Christ suffered and died for sins once and for all—the innocent for the guilty—to bring you near to God by his body being put to death and by being raised to life by the Spirit.

1 Peter 3:18 

 

To bring you near to God

 

Out of His abundant love, God created human beings and kept them in the most fortunate place, the garden of Eden, and warned them of the tree that might endanger their wellbeing. And gave them authority over everything else. Being seduced by the evil, they both disobeyed God’s law, emphatically, thereby lost union with God and inherited all forms of curse, sickness and other things. 

 

God wasn’t happy about this because He shared His image and His spirit with them to have communion and fellowship with them. It must have made God feel bad, for the way His Plans got damaged, 

 

but then God made another plan, by which He had to send His Son to atone for the sins of the mankind-Adam’s off-springs and the generation so forth, till today and the coming one. That’s what Peter repeatedly saying here.

 

Christ suffered and died for sins, once and for all

—Yes, there was one time penalty, and that was the Precious Blood of Jesus. Only He was able to give. That’s why everyone can be saved believing in this gospel.

 

the innocent for the guilty

—Peter says it again and again, that the Blameless Lamb got slained and His Blood was the price , God gave to redeem the soul of each and every one of us. That much God loves you and I, and everyone around us. 

The purpose is:

 

to bring you near to God

—That is God’s desire. Like a father desires his children to be near, ..God, the Only One who deserves to be called Abba, wants us to be near Him. The cost was too high, 

 

by his body being put to death

—imagine the pain of a father, giving his own son’s  life, to somebody who has offended him… But He went for that, or that far,…That much He loves. 

 

And if persons believe in this love, it is more than worldly romantic or any other kind of love that have been celebrated by literature or entertainment media. It’s beyond our comprehension. 

 

If you sufficiently meditate about this love, it will move you, melt you, capture you, 

 

 and by being raised to life by the Spirit.

—Yes, on the third day, as the Apostles witnessed, Jesus was raised back to life. Romans also had fear, that’s why they kept the company of solders to guard, but God sent His angel to open the tomb and His Spirit raised Jesus back to life. 

 

We believe in a God who is true and living. Right now He is sitting at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, recommending our prayers and petitions. Us, the dear brother. Because He asks us to call His Father, our Father. 

 

May we be grateful for this sacrifice of God, the Father, His Son and Spirit, and live up to Him by being near to God.

 

Abba, Father, Thank You for this greatest love  that we do not have right, or not even we are worthy of. Help us comprehend in true sense the love that You have for each one of us, and come back to You ,as the prodigal son came back to the father, Put to death, along with Christ, all that has to be, and allow the Spirit to raise in us a new life that is devoted to God alone, In Jesus’ Most Powerful Name, Amen.