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Pt10: Eye Hath Not Seen
Pt 10 Eye Hath Not Seen
Eye Hath Not Seen
Introduction
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Related to this verse is a single event that covers many topics, and that event is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is a work of a miracle, a work that cannot even begin to be conceived of, it is logical but it is not understandable.
Four aspects of it will be considered this morning and they run under four topics which came to mind that I believed are the most vital
Amnesty
Atonement
Adoption
Agency
Amnesty speaks to forgiveness, both universal and particular.
Atonement speaks to how Amnesty is made possible, the sacrifice of Christ the Son of God, God the Son.
Adoption speaks to the result, its security and how we have been made brethren and the literal Children of God.
Agency speaks to the purpose and work of our lives, whom we represent and what we ought to do.
Is 52:7 , 13-15
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
So shall he sprinkle many nations;
The kings shall shut their mouths at him:
For that which had not been told them shall they see;
And that which they had not heard shall they consider..
Isaiah 64:1-6
Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Amnesty
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
From ancient times it was not conceivable that the creator of heaven and earth, the one who created man for his own purpose, would forgive sins.
It could not be thought proper for God, who is perfectly just, could simply give man amnesty for the crimes they have committed, WITHOUT executing justice. In fact, it was seen as the ultimate heavenly conundrum, “How can a just God forgive sin”?
For in forgiving sin with no penalty, God could not be just. But in giving man the eternal penalty sin required, God could not exercise mercy.
It was Socrates, writing to Plato who said around five hundred years before Christ came;
“It may be that God can forgive sins, but I do not see how” 500 BC
When it comes to AMNESTY (Forgiveness), we are already begining to recognise the truth that “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
Further than this problem is the problem of COMMUNICATION.
It was a problem that the famous 5th century BC Philosopher Aristotle seemed to have expressed. According to Anselm;
Aristotle’s idea of divinity as pure actuality and self-thinking thought makes it seem unlikely that forgiveness from God could be communicated to humans[1]
Now, Aristotle was the student of the most famous philosopher of all and that is Plato.
Plato also had trouble with the consideration of forgiveness from God, he believed more in
“expiation rather than amnesty, a forgiving nature of God rather than forgiveness”
In other words, he trusted in the idea that man can atone for himself and his reasonings were that the sins of man is generally because man is “ignorant, irrational, or overwhelmed by negative forces within them”, that is, it is not really their own fault.
Interestingly, this was believed generally by the greeks during the time of Plato, around 500 BC, and the Bible does give a degree of credibility to the consideration, at least related to “ignorance” in man, and God perhaps overlooking the seriousness of sin to a degree.
Turn to Acts 17 and see how the apostle Paul addressed the Greeks and what his answer to this is.
Standing at Mars Hill, a rock outcropping below and near the Acropolis in Athens Greece, Paul addressed the Athenians who gathered often to spend “there time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing” (Acts 17:21)
After getting their attention by addressing their evident superstition in worshiping even an UNKNOWN GOD, Paul then begins to address the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we will take it up at verse 27 respecting the general understanding of the people seeking after God;
Acts 17:30-31
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
With the apostle bring out the solution, we can see that the conundrum, the logical dilema respecting the forgiveness of sin was evident at the time.
The greatest of philosophers were not able to comprehend the how it can be possible for God to forgive sin…FROM WHENCE CAN AMNESTY COME if God is to be respected as JUST?
Consider for a MOMENT
If we are to add the dilemma of God exercising justice while also exercising grace and mercy, to the problem Aristotle had related to how it would be COMMUNICATED, we find ourselves in an impossible situation.
Lets say AMNESTY for the world of man can be communicated, set aside the contradiction of Justice and Mercy, man has now had the communication that AMNESTY is there for all the world, there is NO ETERNAL JUDGEMENT, the Universalists are right, everyone has a free pass to heaven;
How do we restrain sin on earth?
