I want you to turn with me to Isaiah 60:16 and then to Isaiah 49:26. In these two texts of Scripture the Lord our God, the Lord Jesus Christ, declares himself to be our God, our Savior, and our Redeemer. He also declares that it is his intention and purpose to make himself known to his chosen, redeemed people as their God, Savior, and Redeemer, and to ultimately cause all the world to behold him as our God, our Savior, and our Redeemer.
Isaiah 60:16 "Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob."
Isaiah 49:26 "And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob."
I have been trying to proclaim the glorious gospel doctrine of redemption to you for the past several weeks. In the course of these messages, we have seen from the Scriptures Old Testament pictures of redemption, the efficacy of Christ’s atonement, the freeness and voluntariness of his obedience unto death as our Redeemer, and the causes of our redemption by the Son of God. Tonight, I want us to look at our Redeemer himself. The title of my message is "Thy Savior And Thy God."
Children of God, try to get hold of this. In our text, the great and glorious God who created, rules, and disposes of all things exactly as he pleases, according to the good pleasure of his will, declares himself to be "Thy Savior and thy Redeemer!"
Proposition: If he who is our Redeemer is indeed the Lord God Omnipotent, then it must be concluded that he will also be our Savior.
The blessed comfort and consolation of the gospel is that he who shed his blood at Calvary as our Redeemer will also be the Savior of all the redeemed. Redemption would mean nothing if it did not carry with it the assurance of everlasting salvation. However, since redemption, in its very essence, carries the assurance of deliverance and salvation, when the Lord God would send a word of hope, comfort, and good cheer in the gospel, he declares himself to be our Redeemer.
Isaiah 41:14 "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel."
Isaiah 44:24 "Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;"
Isaiah 48:17 "Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go."
Isaiah 54:8 "In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer."
We have already seen the answer to this question in some measure. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was appointed to the work of redemption by his Father, and he assented to it as our Surety in the covenant of grace before the world began. It was prophesied in the Old Testament that he would come to redeem his people from their sins; and numerous pictures and types of our redemption by him were given in the Old Testament Scriptures. In the fulness of time he was made of a woman, made under the law, and sent to redeem them that were under the law. He did, by his own blood, enter in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. In Christ all who believe have complete, eternal redemption through his blood. And he is made of God unto us Redemption. So, when it is asked how Christ came to be our Redeemer, we must, according to the Scriptures, trace it to God himself.
We trace our redemption by Christ to the everlasting love of God for his elect.The love, grace, and mercy of God the Father moved him to resolve upon redemption, appoint his Son to be our Redeemer, and call him to this work (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10).
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
1 John 4:9-10 "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. (10) Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
So, too, it was love, grace, and mercy for us in the heart of the Son of God which moved him to accept of the call, and engage in the work. The love of Christ, which was in his heart from everlasting. It was a love of complacency and delight for his people. Such was his love for us that he declares from eternity that his delights were with us(Pro. 8:31). This love for his people showed itself in many acts of grace, and is most wondrously seen in the Lord Jesus Christ giving himself for his people to redeem us! Because he loved us, the Lord of glory gave himself an offering and a sacrifice for our sins! Because he loved us, he laid down his life for us! (Tit. 2:14; Eph. 5:2,25; 1Jo. 3:16).
Ephesians 5:2 "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."
Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;"
Titus 2:14 "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
1 John 3:16 "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
We did not even want his love, much less deserve it. He loved us freely and said, I will redeem them!
Isaiah 63:9 "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old."
Hosea 13:14 "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes."
Hosea 14:4 "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him."
He is the Surety of that better covenant, established upon better promises, made on our behalf before the world began (Heb. 7:22). Having entered into covenant engagements with the Father from everlasting, our Savior considered himself to be and became Jehovah’s bond slave. He considered himself under obligation to his Father to accomplish the great work of redemption. Therefore, he often spoke of it as something he must do.
Matthew 16:21 "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day."
Matthew 26:53-54 "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? (54) But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"
Mark 8:31 "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again."
Mark 9:12 "And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought."
Luke 22:37 "For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end."
Luke 24:7 "Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."
John 3:14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:"
John 12:34 "The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?"
John 20:9 "For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead."Because he volunteered to be our Surety, pledged himself to redeem and save us, and the Father trusted his elect into the hands of his Son, now our Savior declares that he must save his people.
John 10:16 "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."
And that which he must do, because of his being bound by own honor and his own word, the Son of God will do!
IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST QUALIFIED TO BE OUR REDEEMER?Of course, to you who believe, this question is redundant. Yet, it will do our hearts good to meditate once more upon our Savior’s glorious fitness to be our Redeemer. What a fit Redeemer he is! There are none fit to redeem our souls but him.
Christ's fitness for the work of redemption lies in the fact that he is both God and man in one glorious person.
1. It was the Son of God that was sent to redeem us.He is of the same nature, and possesses the same perfections and attributes as his Father. He is the brightness of his Father’s glory, and the express image of his person. This man was and is in the form of God. Therefore, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second Person of the holy Trinity. He is the true God, the great God. Therefore, he is fit to be the Redeemer and Saviour of men.
What a mighty redeemer he must be! He is Jehovah, the Lord of hosts. Therefore equal to such a great work as this (Gal. 4:4; 1John 5:20; Tit. 2:13; Jer 50:34).
Galatians 4:4 "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law."
1 John 5:20 "And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life."
Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."
