Of the causes of redemption by
christ
John Gill
Secondly, The next thing to be
considered are the causes of redemption; what it springs from, by whom, and by
what means it is obtained; and for what ends and purposes it is wrought out.
1. First, the moving cause of
it, or from whence it springs and flows; and that is, the everlasting love of
God; which, as it is the source and spring of every blessing of grace; as of
election, regeneration, and effectual calling; so of redemption. The gift of
Christ to be the Redeemer of his people flows from this love. Christ was given
to be a Redeemer before he was sent; when he was given for a
covenant to the people he was given in covenant to be the Redeemer of them; and
this gift was the effect of love; to this Christ himself ascribes it; "God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son"; that is, to he
their Redeemer; hence, before he came, Job had knowledge of him as his living
Redeemer; and all the Old Testament saints waited for him as
such. The mission of Christ in the fulness of time, to be the propitiation for
the sins of men, and to redeem them from them, is given as a manifest, clear,
and undoubted instance of his love; "In this was manifested the love of
God", &c. "Herein is
love", &c. #1Jo 4:9,10 and God's not sparing his Son, but delivering
him into the hands of justice and death, to die in the room and stead of
sinners, while they were such, is a full demonstration and
high commendation of his great love unto them, #Ro 5:8. The free grace of God,
for grace, if it is not altogether free is not grace; and which is no other
than unmerited love, clear of all conditions, merit and motives in the creature;
it is at the bottom of our redemption by Christ; for as we are "justified
freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ"; so that redemption that is in and by Christ is of free grace; the
gift of Christ is a free grace gift; his being sent and delivered up to death
are owing to the grace of God; it is "by the grace of God he tasted death
for everyone"; for everyone of the sons of God: and this cannot be
attributed to any merit or desert in those for whom Christ died; since they
were without strength, ungodly wicked sinners, the chief of sinners, and enemies in their minds, by wicked works, #Ro 5:6-8,10.
Mercy, which is no other than the love and grace of God, exercised towards
miserable creatures, gives rise to this blessing of redemption: God first
resolved to have mercy on sinful men; and then determined to redeem and save
them by his Son; and it is through the tender mercy of our God, that Christ,
the dayspring from on high, visited and redeemed his people;
and so performed the mercy promised to men, #Lu 1:68,69,72,78 hence God is said
to save men according to his mercy; and mercy is glorified in their salvation
and redemption by Christ; and they are under obligation to sing of mercy, to
praise the Lord, and give thanks unto him, on account of it, #Tit 3:5 Ps
107:1,2 Ps 136:23,24 it is now, by the love, grace, and mercy of God to sinful men, that his will is determined, and his resolution fixed, to
redeem them; for redemption is according to an eternal purpose he has purposed
in Christ; who was foreordained before the foundation of the world, to redeem
men from a vain conversation, with his precious blood: he was set forth, in the
decrees and purposes of God, to be the propitiation for sin; God appointed him
to be the Redeemer and Saviour; and appointed men, not unto
wrath, which they deserved, but to obtain salvation by him; even the vessels of
mercy afore prepared for glory; and being moved, from his love, grace, and
mercy, within himself, to determine upon the redemption of them, his wisdom was
set to work to find out the best way and method of doing it: upon this a
council was held; God was, in Christ, forming a scheme of
peace, reconciliation, and redemption; in which he has "abounded toward us
in all wisdom and prudence", in fixing upon the most proper person, and
the most proper means, whereby to effect it: and hence the scheme of
redemption, as formed in the eternal mind and council of God, is called
"the manifold wisdom of God", #Eph 1:7,8 3:10. But of the wisdom of
God, as it appears in redemption by Christ, I have more
largely treated when on the attribute of Wisdom. All these workings in the
heart and will of God, issued in a covenant between him and his Son; in which
he proposed to his Son, that he should be the Raiser up, Restorer, and Redeemer
of his people, both among Jews and Gentiles; and to which he agreed, and said,
"Lo, I come to do thy will!" which was no other, than to work out the
redemption of his people, #Isa 49:5,6 Ps 40:7,8. Hence this
covenant is by some called, the covenant of redemption, in which this great
affair was settled and secured. Now upon all this, the love, grace, and mercy
of God, the good will and purpose of his heart, his council and covenant, the
plot of man's redemption is formed; this is the source and spring of it.
2. Secondly, The procuring
cause, or author of redemption, is Christ, the Son of God; he was appointed to
it, and assented to it; was prophesied of as the Redeemer that should come to
Zion; he was sent to redeem them that were under the law; and he has obtained
eternal redemption; and in him believers have it, through his blood, and he is of God made redemption to them.
