"It is Finished!" What was finished when Christ cried out? We are like blind men fumbling about without using the light that lighteth up the world. What was finished when Christ yielded up His last breath?
Jesus did not come to this Earth only for you and me. Then what else was there? God had a serious problem when Lucifer rebelled. The rebellion began in heaven and it expanded to the Earth. But, it was Satan's plan to conquer the universe. Thus we understand there was a "great controversy" between Christ and Satan that involved the whole creation of God. When Christ cried out "it is finished," to this He was speaking. It was understood by angels that the victory between Christ and Satan had been won. But, the "controversy" remained. Why? Because this Earth is the lesson book for the whole universe. The battle has been won, but the war continues to rage. The victory has been made sure for the universe, but there are many who have yet to win for themselves. And, there are pieces of the puzzle that must be put in place so that all will understand the issue involved and take their stand with Christ for eternity.
To the angels and the unfallen worlds the cry, "It is finished," had a deep significance. It was for them as well as for us that the great work of redemption had been accomplished. They with us share the fruits of Christ's victory.
There was one great issue between Christ and Satan, it is the law of God. Satan told the angels that God's ways were selfish and he had a better way. He attacked the law of God in heaven and on this earth. Who will we choose to follow?
The warfare against God's law, which was begun in heaven, will be continued until the end of time. Every man will be tested. Obedience or disobedience is the question to be decided by the whole world. All will be called to choose between the law of God and the laws of men. Here the dividing line will be drawn. There will be but two classes. Every character will be fully developed; and all will show whether they have chosen the side of loyalty or that of rebellion.
Then the end will come. God will vindicate His law and deliver His people. Satan and all who have joined him in rebellion will be cut off. Sin and sinners will perish, root and branch, (Malachi 4:1),--Satan the root, and his followers the branches. The word will be fulfilled to the prince of evil, "Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; . . . I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. . . . Thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." Then "the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be;" "they shall be as though they had not been." Ezekiel 28:6-19; Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16.
This is not an act of arbitrary power on the part of God. The rejecters of His mercy reap that which they have sown. God is the fountain of life; and when one chooses the service of sin, he separates from God, and thus cuts himself off from life. He is "alienated from the life of God." Christ says, "All they that hate Me love death." Ephesians 4:18; Proverbs 8:36. God gives them existence for a time that they may develop their character and reveal their principles. This accomplished, they receive the results of their own choice. By a life of rebellion, Satan and all who unite with him place themselves so out of harmony with God that His very presence is to them a consuming fire. The glory of Him who is love will destroy them.
Many treat obedience to God's ways as being a light thing, but it is not. When we sin, when we do not walk in the light of God's glory we support the cause of Satan. And, it makes no difference which laws we violate. "To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin." How many pervert this truth to do away with sin? Many even in God's church will treat God's natural laws as something that is not important, that do not have to be obeyed. But, we just read that when we do not do what we know is right, we sin. How important is that sin? Go back to the great controversy. That sin reveals rebellion against God's ways, against God Himself. Then why do we treat this sin so lightly?
Jesus tells us why. It is one thing to sin because we were conceived in sin and need to see our continual need of a Savior before we can overcome the smallest temptation. But, that is not the issue with those who ought to know better. Jesus said "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." Matthew 16:6. When we are surrounded by a world that sins and treat it lightly, when the world comes into God's church and does the same, unless we take heed to the Words of Jesus, we will be leavened by their attitude towards sin. Think about it, why do you think it not an important matter when you sin a "little" sin? Because all around you think it not important and many teach it as if it was true. Many truly believe that we are saved when we sin a known sin. How many do you know that believe and teach that the small sin reveals a separation between man and God?
Every man will be tested. Obedience or disobedience is the question to be decided by the whole world.
Many are confused about this, but in today's reading God attempts to remove the confusion about who is saved and how we are saved. How are we to be saved?
Understanding the character of God, knowing His goodness, Satan chose to follow his own selfish, independent will. This choice was final. There was no more that God could do to save him. But man was deceived; his mind was darkened by Satan's sophistry. The height and depth of the love of God he did not know. For him there was hope in a knowledge of God's love. By beholding His character he might be drawn back to God.
Who is saved? Many will read the first part of what is written here, but stop short of the whole statement. Even if read, they will reject the simple truth that unless we are transformed in character, we are not saved.
The law requires righteousness,--a righteous life, a perfect character; and this man has not to give. He cannot meet the claims of God's holy law. But Christ, coming to the earth as man, lived a holy life, and developed a perfect character. These He offers as a free gift to all who will receive them. His life stands for the life of men. Thus they have remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. More than this, Christ imbues men with the attributes of God. He builds up the human character after the similitude of the divine character, a goodly fabric of spiritual strength and beauty. Thus the very righteousness of the law is fulfilled in the believer in Christ. God can "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Romans 3:26.
God's love has been expressed in His justice no less than in His mercy. Justice is the foundation of His throne, and the fruit of His love. It had been Satan's purpose to divorce mercy from truth and justice. He sought to prove that the righteousness of God's law is an enemy to peace. But Christ shows that in God's plan they are indissolubly joined together; the one cannot exist without the other. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Psalm 85:10.
By His life and His death, Christ proved that God's justice did not destroy His mercy, but that sin could be forgiven, and that the law is righteous, and can be perfectly obeyed.
How many times have you heard from the pulpit, or read from books coming off our presses that the law of God can be "perfectly obeyed?" That Jesus "imbues men with the attributes of God. He builds up the human character after the similitude of the divine character, a goodly fabric of spiritual strength and beauty. Thus the very righteousness of the law is fulfilled in the believer in Christ."
What we are read here is known at imparting the righteousness of Christ to those who are truly converted, fully surrendered to Christ, love Him with the whole heart. The "imputed righteousness" is the first part of the statement where we are told we have not the "perfect righteousness" that the law demands. Thus it is the "imputed righteousness of Christ" that stands in place of our "past sins." And then, again we are told that more than this Christ "imparts" to us, gives to us the perfect character He has developed if we will love Him with the whole heart.
It is true that this perfect character will grow so that we reflect more and more a character like Him who gave all for us. It is perfect at each stage, first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." All by God's grace. All guaranteed to those who will behold Jesus because of what Jesus had accomplished when He cried out "It is finished."