Christ's Gift of Himself for Our Redemption

Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity. — Titus ii. 14.

That Jesus Christ is the person here spoken of, is perfectly evident: but what the true character of Jesus Christ is, is a point disputed, and one of unspeakable importance. No greater difference of opinion can exist, than whether our Saviour is a mere man, or the mighty God. As we embrace the one or the other of these opinions, our whole system of doctrines will be modified. Accordingly, it is found, that all who deny the deity of Christ, reject all the fundamental truths of the Christian religion. The divinity of Christ being a fundamental doctrine, we find the proofs of it every where scattered through the Scriptures.

In the context we have a proof of the doctrine of the most convincing kind. In the verse preceding our text, the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, says, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us,1’ &c. Now, the point to be determined is, whether by the terms” the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,” two persons are intended or only one. If the former, then this text furnishes no evidence of our doctrine; but if both appellations belong to one person, then the doctrine of Christ’s supreme Deity is taught in the very strongest terms. In our version, there exists some ambiguity, which does not appear in the original; for according to the established rules of construction in the Greek tongue, where two nouns are connected by a copulative, and the first has the article prefixed, and the other is without it, both must be referred to the same person or thing. That is the fact in this case. Therefore, the Saviour, Jesus Christ, is the great God. Ambiguity would be removed and the true meaning given, if for “and” we substitute “even.” Then it will read, “the great God even our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

And the same doctrine seems to be clearly indicated by comparing the third and fourth verses of the third chapter of this epistle; for in the former, God is called our Saviour, and in the latter, “the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour,” is the form of expression. We can hardly avoid the conclusion, that in both verses, the same person is called Saviour Moreover, the word appearing is never used in reference to the Father, whom no man hath seen or can see, but constantly in relation to the second Person, who was manifest in the flesh.

Having ascertained the character of the person spoken of in our text, we are prepared to consider the gift which he is said to have made, and the end which he had in view in making it: “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity.”

The value of a gift may be estimated by several considerations, to which your attention is earnestly requested.

1. From the dignity of the person by whom it is bestowed. A ring or medal from a king or queen, or from some other royal personage, is appreciated, not so much by the intrinsic value of the gift itself, as by the condescension manifested by an exalted personage towards one in an inferior condition. But what is the disparity between a king and the meanest of his subjects, compared with that which exists between the infinite God and the greatest of his creatures? That this august Being should with any favour regard such creatures as sinners of the human race, is indeed wonderful. As sings the royal Psalmist, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers; the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” A gift from such a Being to such aii unworthy creature, deserves to be appreciated very highly.

2. Another consideration proper to be taken into view, in estimating the value of a gift is, the sacrifice at which it is made; or what it costs the donor. God gave us existence by a single act of his will, by the mere word of his power, and bestows upon us the bounties of his providence, without any sacrifice; for giving does not impoverish him. But in man’s redemption it was necessary that God should give his own Son. It is written, that “He spared not his own Son, but gave him up for us all.” And of the Son it is said, “He loved us, and gave himself for us, an offering and a sweet smelling sacrifice unto God.” No man can give a greater gift than his own life. And this is a gift scarcely to be expected from men. “Scarcely for a righteous man will one die.” But death may be endured in very different circumstances. Sometimes it is honourable, and attended with inconsiderable pain; but the death of Christ was both ignominious and excruciating. He died as a criminal. His death was accursed. He suffered with the vilest malefactors, that the impression might be made on the public mind, that he was of the same character. A seditious murderer was preferred before him. He died on the cross, a kind of punishment inflicted on none but slaves and the vilest malefactors. The sufferings of the Son of God were protracted through many hours, and were endured under cruel mockery from men, and under the frowns of the Almighty Father. Indeed, his whole life was a kind of extended martyrdom, for from the beginning, “He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”

3. Next, let us endeavour to estimate the value of the gift itself. The text says, “He gave himself for us.” This was the greatest gift which could possibly be made: heaven itself could furnish nothing more valuable than the Son of God. And a second gift equal to it could not be made. It is seldom that men in bestowing gifts, are willing to give themselves. This is not a theme for declamation; but rather for devout and silent wonder. Nothing more astonishing can possibly be conceived, than that the prince of life should consent to die for sinners. Angels must have been astounded at the mysterious spectacle. The sun refused to look upon it, and withdrew his rays for several hours at mid-day. The earth trembled, and the rocks were rent, and the veil of the temple, which concealed the most holy place, was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the place which for ages had been too sacred for the eyes of men, was now exposed to the gaze of all. What Christ endured in giving himself for us, no tongue can tell, nor heart conceive.

4. But after all, that which chiefly enhances the value of a gift is the motive which impelled the donor to bestow it.

Now, that motive which above every other, stamps a value on a gift, is love. Love may be truly said to be the most excellent thing in the universe. It is that which gives worth to every thing else. The love of rational creatures toward others is the most valuable thing which they have it in their power to bestow. And the richest possession which any creature is capable of receiving, is the love of God. As God is possessed of infinite excellence, he must be a God of love. God loves all his obedient creatures, and his goodness, which is but another name for his love, renders them happy, according to their respective capacities. Such love as this is continually manifested in all the laws by which the natural world is governed, and particularly by the constitutions of all sensitive beings, and the provision which is made for their comfort. But in the gospel we have a new view of this attribute of the divine nature; it is the love of God to sinners, and the wonderful provision for their redemption.” God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’*

There is something inexplicable in this whole subject. Among men there must be something amiable in the object beloved; but God fixed his love on sinners, in whom there was no good thing. And it could not be merely because they were creatures, for then sinning angels would have been loved as well as men and before them; but they were not. And the same mystery hangs over another part of divine revelation. It is that the love of God is not exercised indiscriminately toward all the human race, but is specially directed to a chosen people, who by nature are no better than others. Much goodness, in the dispensations of Providence, is manifested to the whole human race; but the unspeakable gift of which we have been treating, is intended for the redemption of the elect; on whose behalf the Father and the Son, with the concurrence of the Holy Spirit, entered into a covenant of peace: which covenant is the foundation of the gospel, with all its privileges and ordinances. But if it be inquired, what induced the adorable Trinity to enter into such an engagement, and to devise a plan of redemption for the recovery of the chosen race, no other answer can be given, than that it was love, unparalleled, incomprehensible love! This was the rich and deep fountain from which all spiritual saving blessings flow: “Who loved us, and gave himself for us:” “Not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The wonderful and mysterious nature of this subject should not prevent our frequent meditation on it; nor does its incomprehensible nature hinder, but rather promote our adoration of the Triune Jehovah. The human mind is constituted by the Creator, so as to experience a sublime delight in the contemplation of an infinite object. That which we can clearly comprehend, must appear too small to be an object of worship and adoration. The soul is not satisfied with finite things, it aspires to something higher and nobler. From this we may infer, that the soul of man was formed for the adoration of an infinite Being.

There is a delightful passage in Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians on the incomprehensible nature of the love of Christ. “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length, and depth and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with the fulness of God.” Although the pious soul ardently desires to comprehend this love, yet as it must for ever “pass knowledge,” it would perhaps have been better in our version, to say, “that ye may be able to apprehend;” for the original will bear this translation, and it would remove the appearance of contradiction.

5. The excellency of this gift will also be manifest from the benefit which accompanies it. Man was placed in a very necessitous condition. He had fallen into a state of sin and misery, from which he could not deliver himself; nor was it in the power of any creature to afford him any effectual relief. He was bound by a holy law to suffer a dreadful penalty, which could not be set aside, unless an adequate atonement should be made And even if this penalty were removed, he was rendered incapable of the enjoyment of true happiness, by reason of the inherent disorder of his nature; sin having infected all the faculties of his soul, so that nothing truly good is found in any of the children of Adam, in their natural state.

Men are considered in Holy Scripture, as in bondage, under the slavery of sin, and subject to the tyranny of Satan. From this state of thraldom, they can be delivered only by an almighty Redeemer. But power alone is not adequate to the work of redemption. A price — a ransom sufficient to satisfy divine justice must be paid. Silver and gold, and all earthly treasures avail nothing in the redemption of the soul. Blood must be shed, and life sacrificed. But no blood of lambs and bullocks can answer the purpose; such blood was shed in profusion for many ages, but could not take away the guilt of one sin. It answered to represent, typically, and in lively figure, the atonement necessary, and which God had determined should be made. Neither would the blood of prophets and martyrs serve as an adequate atonement. The blood shed and the life given, must be divine. But how can this be? The eternal Son of God offers himself to be the Redeemer, and to pay the price required. “Lo, I come,” says he, “in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God: by which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” “By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

“Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” He was named Jesus because he should save his people from their sins. “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Salvation from sin is the great object of the sacrifice of the cross. “Without the shedding of blood there was no remission.” The removal of the punishment of sin was the direct object of the sacrifice of Christ, when he gave himself for us, and made his soul an offering for sin. But deliverance from guilt is not the whole of redemption. Sin is not only a crime which exposes to punishment, but a disease which disorders the whole soul, and renders it unfit for the service of God, and entirely incapable of the enjoyment of the happiness of heaven. Redemption, therefore, delivers from the defilement of sin. This is effected by the operation of the Holy Spirit, in the regeneration and sanctification of the soul. This work of renovation is carried on by appropriate means, especially by the word, during the whole period of the Christian’s pilgrimage. And when the soul is separated from the body, and enters into the eternal world, we believe, that it will at once be delivered from all iniquity. Although this renovation was not the direct object of the atonement; yet this sacrifice was necessary to be made, before the Holy Spirit could be sent to renew the depraved nature of man. The relation in which the sinner stood to the law, as a justly condemned criminal, rendered it altogether unsuitable that he should be visited by this divine Agent.

And it may properly be observed here, that as the work of sanctification is carried on by the truth, perceived by the enlightened soul; so, no view of truth is so important and efficacious in producing holy affections in the believer, as the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. It is the wisdom and power of God to every one that believeth.

When the chosen people of God are freed from all their sins, they will be presented by their Redeemer, before the presence of his Father, “without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.” For having begun this good work, he will not abandon it, but will carry it on to the day of redemption. None of those for whom he gave himself can possibly fail of salvation. He is the surety of all such, and bears their names on his breast, as he stands pleading as their Intercessor; for “he is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him; seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” By giving himself unto death, he has paid a sufficient ransom for them, and has redeemed them from all iniquity, and purchased them as a peculiar people for himself. And none shall be able to pluck these redeemed ones from his hand. These are the sheep for whom the great Shepherd laid down his life. But, as the work of sanctification is carried on by the use of means, the active diligence of the soul in the use of them is requisite. The Spirit works by setting the soul to work. We are commanded, therefore, “to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, because God worketh in us both to will and to do, of his own good pleasure.” Hence, the Scriptures are full of earnest exhortations to Christians, to let their light shine; to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit; and to perfect holiness in the fear of God.

The sanctification of his people is the great end of the whole mediatorial scheme. God was able, at once, by his power, to render them perfect in holiness. But it was consistent neither with his justice, his truth, nor his wisdom, to suffer sin to go unpunished. God is known to his intelligent creatures by his acts and dispensations If he were to treat the transgressor as the obedient subject, it might be inferred, that he entertained no abhorrence of iniquity. It was necessary, therefore, that the sinner should not be taken into favour, and renewed again in the image of God, unless a satisfactory atonement was made. For God must show himself just, while he justifies the sinner.

This redemption from all iniquity, is not accomplished suddenly, but for wise reasons, the redeemed soul, after its justification and regeneration, (which two benefits are contemporaneous,) is not taken to heaven at once, but left in this world, exposed to various temptations, and in a state of imperfection, so that no man can truly say, “I am free from all sin.” The inbred corruptions of the heart are permitted to vex the Christian, and sometimes to overcome him. A perpetual conflict is kept up between the flesh and spirit; that is, between the renovated nature, and the remaining corruptions which are opposed to holiness.

