The grace of Jesus Christ
The
second integral component of the true gospel is the grace of Jesus Christ which
is the receipt of the unmerited favor, mercy compassion, forgiveness etc. which
God endowed to man without their input, toil, or involvement but was granted to
us or done for us as a matter of love as alluded to in scriptures which states,
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not
send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
Him might be saved” (John3:16-17).
Therefore,
in order to have a good and profound understanding of the grace of Jesus
Christ, it is imperative that we take into consideration the love of Jesus
Christ who is one with the Father, divesting Himself of His glory, taking on
the sinful nature of man, giving us an undeniable evidence or testimony of the
certainty of Jesus Christ as God’s witness for it is written; “This is He who
came by water and blood – Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and
blood; and it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.”
The
term, “By water" is often mistaken by some to represent baptism, but here
in this context the water symbolizes the human flesh which is born out of water
and is made up of 65% water, with most of the chemical reactions that occur in
the body requiring water. Therefore, the term by water and blood” refers to the
humanness of Jesus Christ who became flesh and blood.
This
belief or perception is strongly supported by the fact that the soldiers who
broke the legs of the two thieves who were crucified along with Jesus Christ,
when they came to Jesus to break His legs and saw that He was already dead,
they did not break His legs, but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a
spear, and immediately blood and water came out, confirming exactly what the
scripture says, :This is He who came by water and blood – Jesus Christ; not by
water (flesh) only, but by water and blood” (1John 5:6).
The
testimony which God has given us regarding His Son Jesus Christ is undeniable
linked by these three inseparable links or the three that bear witness on
earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. We
are told quite emphatically that, “He who believes in the Son of God [according
to the testimony God has given us concerning Him] has the witness in himself
[that is, the Spirit, the water, and the blood];’ But, “He who does not believe
God, has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God
has given of His Son” (1John 5:10).
This
is a serious indictment to be calling God a liar by not believing in the
testimony that He has given us of His Son! Now the testimony which God has
given us regarding His Son is that; “God has given us eternal life, and this
life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son
of God does not have life” (1John 5: 11-12).
What
this testimony is simply implying is that God has given us eternal life through His Son, whom He sent as His witness on earth, in Spirit, water [flesh] and
blood. Therefore, eternal life is found only in believing in the Spirit, water
[flesh] and blood of Jesus Christ, which denotes, believing in the humanity of
Jesus Christ the Son of God.
And
so we have been duly admonished saying; "Beloved, do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is not of God" (1John 4:1-3).
Therefore,
I think that it is imperative that we understand the significance and rationale
for Christ coming in the flesh and how we should respond after receiving such
vital information because, Jesus Christ took on flesh, man´s nature, in order
to achieve what man on his own merit could not have achieved. In addition to
that, He took our sins and sorrows and made them His own; He bore the burdens
to the cross on Calvary, suffered and died alone. In order words He paid the penalty
of sin for us in full.
To
be continued
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