Sunday, April 7, 2013

The Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver
"...and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev 13:8)

"The Lamb" is heaven's view of Jesus. Twenty six times Jesus is referred to as "the Lamb" in the Revelation. Only two other times in Scripture is He directly called "the Lamb" and both times John the baptist calls Him "the Lamb of God" (Jn 1:29,36). From an earthly perspective no one would ever conclude that Jesus is "the Lamb of God." This is something that must be revealed to them. It is, however, the heavenly perspective of Jesus. It is as though all of heaven saw "the Word" that was with God (Jn 1:1) and when He was given to the world as God's sacrifice for sin, He would then be known as "the Lamb of God."

The Slain Lamb. The significance of the lamb is not that it depicts a quiet, docile creature but that it is a sacrifice. The vision that John was shown is one of "a lamb standing as it had been slain" (Rev 5:6), that is, it was killed as a sacrifice for sin. This is what was meant by John the baptist when he declared, "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29).

Jesus is God's offering for sin. While He was "delivered into the hands of sinful men" and "crucified" (Lk 24:7), it was God who was "pleased...to bruise Him" (Isa 53:10). Like the scapegoat under the Law, God "laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa 53:6). It was then, "in His body on the tree" (1 Pet 2:24) that God, through His Lamb, made an end of sin  (Dan 9:24). God judged and condemned sin in the flesh of Jesus (Rom 8:3). He cursed His Son in order to deliver us from the curse we inherited by breaking the Law (Gal 3:13). This Lamb, unlike any other lamb, was willing to "make His soul an offering for sin" (Isa 53:10) and therefore "justify many" by bearing their iniquities (Isa 53:11). He is the Lamb "slain" from the foundation of the world.

From the Foundation of the World. The sacrifice of Christ was the means through which God would reconcile the world unto Himself (2 Cor 5:19). God, in an effort to show His manifold wisdom to principalities and powers in heavenly places (Eph 3:10), determined to bring salvation to men by His own arm (Isa 63:5). In other words, God was not surprised when Jesus was "taken, and by wicked hands...crucified and slain," because it all accord by "the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). Jesus was chosen for this very purpose. He was given as a ransom for sin.

God used the Law to teach men about sacrifice and about sin and about acceptance with Him. He was readying the people of the sacrifice of His Lamb. He was showing them the price of sin and the intricacies involved in atonement and the putting away of sin. He did this because "once in the end of the world" the Lamb of God would appear "to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Heb 9:26).
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot; who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21) 
God is not reacting in salvation; He is carrying out His eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Eph 3:11). He is working all things together for good to them that love God (Rom 8:28), whether those things be the ministry of John the baptist, the betrayal of Judas or the judgment of Pontius Pilate, He is working all things after the "counsel of His own will" (Eph 1:11).

Conclusion. From before God laid the foundations of the world, He had determined to send "His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin" in order to "condemn sin in the flesh" (Rom 8:3). But God would not leave His Son, in view of this great sacrifice, without the recompense of reward. For Jesus, knowing that the Father would not despise or forsake Him forever, but would return to Him the glory which He had before the world was, confessed, "Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world" (Jn 17:24). God's love for His Son is being displayed throughout all creation now, and for evermore.

His reward would include an inheritance like none other. It would involve the Lamb seeing "His seed" and the Father "prolonging His days" and "the pleasure of the Lord" prospering in His hand (Isa 53:10). The Father would "divide Him a portion with the great" and "He shall divide the spoil with the strong because He hath poured out His soul unto death" (Isa 53:12). As a result of His humility and obedience unto death and the cross, God "also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Php 2:8-11). "Ask of Me" the Father says to the Son, "and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession" (Ps 2:8).

To be sure, Christ's sacrifice was great and did not go unnoticed. Let every creature which is in heaven and in earth and under the earth shout aloud, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing" (Rev 5:12).

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