This is a special Good Friday devotion.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:25-27.
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Christ died only for God’s elect, not for everyone in the world.
This is a specific love just for His church. Just as a husband should not love and give himself up for all women, but only his own wife, Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for only His church, not for everyone in the world.
In Christ’s intercessory prayer in John 17:9, we see Christ praying for only those whom God gave Him, not for the world: “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine;”
Christ laid down His life for only His sheep. “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. ” John 10:14-15.
Redemption is always for specific objects that we own, never for everything. For example, when we redeem something from the pawn shop, we do not redeem everything in the store, but we only redeem our specific items that we own and left at the pawn shop as collateral for a loan.
Christ’s death redeemed all of God’s elect, but only them alone, not everyone in the world. Christ’s death did not just possibly took away our sins depending on our alleged free-will to choose Christ nor depending on our alleged free-will whether or not we get and keep faith till our death.
Salvation is not dependent on our sinful flesh, neither by our works nor even by as little as our will.
“He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. …
… What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.” Romans 9:15-16 and 22-24.
Throughout Scripture, we see that “Salvation belongs to the LORD”. Psalm 3:8.
“The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.” Psalm 103:19.
“just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” Ephesians 1:4-7.
Article 8. For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation: that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father; that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death; should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing; and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever. SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby of Canons of Dordt.
“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.” John 6:39.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 