Introduction: The primary purpose of a carpenter’s hammer is to pound in nails. However, a hammer has many other uses. It can pull nails, drive a chisel, flatten things, smash things, and persuade things. When Christ died on the cross for us, that too had multiple purposes, as we will see in Galatians 1:4.
Transition: By dividing this verse into four sections, we can better grasp what God wants us to learn and apply.
1. Christ’s Action: Christ gave Himself.
a. No one forced Christ to come to this earth.
1) He came out of love. (John 3:16) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“
2) He came willingly. (Philippians 2:7) “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:“
b. No human forced Jesus to die.
1) He surrendered to the Father’s will. (Luke 22:42) “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.“
2) He did not resist the religious leaders’ capture.
3) Pilate did not kill Jesus. (John 19:10-11) “Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.“
4) He lay down his life willingly. (John 10:17-18) “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.“
2. Christ’s Purpose: for our sins
a. Jesus came to die for our sins.
1) The angel told Joseph, (Matthew 1:21) “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.“
2) Paul said, (1 Timothy 1:15) “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.“
b. Christ came to die as our substitute.
1) He took my place. He died on my behalf. He paid my debt.
2) Richard Dehaan notes, “We recognize that His birth was unusual because He was born of a virgin. His life was unique too, for He was the only one who lived without sinning. His death was also unusual. Jesus was not a martyr. He was not the victim of unfortunate circumstances, dying for a worthy cause. Nor did He lay down His life just to set a good example. There’s much more to it than that. The Lord Jesus came into this world to be our Savior!” Richard DeHaan, Our Daily Bread
3. Christ’s Goal: that He might deliver us from this present evil world.
a. It is true that He died to save sinners.
1) On the night Christ was born, the angel told the shepherds, (Luke 2:11) “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.“
2) Jesus said, (Luke 19:10) “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.“
3) (1 Peter 3:18) “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:“
b. However, by dying He did more than this.
1) The word “deliver” in our verse literally means to pluck out. His death made it potential that He might pluck us out of this present evil age. The condition [might] hinges on our repentance and trust in Him.
2) Albert Barnes helpfully states, “It does not mean to take away by death, or to remove to another world, but that he might effect a separation between us and what the apostle calls here, “this present evil world.” The grand purpose was, to rescue sinners from the dominion of this world, and to separate them unto God.”
3) Christ died, not only to save us from hell and give us a home in heaven. He died to deliver you and me from the evils of this world. He died to set us free from the grip of sin in our lives. If sin has a grip on an area of your life, you need to study carefully Romans 6-7. Christ’s death broke the chains of sin that bound us.
4) (Hebrews 9:14) “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?“
5) (Titus 2:14) “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.“
6) (1 Peter 2:24) “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.“
7) It is not God’s will that we continue to be defeated by sin. His death made our victory possible.
Listen! Do not miss this! God is not going to zap you with a sudden victory. The desire to sin is not going to disappear suddenly. Christ broke the chains of sin. However, you must admit your utter inability to defeat sin. You must deliberately turn from sin and depend on Christ. When you do, He will give grace to defeat the sin. It took me a long time to grasp this truth, and I still sometimes struggle to do it.
8) Memorise (1 Corinthians 10:13) “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Quote it often!
9) Christ died for us to pluck us out of the evils that surround us.
4. Christ’s Motive: according to the will of God and our Father.
a. Christ was doing God’s will.
1) He surrendered to the Father’s will in the garden before the cross. We saw this in Luke 22:42 above.
2) On another occasion Jesus said, (John 6:38) “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.“
b. God’s will is that we depend on Him for victory.
1) Christ gave Himself > for our sins > that he might pluck us out of this present evil world > in accord with the will of God.
2) It is God’s will that we remember what Christ did for us on the cross and why He did it. He did it to make us victors. If we will follow the victory steps in James 4:7-10, we can be victors.
3) The death of Christ has the power not only to keep you from hell and give you a home in heaven; it has the power to enable you to live a victorious life in Christ.
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