2a. If it be asked, how Christ
came to be the Redeemer? it may be answered, as the love, grace, and mercy of
God the Father moved him to resolve upon redemption, and appoint his Son, and
call him to this work; so like love, grace, and mercy, wrought
in the heart of the Son of God to accept of this call, and engage in this work;
the love of Christ, which was in his heart from everlasting, and was a love of
complacency and delight; this showed itself in various acts, and especially in
giving himself for his people to redeem them; in giving himself an offering and
a sacrifice for their sins; in laying down his life for them; all which is
frequently ascribed to his love, #Tit 2:14 Eph 5:2,25 #1Jo
3:16 and this love is unmerited, as appears from the characters of the persons
for whom he died, observed before; and so is called the grace of Christ, free
grace, unmoved and unmerited by anything in the creature; and to this is
attributed the whole affair of our redemption and salvation by Christ, #2Co 8:5
pity and compassion in his heart towards his people in their miserable and enthralled state, moved him to undertake and perform the work
of their redemption: "in his love and in his pity he redeemed them",
as he did Israel of old, #Isa 63:9. This love, grace, and mercy, influenced and
engaged him to resolve upon the redemption of them; hence he said, "I will
ransom them, I will redeem them"; as from the grave and death, so from
every other enemy, #Ho 13:14 and as he entered into covenant
engagements with his Father from everlasting, he considered himself as under
obligation to perform this work, and therefore spoke in language which imports
the same; as that he must work the works of him that sent him, of which this is
the principal; that he "ought" to suffer and die as he did; and that
he "must" bring in those the Father gave him, and he undertook for,
and bring them safe to glory.
2b. The fitness of Christ to
be a Redeemer of his people is worthy of notice. As he engaged in it he was
every way fit for it; none so fit as he, none fit for it but himself; no
creature, man or angel: no man, for all have sinned, and so everyone needs a redeemer from sin, and can neither redeem himself nor any
other; nor could an angel redeem any of the sons of men; God has put no trust
of this kind in those his servants the angels, knowing that they were unequal
to it: the angel Jacob speaks of, that redeemed him from all evil, was not a
created but the uncreated angel; the angel and messenger of the covenant, the
Messiah. Now Christ's fitness for the work of redemption lies
in his being God and man in one person. It was the Son of God that was sent to
redeem men, who is of the same nature, and possessed of the same perfections
his divine Father is; the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person; who was in the form of God, and thought it no robbery to be equal to
him: this Son of God is the true God, the great God, and so fit to be the
Redeemer and Saviour of men; and a mighty redeemer he must
be, since he is Jehovah, the Lord of hosts, and therefore equal to such a work
as this, #Ga 4:4 1Jo 5:20 Tit 2:13 Jer 50:34 and he is both God and man; he is
the child born, as man, and the son given, as a divine person; he is Immanuel,
God with us, God in our nature, God manifest in the flesh, and so fit to be a mediator
between God and man; and to be an umpire, a daysman to lay
hands on both; and to do the work required of a redeemer of men, to make
reconciliation for their sins, and to take care of things pertaining to the
glory of God, his justice and holiness. As man he could be made, as he was
made, under the law, and so capable of yielding obedience to it, and of bearing
the penalty of it; which it was necessary he should, as the surety and redeemer
of men; as man, he had blood to shed, with which most
precious blood he could redeem them unto God; had a life to lay down, a
sufficient ransom price for his people, and was capable of suffering and dying
in their room and stead, and so of making full satisfaction for them. As God,
he would be zealously concerned for the glory of the divine perfections, and
secure the honour of them in the redemption wrought out by him;
as such, he could put an infinite virtue into his blood, and make it a full and
adequate price for the purchase of his church, and the redemption of it; as
such, he could support the human nature under the load of sin and of sufferings
for it, and of carrying it through the work, otherwise insupportable; and as
both God and man he had a right to redeem; as Lord of all, he had a right as
well as power to redeem them that were his; and being, as
man, their near kinsman, the right of redemption belonged to him, and therefore
bears the name of Gaol which signifies a redeemer, and a near kinsman; see the
law in #Le 25:47-49 and who so fit to be the redeemer of the church as he who
is her head and her husband?