Jeremiah 50:34 "Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon."
Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."
He is the child born, as man, and the son given, as a divine person. He is Immanuel, God with us, God in our nature, God manifest in the flesh. As such, as the God-man, the man who is God, Christ is fit to be a Mediator between God and man; an Umpire, a Daysman to lay hands on both; and to do the work required of a Redeemer of men, to make reconciliation for their sins, and to take care of things pertaining to the glory of God, his justice and holiness.
As man he could be made, as he was made, under the law, and so capable of yielding obedience to it, and of bearing the penalty of it. It was necessary that he do so, if he would be the Surety and Redeemer of God’s elect.
As man, he had blood to shed. It was with this most precious blood he redeemed us unto God. As a man, he had a life to lay down, a sufficient ransom price for his people.
As a man the Son of God was capable of suffering all the wrath of God and dying in our room and stead, thereby making full satisfaction for us!
As God, he was zealously concerned for the glory of God in all the perfections of his nature. He secure the honour of the divine all attributes in the redemption which he wrought out and accomplished as our Substitute.
As God, he put an infinite virtue into his blood. Divinity united to humanity in one person made his sacrifice of himself a full and adequate ransom price for the purchase of his church and the redemption of our souls.
Our great Savior’s divinity gave support to his human nature under the load of sin, as he suffered the wrath of God for us. His divinity was able to carry his humanity through the work, enabling him to endure the horrendous ordeal. Otherwise he could never have endured the cup of God’s wrath and stood before his indignation until his indignation and wrath were satisfied.
As both God and man he had a right to redeem.As Lord of all, he had a right as well as power to redeem them that were his. As a man, our near kinsman, the right of redemption belonged to him. Therefore he wears the name Goel, which signifies a redeemer, and a near kinsman (Lev. 25:47-49).
Leviticus 25:47-49 "And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family: (48) After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: (49) Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself."
No one could be so fit a Redeemer of the church as Christ, our near Kinsman, who is our head and our husband. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, is our Boaz!
BY WHAT MEANS DID THE SON OF GOD ACCOMPLISH OUR REDEMPTION?Our redemption was accomplished, wrought out, and obtained by the precious blood of Christ, by the sacrifice of his life, which was represented and present in that blood which was shed so freely for the remission of our sins and the ransom of our souls. How I thank God for the blood, the precious blood of Christ!
Exodus 12:13 "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."
Ephesians 1:7 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"
1 Peter 1:18-20 "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."
Revelation 5:9 "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."
Let me remind you of just three things about the precious, sin-atoning blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It was deliberately shed blood.Had it been possible for his blood to have been spilt involuntarily, by accident, or by some outside force, against his will, it would not have been a proper redemption price. It could not have answered for us as a payment to the justice of God. But it was purposely and voluntarily shed, with our Master’s full consent. Christ had the full control and disposal of his own life. He freely gave his life a ransom price for many; "I lay down my life for the sheep", he said, as a ransom price for them; "I lay it down of myself" (Mt. 20:28; John 10:15,18).
It was human blood, the blood of a man.That blood which was so freely shed for us was the same as the blood which flows in our veins today! This too was necessary. We could not be redeemed with the blood of bulls and goats, which could never be an adequate price of redemption. Human blood must be shed for the atonement of men. Christ partook of the same flesh and blood with the children for whom he died. The only difference was this: his blood was not tainted with sin as ours is.
This was another requirement for our redemption. The ransom price had to the blood of an innocent perfectly righteous man. Much notice is given in Scripture to the innocence, holiness, and righteousness of the Redeemer. He was holy in his nature and blameless in life. He knew no sin. He never committed any evil. He is the just and Holy One. He suffered the Just for the unjust.
Great emphasis is laid upon this fact. The price with which men are redeemed is "the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot" (1Pe 1:18,19). If he had had any sin in him, he could not have been a redeemer from sin. His blood could not be the price of redemption. Yet there is more…
It was divine blood, the blood of a man who is God.It was necessary, if atonement was to be made and redemption accomplished for God’s elect, the blood shed must also be the blood of One who is himself God as well as man. None but Christ ever made such a claim; and none but Christ meet this requirement! Therefore we are told that God, who is Christ, "purchased the church with his own blood" (Acts 20:28). It is the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, which cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
TO WHOM WAS THE RANSOM PRICE FOR OUR REDEMPTION PAID?I must be brief here; but I hope you will listen carefully. This ransom price was paid into the hands of God, whose justice was offended, whose law we broke, and who is the lawgiver, that is able to save and to destroy, and against whom all sin is committed, who will by no means clear the guilty unless his justice is satisfied. He is the judge of all the earth, who will do right. Therefore Christ is said "to redeem" men "unto God by his blood" (Rev. 5:9). The price of redemption, which is the blood of Christ, was paid unto God, whereby redemption from vindictive justice was obtained.
It was not paid into the hands of Satan, or any other enemy that had power over us. The power of Satan was only a usurped power. He had no legal right to hold us captives. Therefore the delivery of our souls out of his hand is by power and not by price.
But the justice of God had a legal right to shut us up, and detain us as prisoners, until satisfaction was given. Therefore redemption from avenging justice, which is the redemption that is by Christ, is redemption by a price paid to justice for the ransom of them.
Application:1 Corinthians 1:30-31 "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
Jesus Christ is made of God unto us Redemption. He redeems and saves his elect…*