This video is a collaboration between Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty. All timelapses were shot on the Canon 5D Mark II with a variety of Canon L and Zeiss CP.2 Lenses.
Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.
“Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” – Isaiah 53:11
What was God’s intention from all eternity in the atonement? What did He intend for Christ to accomplish by His death on the cross?
Orthodox Christians are not universalists (universalism is the ancient heresy that teaches that all people will eventually be redeemed). Instead, we are particularists, believing that only some (and not all) will be saved. The Bible makes it clear that some people will in fact be lost, ultimately lost, in a place of weeping, darkness and gnashing of teeth. Some people will in fact spend eternity in hell.
Knowing this, all of us as Christians limit the atonement in some sense because we agree that not everyone will be saved by the work of Christ. Amongst particularists then there are two main views; the first being what is called “universal redemption” (the view that Christ died to try to save everybody in human history, past, present and future, though His work by itself did not actually accomplish this unless man does something to cooperate).
JESUS THE PERFECT AND POWERFUL SAVIOR
The second and I believe biblical view is called “particular redemption” (Christ actually propitiated the Father’s wrath for a specific group of people – securing redemption for them and providing even the faith that will call upon Him to save them – Jesus being the author and perfector of our faith. The Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Eph 5:25).
In Matthew 1:21 we have the record of Joseph being told, “you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The question then is, well did Jesus in fact do this? Did He accomplish this? I believe He did. In His work of redemption, Jesus saved God’s people from their sins.
Rev 5:9 says of Christ, “for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…”
Here’s a rather lengthy quote from C. H. Spurgeon on particular redemption:
“The doctrine of Redemption is one of the most important doctrines of the system of faith. A mistake on this point will inevitably lead to a mistake through the entire system of our belief.
Now, you are aware that there are different theories of Redemption. All Christians hold that Christ died to redeem, but all Christians do not teach the same redemption. We differ as to the nature of atonement, and as to the design of redemption. For instance, the Arminian holds that Christ, when he died, did not die with an intent to save any particular person; and they teach that Christ’s death does not in itself secure, beyond doubt, the salvation of any one man living. They believe that Christ died to make the salvation of all men possible, or that by the doing of something else, any man who pleases may attain unto eternal life; consequently, they are obliged to hold that if man’s will would not give way and voluntarily surrender to grace, then Christ’s atonement would be unavailing. They hold that there was no particularity and speciality in the death of Christ. Christ died, according to them, as much for Judas in hell as for Peter who mounted to heaven. They believe that for those who are consigned to eternal fire, there was as true and real a redemption made as for those who now stand before the throne of the Most High.
Now, we believe no such thing. We hold that Christ, when he died, had an object in view, and that object will most assuredly, and beyond a doubt, be accomplished. We measure the design of Christ’s death by the effect of it. If any one asks us, “What did Christ design to do by his death?” we answer that question by asking him another — “What has Christ done, or what will Christ do by his death?” For we declare that the measure of the effect of Christ’s love, is the measure of the design of it. We cannot so belie our reason as to think that the intention of Almighty God could be frustrated, or that the design of so great a thing as the atonement, can by any way whatever, be missed of. We hold — we are not afraid to say what we believe — that Christ came into this world with the intention of saving “a multitude which no man can number;” and we believe that as the result of this, every person for whom he died must, beyond the shadow of a doubt, be cleansed from sin, and stand, washed in blood, before the Father’s throne. We do not believe that Christ made any effectual atonement for those who are for ever damned, we dare not think that the blood of Christ was ever shed with the intention of saving those whom God foreknew never could be saved, and some of whom were even in hell when Christ, according to some men’s account, died to save them.” C. H. Spurgeon – Particular Redemption, 2/28/1858: Spurgeon’s Sermons: Volume 4
SACRIFICE AND INTERCESSION INTIMATELY RELATED
Just as the High Priest made sacrifice and interceded for the people of God, Jesus as the Great High Priest provided a sacrifice that actually atoned for sin (rather than merely making people saveable), and His ministry of intercession was for the same exact group.
In John 17 He makes clear who His intercession is for when He prays,
“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours… Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me… I have guarded them… I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself… I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
In this 12 minute video below, my friend, Dr. James White outlines the main features of the work of Christ as outlined in the book of Hebrews. Enjoy!
