2 Because of our faith, Christ
has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and
we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory...8 But God showed his great love for us by
sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And
since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will
certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our
friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still
his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So
now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord
Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
This is the simple gospel: God made a way to balance out the law, (which required OUR death,) with the substitution of Jesus. He didn’t stop at this gross unfairness to himself, though, because He was holy and triumphed over death- providing us with a way to attain eternal life through Jesus. Before, where we were enemies of God because of our unrighteousness, now we can go into the presence of God through the blood of Jesus- and more. Not only do we gain atonement, we gain his friendship! He prepared this way for us at extreme cost to Himself before having any assurance that we would even choose to accept it… and He, as is His character, went further than mere redemption and made a way for relationship.
Can you imagine being the friend of God? Abraham was known for his faith earlier in Romans, and now for his friendship. It also brings to mind the words from James: 2:23 "And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God."
So that our friendship with God is reliant upon our faith in Him and acceptance of the way He made for us follows this same pattern: faith in God leads to friendship with God.
14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.
So Adam chose the knowledge of good and evil over obedience and brought death to all, perhaps as foreshadowing of the law- which brings knowledge, showing us what sin is, but does not bring redemption. Jesus chose extreme obedience and made a way for everyone to have eternal life. He, through the law, came and fulfilled the law leaving us with not only knowledge of what is sin, but with the power of a life-giving relationship with the ability to overcome sin. If He was, as John described, “the Word made flesh that dwelt among us,” perhaps the same words spoken by God to create the law in the first place were all wrapped up in His human body… but alive! Now we can have a relationship with the Word, it’s not just tablets of stone! What a parallel.
This is the simple gospel: God made a way to balance out the law, (which required OUR death,) with the substitution of Jesus. He didn’t stop at this gross unfairness to himself, though, because He was holy and triumphed over death- providing us with a way to attain eternal life through Jesus. Before, where we were enemies of God because of our unrighteousness, now we can go into the presence of God through the blood of Jesus- and more. Not only do we gain atonement, we gain his friendship! He prepared this way for us at extreme cost to Himself before having any assurance that we would even choose to accept it… and He, as is His character, went further than mere redemption and made a way for relationship.
Can you imagine being the friend of God? Abraham was known for his faith earlier in Romans, and now for his friendship. It also brings to mind the words from James: 2:23 "And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God."
So that our friendship with God is reliant upon our faith in Him and acceptance of the way He made for us follows this same pattern: faith in God leads to friendship with God.
14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.
So Adam chose the knowledge of good and evil over obedience and brought death to all, perhaps as foreshadowing of the law- which brings knowledge, showing us what sin is, but does not bring redemption. Jesus chose extreme obedience and made a way for everyone to have eternal life. He, through the law, came and fulfilled the law leaving us with not only knowledge of what is sin, but with the power of a life-giving relationship with the ability to overcome sin. If He was, as John described, “the Word made flesh that dwelt among us,” perhaps the same words spoken by God to create the law in the first place were all wrapped up in His human body… but alive! Now we can have a relationship with the Word, it’s not just tablets of stone! What a parallel.
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