If the Judge forgoes justice, how are the injustices of the victims pacified? How are they compensated for the COST OF THE CRIMES against them?
What then happens to a society when just judgement is NOT quickly carried out?
Turn in your Bibles to Eccelsiastes
Ecclesiastes 8:10–11
10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity. 11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
God has a care for this world and has set in order a divine Law which man MUST follow if man is every going to prosper in the world.
So too it is with SIN, sin is simply the transgression of Gods LAW;
1 John 3:4
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Prior to the resurrection of Christ and the understanding of the Gospel, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Amnesty was NOT possible, and if ever eye had seen or ear HAD heard, or if it were possible for this to have entered into the heart of Man,
1 Corinthians 2:8
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
You see beloved, the problem is forgiveness WITHOUT atonement.
Crimes MUST be PAID for.
Sin MUST be PAID for.
The only answer is ATONEMENT.
But how?????
Atonement
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Before we give consideration to the atonement, it might be good for us to have an understanding of the plight of the task, the enormity of it needs to gather a little in our minds that we might comprehend why “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard…etc”.
The lack of consideration of the enormity of the task of the atonement is measured almost in direct proportion of how little man thinks of his own sin.
It is this LITTLE that man thinks of sin that has him generally disregard the entire concept of an eternal punishment in hell for it.
Sadly, today, we also have SO MANY pastors both INDULGING and thereby EXCUSING so much sin that they too belittle or disannul its eternal retribution. And what they then do, by natural default, is belittle the value of the cross and what Jesus had done for mankind.
They make the ATONEMENT conceivable ONLY by making SIN palatable.
HELL ITSELF IS SHADOW-BANNED today and has been for too many years.
Dostoevsky In his famous book The Brothers Karamazov, gives a precursor to the Shadow-banning of hell when Father Zossima makes a lack of love the punishment as well as the substance of sin.
To those who ask, “What is Hell?” Father Zossima replies: “I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love … They talk of hell fire in the material sense. I don’t go into that mystery and I shun it[2]
So too Pastors today SHUN and even distort the understanding of HELL.
First, they belittle SIN as if it is no sin.
Turn to Malachi 2
Malachi 2:17
17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
If SIN is not sinful, if it is not a “transgression of the law” (Jn 1:3:4), then to what end is the God of Judgment?
But shall not the LAWMAKER judge the breakers of the laws he made?
Indeed he will. And “who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he apeareth? For he is like a refiners fire, and like fullers soap” (Mal 3:2-3)
And so they SHADOW-BAN HELL by employing its BY-PRODUCT rather than its nature. That is, they HIDE the terrible reality of HELL by minimising it.
“Hell is JUST separation from God“
Some ramp it up a little and say “Hell is ETERNAL separation from God“.
BUT instead of motivating a FEAR of God and Judgment, they unwittingly COMFORT the DAMNED, encouraging an ETERNAL prospect in death that they lived by in life.
For you and I, to be separated from God now that we belong to him, is a horror, but for those who hate him it is a RELIEF.
FINALLY, they no longer need to hear of God. Finally, they no longer need to fear God, Finally and for all eternity the only LAW they need obey is to “do as thou wilt…, this shall be the whole of the law“
But tell them that HELL is an eternal fire by which they shall be forever engulfed…
Tell them that the darkness of hell is so thick it can be felt…
Tell them that their names will rot, that they will be long forgotten,
Tell them of the an everlasting torment originally created for the devil and his angels..
With NO REST, night or day..
Tell them it is absolute solitude, there is no company, nor friendship and absolutely NO HOPE of escape for ALL eternity,
STOP SHADOW-BANNING HELL and perhaps the sin indulged might be seen as exceedingly sinful.
Perhaps the Atonement may be seen as a work that Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Religions from history passed have all had their view of atoning work, but all of it is focussed on what man can do for himself.
Islam lives by the Scales, 51% good = heaven, 51% bad = hell and they can never know which, even if they did, a Capricious Allah can change his mind in a moment.
