February 6 – LD 6, Day 2: Only God Can Atone for Sin

I Peter 3:18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”

The catechism here asserts that the Mediator must in one Person be very God. The reason for this is that by His Godhead, he sustains His human nature to enable it to bear the wrath of God and also by that same Godhead, be able to save the sinner and restore him to righteousness and life.

The mediator must be personally God for two reasons.  Here we consider the first.

He must bear the suffering of the pain of hell and make an end to that by satisfying God. The Bible teaches that the guilty sinner is cast into hell to remain there forever. The penalty for sin is everlasting hell because it is against “the most-high majesty of God.” To deliver the sinner from this suffering, the mediator must be able to take the place of the sinner and take that EVERLASTING wrath of God upon himself and bring it to a close because God accepts his suffering as payment.

How can anyone bear such terrible suffering?  No mere human being can do that. Such a man would succumb to such suffering, he would die of shock. The qualification of our mediator is that he must be both God and man in order that his divinity might strengthen his humanity to bear God’s just wrath against sin and satisfy God.

How can such suffering have “everlasting” value? We know that Jesus suffered the pains of hell while he was on the cross during the three hours of darkness. That suffering had everlasting value because Jesus was truly God.

The text quoted above expresses it well, “Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being PUT TO DEATH IN THE FLESH BUT QUICKENED BY THE SPIRIT.” To be “just”, he could not be the product of Adam’s human race. He had to come down from the Father, very God, and take on human flesh.

In that flesh, he was able to suffer hellish wrath, bear it, and bring it to an end.

Our Mediator meets the qualifications; He is a righteous man and Personally God.

He made atonement for our sins.

Put your trust in Him alone.