The Message of the Cross (8) Why Is Jesus Our Only Savior? (1)
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February 16, 2020 |
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 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
As the appointed time came, God the Son came to the earth in flesh as Jesus and fulfilled the duty of the Savior completely.
Continuing from the previous edition, I will explain why only Jesus Christ is qualified to be the Savior of mankind based on the law of the redemption of the land (Leviticus 25:23-25).
1. It is because Jesus came to the earth in flesh as man
Leviticus 25:25 is a provision for “the law on the redemption of the land” and is read as follows: “If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold.”Just as the nearest kinsman can come and buy back the land his relative has sold, the task of recovering Adam’s descendants who have been handed over to the enemy devil, must be carried out by “the nearest kinsman” of Adam.
Who then, is Adam’s “nearest kinsman”? It refers to a man, a man who, just like Adam, has spirit, soul, and body. We are reminded in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” The first condition to become the Savior who redeems mankind from their sins is that he must be a man.
Jesus is the Son of God the Creator. So, how could He be “the nearest kinsman” of a man? Philippians 2:6-8 says, “Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
John 1:14 tells us about Jesus, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” and John 1:1 reminds us that “the Word was God.” The phrase “the Word became flesh” tells us that God donned the body of a man with flesh and bones, and came to this world.
Jesus was born in the body of a man in order to redeem mankind from their sins. Since He was a man, Jesus felt fatigue, hunger, thirst, joy, and grief. When He was hung on the cross, Jesus even shed blood and felt an excruciating pain.
There is an undeniable piece of evidence that testifies to Jesus’ having come to this world as a man. We know this from how the history of mankind is divided into the time before Jesus’ birth (“B.C.” for “Before Christ”) and the time since Jesus birth (“A.D.” for “Anno Domini” which in Latin stands for “In the Year of the Lord”).
In other words, the method by which we calculate and trace the history of mankind attests to the truth that Jesus indeed came to this world as a man. Therefore, Jesus satisfied the first condition of ‘being the nearest kinsman of Adam’ because He, who is the Son of God, came to the earth in flesh.
2. It is because Jesus is not a descendant of Adam who sinned
When God created man, He gave Adam and Eve the seeds of life?the sperm to the man and the egg to the woman?and allowed a new life to be conceived through them. Contained in the sperm and the egg is the information concerning hereditary influences and traits, such as the parents’ nature, personality, characteristics, outward appearances, and even habits. This is why the children resemble their parents in terms of appearance, physical figure, nature, habits, and the like.
After Adam sinned, the sinful attributes of forefathers have been passed down to their posterity, and this is “the original sin.” Hence, every person becomes a sinner the moment he is born because of the sinful attributes he has inherited from Adam and his forefathers. Romans 5:12 reads, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
As death was put upon all mankind because of the sin of one man Adam, all his descendants are effectively sinners.If one person is a sinner, he cannot redeem another person from his sins.
For instance, suppose your brother has a large debt and finds himself on his way to imprisonment. If you also have a large debt of your own and find yourself on your way to imprisonment, you do not have the ability to help your brother and pay back his debt.By the same token, while the Savior who is to redeem the mankind from their sins must be a man, He must not be a sinner. However, since all Adam’s descendants are sinners born with the original sin, they cannot redeem others from their sins.
In other words, no man who has ever been born can satisfy the second condition for the Savior.Who, then, can satisfy the second condition in being the Savior, that He must be a man but not a sinner? Of all the people who have ever been born on the earth, only Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, is a man but He is not a descendant of Adam, or “a sinner.”
In physical terms, Jesus is a descendant of David and His parents are Joseph and Mary. Yet, Matthew 1:20 reminds us that Jesus “has been conceived of the Holy Spirit” and Matthew 1:23 tells us of the prophecy regarding Jesus’ birth, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel.”
Jesus was not conceived through union of Joseph’s sperm and Mary’s egg but by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was not a difficult task for the almighty God to impregnate Mary with Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and only “borrowed” the body of the Virgin Mary, thereby Jesus is not Adam’s descendant and because He did not inherit any hereditary influences and traits, Jesus was not born with the original sin.
Keep in mind that while the Virgin Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus, she cannot be His “mother.” With the advancement of science and technology, if a fertilized egg were bred in a machine and a child was born after 9 months, the child would not refer to the machine as its “mother.”
The relationship between Jesus and the Virgin Mary can be viewed in this manner. For this reason, Jesus never called or referred to Mary as “Mother” in the Bible but instead used the word, “Woman” (John 2:4; John 19:26). The expression “the mother of Jesus” was used only by Jesus’ disciples to refer to Mary, and she should not be an object of our worship. Always remember that we are to worship and pray only to God the Trinity.
I will continue on with the message in the next issue of Manmin News.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, as you better understand and acknowledge the fact that no one else on the earth except Jesus Christ is qualified to be the Savior of mankind, I pray in the name of the Lord that each of you will quickly possess the conviction of salvation by faith and come to enjoy all the authority and blessings entitled to you as a child of God.
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