“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” – Isaiah 53:3-7
LIGHT FOR NOW: Our God is a loving God.
Now, as we proceeded in the course of this study, we’ve come to see and establish clearly that God does not react, He pro-acts. We’ve also seen that before man ever made the choice in Genesis 3 to reject God’s word in Genesis 2, God had already accommodated man’s choice in Genesis 1. He is not responsible for the choice man made in Genesis 3, hence as a loving God, He warned man in Genesis 2:16-17 but since he foreknew that man will reject His word He accommodated that wrong choice of man in Genesis 1. In other words, the solution to man’s problems in Genesis 3 was in Genesis 1. This therefore, shows us that the solution to man’s problem preceded man’s problems. So without doubt, redemption was not a reaction but a pro-action. That said so far, when we now say “Jesus did it all for me” which has been the subject of our discourse, what should come to your mind having known how the bible opens up and the state man found himself in (when he rejects God’s word) which was accommodated in Genesis 1? When we say “Jesus did it all for me”, what should come into our mind in redemption or salvation and by implication the new creation. Also, notice when we say “Jesus did it all for me”, it will also imply that what He did was not for Himself of for His benefit but for us. He wasn’t the one looking for redemption because He Himself is the redeemer; He wasn’t the one looking for salvation because He Himself is the Saviour; He wasn’t the one who was looking for how to be a new creature, the new creature is found in Him. So, when we say “Jesus did it all for me”, it will thus imply that whatsoever He did (which is redemption) will be for another; in place of another. In other words, by saying “Jesus did it all for me”, what comes into our mind is substitution. Jesus thus, will become our substitute and this is what will begin to unfold in our key text (Isaiah 53:3-7) in subsequent studies having done the key foundational analysis in the previous studies up till this point. Glory!
INSTRUCTION: Stay with the written word.
PRAYER: Father I declare that my eyes open up to the revelation of your word, in Jesus Name, Amen.
QUOTE: Redemption plan was not after man sinned or after man was created but redemption plan was the plan before man was even created.
DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: ISAIAH CHAPTER 53; EVENING: 2CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 5