But this work, though imperfect in all during this life, yet is progressive. Believers die daily more and more unto sin, and live unto righteousness; Their growth in grace too, is connected with their own diligent efforts. By an increase of knowledge and of faith, they attain to much higher degrees of holiness, than they possessed at the time of their conversion. One reason of this part of the economy of salvation, is, that they who are redeemed from sin, may more thoroughly understand the great evil of sin, and the utter inability of man to extirpate it from his nature; so that he is more and more convinced that his salvation is all of grace. And by being thus left to struggle with evil, he comes to know experimentally, the unchanging love and faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God. In heaven the gratitude of the saints will be greater, in consequence of their severe trials and temptations in their pilgrimage on earth. When they lay aside their clay tabernacles, and are admitted into the presence of their Saviour, they shall be free from all sin. This completion of the work of sanctiflcation is not produced by death, as some seem to suppose, but by the same divine Agent, who commenced the work. Then will the Saviour redeem his chosen people from all iniquity.

This subject furnishes matter for many interesting reflections, a few of which shall now claim our attention.

1. How glorious is redeeming love and saving grace! ft God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” How wonderful, that the great God our Saviour should give himself for us! Angels may well be astonished, and stoop from their exalted thrones to contemplate this grace, so rich and so unsearchable! And what renders this grace the more surprising is, that it passed by sinning angels — beings of a nobler nature than man’s, and was freely extended to our inferior nature. For this discrimination, men have endeavoured to account; but their reasons are futile. It is one of the unsearchable things which are hidden in the depths of the infinite mind of God. The same inscrutable nature belongs to the electing love of God, by which, while one is taken, another is left. “O the depth, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! his ways are past finding out.” The only reason which he assigns for this discrimination is, the “good pleasure of his will.” “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. He has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.” But in all this, God is perfectly just. He will punish no one who does not deserve it. And as a Sovereign, he has a perfect right to do what he will with his own. No sinner has any claim upon his grace, and if he leaves some to their own chosen ways, and renders to them, according to the fruit of their own doings, they have no reason for complaint.

2. The work of redemption is God’s most glorious work. Creation sprung up at the word of his power, but redemption required a sacrifice, the richest and greatest that could be made; a sacrifice which no creature could offer; a ransom not of silver and gold, but of blood — of blood divine. God must become manifest in the flesh. The God-man must make atonement for sin by giving himself — by giving himself to death — to the accursed death of the cross! O what wonders cluster around the cross! God forbid, that we should glory, save in the cross of Christ.

3. The redeemed of the Lord should be careful to carry out the Redeemer’s holy purpose, by departing from all iniquity. God is holy, and they should be holy too. Christ came not to be the minister of sin. His name was called Jesus, because he saves his people from their sins. Until we are delivered from our sins, we are not saved. Vain, therefore, is the dream of the antinomian, that Christ has purchased for him a liberty of sinning; or that he can be saved in his sins. For without holiness none shall see the Lord “And the great God, the Saviour, gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.”

4. As it is impossible for the redeemed to make any adequate return for such a glorious and inestimable gift, our gratitude should be fervent and constant. Gratitude is, therefore, the chief duty of redeemed souls. And this feeling should lead those who have been redeemed at such a price, and by such a sacrifice, to express their sense of obligation in unceasing praises, and in acts of obedience to the will of God. The habitual outgoing of the heart should be, “thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.” We are exhorted evermore to give thanks; and surely there is no subject of thanksgiving comparable to redemption. And the song of praise for redeeming love, which is commenced in the church on earth, will not be terminated at death. No! Then it will be raised to more perfect and elevated strains, when they shall be present with the Lord, and see him in his glory, and when they shall no more see him darkly as through a glass, but “face to face,” “and shall know as they are known.” When all the ransomed children of God, shall be gathered together from every region under heaven, and shall sit down in the kingdom of heaven, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and shall surround the throne of God and the Lamb, their song shall ever be, “To him who loved us,

AND WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD.”