(Continued -Chapter VIII-The Results of Christ's Work)

In a few words let me summarize the results of our Lord's death, burial, and resurrection. In order to do so, I wish to re-quote John 12:24 which reads as follows: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit." The grain of wheat, if left in the garner, remains by itself; but if it is planted, the seed dies and develops. It yields its life to the germ and feeds it. There comes forth a new stem which divides into clusters of stalks, at the top of each of which is the head of grain. In each of these there are a number of individual seeds. Thus the one seed may produce a hundredfold or more, according to the variety of the wheat. The original grain must die and yield up its life in order that it may not remain alone, but that it may produce many more. Our Lord used this as an illustration to show the importance of His dying and the glorious results that would follow. Since He died, gave up His life for us, He has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, as we have seen. He now is in a position to bring forth fruit manifold--without limit.

On this point, again, let us look at I Corinthians 15:45: "So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." Having reached, as the writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 2, the state of perfection (glorification) through suffering, He is now in that condition which is mentioned in the Corinthian passage, a life-giving spirit. He is able now to impart that spiritual life, eternal life, to all who will come to Him and trust Him. His resources, spiritually and otherwise, are unlimited. His power is infinite, and His grace and mercy are boundless. He is in a position "to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Heb.7:25).

He is the one Mediator between the one true and living God and man. This truth is gloriously expressed in the following quotation: "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony to be borne in its own times ..." (I Tim. 2:5,6).

Having completed His work of atonement on earth, the Lord Jesus descended to Hades to release the saved, who had been held as captives there, and brought them forth. In keeping with the ritualism of service carried out by the high priest on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Christ with His blood ascended² to glory, passed through the holy place into the most holy place of the celestial temple and there completed the work of atonement. He is still the minister of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man (Heb. 8:2). He is remaining in the heavenly sanctuary until the time when Israel, having been given the facts concerning her sin of rejecting Him, repents, confesses, repudiates that national crime, and pleads for Him to return. When she in true contrition does this, He will immediately rend the heavens, come down, and bring the long-sought relief and deliverance from her age-old bondage.


Footnotes:

² 50 And he led them out until they were over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass when he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven 52 And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 and were continually in the temple, blessing God (Luke 24:50-53).