For Roman Catholics, there ultimately is no eternal hell. Pergatory is the temporal fire that purges the crime of sin and a plethora of imaginative “get out of jail free cards” have been invented, not least of which are the INDULGENCES against which Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis on the doors of Wittenberg Castle Church on Halloween, 1517ad. Which began the reformation.
Homers epic, The Illiad, shows a notion of the ancient pagans believing in SELF DELIVERANCE from the punishment of hell by the gods;
Phoinix cautions Achilles to rid himself of pride and “beat down your great anger. It is not yours to have a pitiless heart. The very immortals can be moved; their virtue and honour and strength are greater than ours are, and yet with sacrifices and offerings for endearment, with libations and with savour men turn back even the immortals in supplication, when any man does wrong and transgresses.”[3]
The atheist is well represented by Sigmund Freud who attempted all he could to answer the question related to Atonement by simply DENYING it was ever needed. In rejecting God he worked like a gymnast to deal with the consequences of sin and evil.
His denial of evil presupposed its existence, and so he internalised the entirety of it in what he referred to as “The Super-Ego”.
In his 1920 Essay, “Beyond the Pleasure Principal“, he created a trinitarian IDEA of the id, the Super-Ego and the Ego.
“the id is a set of uncoordinated instinctual needs; the superego plays the moralizing role via internalized experiences; and the ego is the perceiving, logically organizing agent that mediates between the [two]. [4]
All of these are examples of the incomprehensibility of the Atonement.
All of these examples testify to all the world that Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But then we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Beloved, this is the truth revealed in Christ Jesus;
1 Timothy 3:16
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
That a man can give his life as a ransom for the temporal crimes of another man is to this day a just recompense for temporal Crimes, but what are we to make of the eternal sins of mankind against God????
Who will stand for mankind?
If “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin” (Heb 9:22), Whose blood is sufficient to remit the sins of mankind? Who can atone for the sins of the entire world?
John 3:16
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.
Beloved, no eye had seen this coming!!
No ear had ever heard of such a thing as this!
To imagine the atonement can be so perfectly manifest in this way could never have entered into the heart of man.
Romans 11:33–36
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Adoption
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
We have to take a breath at this point. There are elements that we have just seen that are far too wonderful for anyone to comprehend.
Amnesty is made available to all people of the earth and it is demonstrated as legally approved and perfectly consistent ONLY when matched with the ATONEMENT.
Amnesty & Atonement, two incomprehensible aspects of reality that no person had seen or heard of.
But wait….there’s more!
ADOPTION!
How on earth is this even remotely possible?
Can it be true that those who have believed the Gospel of Christ are literally ADOPTED as the literal children of God?
When we refer to each other as brethren, do we actually mean that LITERALLY?
Are we truly brothers and sisters in Christ? Who saw that coming?
How is that even possible?
Before we look at how it is possible, lets first establish the doctrine that the Adoption is true.
We see Amnesty, and we see Atonement, but neither are explained satisfactorily WITHOUT the ADOPTION. I will explain in a moment but keep it in view as it all links in together.
Romans 8:14–15
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Galatians 4:1–7
1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Just when you thought you had seen enough that “eye hath not seen”.
Just when you heard enough that “ear hath not heard”.
Now what comes to the heart is this incredible teaching that somehow all this comes together in adoption!
BUT INCREDIBLY, the doctrine of adoption cannot be held on its own, like a logical trinity it must be joined together with AMNESTY & ATONEMENT, neither of which can hold together without each other.
Let me explain.
Only a peer can pay for the crimes of another.
A dog cannot stand trial for the crimes of a man. Neither can the victim pay for the crimes done against him, this would see him as doubly offended, it makes no sense.
God, the judge of mankind, cannot pay for the sins MAN has committed against him. God stands as the one offended, the crime is committed against God and it does not stand to reason that God could pay without justice remitted.
