Bible has termed “the
old man.” We saw how the old man in us loves to sin, so our flesh has
frequently committed sin. Consequently, for God to save us to the uttermost—that
is, save us completely—He needs to rid us of our old man; and according to the
Bible His method is co-crucifixion. To be crucified with Christ is God’s way of
eliminating the old man. Once the old man is gotten rid of, our new man in
Christ is able to live out God’s life. The Bible tells us that if we are united
with Christ in His death, we for sure will be united with Him in His
resurrection (Romans 6:5).
Christ shed His blood and died. Three days later He rose
again. This latter fact is proof that His work of redemption has been
accomplished. With crucifixion of the old man there is resurrection. And again,
such is the objective side. We now have the new man living inside. So we see
that blood and crucifixion constitute the negative side of Jesus’ work for they
deal with the problem of Adam’s fall. If Adam had not sinned, there would have
been no need for Christ to shed His blood and no need for the old man to have been
crucified. But it is due to Adam’s sin that Jesus needed to die on the cross. All
the foregoing we have already considered together during the previous evenings’
discussions on these two facets of the death side to Christ’s work. We will now
proceed to consider how God accomplishes His purpose.
The
Atoning and Non-Atoning
Sides
of Christ’s Death
Before man ever sinned God had already had His purpose
and plan in mind. God had wanted man to have His uncreated life so that he
might be His son. It was for this reason that He created man, and after he had done
so, God placed the Tree of Life before him in the Edenic garden (Genesis 2:8-9).
Then, without uttering a word in reference to the Tree of Life He called man to
accept His uncreated life (2:16). Man, of course, already had life, but what he
had was created life. Being eternal and therefore uncreated, God had desired
the created man to possess His uncreated life, too, thus causing human beings to
rise above the mere status of man and to be lifted up higher before God. (Let
us please note, incidentally, that saying this is not meant in any way to deify
man but to signify what God’s original purpose for man was and still is: that having
God’s life, man may henceforth live by God himself.) Yet Adam fell and thus could
not realize God’s purpose. So God sent His Son to die on the cross for us so
that all our sins could be dealt with by the blood and the cross of Jesus.
The Bible, however, further reveals that God’s Son has
another side to His death which is non-atoning in character. The atoning side of Christ’s death has been fairly well known by us, but let us
realize that there is a non-atoning side to His death which is also mentioned
in the Bible—in fact, it is mentioned a number of times. Today we commit a
great error in thinking that the Calvary work of God’s Son is totally atoning
and nothing more, not realizing that the Bible additionally shows us another side
to Jesus’ death which is the releasing of God’s life from within His flesh so
as to cause man also to have God’s life.
Genesis 3:21 is a type or symbolic representation of Jesus’
death involving the shedding of blood: we are told in this verse that God slew
an animal—most likely a lamb (cf. I Peter 1:19)—and used its skins to clothe fallen
Adam. But Genesis 2:21-22 gives us a type of another side to Jesus’ death. The
Bible, in referencing Adam’s sleep here, did not mention any shedding of blood
but explained that God took a rib from Adam and made Eve.
The slaying of the lamb to make of its skins the needed clothing
for Adam points to the atoning side in the death of Jesus: how God through
Christ has accomplished the work of redemption and has now clothed us—who were
once naked before Him—with the robe of righteousness, even Christ himself. All
who are clothed with the
old man.” We saw how the old man in us loves to sin, so our flesh has
frequently committed sin. Consequently, for God to save us to the uttermost—that
is, save us completely—He needs to rid us of our old man; and according to the
Bible His method is co-crucifixion. To be crucified with Christ is God’s way of
eliminating the old man. Once the old man is gotten rid of, our new man in
Christ is able to live out God’s life. The Bible tells us that if we are united
with Christ in His death, we for sure will be united with Him in His
resurrection (Romans 6:5).
Christ shed His blood and died. Three days later He rose
again. This latter fact is proof that His work of redemption has been
accomplished. With crucifixion of the old man there is resurrection. And again,
such is the objective side. We now have the new man living inside. So we see
that blood and crucifixion constitute the negative side of Jesus’ work for they
deal with the problem of Adam’s fall. If Adam had not sinned, there would have
been no need for Christ to shed His blood and no need for the old man to have been
crucified. But it is due to Adam’s sin that Jesus needed to die on the cross. All
the foregoing we have already considered together during the previous evenings’
discussions on these two facets of the death side to Christ’s work. We will now
proceed to consider how God accomplishes His purpose.
The
Atoning and Non-Atoning
Sides
of Christ’s Death
Before man ever sinned God had already had His purpose
and plan in mind. God had wanted man to have His uncreated life so that he
might be His son. It was for this reason that He created man, and after he had done
so, God placed the Tree of Life before him in the Edenic garden (Genesis 2:8-9).
Then, without uttering a word in reference to the Tree of Life He called man to
accept His uncreated life (2:16). Man, of course, already had life, but what he
had was created life. Being eternal and therefore uncreated, God had desired
the created man to possess His uncreated life, too, thus causing human beings to
rise above the mere status of man and to be lifted up higher before God. (Let
us please note, incidentally, that saying this is not meant in any way to deify
man but to signify what God’s original purpose for man was and still is: that having
God’s life, man may henceforth live by God himself.) Yet Adam fell and thus could
not realize God’s purpose. So God sent His Son to die on the cross for us so
that all our sins could be dealt with by the blood and the cross of Jesus.
The Bible, however, further reveals that God’s Son has
another side to His death which is non-atoning in character. The atoning side of Christ’s death has been fairly well known by us, but let us
realize that there is a non-atoning side to His death which is also mentioned
in the Bible—in fact, it is mentioned a number of times. Today we commit a
great error in thinking that the Calvary work of God’s Son is totally atoning
and nothing more, not realizing that the Bible additionally shows us another side
to Jesus’ death which is the releasing of God’s life from within His flesh so
as to cause man also to have God’s life.
Genesis 3:21 is a type or symbolic representation of Jesus’
death involving the shedding of blood: we are told in this verse that God slew
an animal—most likely a lamb (cf. I Peter 1:19)—and used its skins to clothe fallen
Adam. But Genesis 2:21-22 gives us a type of another side to Jesus’ death. The
Bible, in referencing Adam’s sleep here, did not mention any shedding of blood
but explained that God took a rib from Adam and made Eve.
The slaying of the lamb to make of its skins the needed clothing
for Adam points to the atoning side in the death of Jesus: how God through
Christ has accomplished the work of redemption and has now clothed us—who were
once naked before Him—with the robe of righteousness, even Christ himself. All
who are clothed with the
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