Why Jesus Came. (part one of three)

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life..."

1. Why did Jesus come?

In answering the question "why did Jesus come", we can very simply answer that Jesus came into the world because God loves us. Now, does it say that God loved only certain people or does it say that God loved the world? We see clearly that God loved the world, meaning the people of the world. This includes you and I!

If we look at the next verse (John 3:17), we see that the Son did not come into the world to condemn it, but to save it. This is why we call Him a Saviour, because He came to seek and to save the lost. He came to save you and I. Jesus did not come into the world to condemn us but so that we might be saved.

2. To Save from Physical Death.

Now the question may be asked, "what did Jesus come to save us from?" Did He come to save us from physical death? Indeed, for the scriptures say,"... this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40).

In addition, we believe in a resurrection of all men, both the just and the unjust.

3. To Save From The Second Death.

Yet some will be raised to eternal life and others will be raised to everlasting shame. ( Daniel 12:2, John 5:28-29 ). Those who receive the salvation of Christ will be raised to life eternal, and those that reject Christ will be raised to everlasting shame.

John calls this "everlasting shame" the second death in Revelation 21:8 - "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death..." So we see that we need to be saved not only from physical death but also from the second death. Jesus has come to save us from the second death as well!

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death." Revelation 2:11

4. The Resurrection of the just

In John 20:4-5, we see that all who believe will escape the second death because they will participate in the first resurrection- also called the "resurrection of the just". (Revelation 14:14) Now who are the overcomers and who are the just? The apostles Paul and John describe them in the exact same way...

1 John 5:4-5- For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Romans 1: 17- "...as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Therefore, we see that those who are justified, ( forgiven and declared righteous) by faith and who overcome the world, ( and flesh, and sin, and the devil ) through faith in Christ will not experience the second death, but will participate in the first resurrection- the resurrection of the just. How great is God's Grace!

5. To Save Us From Spiritual Death.

In the scriptures, we see yet a third type of death, for when God spoke to Adam, he said, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." ( Genesis 2:17 ) YET, if you continue to read Genesis from this point, you will see that Adam did eat of the forbidden fruit, yet he did not die that exact day. In fact, he died hundreds of years later. So does this mean that God was lying when He said, " the day you eat of it you will surely die?" Of course not, for there is yet another death. There is also a spiritual death.

The very day that Adam ate the forbidden fruit he died spiritually. This was demonstrated by the fact that afterwards he hid from God. Besides this, we find that physical death was merely a result of Adam's spiritual death, for the scriptures say..."Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" ,Therefore the LORD God sent him forthfrom the garden of Eden, - Genesis 3:22-23. Man was expelled from the garden and access to the tree of life.

We also find that because of Adam's sin, all men who are apart from Christ are already dead spiritually. Paul describes this condition in Romans 3:10-18 and Ephesians 1:1-5

6. The Three Deaths.

In summary, we see three deaths:

a. The physical death when our spirit is separated from our body.

b. Spiritual death also known as both seperation from God and "depravity", that is man's natural inability to please God apart from faith in Christ and His Work (Death, resurrection, ascension, etc.)

c. The second death, when those who die in their separation will be eternally seperated from God.

7. The Saviour.

So the wages of sin is death, but Jesus came to offer His body as a sacrifice for our sins so that we may be forgiven, cleansed,restored to fellowship with God, and even be set free from the very bondage of our sins.

Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin... Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed...( John 8:34; 36 )

So when we boil it all down, the real reason Jesus came was to save us from our sins. He came to save us from the penalty, pollution,presence, and power of sin. This we see clearly in Matthew 1:20-21.

"Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

(To Be Continued )
 
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