But also, God is not a man. Man was made in the IMAGE of God, but the Bible tells us “God is a Spirit“, Jesus said that in;
John 4:24
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Therefore a Spirit cannot be a sacrifice for Sin.
But the Son of God, since eternity past, “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2), would become man to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of man.
Beloved, there are elements of this that have been seen from the beginning, but not with clarity. Hindsight alone reveals it.
Original sin, the fall of man, when Adam by transgression fell, he together with Eve sewed Fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. God replacing it with the skins of animals, teaching them that it will be by the shedding of innocent blood that they shall be covered.
The entirety of the Levitical system and priesthood becoming the school teacher for the people teaching them likewise.
Galatians 4:4–54 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
God was manifest in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16), Light is come into the world (Jn 3:19), Christ the Son of God became man to redeem man from his sin and give him life. The Bible refers to Christ as the last Adam
1 Corinthians 15:45
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Beloved, AMNESTY (forgiveness) cannot be undertaken without ATONEMENT, but atonement is not possible if it is not a man BLOOD to pay for the sins of man. But this is also NOT POSSIBLE, unless the value of the blood shed for man is INFINITE IN WORTH.
Now, we who are saved are saved by the blood of Christ, we are given new life through his blood, born again spiritually through the blood of Christ, and so are brethren! ADOPTED, through the shed blood of Christ into the family of God.
Agency
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Acts 9:1–6
1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
AGENCY came to Saul.
The very moment he acknowledged Jesus Christ as LORD he understood there was a purpose and charge for his life, he knew there was something he ought to do.
He “Saw the light”, a common expression today that originates from this very text in the book of Acts. Saul “Saw the Light” and knew he had a purpose to life that was incomprehensible to him not a few minutes earlier.
For much of our lives we wonder what the purpose of our life is. We begin school and not a few years in we are asked to choose a career, a path that our lives may be laid out before us. Teachers are assigned a task and part of that task is to help guide their pupils to that which they believe suits their natural abilities.
Businesses are started by men and women to lead them to an expected end;
“To day or to morrow, say they, we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:” (Ja 4:13)
But none know “what shall be on the morrow“, their life is a vapour that appears for a little while and vanishes away (Ja 4:14).
No eye sees nor does any ear hear, nor has ever entered into the natural minds of man that there is a purpose, a calling, eternal in the heavens, set and laid out, works from old from ever lasting;
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Who had known this?
It seems much was hidden from our eyes when we walked in the flesh. INCONCEIVABLE that God had a plan for MY LIFE, individually.
WE KNEW we had a calling the moment we were saved. LIKE Paul we knew everything has changed, so what now? Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
But sadly, much has also been hidden from us even as we walk in Christ.
Distracted through backslidings and then the adversary, Satan, who does all he can to make the Children of God ineffective for the “good works” which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
It is a sorrow in the days just before his coming, while the world abides in darkness, that the flickering of the faithful is so few and so hard to see.
We understand that many false prophets are gone into the world, many even who claim to have been sent by God but have the effect of scattering the sheep more than drawing them to the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:21–22
21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
Proverbs 10:21
21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
Isaiah 52:7
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Proverbs 11:25
25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
Proverbs 11:30
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Daniel 12:2–3
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
[1]https://www.anselm.edu/sites/default/files/Documents/Institute%20of%20SA%20Studies/4.5.3.1_62Brown.pdf
[2] Mortimer J. Adler, Ed., The Syntopicon: An Index to the Great Ideas, Great Books of the Western World, Second Edition., (Chicago; London; New Delhi; Paris; Seoul; Sydney; Taipei; Tokyo: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1990), 2:597.
[3] Mortimer J. Adler, Ed., The Syntopicon: An Index to the Great Ideas, Great Books of the Western World, Second Edition., (Chicago; London; New Delhi; Paris; Seoul; Sydney; Taipei; Tokyo: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1990), 2:597.
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id,_ego_and_superego
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By Hope Baptist ChurchPt 10 Eye Hath Not Seen
Eye Hath Not Seen
Introduction
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Related to this verse is a single event that covers many topics, and that event is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is a work of a miracle, a work that cannot even begin to be conceived of, it is logical but it is not understandable.
Four aspects of it will be considered this morning and they run under four topics which came to mind that I believed are the most vital
Amnesty
Atonement
Adoption
Agency
Amnesty speaks to forgiveness, both universal and particular.
Atonement speaks to how Amnesty is made possible, the sacrifice of Christ the Son of God, God the Son.
Adoption speaks to the result, its security and how we have been made brethren and the literal Children of God.
Agency speaks to the purpose and work of our lives, whom we represent and what we ought to do.
Is 52:7 , 13-15
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
So shall he sprinkle many nations;
The kings shall shut their mouths at him:
For that which had not been told them shall they see;
And that which they had not heard shall they consider..
Isaiah 64:1-6
Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Amnesty
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
From ancient times it was not conceivable that the creator of heaven and earth, the one who created man for his own purpose, would forgive sins.
It could not be thought proper for God, who is perfectly just, could simply give man amnesty for the crimes they have committed, WITHOUT executing justice. In fact, it was seen as the ultimate heavenly conundrum, “How can a just God forgive sin”?
For in forgiving sin with no penalty, God could not be just. But in giving man the eternal penalty sin required, God could not exercise mercy.
It was Socrates, writing to Plato who said around five hundred years before Christ came;
“It may be that God can forgive sins, but I do not see how” 500 BC
When it comes to AMNESTY (Forgiveness), we are already begining to recognise the truth that “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
Further than this problem is the problem of COMMUNICATION.
It was a problem that the famous 5th century BC Philosopher Aristotle seemed to have expressed. According to Anselm;
Aristotle’s idea of divinity as pure actuality and self-thinking thought makes it seem unlikely that forgiveness from God could be communicated to humans[1]
Now, Aristotle was the student of the most famous philosopher of all and that is Plato.
Plato also had trouble with the consideration of forgiveness from God, he believed more in
“expiation rather than amnesty, a forgiving nature of God rather than forgiveness”
In other words, he trusted in the idea that man can atone for himself and his reasonings were that the sins of man is generally because man is “ignorant, irrational, or overwhelmed by negative forces within them”, that is, it is not really their own fault.
Interestingly, this was believed generally by the greeks during the time of Plato, around 500 BC, and the Bible does give a degree of credibility to the consideration, at least related to “ignorance” in man, and God perhaps overlooking the seriousness of sin to a degree.
Turn to Acts 17 and see how the apostle Paul addressed the Greeks and what his answer to this is.
Standing at Mars Hill, a rock outcropping below and near the Acropolis in Athens Greece, Paul addressed the Athenians who gathered often to spend “there time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing” (Acts 17:21)
After getting their attention by addressing their evident superstition in worshiping even an UNKNOWN GOD, Paul then begins to address the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we will take it up at verse 27 respecting the general understanding of the people seeking after God;
Acts 17:30-31
30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
With the apostle bring out the solution, we can see that the conundrum, the logical dilema respecting the forgiveness of sin was evident at the time.
The greatest of philosophers were not able to comprehend the how it can be possible for God to forgive sin…FROM WHENCE CAN AMNESTY COME if God is to be respected as JUST?
Consider for a MOMENT
If we are to add the dilemma of God exercising justice while also exercising grace and mercy, to the problem Aristotle had related to how it would be COMMUNICATED, we find ourselves in an impossible situation.
Lets say AMNESTY for the world of man can be communicated, set aside the contradiction of Justice and Mercy, man has now had the communication that AMNESTY is there for all the world, there is NO ETERNAL JUDGEMENT, the Universalists are right, everyone has a free pass to heaven;
How do we restrain sin on earth?
If the Judge forgoes justice, how are the injustices of the victims pacified? How are they compensated for the COST OF THE CRIMES against them?
What then happens to a society when just judgement is NOT quickly carried out?
Turn in your Bibles to Eccelsiastes
Ecclesiastes 8:10–11
10 And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity. 11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
God has a care for this world and has set in order a divine Law which man MUST follow if man is every going to prosper in the world.
So too it is with SIN, sin is simply the transgression of Gods LAW;
1 John 3:4
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Prior to the resurrection of Christ and the understanding of the Gospel, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Amnesty was NOT possible, and if ever eye had seen or ear HAD heard, or if it were possible for this to have entered into the heart of Man,
1 Corinthians 2:8
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
You see beloved, the problem is forgiveness WITHOUT atonement.
Crimes MUST be PAID for.
Sin MUST be PAID for.
The only answer is ATONEMENT.
But how?????
Atonement
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Before we give consideration to the atonement, it might be good for us to have an understanding of the plight of the task, the enormity of it needs to gather a little in our minds that we might comprehend why “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard…etc”.
The lack of consideration of the enormity of the task of the atonement is measured almost in direct proportion of how little man thinks of his own sin.
It is this LITTLE that man thinks of sin that has him generally disregard the entire concept of an eternal punishment in hell for it.
Sadly, today, we also have SO MANY pastors both INDULGING and thereby EXCUSING so much sin that they too belittle or disannul its eternal retribution. And what they then do, by natural default, is belittle the value of the cross and what Jesus had done for mankind.
They make the ATONEMENT conceivable ONLY by making SIN palatable.
HELL ITSELF IS SHADOW-BANNED today and has been for too many years.
Dostoevsky In his famous book The Brothers Karamazov, gives a precursor to the Shadow-banning of hell when Father Zossima makes a lack of love the punishment as well as the substance of sin.
To those who ask, “What is Hell?” Father Zossima replies: “I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love … They talk of hell fire in the material sense. I don’t go into that mystery and I shun it[2]
So too Pastors today SHUN and even distort the understanding of HELL.
First, they belittle SIN as if it is no sin.
Turn to Malachi 2
Malachi 2:17
17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
If SIN is not sinful, if it is not a “transgression of the law” (Jn 1:3:4), then to what end is the God of Judgment?
But shall not the LAWMAKER judge the breakers of the laws he made?
Indeed he will. And “who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he apeareth? For he is like a refiners fire, and like fullers soap” (Mal 3:2-3)
And so they SHADOW-BAN HELL by employing its BY-PRODUCT rather than its nature. That is, they HIDE the terrible reality of HELL by minimising it.
“Hell is JUST separation from God“
Some ramp it up a little and say “Hell is ETERNAL separation from God“.
BUT instead of motivating a FEAR of God and Judgment, they unwittingly COMFORT the DAMNED, encouraging an ETERNAL prospect in death that they lived by in life.
For you and I, to be separated from God now that we belong to him, is a horror, but for those who hate him it is a RELIEF.
FINALLY, they no longer need to hear of God. Finally, they no longer need to fear God, Finally and for all eternity the only LAW they need obey is to “do as thou wilt…, this shall be the whole of the law“
But tell them that HELL is an eternal fire by which they shall be forever engulfed…
Tell them that the darkness of hell is so thick it can be felt…
Tell them that their names will rot, that they will be long forgotten,
Tell them of the an everlasting torment originally created for the devil and his angels..
With NO REST, night or day..
Tell them it is absolute solitude, there is no company, nor friendship and absolutely NO HOPE of escape for ALL eternity,
STOP SHADOW-BANNING HELL and perhaps the sin indulged might be seen as exceedingly sinful.
Perhaps the Atonement may be seen as a work that Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Religions from history passed have all had their view of atoning work, but all of it is focussed on what man can do for himself.
Islam lives by the Scales, 51% good = heaven, 51% bad = hell and they can never know which, even if they did, a Capricious Allah can change his mind in a moment.
