40 Days of Prayer

Christ as Mediator

"This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time." 1Timothy 2:3-6 ESV

"Reconciliation of the warring parties is needed, but this can occur only if God's wrath is somehow absorbed and quenched and man's anti-God heart, which motivates his anti-God life, is somehow changed. In mercy, God the angry Judge sent his Son into the world to bring about the needed reconciliation. It was not that the kindly Son acted to placate his harsh Father; the initiative was the Father's own." J.I. Packer, Concise Theology

Dictionary.com defines a mediator as a person who settles disputes between two parties at "variance." What a lame description of what Christ did for us. Variance makes is sound as if we simply hurt someone's feelings instead of killing the Son of God with our sin. We reject the strong language of this because it causes us to recognize the evil of our hearts and our hostility toward God. (Romans 8:7). I like the way J.I. Packer defines our need for a mediator because we are "at war with God." But through the mediating work of Christ we are at peace with God (Rom. 5). The war is over. Packer goes on to say that Jesus role as mediator is fulfilled in all three roles of prophet, priest, and king. "We who believe are called to understand this and to show ourselves his people by obeying him as our king, trusting him as our priest, and learning from him as our prophet and teacher. To center on Jesus Christ in this way is the hallmark of authentic Christianity" (Concise Theology).

Prayer: Praise God for the gift of His Son. Pray for God to use your story of reconciliation in the lives of others.