I
recently read this article from John Piper, http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/i-know-god-loves-me-but-does-he-like-me, and I appreciate
his reminder that God takes great delight in His children. I was reminded of
Hebrews 2:11 (ESV): “For He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all
have one source. That is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers.” Or as
the NIV puts it: “Both the One who makes men holy and those who are made holy
are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers [and
sisters].” It seems to me that our modern, Western idea of family has not only
diminished the depth of our relationships within the Church, but has also
depreciated our understanding of God as our Father and Jesus as our Brother.
God’s love for us is not an obligation, but a deep affection flowing from the
heart of a father.
As
Piper mentions in his article, our own awareness of our sinfulness hinders our
perception of God’s love. How could He desire to be with a person who keeps
breaking the law? But that reveals an underlying misunderstanding (or doubt)
about what Scripture says of those who are in Christ. Galatians 2:20 (ESV)
says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It
is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in
the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for
me.” We have more knowledge of our sinful condition than we do of our holy
position in Christ.
In his commentary on Galatians 2:17-20, Martin Luther made the following comments:
“The Law drives us away from God, but Christ reconciles God unto us, for ‘He is the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world.’ Now if the sin of the world is taken away, it is taken away from me. If sin is taken away, the wrath of God and His condemnation are also taken away. Let us practice this blessed conviction” (48).
“Faith connects you so intimately with Christ, that He and you become as it were one person. As such you may boldly say: ‘I am now one with Christ. Therefore Christ’s righteousness, victory, and life are mine.’ On the other hand, Christ may say: ‘I am that big sinner. His sins and his death are mine, because he is joined to me, and I to him’” (53).
“For Christ is Joy and Sweetness to a broken heart. Christ is a Lover of poor sinners, and such a Lover that He gave Himself for us. Now if this is true, and it is true, then are we never justified by our own righteousness. Read the words ‘me’ and ‘for me’ with great emphasis. Print this ‘me’ with capital letters in your heart, and do not ever doubt that you belong to the number of those who are meant by this ‘me.’ Christ did not only love Peter and Paul. The same love He felt for them He feels for us” (57).
You can begin to sense some of the amazement Luther felt
when he realized that justification is by grace through faith, not by works.
And it’s not just that we are legally made right with God, but that He truly
loves us, accepts us, and delights in us. He doesn’t just take away our guilt
for sins we’ve committed, but He adopts us into His family on equal footing
with His beloved Son, Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:16-17).
Though I’ve known these truths for many years, lately I’ve
encountered several refreshing reminders in Scripture (eg. Eph. 1:4-5; Gal.
4:7; Isaiah 43:4; 1 Cor. 6:11) and in other reading. We can quickly forget who
we are and as Piper noted, we need to take a “Bible bath” to renew our minds
with the truth.
“And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who
became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption”
(1 Cor. 1:30).
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation. The old has passed
away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17).
©
2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from
pixabay.com.
