Remember! When I refer to person in the Godhead in any blog, I am referring either to singular person (one-of-three) or to the collective person (three-in-one) of the Triune.
I guess by now, you have recognized the similarity of the American System of Due Process of Law to God’s Process in His System of Justice. Needless to say, since America was founded by faith-based Judeo-Christians, the emergence of law as a system of Due Process is no mystery. Thanks to our founding fathers, the Justice of God governs our way of life, though today, in our own time we are experiencing a great deal of trifling with Due Process. The itemization of such trifling would take a lot more time and attention than I wish to lavish upon such a pursuit in this God-centered web site. And besides, so many others are doing that, and doing it so well. So, dear tour companions, we will move on with this spiritual odyssey.
Dwelling a little further on the relevance of God’s Will and His Justice System, it is obviously worthy to consider the process of forgiveness in the “condemnation versus forgiveness” cluster, as it derives from the Will.
In the Godhead, forgiveness has a judicial framework. It has judicial solutions. Forgiveness is conditional. Forgiveness requires a process with specifics. Forgiveness requires recompense (payment for or compensation for a loss or injury, Encarta). (See Blog #52, 53, 54)
The progression of this operation moves like this:
First, without forgiveness there is only judgment, condemnation and punishment.
With forgiveness, Jesus is our recompense. He is the Father’s solution to the necessity of a huge recompense due to a malicious, greedy entity in order to satisfy his claim of recompense due.
In making this claim, the adversary can, self-righteously (What an irony!), point to the many sins (shortcomings) piled high by humankind (that thus convey humankind into his control) and demand payment (if God desires to gain release of humankind from that control). Because of their shortcomings, humankind became slaves of sin, and the adversary is the father of all sin, and thus the owner of all sinners.
Then Heavenly Father says to the father of all sin (and I am exaggerating for effect here, of course), “Hey, the Godhead will pay the recompense. No matter how it pains me, I’ll pay humankind’s way out of trouble, and I will pay with the life and blood of My only begotten and precious Son. He’s recompense enough for one and all.” And the Son says, “No, Father, you don’t have to take any blame for willing this. I’ll go voluntarily (What a team! What sweet spirits!).”
And the adversary says with glee, “It’s a deal.”
Ahh, but the adversary is not all-knowing as is God. The adversary thinks somewhat in this way (in the mode of C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters), “In the end I’ll still get the sinners. Nothing can fully satisfy God for all this profitable sin I have encouraged. Sacrificing His Son may satisfy me, but it won’t satisfy Him! So, still, He will suffer from messing with me!” And so . . .
Second, by Jesus’ recompense humankind is redeemed. But unknown to the enemy, it is redeemed by the Godhead with conditions.
Redemption is tied first and foremost to Grace (undeserved favor) fulfilled in Christ Jesus, with the price of forgiveness accounted for by the payment (recompense) of the spilt blood of Christ Jesus.
Third, recompense is tied to process: Deserving or not, God Wills to offer unmerited forgiveness to one and all for the recompense paid by Christ Jesus for our failures (John 3:16).
Fourth, even after redemption and salvation in Christ Jesus (alone, John 14:6), God Will require ongoing confession. Those believers who sin again (and God knows this will happen and provides for it) are reminded to regularly confess their failures in the Name of Jesus (claiming the cover of His recompense each time). They are reminded to keep things worked out with God in a step-wise and ongoing manner (1 John 1:9).
Fifth, As we have just seen in blog # 58, there are further conditions:
Justice is designed as an extensive network of accountability. In establishing His rules for accountability, through a network of accountability based on perfect recompense, God guarantees His own satisfaction by the sacrifice of His Son. When Jesus says, “Do not think that I came to destroy the law of the Prophets, I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17),” He meant it.
God is all about love (agape), yes. But God is also all about justice, and really big on recompense (making amends) which is a primary element of forgiveness.
Everything in the Godhead, dear tour companion, intertwines with God’s will for Grace and the absolute reign of Pure Goodness (Psalm 23: 6a, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord . . . Forever.”).
To be continued . . .
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