[July 15]
Through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness
of sins. Acts 13:38
THE apostle does not refer to something that was
done by our Lord as the Archangel before "he was
made flesh," nor does he refer to any work to be done
by him in his new, highly exalted condition, "set down
with his Father in his throne" and partaker of his divine
nature; but he here refers to the work done by
"the Man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for
all." Thus the apostle again emphasizes the fact that
"as by man came death, by man also came the resurrection
of the dead." Yes, this is the center of the
Gospel proclamation that the failure of the first perfect
man was fully offset by the sacrifice of the Man Christ
Jesus, and that it was to this end that it was needful
for our Lord to leave the glory which he had with the
Father before the world was, to become poor (in the
sense of taking our lower nature—but not its blemishes,
for he was "holy, harmless, and separate from sinners");
and yielding up this human nature a ransom-price
or corresponding price for the life forfeited by
father Adam for himself and his race. This is the basis
upon which every offer to grace is presented by the
Scriptures. And now, he who was the Father's agent
in the redemptive work is to be the Father's agent also
in the work of "blessing" all the redeemed with ample
opportunities for return to divine favor—the first step
of which is the forgiveness of sins. Z'97-138
R2150:1
(Hymn 68)