One great difference between the God of the Bible and the god of man's religion is that the God of the Bible does not need man's permission, nor does He need man's cooperation to accomplish anything. The Lord Jesus did not ask Lazarus if he desired to come out of his grave; He simply gave him life. The Lord Jesus did not ask Peter's mother if she'd like to be healed of her sickness; instead, He touched her, touch her filth upon Himself, and gave her life. And, even when the Lord Jesus Christ came to the cripple at the pool of Bathesda and asked, "Wilt thou be made whole", He did not ask to get the man's permission (John 5:6). He asked to show you and I that the man's trust had been misdirected. The man answered, "Sir, I have no man…" He had no man to bring him into the water. Yet, Jesus Christ came to show him that without the water, He is God the Healer. And, just as He walked upon the earth, He now sits upon His throne as the Man who brings God to undeserving sinners.
The man didn't need to be brought to a pool; he needed God to come to him in Christ. And Jesus Christ, without man's permission, is God come down to give man life. He did not wait for the man to even understand; He said, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk (John 5:8)."
In these days after Pentecost, there is no healing without understanding. The Holy Spirit functions as the Person of Christ and reveals to our hearts and minds the secret of His authority (John 14:16-18). He, the Spirit of truth, brings us into remembrance of all things and declares that whatsoever Jesus Christ has is given to Him of the Father… and whatsoever the Father has in mercy, love, and kindness, is given to chosen sinners because it belongs to Jesus Christ (John 16:13-15).
Ah, the blessedness, again, of REPRESENTATION. Just as the Father has rejected every sinner in Adam, even so, He has received every sinner in Jesus Christ– "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (I Cor 15:22)." Now, get that– "in Christ shall all be made alive". IN Christ men are blessed because IN Christ God finds sufficient cause for every blessing. In Adam, God sees the bitter scourge of rebellion; IN Christ God sees the blessed fruit of lifelong obedience and substitutionary death. IN Christ God sees no sins, no bitterness, no disobedience, and though His Darling was made to be our sins, He sees no more rebellion. Everything has been sufficiently punished, and even as Jesus Christ is rewarded with exaltation and resurrection from the dead, even so, because of Him, all who believe shall enjoy eternal life.
And, what is this eternal life, but to know Him (John 17:3)? It is to know Him that is from the beginning in the revelation of Jesus Christ… NOT as an impotent god who himself is frustrated by his people's sin, but as a Mighty God, a Just God and a Savior, who gives good things because it pleases Him. The only obligations God has are those that He places upon Himself. Likewise, the only limitations He has are self-appointed. He limited His atonement according to the number of His elect, and He limits His Spirit's irresistible influence to those for whom Christ died. However, He is never limited by the ignorance, sins, or guiltiness of His people.
"Lazarus, come forth! You now believe the gospel and have passed from death unto life." "Crippled sinner, wilt thou be made whole?" You say, "But, Master, no man can help me." Yet, by the authority that God has given Christ, He says, "Arise, take up your bed, and walk."
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