For Roman Catholics, there ultimately is no eternal hell. Pergatory is the temporal fire that purges the crime of sin and a plethora of imaginative “get out of jail free cards” have been invented, not least of which are the INDULGENCES against which Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis on the doors of Wittenberg Castle Church on Halloween, 1517ad. Which began the reformation.
Homers epic, The Illiad, shows a notion of the ancient pagans believing in SELF DELIVERANCE from the punishment of hell by the gods;
Phoinix cautions Achilles to rid himself of pride and “beat down your great anger. It is not yours to have a pitiless heart. The very immortals can be moved; their virtue and honour and strength are greater than ours are, and yet with sacrifices and offerings for endearment, with libations and with savour men turn back even the immortals in supplication, when any man does wrong and transgresses.”[3]
The atheist is well represented by Sigmund Freud who attempted all he could to answer the question related to Atonement by simply DENYING it was ever needed. In rejecting God he worked like a gymnast to deal with the consequences of sin and evil.
His denial of evil presupposed its existence, and so he internalised the entirety of it in what he referred to as “The Super-Ego”.
In his 1920 Essay, “Beyond the Pleasure Principal“, he created a trinitarian IDEA of the id, the Super-Ego and the Ego.
“the id is a set of uncoordinated instinctual needs; the superego plays the moralizing role via internalized experiences; and the ego is the perceiving, logically organizing agent that mediates between the [two]. [4]
All of these are examples of the incomprehensibility of the Atonement.
All of these examples testify to all the world that Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
But then we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Beloved, this is the truth revealed in Christ Jesus;
1 Timothy 3:16
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
That a man can give his life as a ransom for the temporal crimes of another man is to this day a just recompense for temporal Crimes, but what are we to make of the eternal sins of mankind against God????
Who will stand for mankind?
If “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin” (Heb 9:22), Whose blood is sufficient to remit the sins of mankind? Who can atone for the sins of the entire world?
John 3:16
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.
Beloved, no eye had seen this coming!!
No ear had ever heard of such a thing as this!
To imagine the atonement can be so perfectly manifest in this way could never have entered into the heart of man.
Romans 11:33–36
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Adoption
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
We have to take a breath at this point. There are elements that we have just seen that are far too wonderful for anyone to comprehend.
Amnesty is made available to all people of the earth and it is demonstrated as legally approved and perfectly consistent ONLY when matched with the ATONEMENT.
Amnesty & Atonement, two incomprehensible aspects of reality that no person had seen or heard of.
But wait….there’s more!
ADOPTION!
How on earth is this even remotely possible?
Can it be true that those who have believed the Gospel of Christ are literally ADOPTED as the literal children of God?
When we refer to each other as brethren, do we actually mean that LITERALLY?
Are we truly brothers and sisters in Christ? Who saw that coming?
How is that even possible?
Before we look at how it is possible, lets first establish the doctrine that the Adoption is true.
We see Amnesty, and we see Atonement, but neither are explained satisfactorily WITHOUT the ADOPTION. I will explain in a moment but keep it in view as it all links in together.
Romans 8:14–15
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Galatians 4:1–7
1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Just when you thought you had seen enough that “eye hath not seen”.
Just when you heard enough that “ear hath not heard”.
Now what comes to the heart is this incredible teaching that somehow all this comes together in adoption!
BUT INCREDIBLY, the doctrine of adoption cannot be held on its own, like a logical trinity it must be joined together with AMNESTY & ATONEMENT, neither of which can hold together without each other.
Let me explain.
Only a peer can pay for the crimes of another.
A dog cannot stand trial for the crimes of a man. Neither can the victim pay for the crimes done against him, this would see him as doubly offended, it makes no sense.
God, the judge of mankind, cannot pay for the sins MAN has committed against him. God stands as the one offended, the crime is committed against God and it does not stand to reason that God could pay without justice remitted.
