, John 1:14, Luke 1:32

To the sight of men the human was the more constant and conspicuous. At times, however, there was the clear shining forth of Deity. Matthew 7:28, 29, John 3:2, 7:46, Matthew 17:1, 2

Old Testament Intimations of the Incarnation

1. In the first promise. In the renewal of the promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David He was to be their seed. Genesis 3:15, 22:18, 28:14, 2 Samuel 7:12-29

2. The theophanies of the old covenant were manifestations of God in the person of His Son.

- To Abraham. Genesis 18:1-33

- To Jacob. Genesis 32:22-32

- To Joshua. Joshua 5:13, 6:5

- To Manoah and his wife. Judges 13:1-25

3. Isaiah said "A Virgin shall conceive, and bear a son" Isaiah 7:14

This would make Him human, at the same time His name was Immanuel, ",God with us",

See also Isaiah 9:6, Zechariah 13:7, Matthew 26:31

Necessity of the Incarnation

Its necessity in the fact of sin. God under no obligation to redeem lost men, but, on the supposition of redemption, the Redeemer must become incarnate.

1. God alone could redeem. The law broken must be vindicated, the nature defiled must be renewed. Men and angels are utterly incompetent in such an exigency. The case necessitates a divine Redeemer.

2. God Himself in redeeming men must do it righteously. His perfect law cannot be set aside. The Redeemer must come under the law, under its jurisdiction and its power. But to do this He must come out of the sphere of absolute God-head into that of real manhood. Hebrews 2:14-16

It was impossible that He should cease to be God; it was not impossible that He should assume into union with Himself the nature of man.

The Greek word for mediator is emites, meaning "one who goes between", or "in the middle". It embraces the additional ideas of "variance" and "reconciliation".

1. The word "mediator" does not in itself indicate by what means mediation is to be made.

a. In the case of a "misapprehension" the mediator would only need to explain, or be an interpreter.

b. In a case of "deliberate wrong" the mediator would seek the clemency and favour of the offended party, and thus "become an intercessor".

c. If, further, the case were such that there were grave "liabilities in law and right" resting upon the offending party, it would be requisite for the mediator to obtain for him, or himself become "a sponsor", or to use the Scriptural word, a "surety" or "bondsman".

d. If the obligations resting upon the offending party were "such as he could not in his own person, or by his own resources satisfy", it would behove the mediator to take them upon himself, and actually meeting them became his "redemptor", or "redeemer".

2. The application of this idea to Christ. The word definite meaning--"He comes between men and God--separated and at variance by reason of sin--to effect their reconciliation, in harmony with eternal truth, right, and holiness". Hebrews 2:9-18, 4:14-16, 5:9

1. The usage of the English word.

a. Its verbal meaning. This is seen by pronouncing it at-one-ment. In this verbal sense the word expresses a "result", not that by which the result is gained.

b. In theology the word is commonly used to denote "that part of the priestly work of Christ by which He made satisfaction to the law and justice of God for the sins of men, and in view of which men are saved". In this use it expresses not reconciliation itself, but that which reconciles.

2. Scriptural words in this connection.

a. In the Old Testament the fundamental Hebrew word for atonement means "to cover". Psalm 32:1

According to it, sin is expiated or atoned for by ", covering", it

b. In the New Testament.

(1) Katallage Romans 5:11

means a change or an exchange, ie, a change from enmity to love, and so reconciliation

(2) Apolutrosis Romans 3:24

deliverance by a ransom or by payment of price Matthew 20:28, 1 Peter 1:18, 19

(3) Hilasmos, propitiation Both Jews and [1]tiles perfectly understood the meaning of hilasmos. When under a sense of sin they would make a propitiation--they approached the altar and laid upon it the sacrificial victim. 1 John 2:2

c. If now we combine and formulate these ideas, we see that the atonement of Christ is "that satisfaction to the law and justice of God for the sins of men, which, as the one great High Priest, He made by His own obedience unto death, and on the ground of which He carries on His acts of intercession and benediction in heaven".