Once and For All
Date: November 19, 2014
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. 1 Peter 3:18
Beloved,
My first home was a fixer upper. It needed a lot of work and I needed a lot of help with that work. My father-in-law came up to help one weekend. I was very excited because being trained as an engineer, my father-in-law, was extremely gifted with construction and I was positive that we were going to get a lot of work done on the house. Although my father-in-law is gifted with his hands, he is also incredibly detailed with his work which takes projects longer to complete. I may have been frustration with the amount of work completed that weekend, but the work that was completed only needed to be done once.
Paul writes that God made, “known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:9-10) God’s plan was very detailed. He gradually revealed the progress of redemption throughout the Old Testament, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son (Gal. 4:4). Jesus Christ suffered for sins once and for all. His sacrifice accomplished everything we need for salvation. His once and for all sacrifice has brought the unrighteous through faith in his sacrifice to God. His righteousness is extended to us through faith.
The Lord’s Supper is a time of celebrating that once and for all death on our behalf. Partaking in that sacred meal does not add anything to our salvation, but strengthens our faith and creates a deeper communion with God and his people. As we approach the Lord’s Table, let us remind our hearts that Jesus Christ has brought us to God. He suffered once and for all, the righteous for the unrighteous.
As we gather around our tables this Thanksgiving, let us be thankful that we cannot add anything to the finished work of Christ, but get to eat a spiritual meal of remembrance to encourage our faith and to give us a foretaste of the feast to come.
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