ARNO
C.GAEBELEIN
THE WORK OF
CHRIST
THE Word of God reveals, that all things were created
by and for the Son of God. "All things were made by Him and without Him was not
anything made that was made" (John 1:3). "For by Him were all things created
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they
be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created by
Him and for Him" (CoI. 1:16). When this perfect creation was ruined by the
entrance of sin, when man fell and all creation on account of that fall was
brought into the bondage of corruption, the work of redemption became a
necessity. No creature of God was fitted or fit to do this. Only the Son of
God, the Creator Himself, could undertake this mighty work and accomplish it to
the Praise and Glory of God. To do this great work, He had to appear on this
earth in the form of man.
A Threefold Aspect. This work of the Son of
God has a three-fold aspect. It is a past work, a present work and beyond the
present there is His future work. His work and service will terminate when He
delivers up the kingdom, so that God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15 :24-28).
This threefold aspect of His work corresponds to His threefold office as
Prophet. Priest and King. It has a special meaning for the church. In Ephesians
v:25-27, we read of this. He loved the church and gave Himself for it; this is
His past work. Since then He is sanctifying the church by the washing of water
by the Word, and in the future He will present it to Himself, a glorious
church. In virtue of this threefold work of our Lord, believers are saved, are
being saved, and will be saved. This threefold work has also a significance for
the people Israel. When he came and went to the cross, He died for that
nation." (John 11:42). During the present age His earthly people are not cast
away; their miraculous preservation on earth, their continued, separate
existence is due to Himself. In the future when He appears as their Redeemer
and claims the purchased possession, He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
And to this we might also add the relation of His work to creation itself, the
nations of the earth and to Satan and his rule.
These brief remarks
show the importance of distinguishing between this threefold aspect of His
work. A Christian who is ignorant of it must be confused in his conception of
the truth. He is unable to understand the Word of God, and is unsettled, and
even miserable in his Christian experience. Such, alas! is the present
condition of a large number of professing Christians. Many are ignorant of what
the finished work of Christ on the cross means. On account of this ignorance,
they are ever trying to do what God has done for them. How many more are at sea
about their position in Christ, and know next to nothing of the priestly work
of Christ. The confusion is the greatest in respect to His future work as King.
Our theme is therefore an important one. But even God's people. who in a
measure have laid hold of these truths, need constantly to be reminded of it
and need to have all this through the Spirit's power, as a greater reality in
their lives.
I. HIS PAST WORK.
His past work was accomplished by
Him when He became incarnate. It was finished when He died on Calvary's cross.
We have therefore to consider first of all these fundamentals of our faith. I.
The Work of the Son of God is foreshadowed and predicted in the Old Testament
Scriptures
II. The Incarnation of the Son of God.
III. His Work on the
cross and what has been accomplished by it. I. Throughout the Old Testament
Scriptures, God announced beforehand the work of His Son. This is a great theme
and one which needs to be emphasized. These foreshadowings and predictions were
made in different ways. First we might mention the appearance from time to time
on earth of a supernatural Being. This Being was the Son of God. As soon as sin
had entered, He appeared on the scene seeking those who were lost. He Himself
announced the promise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's
head. He indicated in Genesis iii: 15. His incarnation, His redemptive work on
the cross and His final victory over the enemy of God. Then He covered the
nakedness of His creatures by making them coats of skin. For the first time in
the Word of God, it was made known by this act what the blessed fruit of His
atoning work would be.
Continued...