Better Than Us

"He WAS NOT punished in our place."

HOLINESS IS the most comfortable, rested place to be. It is light, peaceful, and joyful. The church has perceived it as difficult, with continual ablution. Many forms of worship still seen today are Old Covenant with threat of death to enter God’s holy Presence. Jesus tore the veil, making Him easy to find, easy to be near, and a wonderful place to remain. How wide the Father's arms are, how big His smile.

He loves us and has made us holy. He lives with us, amongst unholy things. We cannot make Him unholy. In fact, no sin can affect Him (James 1:13). Think of the story of Job. Satan entered the Presence of God and left it (Job 1:6,12). He accused Job of faithlessness, and God put His foot down, “You will not take His life.” In all that, God was holy, and Satan unable to refuse the bidding to be there. Think also of Moses. He asked to see God and was told not to look upon His face. He saw only God’s back parts (Exodos 33:23). Yet later, he spent 40 days upon the mountain and his face glowed so much afterward that no one could look upon Him (Exodus 34:29).

We are told to “come boldly unto the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).” Grace is how the beauty of God makes our lives just like Him. Holiness is His state of being. Our boldness must be defined by God, though, and not by our human nature. Much is preached and sung of being bold that removes humility and gentleness. Jesus is a gentle Savior, and joyful and at peace. He is holy. He has always been holy. He was the holy Lamb of God, the holy sacrifice for sins. He WAS NOT punished in our place.

This has been said in the church incorrectly. Under the Old Covenant Law, the sacrifice had to be spotless and without blemish. This is why animals were used and human sacrifice forbidden. However, animals are not spirit beings. They had not sinned that they were chosen but show us an example. God required the perfect human sacrifice only of Himself, NOT to take our punishment. He DID NOT punish Himself for our sins. He is holy and cannot NOT be holy. Instead, God used His Spirit as the strength which lifted up and carried off the weight of all sin. Jesus’ body was the spotless body of God the Father. He shed sinless blood, and that blood erased all unholiness from those who will believe it.

“If you had learned to recognize me, you would have learned to recognize my Father too. From now onwards you are to recognize him; you have seen him. At this, Philip said to him, Lord let us see the Father; that is all we ask. What, Philip, Jesus said to him, here am I, who have been all this while in your company; hast thou not learned to recognize me yet?” (John 14:7-9 knox)

We deserved punishment. God lifted it from us. And a holy Savior, the holy Lamb of God, was fully alive in the spirit the second His heart ceased beating. He is the Christ, which means “the Anointed One”, and that anointing is the Holy Spirit, who cannot die nor ever be unholy.

So what happened to sin that He carried away? He dissolved it completely. This is a picture of John’s Revelation. Where some have drawn images of a literal lake of fire, instead, we should see the barest breath of a holy God removing all death and sin forever. There will be no more death. It is swallowed up in Jesus’ victory (1 Corinthians 15:54). Victory. A victorious, holy God entered hell and preached to angels imprisoned there (1 Peter 3:19). A holy, victorious God, led those kept in Paradise up to the wonders of heaven (Luke 23:43;John 14:2). And gives us all we need to live holy, unblemished lives, which is not the boring, austere image many have painted.

I’m telling you the church worships Him. The church doesn’t know Him. We assume most of who He is. We memorize the facts and repeat the stories. Then the supernatural happens amongst a few and we divide. But God is holy, and that should answer everything if we’d see it. Jesus has become the cornerstone that holds up the entire building beneath us or the stone we run into and stumble (1 Peter 2:8). He’s better than us.

“God promised his Son that he would be a chief priest always. And his Son became everything that God wants him to be, completely and for always. The most important thing that we are saying is this: We do have this kind of chief priest. He has sat down at the right side of where God sits as king in heaven. God is the greatest ruler, with all authority.” (Hebrews 7:28-8:1 EasyEnglish)

“And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8)


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com