The Strand Study Bible

Written From Corinth During Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

ROMANS

1844

death – God is good because Jesus (the 2 nd Person of the Triune Godhead) willingly died for our sins ( Eph 2:8-9 ). NOTE - There are three reasons why man can’t save himself: * man is not good enough ( Rom 3:10 ,20, Gal 2:21 and Isa 64:6 ) * man is too sinful ( Rom 3:23 a,b ) * man must die because of his sin ( Rom 6:23 a , Lk 12: 4- 5 and Rev 20:14 b -15) burial – God is good because Jesus not only willingly died for our sins, He allowed Himself to be was buried, proving that He had paid for our sins in full (He was “so to speak” dead-dead – Rom 6:23 and Lev 17:11 ). resurrection – God is good because Christ not only willingly died for our sins, He allowed Himself to be buried, but He rose again, proving He’s God enough to keep His word and save all those who call upon Him for salvation (Rom 10:9-13). According to the biblical account, Jesus spent six hours on the cross (from 9 A.M. – 3 P.M.). The first three hours were spent in humiliation, as Jesus suffered the reproach of man. During that time Jesus is recorded to have made three statements: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Lk 23:34) Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise (Lk 23:43) Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother (Jn 19:26-27) Whereas the first three hours were spent in humiliation and suffering due to the torture of crucifixion, the last three hours were spent in darkness, getting ready to pay for the eternality of sin. During the last three hours on the cross, Jesus is recorded to have made four statements (all in the last moments of the last hour): Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Mt 27:46) I thirst (Jn 19:28) It is finished (Jn 19:30) Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit (Lk 23:46) Interestingly enough, the first and last statements of Jesus begin with the “endearing” language of Deity, “ Father .” ( Jn 20:17 a,b ). However, the middle statement ( My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ), which ultimately paid for the eternality of Hell due to our sin, begins with the “enduring” language of humanity and inequality with Deity, for this was the first time in recorded Scripture that one Person of the Triune Godhead (Jesus) called the other two “God,” thus admitting inequality with Deity. Whereas one Person of the Triune Godhead will often refer to another Person within the Triune Godhead as “God” ( Gen 21:17- 18 & 22:11-12 & 35:1 ) or “Lord” ( Gen 16:11 and Zech 2:3-8 ), He has never addressed another Person of the Triune Godhead as “God” until Jesus did it on the cross (Mt 27:46). Outside of Genesis 1:26 & 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8 (in which GOD THE FATHER addresses to the other two Persons within the Triune Godhead) there are only two other places in Scripture where God addresses God (II Sam 24:11-16 and Psa 110:1), and in both cases there is no mention of God addressing God as “God.” The moment our Lord cried out, “ Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? ” (That is to say, “ My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ”), the payment for sin was accepted by the other two Persons of the Triune Godhead and salvation was secured for all eternity. Why? Because with that one statement, Jesus was willing to give up certain aspects of His eternal authority with the other two in order to pay for the eternality of sin. One of the eternal aspect that Jesus was willing to give up on Calvary in order to save mankind was His omnipresence (His ability to be everywhere at once – I Ki 8:27 and Rom 1:20b – point #4). He gave it up once temporarily when He entered the womb of Mary in order to be birthed as a human. He gave it up permanently when He addressed the other two as “God” in Matthew 27:46 in order to pay for the eternality of sin ( I Cor 15:28 ). NOTE – There are some who will teach that Jesus spent the last three temporal hours of his life, while on the cross, paying for our sins. However, think about it. How can the eternality of Hell (Rev 20:10 & 21:8) be paid for within a temporal time frame? You don’t think for a moment that hanging on a cross for three (or even six) hours can pay for the eternality of Hell, do you? The answer is: It can’t. The temporal cannot pay for the eternal. Only something eternal (like Jesus surrendering certain aspects of His eternal authority on the cross) can pay for the eternal. Still, others would argue, “Is Hell (where sin sends us) really a place of everlasting torment,” questioning the eternality of Hell ( Lk 16:24,26 ). They would argue, “Why should people suffer eternally for a temporal action (sin) that occurred at a moment in time?” In other words, why should people spend eternity in Hell for something they committed during a temporal lifetime? The answer is: They shouldn’t. God does not consign people to Hell (or Heaven, for that matter) based on their temporal actions. Just as good people do not go to Heaven (Eph 2:8-9, Titus 3:5 and Mt 19:16 ), so bad people do not go to Hell ( Mt 22:10 ). God is just! The only punishment for a temporal wrongdoing is a temporal death (Gen 2:17). God does not consign men to their eternal destinies based on their temporal actions; rather He consigns men to their eternal destinies based on their decision to either accept or reject the only way an eternal God chose to pay for those temporal wrong doings. So how did God pay for our sin? According to Scripture, God chose to pay for the temporal via the eternal. Micah 5:2 says: But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he ( Christ ) come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting . According to Micah 5:2, Jesus is the Eternal One ( from everlasting ). Even the Jews during Jesus’ day understood full well whom the promised Messiah would be when He came. The Jews answered Jesus in John 12:34: