Andrew Gass
09/12/14
“Our Redeemer, the LORD of Hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel.” In Isaiah’s condemnation of Israel’s harlotries against God, the prophet frequently refers back to the Lord as Israel’s ultimate Redeemer. The concept of a redeemer might not be one we are initially familiar with, but the Israelites were well acquainted with the ideas. After the last plague of Egypt, the death of the firstborn, the Lord claimed the Israelite firstborns as His; a rightful price after the Lord had spared the Israelite firstborn from death. In Numbers 3:40-48, however, the Lord redeemed the Levite tribe in exchange for the entirety of Israel’s firstborn – the Levites were the price paid for the debt owed. This is ultimately the idea of redemption: a price paid for a debt owed. It is this redemption that encapsulates the final role in our study of the concept of God. God is the Incarnation of Justice, and this justice demands that a blood price be paid for the rebellion of Sin. Yet God, in His loving kindness, is also the Incarnation of Mercy who sent His Son to die for us so that we could reunite with God in the Light. God as our Savior pays the debt of our transgressions – so that when we face God the Immortal Judge, we will be found worthy and in the Book of Life.
Our sin is, ultimately, a rebellion against God Almighty. Our sins have created a separation between us and God (Isaiah 59:2). A God who is perfect, pure, holy, and righteous altogether cannot abide creations that have rebelled against the Creator in a violation of the natural order (Romans 1:22-23). Therefore God, as righteousness, has to fulfill His role as Justice incarnate (Romans 6:23). Justice demands that the blood price of our sins has to be paid. In the normal situation, God’s justice would demand that we would pay that price of blood with our own death. Yet God’s Justice is tinged and guided by God as Incarnate Mercy. God created and sustained us through His great love, and that love motivated God to send His Son as Savior to redeem us. As the great High Priest, Christ was the perfect sacrifice; offered once for all at the culmination of the ages, and offered by perfect and unsoiled hands, He died on the cross so we could follow His path (Hebrews 7:11-28). God has offered a way for us to be redeemed for our transgressions, and to follow our older brother in the Light (Colossians 2:13-14).
It is through this Mercy that we can stand before God in His final role in our lives: the Eternal Judge (Revelation 20:11-15). God’s Justice demands that there will be a final reckoning. At the end of days, as the earth is consumed in flames (2 Peter 3:10), there will be a judging of all men from all times. Satan and His followers will be defeated in the great battles of Armageddon, and the followers of evil will be cast into the pit of fire. While all men are deserving of the final destruction, God’s Mercy has allowed those who would submit and obey to His Will to be spared their Just punishment. God’s redemption was sent to us so that we could fulfill our ultimate purpose in life: reunion with Him in glory forever (Revelation 22:1-7).
These three facets of God’s character; God the Creator, God the Sustainer, and God the Redeemer are all important characteristics of God the Father. Ultimately, however, the overall concept of God is answered by the three words: God. Is. Love.
It was through God’s overwhelming love for mankind that He created all things – not because He in His omnipotent power needed us (Acts 17:24-25), but because He wished for us to do good on this world in opposition to the Evil One’s lies (Ephesians 2:10, 6:10-18). It is God’s everlasting lovingkindness that moves Him to Sustain His created world – His gentle hand protects His creation and He cares for every soul (Matthew 10:29-31). And it is God’s incomprehensible mercy and grace that assures us of the eternal hereafter; God has promised us a home with Him in the clouds, and He will not fail us (2 Peter 1:4).
God is incomprehensible. Our mortal minds will never fully understand the greatness and majesty of God, nor are we expected to. All we, in our mortal capacities, have to do is obey His great will for us. Keep the faith brethren; our Creator is there to sustain us as we tread the path of His Redemption. Soon, we will be reunited with His Love. Onward Christian soldiers!