God’s gracious purpose and saving work intersected at the cross. There Christ, the one Mediator, gave Himself as a ransom for all, and by this singular act revealed the Father’s tender heart toward the lost. When we are tempted to question whether God cares for us in our weakness, grief, and struggles, we must look again to Calvary and rest in the sure proof of His love. This testimony of grace was meant for all the world to know. Therefore, God commissioned Paul as His chosen instrument to proclaim this gospel of grace to the nations. May we, too, be smooth and unobstructed channels of that same grace, making Christ known to all around us.
Convictions are the roots that hold and steady the tree of compassion. Paul underscores three deep convictions that undergird compassion for the lost: one God, one Mediator, and one Ransom. In this study, we give thoughtful attention to these three biblical truths that move us to pray and labor for the salvation of the lost.
God desires all people to be saved. This fundamental truth about God our Savior had grown dim in the church at Ephesus, and Paul seeks to restore it by calling believers to pray for the lost. Here is where our hearts begin to align with the heart of the God of salvation. As beloved children, we are to share His concern, calling those who are not walking with the Lord to reconciliation with Him and restoration to His paths of righteousness. May God be magnified in us as we move in step with His love for the lost.
Scripture teaches us that every church is a witnessing community of believers who need to make disciples of all nations. Every church has a mission to reach the nations with the Gospel and to announce to every creature that Christ has made redemption through his blood and that by repentance and faith, each can receive the remission of sins and entrance into the kingdom of God.
In redemption, we are graciously enabled to partake of the divine nature (v4). This does not mean we become equal to God, but that we begin to reflect His character through godly living. But which aspects of God’s character are we to imitate? In this final study in theology proper, we explore the difference between God’s communicable attributes—those He enables us to reflect—and His incommunicable attributes, which belong to Him alone as the infinite Creator. Peter reminds us that this transformation is not self-produced, but flows from a true and living knowledge of God through Jesus Christ.