Loved Us And Given Himself

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.  

Ephesians 5:1-2 

‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’ These words from the children’s song are both simple in their expression of faith and profound in their grasp of the revelation of the love of Christ in the Scriptures. All the Scriptures bear witness to the love of Christ for us and His willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice in order that we might be brought to God and accepted by Him. The account of the sin of our first parents ends with the first declaration of Christ’s sacrifice, ‘And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.’ There, the pre-incarnate Christ is preaching of Himself to the person least likely to be saved, Satan himself. This is the first of a veritable host of prophecies, types, shadows and pictures which occur throughout the Old Testament all of which point us to the atoning sacrifice of Christ. The New Testament tells the story of HIs life, His sacrificial death and His resurrection. It explains in great detail the ramifications of His sacrifice all the way to the end of the world. Our blessed personal experience is that this sacrifice was for us. ‘Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us.’ When we speak of Him, we must again and again come to His work on our behalf. This means He is, for us, a very personal Savior. 

Our Glorious, Living Savior, 
we rejoice that You have loved us with an everlasting love. 
We praise You that have shown us Your love,  
and have sacrificed Yourself for us. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning