The Strand Study Bible

Written From Corinth During Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

ROMANS

1845

We have heard out of the law (Micah 5:2) that Christ abideth for ever … The Jews acknowledged the fact that whenever the Messiah did come, He would be the Eternal One in flesh. I Timothy 3:16 agrees: And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God (the Eternal One) was manifest in the flesh … The fact that the Eternal One had to step out of eternity and into the realm of the temporal in order to pay for man’s sin makes temporal wrongdoings an eternal offence. And yet no one has to go to an eternal Hell. All a person must do to inherit Heaven and avoid Hell is to accept the only way God chose to pay for sin. John 3:36 says: He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him . Again, God consigns men to their eternal destinies only in accordance with their choices, not against their will, but in accordance to their will. For example, an alcoholic does not want a hangover, but he chooses (or, wills) himself a hangover whenever he decides to drink. So it is with a man’s soul. Men don’t want to go to Hell, but they choose (or, will) themselves to go to Hell whenever they decide not to choose the only way God chose to pay for sin. People who end up going to Hell decide the conditions though they do not relish the consequences. Asaph, King David’s choir director, said in Psalm 77:13: Thy way, O God, is through the sanctuary : who is so great a God as our God ? Jesus (who according to Revelation 21:3 is our Sanctuary) has always been the only way to God. Jesus reiterated the Psalmist’s claim by stating in John 14:6: I am the way , the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me . Jesus did not say, “ I am a way .” He said, “ I am the way .” The pronoun is emphatic: “ I , and none besides me ” (Isa 43:10). The question remains, however, “How did the Eternal One ( from everlasting ) pay for the eternality of Hell within a three- hour time frame? The answer is, “He didn’t.” Jesus did not pay for the eternality of Hell in three hours; He paid for it with one statement (Mt 27:46): My God , my God , why hast thou forsaken me ? Because only that which is eternal can pay for the eternal, Jesus chose to give up something eternal in order to pay for the eternality of Hell, else how can one explain the following seven verses in the New Testament: Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34, Jn 20:17, Eph 1:17, Heb 1:9 and Rev 1:6 & 3:12, which appear to suggest that Jesus has a God, when in fact He is God? If Hell is eternal (and it is), and Jesus paid for it (and He did), then something eternal had to give in order to pay for the eternality of hell. Thus, the Gospel of CHRIST is the “good news” that the SECOND PERSON of the Triune Godhead was willing to give up certain aspects of His eternal authority with the other two Persons of Deity for all eternity future because of his love for humanity. Paul said of Jesus in I Corinthians 15:28 : And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all . This word ( subject ) is a Greek word that is a military term and means “to rank under; to give yourself to that which you have placed yourself under.” One-day right before eternity future begins, Jesus will forever place Himself in a lower order under the First andThird Persons of the Triune Godhead. He will do this to satisfy the eternal price He had to pay for man’s sins on Calvary. Jesus did more than just suffer inhumanely on Calvary; He was willing to surrender certain aspects of His eternality with the other two Persons of Deity for all eternity future. Jesus never sacrificed His Deity (His equality of essence) on Calvary, only certain aspects of His eternal authority with the other two Persons of Deity. Anytime a believer can explain to an unbeliever what God (Jesus) actually had to give up eternally in order to save humanity, the “goodness of God” is grasped and the power of God is released. Jesus reminded us of that in John 12:32: And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me . The drawing card for real salvation is always a proper explanation and presentation of the “Good News” of JESUS CHRIST . When truly understood, the price Jesus paid has the power to save anyone.

1 Graham, Billy. God’s Ambassador , San Diego, CA: W Publishing Group. 1999. Print.

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