2c. The
means by which redemption is wrought out by Christ; and that is by his blood,
his life, to which it is often ascribed, #Eph 1:7 1Pe 1:18,19 Re 5:9 this was
shed, and shed freely, for the remission of sins, and for the redemption of
men; had it been shed involuntarily, by accident, or by force, against his
will, it would not have been a proper redemption price, or have answered such
an end; but it was purposely and voluntarily shed, and with
full consent; Christ, as he had the full disposal of his own life, freely gave
his life a ransom price for many; "I lay down my life for the sheep",
says he, as a ransom price for them; "I lay it down of myself", #Mt
20:28 Joh 10:15,18 and the blood that was thus freely shed was the same with
that of those for whom it was shed, which was necessary; not the blood of bulls
and goats, which could not be an adequate price of
redemption, but human blood; Christ partook of the same flesh and blood with
the children for whom he died; only with this difference, it was not tainted
with sin as theirs is; which is another requisite of the ransom price; it must
be the blood of an innocent person, as Christ was: much notice is taken in
scripture of the innocence, holiness, and righteousness of
the Redeemer; that he was holy in his nature, blameless in life, knew no sin,
nor ever committed any; that he, the just and Holy One, suffered for the
unjust; a great emphasis is put upon this, that the price with which men are
redeemed is "the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish
and without spot", #1Pe 1:18,19 for if he had had any sin in him, he could
not have been a redeemer from sin, nor his blood the price
of redemption: and yet more than all this, it is necessary to make this price a
full and adequate one, it must not be the blood of a mere creature, but of one
that is God as well as man, and such is Christ; hence God, who is Christ, is
said to "purchase the church with his own blood"; being God ann man
in one person, this gave his blood a sufficient virtue to make such a purchase;
and a peculiar emphasis is put upon his blood, being the
"blood of" Jesus Christ "the Son of God", which cleanses
from all sin, #Ac 20:28 1Jo 1:7. Now this price is paid into the hands of God,
whose justice is offended, whose law is broken, and who is the lawgiver, that
is able to save and to destroy; and against whom all sin is committed: and who
will not clear the guilty unless his justice is satisfied; for he is the judge
of all the earth, who will do right; wherefore Christ is
said "to redeem" men "unto God by his blood", #Re 5:9. The
price of redemption, which is the blood of Christ, was paid unto God, whereby
redemption from vindictive justice was obtained; it was not paid into the hands
of Satan, or any other enemy that had power over the redeemed; for the power of
Satan was only an usurpation; he had no legal right to hold
them captives; and therefore the delivery of them out of his hand is by power
and not by price: but the justice of God had a legal right to shut them up, and
detain them as prisoners, till satisfaction was given; and therefore redemption
from avenging justice, which is properly the redemption that is by Christ, is
by a price paid to justice for the ransom of them.
3. Thirdly, The final cause,
or causes, or ends, for which redemption was wrought out and obtained by Christ
in this way; and they are these.
3a. That the justice of God
might be satisfied in the salvation of a sinner; that God might
appear to be just, while he is the justifier of him that believes in Jesus; and
be just and faithful in forgiving sins, and cleansing from all unrighteousness;
that the attributes of his justice, holiness, truth, and faithfulness, might be
glorified in the redemption of men, as well as the other perfections of his,
#Ro 3:25,26 1Jo 1:9 Ps 85:10.
3b. That the people of God
might be reconciled unto him, and have peace with him, and joy through
believing in Christ; for the price of redemption being paid for them, and
satisfaction given, they are reconciled to God by the death of his Son; even to
his justice, as they always stood in his love and favour; and peace being made by the blood of Christ on such a footing, they may joy in
God through Christ, by whom they have received the atonement, #Ro 5:10,11.
3c. Another end of redemption
by Christ is, that the redeemed might enjoy the blessing of adoption; for so it
is said, that God sent his Son "to redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons", #Ga 4:4,5 for
though the saints are predestinated to the adoption of children in the purpose
of God from everlasting; and this blessing is provided and secured in the
covenant of grace; yet sin having thrown an obstruction in the way of the
enjoyment of it in their own persons, consistent with the holiness and justice
of God, this is removed by the redemption which is through
Christ; so that they come to receive and enjoy this blessing of grace in
themselves in virtue of their redemption by Christ, and through believing in
him.
3d. The sanctification of
God's elect is another end of redemption by Christ; "who gave
himself for them, that he might redeem them from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people zealous of good works", #Tit 2:14 and again,
Christ is said to love the church, and give himself for it, a ransom price for
it, "that he might sanctify and cleanse it", #Eph 5:25,26 and the
redeemed are said to be redeemed by his blood "from a vain
conversation", #1Pe 1:18 for in consequence of redemption by
Christ, the Spirit of Christ comes as a Spirit of sanctification, and begins
and carries on that work in the souls of God's people; and by applying the
grace and benefit of redemption, lays them under the highest obligation to
holiness of life and conversation; see #Ga 3:14.
3e. In a
word, the end of Christ's redeeming his people is, that they might be freed
from all evil, from every enemy, and all that is hurtful, sin, Satan, the
world, law, hell, and death; and that they might be put into the possession of
every good thing. "Christ has redeemed them from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for them, that the blessing of Abraham", even all the
blessings of the covenant of grace, in which Abraham was
interested, "might come on them through Jesus Christ", #Ga 3:13,14.
3f. And lastly, The
subordinate end of redemption is the everlasting salvation of God's elect, and
their eternal life and happiness; and the ultimate end is the glory of God, of his grace and justice, and of all the perfections of
his nature.