Why Jesus Came, Part II

Christmas celebrations are largely about family gatherings. We all enjoy being those whom we love the most. So as we think of the story of Jesus’ incarnation we see another reason that God sent his son, his great love for sinners. This is what I John 4:9 tells us. The sending of Jesus into the world by the Father revealed his great love for sinners. The triune God wanted to reconcile himself with sin stained and fallen humanity.

When we look at this verse in its context we see that love is defined by God himself. Love is defined by God’s character in his act of sending his only begotten son for lost sinners. God’s creatures exhibit love and affection but their love only reflects the love that is found in God’s actions. Love is defined by God. Love exists in God. God is the perfection of love.

Some may find these statements to be in opposition to the teaching that God is also just and has promised to punish sinners with eternal death. We must remember that while God is love he is not just love. He has many qualities in perfection which are not in contradiction to each other. God is therefore loving and just, holy and merciful, etc.. We may not be able to reconcile these things in our minds but there is nothing inherently illogical about God being perfectly just and loving. Love does not excuse sin. Love does no wrong. The amazing thing about God’s grace is that he maintains his justice and love towards undeserving sinners. That is why he sent his son, Jesus.

In love Jesus came to reveal the self-sacrificing love of the Father by taking the sinner’s place. Jesus willingly came in love to do all that justice demanded so that sinners could be justified and freed from sin. This is John’s point. The self sacrifice of Jesus demonstrates the perfect love of God. Jesus’ coming is the revelation of perfect love. All real love must reflect that same self-sacrificing love towards others. This is what makes love so powerful. This is what makes the story of Jesus’ incarnation so wonderful.

In the end, the love of God demonstrated through Jesus compels us to love God and others as he has loved us. The love of God in Jesus transforms the sinner and enables him to do what the law requires and what a sin corrupted nature prevented; to love God and to love one’s neighbor. Jesus came to define and demonstrate the perfect love of God. “This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

"Why did Jesus Come?"

I have begun preaching a short topical series on the question, “Why did Jesus come?” Likely you know the answer. Jesus came to save sinners from sin. My goal is to challenge people to consider some more forgotten reasons that God gives us in his Word. We often think Christmas is ultimately about us, that God sent his Son for us. While Jesus Christ did come to save sinners there is more to the story.

The first installment was taken from I John 3:5. Jesus was manifested or revealed to take away our sins. In him there is no sin. So you are saying, “How is this different in what I stated in the paragraph above?”  What John is getting at in this context is that believers ought to live righteously. So often today people think that Jesus has saved them from the result of sin, eternal condemnation, but that it doesn’t go any further. The Apostle John says that salvation from sin should result in a life of purity and no longer living in lawlessness. What John means here is the completeness of the atonement. The word translated “take away” means removal by destroying the power of. So sin isn’t just punished in Jesus but the root of sin, its power in the sinful nature of man is broken and destroyed. I am not talking about perfectionism but rather the idea that a new life principle is at work. Believers are regenerated and enabled to live to God. They are no longer lawless as related to God’s law.

John also is not saying that in Jesus personally there is no sin. The doctrine of the sinlessness of Jesus Christ is essential.  However, he isn’t just speaking of the absence of sin. I think that in this context John means that the believer is “in” Jesus (v 5). He “abides” in him (v 6). John is writing about the believer’s union with Jesus by faith. The effect of this union with Jesus Christ is that Jesus’ mighty moral power is active in the believer by the Holy Spirit. Believers united to Christ have a positive, practical, and perfect obedience in Christ. Think of Ephesians 2:10. Believers are saved by grace through faith for good works. Those works are the believer’s works done by the power of Jesus working through him. In other words, Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to the believer through the instrumentality of faith AND that righteousness is like leaven that is working in and through the believer. He lives a changed life.

This is the fullness of the gospel. Jesus did not come only to die for sinners but to make them righteous before God (2 Corinthians 5:21). The gospel is really about Jesus, not about us.

The next installment will be preached this Sunday, December 22, from I John 4:9. Looking at that verse and its context, can you see another reason that Jesus came? Stay tuned and we’ll see yet more of the story!