“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

It has been said that on resurrection day, the stone that covered Jesus’ tomb was not rolled away to let the resurrected Christ out, but to let the disciples in.

God states the following in First Corinthians.

“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Corinthians 1:21-25.

The disciples certainly testified to the empty tomb. Yet verse 22 above tells us the Jews want a sign (or miracle) and Greeks want wisdom. However, this is merely an excuse for unbelief.

For you see:

“… [Jesus Christ] who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” Romans 4:25.

This particular phrase really speaks of the resurrection of Christ as a sign (to the Jews and to us) that God has accepted the sinless life and sacrificial death of Christ as complete in its scope and perfect in its payment for sin.

And the resurrection of Christ tells me that my acceptance of His sacrifice for my sin is all I need to do, nothing can be added.

Also the resurrection justifies me before men when I give them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and hold up His resurrection as proof of this.

The resurrection of Christ also speaks of another matter that many Christians have real difficulty accepting. That is simply that God loves them unconditionally.

It is true that Christians sing all the Jesus loves me songs, and mouth the Jesus loves you phrases and God is love and Jesus shows it, we know all the catch phrases.

There is a difference though between head knowledge and heart knowledge. I am referring to the latter.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39.

Consider carefully that these verses begin with, “the love of Christ” and end with, “the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Consider also the words in between. There is no power in all of creation that can separate us from the love of God. We are rich, and yet we wander around in rags.

Still these are just words, the love of God the love of Christ. Ultimately, more head knowledge. This is why we are told to meditate on the word of God day and night, to internalize the truth, not just memorize verses.

As you look at the crucifixion of Christ and set that over against the power of God. Then you have to realize that the death of Jesus Christ in such a cruel manner (or at all) was not something that either Christ or God the Father were unable to stop. Especially when you realize what complete control, Jesus had over his environment.

Yet He vested all this control in the Father and did all things that the Father told Him. This is interesting because we do not have any power at all and yet we rarely do much of the Father’s will.

So now we have Jesus, not helpless, but totally obedient to the Father’s will standing before His captors. This is okay because the Father is sovereign. He can rescue the One who always did His will.

The Scriptures tell us that this did not happen. Jesus died because He would not use His power.

Why would Christ put Himself in this creation knowing full well that men would reject torture and murder Him? In other posts we have talked of the omniscience and the power of God. So you know He could not possibly have been blind-sided by this.

Now there are some cases where a preacher or a hymn may portray Christ as a victim. However, He is not a victim in the sense of one who steps off the curb and is hit by a truck. God Himself verified this in Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

“Him [Jesus], being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.” Acts 2:23-24.

It was no accident. In fact, your name and mine came up in eons past as the triune God discussed how salvation would be accomplished.

Bear in mind at this point there was no Devil poking his nose into the conversation. He was never asked for his opinion on anything.

The angel Lucifer, who later rebelled and became the fallen angel Satan, the Devil, had not even been created yet!

Meditate on this; your name was on God’s mind from before time began and figures greatly in His plan.

Whether your life has the power to change history or if it turns to nothing but dust, blowing across a burning desert floor depends on your decision whether or not to choose Jesus Christ as the Savior of your soul.

God knew that man would fall and become enslaved to sin and be eternally separated from a Holy God.

Now the problem with people in the world is that they think that God is up in heaven saying, “Well if they work hard enough and they make it, they make it. If not I will throw them into hell and be done with it. It’s not my problem.”

Even by the world’s standards that would make Him an irresponsible person. No wonder people hate Him. I do not blame them.

However, what if the plan God set into motion before time began was to make us companions to God Himself?

When I say companions, I mean as children are to their parents, not co-equal. Children are not co-equal with their parents. But good parents do everything that is best for their children and children in turn feel secure in their love.

“He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name…” John 1:11-12.

“…that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:7.

Earlier in Ephesians 1:4-6, God confirmed that these things are so.

“…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:4-6.

Born into wrath and completely dead in the world, hell-bound sinners, and yet that is not God’s plan. He holds out His arms to every person ever born and says, you are, “accepted in the Beloved”.

The ransom for our sin was infinite, a price only the infinite God could pay and it was only through the terrors of the cross that it could be done.

The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. You have no hope of coming to God on any other basis. Without it, you will spend eternity without hope and alone.

Some may say that, that is okay but what they do not realize is that we were created to be companions of God. By your own free will, you may separate yourself from Him but the agony of soul will be unbearable and unending.

Does this offend you? Are you offended that God would pull such a dirty trick to design you as His companion?

Would you be offended if you swam to the bottom of a lake and drowned because you felt you should not need to get air.

Would you jump off a cliff unaided and complain when you were killed or maimed at the bottom. No, you were not designed for that, were you?

Does that offend you? Offense does not come when we accept the limitations of our design. We cannot fly and we cannot live without God. And as one author said, “God loved us so much that He would rather die than live without us.”

The Love of God, Part 1 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 12-31-18, updated on 5-2-21.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.