But also, God is not a man. Man was made in the IMAGE of God, but the Bible tells us “God is a Spirit“, Jesus said that in;
John 4:24
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Therefore a Spirit cannot be a sacrifice for Sin.
But the Son of God, since eternity past, “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2), would become man to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of man.
Beloved, there are elements of this that have been seen from the beginning, but not with clarity. Hindsight alone reveals it.
Original sin, the fall of man, when Adam by transgression fell, he together with Eve sewed Fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. God replacing it with the skins of animals, teaching them that it will be by the shedding of innocent blood that they shall be covered.
The entirety of the Levitical system and priesthood becoming the school teacher for the people teaching them likewise.
Galatians 4:4–54 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
God was manifest in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16), Light is come into the world (Jn 3:19), Christ the Son of God became man to redeem man from his sin and give him life. The Bible refers to Christ as the last Adam
1 Corinthians 15:45
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Beloved, AMNESTY (forgiveness) cannot be undertaken without ATONEMENT, but atonement is not possible if it is not a man BLOOD to pay for the sins of man. But this is also NOT POSSIBLE, unless the value of the blood shed for man is INFINITE IN WORTH.
Now, we who are saved are saved by the blood of Christ, we are given new life through his blood, born again spiritually through the blood of Christ, and so are brethren! ADOPTED, through the shed blood of Christ into the family of God.
Agency
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Acts 9:1–6
1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
AGENCY came to Saul.
The very moment he acknowledged Jesus Christ as LORD he understood there was a purpose and charge for his life, he knew there was something he ought to do.
He “Saw the light”, a common expression today that originates from this very text in the book of Acts. Saul “Saw the Light” and knew he had a purpose to life that was incomprehensible to him not a few minutes earlier.
For much of our lives we wonder what the purpose of our life is. We begin school and not a few years in we are asked to choose a career, a path that our lives may be laid out before us. Teachers are assigned a task and part of that task is to help guide their pupils to that which they believe suits their natural abilities.
Businesses are started by men and women to lead them to an expected end;
“To day or to morrow, say they, we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:” (Ja 4:13)
But none know “what shall be on the morrow“, their life is a vapour that appears for a little while and vanishes away (Ja 4:14).
No eye sees nor does any ear hear, nor has ever entered into the natural minds of man that there is a purpose, a calling, eternal in the heavens, set and laid out, works from old from ever lasting;
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Who had known this?
It seems much was hidden from our eyes when we walked in the flesh. INCONCEIVABLE that God had a plan for MY LIFE, individually.
WE KNEW we had a calling the moment we were saved. LIKE Paul we knew everything has changed, so what now? Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
But sadly, much has also been hidden from us even as we walk in Christ.
Distracted through backslidings and then the adversary, Satan, who does all he can to make the Children of God ineffective for the “good works” which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
It is a sorrow in the days just before his coming, while the world abides in darkness, that the flickering of the faithful is so few and so hard to see.
We understand that many false prophets are gone into the world, many even who claim to have been sent by God but have the effect of scattering the sheep more than drawing them to the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:21–22
21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
Proverbs 10:21
21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
Isaiah 52:7
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Proverbs 11:25
25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
Proverbs 11:30
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Daniel 12:2–3
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
[1]https://www.anselm.edu/sites/default/files/Documents/Institute%20of%20SA%20Studies/4.5.3.1_62Brown.pdf
[2] Mortimer J. Adler, Ed., The Syntopicon: An Index to the Great Ideas, Great Books of the Western World, Second Edition., (Chicago; London; New Delhi; Paris; Seoul; Sydney; Taipei; Tokyo: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1990), 2:597.
[3] Mortimer J. Adler, Ed., The Syntopicon: An Index to the Great Ideas, Great Books of the Western World, Second Edition., (Chicago; London; New Delhi; Paris; Seoul; Sydney; Taipei; Tokyo: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1990), 2:597.
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id,_ego_and_superego
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