Let’s look at the words of Jesus in John chapter 6:
John Chapter 6:
34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
36 “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.
37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”
In this passage of Scripture, Jesus presents the big picture perspective regarding salvation. His words are altogether clear and unmistakable, as He portrays the complete sovereignty of God in salvation. The crowd that was following Jesus “believed” in Him as a miracle worker and as the Messiah. John 6:14 states, “Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
However, Jesus makes it clear that this crowd did not possess true living faith – a faith that saves. They instead possessed a temporary “belief” or affection for Christ, but as the rest of the chapter shows, when Jesus finished preaching this latest message, most in the crowd were no longer following Him. John 6:66 says, “As a result of this (“this” meaning Jesus’ own words) many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
This then is the context. Jesus is addressing this unbelieving crowd and seeks to explain to them why it is they do not believe. Lets allow Jesus to tell the redemption story from His perspective, in His own words.
Jesus starts by saying “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.” If there was ever a claim to true faith, Jesus dismisses that idea out of hand, telling them that they did not in fact believe in Him, and He knew it. He then goes on:
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.”
Each word here is vitally important. As we meditate on these words, we should notice the order Jesus gives us. All that the Father gives to Jesus – every single one of them – will come to Jesus. It is not the coming to Jesus of a certain group of people that prompts God to then give them to the Son. No, according to Jesus, its the other way round. Firstly, the Father gives a group of people to the Son, who will then come to the Son. It is the Father’s giving that takes place before the people’s coming. Jesus teaches us, in verse 37, that there is never the possibility of a single person being given by the Father to the Son who will not come to the Son.
Why do only some come?
If we believe the words of the Master, we would have to say that the answer lies in the Father’s Sovereign choice. The Father does not draw every human being to the Son, and remember He is addressing the crowd that does not believe in Him. It would seem the necessary implication that the reason these people had not believed was because they were not part of the group that the Father had given to the Son. Why? Because Jesus is talking directly to them and telling them they did not believe, and here He is explaining why: All that the Father gives to the Son, come to the Son, and those in this crowd had not come to the Son in true faith.
According to Jesus in John 6:44, no one can come to the Son unless the Father draws them, and all those drawn in this way will be raised up to eternal life. Jesus confirms this in verse 65, saying that no one can come to Him unless it is given to them by the Father.
The Giving and the Coming
Jesus says that all that the Father gives to Him, will come to Him.
Of course, it is imperative that people come to Christ to be saved. But here Christ gives us the insight on why some come and others do not. It is the Father’s gracious act in giving people to the Son that will without question, mean that each of these will come to the Son.
As we move from verse 37 to verse 38, Jesus explains the security of the relationship possessed by those who come to Christ. He says that He will never cast them out. In the original language, the aorist subjunctive of strong denial is used, which makes it clear that it is absolutely impossible for Jesus to reject anyone who comes to Him. He will never do it! There is no one who genuinely comes to Christ who will ever be rejected by Christ.
Why is this the case? Jesus continues, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
So, what exactly is the will of the Father? “That of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”
Jesus’ words are both remarkable and plain. There is no possibility whatsoever that Christ will fail to perform all of His Father’s will. Such a thought is unthinkable. Christ is the obedient Son of His Father, and is also, as God, omnipotent in power, so that no opposition or force could stop Him from achieving His desired goals. There is simply no way at all that the Son will fail to fulfill the will of His Father. This being the case, we have Christ’s own testimony that all those given by the Father to the Son, will without fail come to the Son, and will never be cast out, but raised up at the last day to eternal life.
The Basis
The basis for all this is not found in us at all. Jesus makes this very clear. He gives us a God centered Gospel, and His declarations here leave us in the arms of a Father who chose a people for Himself, and gives them as a gift to the Son. These then will, in time, come to the Son. Our confidence is found in knowing that the Father’s will is that none of those given by Him to the Son be lost.
These clear words give us complete and assured security in the Father (He gives His elect to His Son as a gift) and security in the Son (He will never fail to do His Father’s will). God is the Redeemer. Man is the recipient of the gracious working of God. Man is the object of salvation, but it is God, and God alone who acts to save man. That is the basis of our confidence. Like Paul, we can say, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:6)
How Can We Know If We’re Among The Elect?
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