Topical Studies
Jesus Christ as Mediator
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Luke 12:13-14 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The man in dispute with his brother thought he was being cheated. Perceiving that Jesus had influence with the people, he tried to get Him to side with him. Jesus' parable indicates that he probably did not have a just claim on the inheritance but was covetous. Had his claim been just, the laws of the land would have resolved it without Jesus' interference. Among Israelites, the firstborn received two shares—twice as much as any other child (Deuteronomy 21:16-17). Jesus makes it clear that He had no responsibility to settle controversies of this type. He had not come to mediate secular disputes but to preach the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God, offering salvation to those who are willing to repent and live righteously. The nature and constitution of His Kingdom is spiritual, that is, not of this world. Secular authorities should judge civil affairs. Jesus could undoubtedly have judged this case justly, but He would have been interfering with the proper office of the magistrate.
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Rich Fool
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Romans 5:10 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
We are saved—receive salvation—by a living Jesus Christ! After He died, God the Father raised Him from the dead. Today, Christ is alive and powerful and sits at God's right hand to make intercession for us. He will help us overcome sin and live righteously as He did (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Basic Doctrines: Salvation
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Galatians 3:19 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
It must be understood that Paul uses the terms "law" and "covenant" interchangeably, and one must use the context determine whether he is talking about a single statute, a body of laws, a covenant/agreement, or the Penteteuch. Even in the Old Testament, "law" and "covenant" were often used interchangeably. For example, in II Chronicles 6:11, Solomon says, "And in it [the Temple] have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, that He made with the children of Israel." But just a chapter earlier it is recorded, "There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt" (II Chronicles 5:10). Solomon refers to the Ten Commandments on the two tablets of stone as being "the covenant." Also consider how Paul uses the term "law" later in the book of Galatians: Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. (Galatians 4:21-23) The births of Isaac and Ishmael are recorded in Genesis chapters 16 and 21, hundreds of years before the Old Covenant was given. Yet Paul refers to that portion of scripture as "the law"! Obviously, in this example Paul uses "law" to mean the entire Pentateuch or Torah (the first five books of the Bible), not just the commandments. In Galatians 4:24, he specifically mentions the Old and New Covenants. The end of Galatians 3:19, as well as verse 20, show that this was not just instruction to a group of people by a superior—the reference to a mediator shows that there was an agreement being discussed. If a king makes a law, there is no need for a process of mediation because the matter it is not open for discussion with the people. A mediator is only necessary when both parties have to agree to something, which clearly indicates a covenant rather than just a decree or law. The Old Covenant was in addition to the one that God made with Abraham ("it was added"). It was not the first time that God's law had been taught, though; the Bible says specifically that Abraham kept God's commandments (Genesis 26:5). It shows Abraham and Jacob both tithing. It shows Abel and Noah already having an understanding of clean and unclean animals. The Sabbath harkens back to Creation, and was given to Israel again after they left Egypt but before the Old Covenant was proposed (Exodus 16). Reading through Genesis and Exodus, it is very clear that there was a codified set of rules—laws—long before they were officially recorded at Mt. Sinai. The Old Covenant was added because of transgression—sin. It was added, not to provide a means of justification, but to demonstrate to Israel what was right and wrong, because their "moral compass" had been badly damaged through their experiences in Egypt. The children of Israel sojourned in Egypt for 400 years, and during that time they lost the knowledge of God's way. They forgot His instructions to such a degree that God had to teach them all over again the way of life that was pleasing to Him. They had been so immersed in the pagan Egyptian culture that all of these laws, statutes, judgments, instructions, etc., were completely new to them. God added the Old Covenant to the one He made with Abraham as a sort of "booster shot"—Israel was so off track that God had to realign them with His ways by means of this temporary covenant, which would be in effect until Christ came. After Christ came, the Holy Spirit of God was available to those whom God called and made this New Covenant available to, and thus God was able to write His laws—still in existence and effect!