When
Jesus takes the scroll from his Father’s right hand, the four living creatures
and twenty-four elders fall down in Christ-exulting worship. John watches as
the scene changes from the horrifying sorrow of seeing that there was no one
worthy to take and open the scroll, to the awestruck adoration and appreciation
of the Lamb of God who has so dealt with sin that he has every right to take
the scroll and fulfill all the Father has written.
Today
I was captivated by one phrase the worshipers expressed in their response to Jesus
Christ. They declared, “…and by your blood
you ransomed people for God…”[1]
This connected with my heart in four distinct thoughts that flowed together
as a beautiful four-part harmony.
1. We are FOR God (“…and by your blood you ransomed people FOR God”)
The way God’s adopted children are to think of ourselves as
a people, is as a people “for God”.
It doesn’t matter where we come from, which family of the earth we grew up in,
which language-group we identify with, which people, culture, or ethnic group
we come from, or which nation we live in, we who are the children of God are “for
God”.
As another Scripture says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who
called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”[2]
2. We are
a RANSOMED PEOPLE (“…and by your blood you RANSOMED
PEOPLE for God)
We
are only a people who are safe and secure in God because we were redeemed, or
ransomed. A price was paid for us. Someone had to become the ransom that would
get us out of sin. Sin had taken us hostage, and the ransom price was death.
The only way someone could get us out of our death sentence was to pay our death
sentence. We needed one to die, to ransom us.
As
another Scripture says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify
God in your body.”[3]
3. We are a BLOOD ransomed
people (“…and by your BLOOD you
ransomed people for God)
We
cannot take this lightly, that the ransom price for sin is death. If the wages
of sin is death,[4]
and we have all earned these wages because we all have sinned,[5]
then the only way to get us out of sin is to pay the death ransom. So, we see
that we have one standing before the throne as the Lion of the tribe of Judah,
looking like the Lamb who had been slain, coming to our rescue, because he
ransomed us by his blood.
As
another Scripture says, “…knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from
your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold,
but with the precious blood of Christ,
like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”[6]
4. We are only what we are
as a people for God BY the shedding of Jesus’ blood (“…and BY your blood you ransomed people for God)
All
the things the book of Revelation tells us about who we are to God comes “by” the
blood of Jesus Christ. No blood, no ransom; no ransom, no people; no people, no
“for God”, or God “for” us.
As
another Scripture makes very clear, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for
our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his
wounds we are healed.”[7]
This four-part harmony helped me to appreciate both the
necessity of Jesus’ death, and the certainty of every word on the scroll being
fulfilled according to the will of God. Jesus is worthy to open the scroll and
carry out all that it says. And, he is worthy of all God’s people joining the
twenty-eight worshipers in the same humble and reverential worship in spirit
and in truth.
From my heart,
Monte
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~
Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise
noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible,
English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
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