This is a faithful saying
and worthy of all
acceptance,
that Christ Jesus
came into the world
to save sinners,
of whom I am chief.
However, for this reason
I obtained mercy,
that in me first Jesus Christ
might show all longsuffering,
as a pattern to those
who are going to
believe on Him
for everlasting life.
1 Timothy 1:15-16
Why did Jesus Christ come to earth to be incarnate in human flesh, in other words; what was the end intended by the God the Father? Did not the Father have an intention in clothing His Wisdom in flesh? If the Father did not intend for the incarnation to occur, it would not have occurred. God's will is never thwarted, it accomplishes what He has willed and if He does not will a thing to occur; it doesn't. What was accomplished by the incarnation, that which was effectually fulfilled? Those may seem simply questions that can be easily answered. But can they? The Scriptures are clear that Jesus came to save sinners? Right? I will list a few Scriptures that show the intention of the Incarnation: "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost" (Matthew 18:11); "For the Son of Man has come to seed and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10); "For the Son of of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). Paul writing to the Galatians points to this: "who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father" (Galatians 1:4).The opening Scripture can be added that Christ Jesus came for sinners. As I stated the answers to the posed questions are not easily answered as one may think for there are imbedded in those Scriptures questions, such as: Who are the sinners? What is meant by the "world?" to whom is Matthew, Luke, and Paul speaking? Does these Scriptures apply to all people, or just some? It may be discerned avariciously that the will of God, the intention of God, was to send His Son, the Wisdom of God, incarnate into this world to save sinners, and that those who He saves are to be separate from this world as they are His Church: "Husbands, love your wives, just as as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25-27). Jesus Christ is redeeming a special people, those that are called the Church: "Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14). The question of God's intention for Him to Send Jesus Christ is clear, very apparent, not cloud of veiled Doctrine, the design of God His Father was towards whom, - namely, to save us, to deliver us from the evil world, purge and wash us, to make us holy, zealous, fruitful in good works, and to make us acceptable and bring us unto the Father, a place we now have the ability to come: "through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2).
Who are the "us" and the "we" that are determining pronouns? What is meant by the "world?" What is meant by the word "church?" Who makes up the "church?" Did Jesus Christ intend to save the 'whole' world? Was the death of Jesus Christ sufficient for all, but only efficient for some? To answer the first question as to the "us" and the "we" all one must do is read the first verses of the letters that were written and there they will find that the writers are writing to the church, those who God has saved and not to sinners. Therefore, those to whom Jesus came to save and to remove all corruption and bring to God the Father holy are the ones to whom Jesus came to save. As to whether or not Jesus came to save the world we first must understand the Greek word of world, κόσσς, which is used 287 times in the New Testament and has 8 different uses or meanings; rarely is it used to mean the physical world. Christians are not separated from the physical world, they are separated from this evil world, a world controlled by Satan. As to the word we translate; έκκλησία. has a meaning that seems to be lost when we say "church" which conjures up a building, or a group of religious people. This Greek word is a compound word, έκ: from or out of, and κλησίς, a calling, therefore the word means a 'calling out,' combined together the Greeks used this word to stress a group of people called out for a special purpose. From this meaning applied to Christians then the word 'church' means a special people called out for a special purpose, a number of people who profess Jesus Christ as Savior. As to the question whether or not Jesus came to save the 'whole' world, must be answered in the manner: if He came to save the whole world then He failed, or will fail, as there are those who will not be saved: "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15). If God's end in mind using the means of the Incarnation to save the 'whole" world then He must not be able to institute His will, and Jesus' death upon the cross was not sufficient, not effectual for all, and the end desired was a failure, it failed to do what was intended. If we hold to a doctrine that of Universalism, or even a Hypothectical Universalism, which is nothing more than Arminianism, a form of Pelagianism, then we must admit that God is not able to enforce His will, man can refuse God; God is then not sovereign, man is, and this is not what the Scriptures teach. The Bible clearly teaches us the absoluteness of the reality of what Jesus actually did and what the Father wanted Him to accomplish. Jesus Christ is our eternal priest, His oblation, His ascension into heaven for all those that the Father has given to Him is guaranteed in the Covenant of Redemption: "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4).
The works of the
LORD are great,
studied by all who
have pleasure
in them.
Psalm 111:2
Praise the Lord For His Mercy And Grace
Richard L. Crumb
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