One for Our Sins

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

For us men and for our salvation,

he came down from heaven;

by the power of the Holy Spirit

he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,

and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

Why? Why did Christ come? What was the goal of the incarnation? 

telos (τέλος)- 

usually translated as goal/end, whole, perfect

telos (τέλος)- 

a final purpose, God's intended design, the fulfillment of divine purpose

Matthew 5:48

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

"Be the fulfillment of God's purpose, therefore, as your heavenly Father is fulfilling THE divine purpose."

Why? Why did Christ come? What was the telos of the incarnation? 

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Humanity is the telos of the incarnation.

God's divine purpose in the incarnation is humanity.

For us men and for our salvation,

he came down from heaven;

by the power of the Holy Spirit

he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,

and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

The incarnation has a saving purpose: our rescue from sin.

What do we mean by 'sin'?

What do we learn about the nature of God?

What do we mean by 'sin'?

• In the Bible, sin is both a failure and a power.

• God created us with a calling—to reflect His image in the world. We were made to live as His representatives, like priests who bring His presence into everyday life, and like trusted rulers who care for His creation on His behalf.

What do we mean by 'sin'?

1. Sin is a failure of vocation (humanity's telos).

2. Sin, as the Bible describes it, is also a power we are under.

To sum it all up: The death of Jesus on the cross achieved our salvation by dealing with sin (our failure) and Sin (the power we were under). That is not a temporary deliverance or a fictional salvation. It is a total and full healing of the fractures and the breaks in our lives and in our world caused by sin/Sin. If sin is the breaking apart of God’s good world, then salvation is God putting it all back together again—beginning with us.

Packiam, Glenn. What's a Christian, Anyway?: Finding Our Way in an Age of Confusion and Corruption (pp. 92-93). (Function). Kindle Edition. 

What do we learn about the nature of God?

1. The Son of God, True God from True God, became incarnate for us.

2. God is not distant or indifferent.

3. God is profoundly invested in humanity, stepping directly into our story for our salvation.