—into the hearts of His chosen people (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10; 10:16). It is evident that the Old Covenant has served its purpose, and now it is obsolete, replaced by an infinitely better covenant (Hebrews 8:6-10, 13). But it is also evident that even though the covenant—the agreement—is no longer in effect, that does not mean God's law has become obsolete. The law and the covenant, in practice, describe two different things. The law is the codified standard of conduct God gave to His people; the covenant was the agreement in which Israel agreed to abide by God's laws. The abolition of the agreement, though, does not abolish the standard of conduct! The New Testament abounds with examples of God's law still being in effect (Matthew 19:17; 23:23; John 14:15,21; 15:10; Acts 21:24; 24:14; 26:19-20; 28:23; Romans 3:31; 6:1-2,15; 7:12,22,25; 8:7; I Corinthians 7:19; Ephesians 5:5; I Timothy 1:8-11; II Timothy 2:5; Titus 1:16; 2:11-14; Hebrews 8:10; James 1:22-25; 2:8-12; 2:14-26; I John 2:3-6; 3:22-24; 5:2-3; II John 1:6; Revelation 12:17; 14:12; 22:14). Christ Himself stated clearly that He did not come to destroy the law, but to show how to fulfill it—keep it in its entirety (Matthew 5:17-20). He then goes on to demonstrate the intent, or spirit, behind some of the laws. James admonishes each to "fulfill the royal law of liberty"—and there is no hint that he means we should individually "do away" with it! The Old Covenant was "ordained" by angels (Acts 7:53; Hebrews 2:2; Acts 7:38; Psalm 68:17; I Corinthians 10:4). "Ordained," diatageis (NT:1299), usually means to arrange; to dispose in order; and is commonly used with reference to the marshalling of an army. A similar word, diatagas (NT:1296), is used in Acts 7:53, where it is translated "disposition." It properly means the "constituting" or "arranging" of an army; disposing it into ranks and proper divisions. Hence, it has been supposed to mean that the Covenant was given "amidst" the various ranks of angels, being present to witness its transmission. Deuteronomy 33:2 also shows God with His "holy myriads"—literally "ten thousands of holiness." God was attended by a vast army of intelligent beings, witnessing the ratifying of the Old Covenant with Israel and helping with prescribing, ordering, and arranging the covenant. The covenant was "in the hand" or "under the control" of a Mediator, one who intervenes between two parties, either as an interpreter, intercessor, or reconciler. In the New Testament, in all the places where it occurs, it is applied to Jesus Christ, the great Mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24).
David C. Grabbe
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1 Timothy 2:5 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
There is one mediator, Christ. The Holy Spirit is referred to as the parakletos, the Comforter. It is the guide, leading us into all truth. Comforter means "one who goes alongside." If this were a personality, then one would begin to think that it is in a position somewhere between us and the Father. But the Bible makes o mention of anything of the kind. There is only one between us and God, and that One is the Son. This is similar in form to I Corinthians 11:3, which shows that, of the Deities above us, only One stands between us and God the Father, that is, God the Son. This means that not even the Holy Spirit, sent to us as a Comforter, is a mediator. If the Holy Spirit were God (equal to the Father and the Son), it would be an affront of the highest order to exclude "Him" from an intermediary role between us and the Father—especially when we consider that the Bible assigns us, mere human beings, an intercessory role between others and the Father. By prayer we are to intercede before the Father for one another, which is a form of mediation. We go to the Father in behalf of our brothers and sisters who are undergoing trial, difficulty, sickness, or whatever. The Holy Spirit is excluded from this role because it is not a personality, yet we are given it because we are personalities.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Holy Spirit
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Hebrews 2:11 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
"He who sanctifies" is Jesus Christ, and "those who are being sanctified" is us. He calls us "all of one" because we are all of one Father, and therefore of one family. The word "brethren" indicates why the word "one" implies family. We are all brothers and sisters. If these words teach us anything, it is that Christ not only undertakes our justification but also our sanctification. Both of them are provided under the New Covenant, which He mediates.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 8)
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Hebrews 8:6 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
Jesus is the Mediator of a better covenant, which is established upon better promises. It was not established upon law changes but upon better promises. Some changes of terms were made, but the focus is on changes in the promises. Why were the promises changed? Being in context with "for if that first covenant had been faultless" and "finding fault with them," the changes had something to do with the fault, and the fault was with them. Them is a plural reference to the multitude of people who anciently made the Old Covenant with God.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 10)
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1 Peter 4:1-6 (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up)
The apostle is speaking about the efficacy of Christ's suffering and death in making possible a relationship between God and human beings. His conclusion, beginning in I Peter 4:1-2, is that, since Christ suffered so much to bring this about, Christians should respond by "ceas[ing] from sin" and living "for the will of God." This means, of course, that in doing so, we no longer live as we used to, like the "Gentiles," like the world (verse 3). Seeing this, our friends who are still in the world wonder why our lives have changed so drastically, and they are likely to malign us for it (verse 4). But we need not worry because God, the just Judge, will bring them into account for their abuses of us (verse 5). In verse 6, he winds up his discussion by providing a general example to give us hope in this regard. He explains that the gospel had been preached in the past to people who are now dead, and even though their contemporaries may have judged them worthy to suffer persecution and death, God, conversely, has judged them worthy of eternal life. He implies that God would do the same for us.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Jesus and 'the Spirits in Prison'
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