Theme: Chosen for the mission of the Father
Text: Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-43, Matt. 3:13-17
A well planned mission always has a goal and a plan to achieve that goal. For a mission to be successful it must fulfill its desired purpose the correct way. Many people embark on a mission and then allow circumstances to change the intended purpose or the way of achieving it. A failed mission is ending up with something else than what was envisaged or ending up with what was envisaged the wrong way. An ambassador is someone sent on a mission to represent his government in another country. He succeeds in his mission when he focuses on doing the will of the government the prescribed way. An ambassador who fails to fulfill his mission by not listening to and carrying out the will of his government is recalled or dismissed. Choosing a person without the right qualifications for a mission is a recipe for failure and the right person had to be chosen for the mission of the Father.
The goal of the mission of the Father is to restore God’s divine will and purpose for man. The first consequence of sin was the loss of God’s glory and the loss of God’s image and likeness. This immediately led to a breakup of the union between God and man and separation from His presence. Sin cost us our union with God. Man lost the sinless nature that manifested the glory of God and passed his corrupted image and likeness on to his descendants. Man is not a sinner because he sins, he sins because he is a sinner. The mission of the Father is to restore man’s sinless nature and state by restoring total reliance on Him through obedience to His will and purpose. The goal of the mission of the Father is also to restore man’s authority and dominion. This depended on his union with the Father and his sinless nature and state. Man’s authority and dominion is to empower him fulfil God’s will and purpose.
The mission of the Father is to restore God’s image and likeness so that man could fulfil God’s divine will and purpose of ruling the earth. In the dictionary, ‘to restore’ means ‘to bring back to a former or original condition.’ When something is restored in the Scriptures, however, it is always increased, multiplied or improved so that its latter state is significantly better than its original state. Our restoration was a most difficult one and was only possible through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. At His baptism the Father revealed His chosen one. He showed His approval for His sinless life and encouraged Him for the work ahead of Him by calling Him “His beloved Son”. God’s beloved Son became the Son of man that sons of men could become God’s beloved children. If we cannot trust Jesus Christ with our lives, who can we trust?
The qualifications for the mission of the Father were those of a man possessing all the divine qualities God had given the first man Adam. It required a man without the sin nature. The only man without the sin nature is the last Adam, Jesus Christ who was born by the Virgin Mary. According to the Scriptures “The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit”. (1 Cor. 15:45) It required a man without the sin nature who had led a sinless life, God’s intended life for man. Jesus Christ was born without sin and lived a sinless life. “He was tempted in all ways as we were yet He did not sin”. (Heb. 4:15) The qualifications for the mission of the Father required a man who is empowered to exercise God’s given authority. Jesus was empowered by His constant union with the Father. The only time He was separated from the Father was when He became sin with our sin.
God in His infinite wisdom gave all authority and dominion on earth to man and therefore only a human being could accomplish the mission of the Father. Man, however had sinned and “just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. (Rom. 5:12) The only way to pay the penalty for sin was the death of a man without sin “For the wages of sin is death”. (Rom. 6:23) Jesus Christ was the only One who qualified to pay the price for the forgiveness of sin and our eternal redemption. The least we can do is to say thank you and worship Him.
Christ came to live among us to be the perfect sacrifice for sin. He, who was without sin and had never sinned, was made sin with the sin of the whole world, past, present and future to pay the price for our forgiveness. Christ shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin for “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin”. (Hebrews 9:22)
Jesus’ body was broken for our healing for “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed”. (1 Pet. 2:24) Christ shed His blood for the justification of the sinner. It is just-as-if we had never sinned. Christ shed His blood to pay the penalty for sin so that we do not have to bear the Judgement of God. The blood of Christ has not only paid the penalty for sin but has also imputed to us the righteousness of Christ.
Jesus Christ, the righteous Son of God, bore God’s judgment on sin for our redemption. His death established His victory over Satan and sin for “The wages of sin is death”. (Rom. 6:23) Jesus Christ, our Creator, took our place and endured God’s divine judgement on our sin to pay the price for our forgiveness. God poured out His full judgement on sin on Christ over and over again and He absorbed it all till it was finished and He released His Spirit into the Father’s hand. The sacrifice in this case, contrasted with animal sacrifices, was far greater than the judgement on sin. There is therefore no more need for a sacrifice “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified”. (Heb. 10:14)
The penalty for sin has been paid in full and we have eternal redemption. We can rest in the finished work of Christ and come boldly before His presence, justified and righteous.
Jesus Christ has saved and redeemed us from Satan, sin, and death. He has restored to us the image and likeness of God. We are now new creations without the sin nature and empowered to live a sinless life. We have been justified and made righteous and become God’s beloved children. The evidence of Christ’s restoration is manifested in our lives when we do things God’s way, in His power, and in His time. We are to live here on earth as Christ would have done for “as he is so also are we in this world”. (1 John 4:17) We are to make an impact in the world. God’s restoration has made it possible for us to be chosen for the mission of Christ. Jesus says “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you”. (John 20:21) Our mission is the mission of Christ. As Jesus depended totally on the Father to fulfill His mission, so are we to depend totally on Christ to fulfill His mission. Jesus Christ has paid the price for our redemption and restoration. The best way to thank Him is to worship Him and see His mission as our mission. Let us serve God His way and in His power to the praise and glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen!
