CHRIST THE MEDIATOR (PART I) (An Article by Christian Henry) ~ 5/8/25

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” 

(I Timothy 2:5)

“But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” (Hebrews 8:6)

In His eternal purpose, it pleased God to appoint the Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, by the covenant made between them both, to be the Mediator between God and man. He is to serve as the Head and Savior of His Church, the Heir of all things, and the Judge of all the world. To Jesus, the Father gave, from all eternity, a people to be His children. These, in time, would be redeemed (purchased from bondage by the precious blood of Christ), called (the personal and irresistible call of the Shepherd), justified (declared righteous and pardoned in God's sight), sanctified (healed and changed for holiness by His power), and glorified (finally transformed and invested with perfect beauty when exalted to the glory of Heaven) by the Lord Jesus.

The Son of God - the brightness of the Father's glory - is truly and eternally God since He is of the same essence and equal with Him. While He did make the whole world, upholding and governing all things created, He still took man's nature, with all its essential properties and common infirmities, excluding sin. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary so that He was born to a woman from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of Abraham and David, according to the Scriptures. Thus, two whole, perfect, distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion. This is done perfectly, so that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly God and man, yet He is still one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man. “Without conversion” means that Christ's divine nature was not transformed into humanity, but the latter was added to the divine. “Without composition” means the two natures could not have been mixed. “Confusion” did not occur either; in other words, no disorder, contradiction, or incompatibility was involved in this sublime joining of the two natures.

The Lord Jesus willingly undertook the office and duty of mediator and surety, and He could do this because He was made under the law and subject to it. He was the only one who could perfectly fulfill it, and later would undergo the punishment we deserved. He was made sin and a curse for us and endured the greatest possible sorrows in His soul with the most painful sufferings in His body. Jesus was crucified and died, remaining in the state of the dead for a time. However, His body did not undergo any decomposition. On the third day, He rose from the dead with the same body He had suffered and would also ascend into Heaven. He now sits at the right hand of His Father, making intercession for His people, and will return to judge men and angels at the end of the world.

By His perfect obedience and self-sacrifice, which He once offered to God, Jesus fully satisfied God’s justice, procured reconciliation, and purchased an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of Heaven for all those the Father has given to Him. Although Christ did not actually pay the price of redemption until after His incarnation, the benefit arising from His payment was communicated to the elect throughout the ages.