“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died.” 2 Corinthians 5:14
One of the great proofs of the pride of men is the refusal to first of all recognize that there is a God, a Creator. A second proof is the concept by man that what he thinks rises to the level of God’s thoughts and the knowledge of His ways. This is revealed by what the Lord spoke through Isaiah around 700 B.C. Isaiah wrote: “For My thoughts (those of God) are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Is. 54:8,9) Not only does the Lord by these words declare the difference in depth and height, and distance from the infinitely small thoughts of man as opposed to those of God, but He goes further by revealing that with regard to their nature, the knowledge of the “ways” of God is completely different than those of man, especially since man is fallen, or rather, a sinner by nature. It is concerning this point of sin that great care and attention must be given to understand just how different the holy God, our Creator and Redeemer is by nature, and how contrary man is to that nature. The unbeliever, who does not believe in God, lives in a box of his own devising, limited by his capacity to accumulate thoughts which are the absolute truth or a lie. Man is limited, and ever will be limited in the amount of thoughts he may have, and the capacity to assimilate them. But that which is most alarming concerning man’s limits and capacities, is his nature, and what he will do with his knowledge.
When Adam fell, or rather, sin entered into this world because of Adam’s disobedience to God, man ceased to be by nature, rightly related to God. Instead of being oriented as was the eternal God towards goodness and mercy, that which would dominate man would be “self” awareness, self-centeredness, and thus, self-serving. Man became a prisoner of himself, not knowing that in so doing, he became a prisoner of the enemy of God, Satan, for man had embraced an attitude of rebellion, and independence towards God like that of Satan. Man’s descent towards destruction and death was determined not only by a false hope in his limited understanding, and the worship of knowledge, but by a nature that did not want God, and certainly not to worship Him. In and of himself, there was no hope for man to escape the false worship of himself, and his allegiance to self-will. This would remain as such to this very day, traversing generations and empires. And yet, by the intervention of God, and the revelation of HIs grace and mercy, whose thoughts are not those of men, and whose ways are passed finding out, one Person and one Way would be provided, and this basically for one supreme reason. God loved every man, even though man was by nature His enemy.
When the Apostle Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthian believers, he summed up this matter very clearly. “For the love of Christ compels us…” The love of God for man takes center stage in this great panorama of time nestled in eternity. Specifically, Paul spoke of the love of Christ, that which was revealed during the life of Christ, but also by His death and resurrection. He writes: “…One died for ALL, then all died.” Christ died for all, every man, because all men are sinners. But He died to save man from his sin, and the descent into eternal death and separation from God. He did so, not according to the thoughts and ways of men, but completely above and beyond them. What did God do? He provided the absolute TRUTH in Christ, and the POWER to believe, so that man could become BY FAITH a new creation in Christ.
Dear Father, Fill us with Life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.