Point 1. (dealt with) The Categories of Spiritual Death.
- Real Spiritual Death. 2. Substitutionary Spiritual Death.
Point 2. The Definition of the Substitutionary Spiritual Death of Jesus Christ Based upon the Original Language.
Point 3. The Difference between Real and Substitutionary Spiritual Death.
Point 4. The Mechanics of the Substitutionary Spiritual Death.
Point 5. Old Testament Analogy of the Efficacious Substitutionary Spiritual Death.
Point 6. The Function of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit during the Substitutionary Spiritual Death.
What was the function of God the Father?
What was the function of God the Holy Spirit?
One member of the Trinity forsook TLJC.
The Other endured with TLJC.
Our Lord’s sacrificial suffering and judgment for our sins is dramatized in a phrase (we studying many times before) which occurs in all three languages of original Scripture.
The prophets spoke God’s Words as they were carried along (or “moved”) by the Holy Spirit.
The prophecies of Scripture are the words of God about the actions of God.
The phrase originates in Psalm 22:1, where it was spoken prophetically of the efficacious sacrifice for sin (Efficacious means that God the Father said TLJC actually died for us in our place as an efficacious substitute – another words – He effected God and He effected our life in a way were we can no longer live in fear of death or the eternal lake of fire… so the phrase here is:)
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
The doubling of the vocative, (for example – when we say -) “My God, My God,” (Eli, Eli) is a Hebrew idiom for intensity.
The highest quality of the person being addressed, (that’s) God the Father.
An “anthro-pathic” way – ascribing to God a human form of emotion or feeling.
The highest quality of the attributes used by that person.
Both vocatives (when He says “My God – My God”) refer only to God the Father.
The repetition of the vocative, which is “My God, My God”, refers to the two attributes of the Father involved in our salvation: the omnipotence of God the Father, by which all our sins were imputed to Christ on the cross, and the justice of God the Father, by which He judged our sins while the still perfect humanity of Christ was bearing them.
Psalm 22:1 (we read) My God, my God, (there’s the repetition of the vocative – “My God, my God” -)why have You forsaken me? Far from my help are the words of my groaning.
In PSA 22:1 – the word “why” is the interrogative Hebrew adverb “lamah” (Spell it – LAMAH – and it doesn’t necessarily mean the word “why” – it means “for what reason”) which literally means “for what reason.”
Matthew 5:48 … be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
It is absolutely impossible for sinful human beings to live up to God’s standard or righteousness in our “own power”. key –
According to the Apostle Paul “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).
This perfect righteousness can only be received as a gift from God through faith in Jesus (Romans 3:23–25).
For that reason, He uttered this phrase on the cross to tell us what occurred.
PSA 22:3 Yet You are holy, (holiness can have nothing to do with sin – Habakik 1:13 says God cannot even look upon sin) You who are enthroned (living upon the throne) upon the praises of Israel.
Israel is God’s national natural people – the church is God’s spiritual people.
The Hebrew phrase (looks like this) “Wa atah qadosh” (spell it – its translated – this is why you forsook me) is translated “because You are holy.”
HAB 1:13 “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You cannot look on wickedness.”
The righteousness of God the Father rejected the sins of the human race.
God’s holiness is made up of His righteousness and His justice.
The justice of God the Father judged all the personal sins of the human race as they were imputed to (TLJC) God the Son.
The Father in His righteousness condemns all of our personal sins.
The Father in His justice judges all of our personal sins.
The answer to the second half of our Lord’s question, “why have You forsaken Me?” is found in one Hebrew word in verse 6, “tolah” (and it is) translated “worm”.
PSA 22:6 But I am a worm, and not a man, A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
Tolah refers to a very unusual worm which was (first) harvested, (and then it was) crushed, (and then after you crushed the worm it was -) put into a very large vat.
In this manner, its blood was used for the purpose of making a crimson dye used to color king’s robes in the ancient world.
He calls Himself a tolah, for the weight of those sins crushed Him as He was being judged for them.
The imputation and judgment of our sins in Christ on the cross by God the Father is analogous to the worm being crushed in a vat, so that its blood can be used for the manufacture of “royal robes”.
Pastor McLaughlin
Point 7 A Fortiori and the Omnipotence of God as it Relates to the Substitutionary Spiritual Death of Jesus Christ.
A fortiori is a Latin prepositional phrase meaning “with stronger reason.”
It is a system of logic related to comparing one thing with another with the greater thing being mentioned first followed by the lesser thing being an absolute fact.
A fortiori compares a first conclusion with a second conclusion, inferring that the first conclusion is more difficult and that the second conclusion is easier.
A simple illustration of the phrase a fortiori is that if you can do a hundred sit-ups, it follows the principle of a fortiori that you can do 10 sit-ups.
An a fortiori in Scripture can generally be recognized by the Greek phrase “polus mallon” translated much more then or much more therefore.
If the omnipotence of God the Father has accomplished the most difficult thing in imputing our sins to the humanity of Christ and judging them.
It follows, a fortiori, that the omnipotence of God can accomplish the least difficult, which is blessings in time and blessings in the eternal state.
If the omnipotence and justice of God the Father did the most difficult thing in all of history in imputing our sins to Christ and judging them on the cross,
It follows, a fortiori, that He can do the least difficult thing, which is to deliver the believer from the Last Judgment.
The a fortiori here says that it is easier for the omnipotence of God the Father to deliver the believer from the Last Judgment than for the omnipotence of God the Father to impute our sins to Christ on the cross and judge them.
The cross was the ultimate manifestation of the omnipotence of God since it included the justice and righteousness of God and His love having to turn upon His Son.
The omnipotence of the Father can do the least difficult thing in the Church Age: deliver the believer from the Last Judgment and provide eternal security and our portfolio of invisible assets.
Rom 5:10 “For if, while we were His enemies [in real spiritual death] we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son [substitutionary spiritual death of Jesus Christ],
much more, having been reconciled [most difficult], we shall be delivered by His life [least difficult].”
It is easier for the OP of God the Father to deliver the believer from the Last Judgment than for the OP of God the Father to reconcile the world to Himself.
- a) It was the omnipotence of God the Father which reconciled us by judging our sins on the cross.
- b) It was the omnipotence of the Lord Jesus Christ that reconciled us by receiving our sins on the cross.
As HEB 9:14 says How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
- c) The Holy Spirit was involved in reconciliation because He empowered Christ to endure and to receive the judgment of every sin.
(1) The OP of the Father in providing us our portfolio of invisible assets.
(2) The OP of the H.S. in providing the divine power for the execution of the PPOG.
It’s called an “experiment” because we don’t know how many believers will actually use the divine power available to them.
Again here is the substitutionary prepositional phrase: huper plus genitive of advantage of pas and ego means “in place of [instead of] all of us.”
“With Him” means with the substitutionary, efficacious atoning work of Christ on the cross.
Because when the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union reached its peak at the cross, our Lord had endurance.
The basis of His endurance was the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit; the same omnipotence of the Holy Spirit we have right now, 1Jo 4:4.
1Jo 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
Running with endurance includes the utilization of both categories of divine power: the OP of God the Father related to our portfolio of invisible assets, and the OP of the Holy Spirit related to our function inside the PPOG.
Our only illustration for this endurance is the humanity of Christ inside the PPOG during the incarnation.
As He was able to endure the judgment of our sins through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, so we have the same power to endure in our advance to maturity.
+H is the ultimate problem solving device; it turns the world upside down.
+H fulfills the mandate to of Heb 13:5 “be content with such things as you have, for He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- Contentment is natural wealth; while luxury can be nothing more then artificial poverty.
- True contentment is the power of going through or getting out of any situation you are in – it doesn’t matter because you are content and you have +H.
- There is no end of lusting and craving for things when you realize that contentment alone is the best way to happiness.
- The contented man can be happy with what appears to be useless.
- Contentment can make work a pleasure.
- Contentment is enough to support your needs.
- Contentment is strength enough to battle with difficulties and overcome them.
- Contentment is having and understanding enough grace to confess your sins and be forgiven.
- Contentment is enough patience to rebound and recover until some good is accomplished.
- Contentment is having enough love to see some good in your neighbor and operate in a love that covers all sin; 1PE 4:8.
1PE 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
Godliness means that you’re in the place where God can train you, that is inside the spiritual life that God has provided.
Having perfect happiness, God then gives us the ultimate in suffering for blessing which is found in the statement that “godliness is a means of great profit.”
A more detailed explanation is given in 2Co 12:10 “Therefore I am well content [that’s the beginning of +H] with weaknesses [providential preventative suffering]: in insults or slanders [people testing],
with distresses or pressures [thought testing] with persecutions [system testing], with difficulties or stresses [disaster testing] on behalf of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
- People testing
2. Thought testing
3. System testing
4. Disaster testing