C.—If ransomed, why do they remain in death, and others die, since Christ has paid the price?

A.—But the price is not yet fully paid. To have a clear understanding of God’s plan, we must recognize the distinction which he makes between the world in general and the Church, or called-out ones of the present time. God loves the world, and has made great and rich provisions, as we have seen, for their coming in his due time, to a condition of perfection and happiness, but, in the meantime, while they are getting their experience with evil, God calls out “a little flock,” to whom he makes “exceeding great and precious promises,” conditioned on their living separate from the balance of the world–“overcoming the world,”–viz.: that they may become “children of God,” “partakers of the divine nature,” the “bride,” and “joint heirs,” with his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (the anointed).

With her Lord, the wife becomes a part of the Christ—the anointed “body.” She now fills up the measure of the afflictions of Christ, which are behind.–Col. 1:24. With him, she bears the cross here and when every member of that body has been made “a living sacrifice,” has crucified the fleshly human nature, then the ATONEMENT sacrifice will be finished, and the bride, being complete, will enter with her Lord into the glory which follows, and share with him in the “joy that was set before him,” and which he set before her–of blessing all the families of the earth, thus completing the AT-ONE-MENT between God and the redeemed race.

And, “as in the first Adam (and Eve—they being counted as one–Gen. 5:2) all die, so in Christ (Jesus and his bride made one–Eph. 2:15) shall all be made alive.” 1 Cor. 15:22. Jesus, the head, atoned for his body, his bride, and his righteousness is imputed to her. Being thus justified and considered holy in God’s sight, she is permitted to have fellowship with him in his sufferings that she may also share with him in his glory.

The Church does not share in the ransom sacrifice in the sense in which they give themselves as the ransom, No! Only the Lord could give the ransom price; he alone supplied all of the ransom merit required for the redemption of the world; however the Church has been invited to share in the sin offering by being joined to Christ, thus made participators in his sacrifice.

The “sin offering” consisted of Jesus’ actual human perfection and the Church’s imputed perfection. Since the sacrifice of the “bullock” was offered by the High Priest as his own sacrifice, she is thus really accepted as perfect “in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6)—a partaker of Jesus’ righteousness. For how else could the sacrifice of the Church be considered “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Rom. 12:1)?

This is all pictured in the Tabernacle types where the “bullock” was first slaughtered and its blood taken into the Most Holy to make atonement for the body, following this, the same thing was done of the “Lord’s goat” representing the sacrifice of the body of Christ. It was not until this second half of the Day of Atonement sacrifices were completed that the High Priest came out and blessed the people.

“Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us (believers), that we should be called the children of God, and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with JESUS CHRIST, our Lord, if so be that we suffer with him.”– Rom. 8:17.

B.–It is very clear to my mind, that a false idea of substitution has obtained among Christian people, from a supposition that it represented God as a vindictive, vengeful tyrant, angry because man had sinned; refusing to show mercy until blood had been shed, and caring not whether it was the blood of the innocent or the guilty, so long as it was blood. I doubt not many Christians have been led to look upon substitution as a God-dishonoring doctrine, even though there are many scriptures which are found difficult to otherwise make use of, as, “He tasted death for every man;” “My flesh I will give for the life of the world;” “Without the shedding of blood (life) there is no remission of sins;” “Redemption through his blood;” “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us;” “We were reconciled to God by the death of his son;” and many other texts to the same effect.

It was not by his leaving the glory which he had, nor by his keeping the law, nor by his being rejected of the Jews, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, nor by his resurrection, nor by work he has since accomplished, but, “by his DEATH that we are reconciled to God.”

I now see him as mankind’s substitute, suffering death, the penalty which the justice of God had inflicted upon us. I can see “the exceeding sinfulness of sin” in God’s sight, the perfection of his justice, and his great wisdom in so arranging it all, that man’s extremity was made the occasion for the manifestation of “the great LOVE wherewith he loved us” when “he gave his only begotten Son,” and “laid upon him the INIQUITY of us all,” as well as the love of Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, (buy back to us all we had lost by iniquity). I feel to exclaim with Paul, “O! The depth of the riches both of the knowledge and wisdom of God.”

We will continue once again with our next post.