The Unsearchable Riches of Christ # 13

According to the Riches of His Grace: Redemption and Wisdom (continued)

We are in these days very much occupied, or shall I say the government is, or perhaps the country is occupied with this matter of capital punishment. A life has been taken, therefore, another life must equalize the situation and put it straight, put it right, the balance of life must be restored. That is the heart of capital punishment as in the Law of Moses - or before the Law of Moses - in the law of the first covenant, "Whosoever taketh man's life, his life shall be taken." The law of capital punishment. Oh why, just for revenge? Just for punishment only? Just for malice? You do that to me, I will do that to you? Is it just that? No, there is a deeper principle illustrated here. So much lie has been taken by the slaying of that man. That Go says, "That has got to be put straight, that has got to be equalized, the balance has got to be restored.' That is the law of capital punishment. And then there is the law of the cities of refuge for the manslayer. A very interesting matter is that of the manslayer, and the cities of refuge provided. Because the manslayer has taken life, and the avenger of blood is on his track to equalize this by taking his life. It is done in order to put it straight, to put it even, to measure everything up again. Of course, that is negative, so far as the Old Testament is concerned. But we have not finished yet. I think that you can see the principle is quite clear. It is just a matter of restoring the balance of things.

Now it is like that through the Old Testament, and it is all a wonderful illustration of great Divine truth. The point is, life has been taken which belongs to God, because He is the Author of Life, it has been taken, and God demands that it be restored, because He is an equal God.

Equality or equity or righteousness, which is a perfect balance of things, belongs to God. And things must be even in God's universe. Things must not be out of order, not out of proportion nor out of measure, but just perfectly even. When we come to the end of redemption, everything will be even because everything will be straightened out. There will be nothing out of balance or out of proportion, but all will be right, and righteousness will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. And no one will have any ground for a quarrel with God. It is just right.

Now this is the point, you see, over this matter of redemption. It is a question of life. There is, in God's order, in God's universe, in God's system of things, a great equalizing principle. You can never be in fellowship with God and be unrighteous in a detail. Your fellowship with God, your oneness with God, is upset, is unbalanced. It is like a dislocation of a limb in the body if there is a point of unrighteousness in life, in business transactions, or in relationships. Well, that is unrighteous. All right, the balance is upset, and God is going to demand that that be straightened out, evened out. Righteousness is a tremendous thing with God, because it just means that God has things balanced, perfectly balanced. Now the focal point then of this, as we have said, is life. Now the Old Testament tells us that the blood is the life.

You and I can never, never straighten this matter out. Man can never put this thing right with God. Man can never give back to God that which has been taken from Him. Therefore, His Own Son took on flesh and blood and Christ's Infinite Blood has atoned for it. You and I have never yet fathomed the depth of the wonder of the Blood of Jesus Christ, it is a term for His life. His infinite Blood is given to God to restore the balance, to make up for what has been lost, and what has been taken from God by ruthless hands, by the murderer himself who has come in. He restores all things to God by His Own designated Infinite Blood, because it has got to be sufficient to meet the demands of an Infinite God on the one side, and of all men on the other side. Yes, it is sufficient, Life has been poured out by Jesus Christ, for God's satisfaction, in order that God shall have all that He has a right to. God's Son has poured out His Life to meet that demand of God in all men from Whom This Life has been taken. The payment is not to satan, but it is to God. It is redemption by His Blood unto God.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 14)