Out Of The Curse And Into The Blessing

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). 

 * What do we mean when we say, "Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"?

"Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

To understand this description of Christ - "our Passover Lamb", we need to go back to Exodus 12. 

  -  A lamb was to be taken for each household (Exodus 12:3).

  - The lamb was to be "without blemish" (Exodus 12:5).

  - The lamb was to be killed (Exodus 12:6).

  - The blood was to be put on the doorposts of the house (Exodus 12:7).

  - "When I see the blood, I will pass over you" (Exodus 12:13).

Jesus Christ is "the lamb without blemish" (1 Peter 1:19). He is "the Lamb, who was slain" (Revelation 5:12). He is "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

 * What was happening when Jesus Christ died? How are we to understand the death of Jesus Christ?

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit" (Galatians 3:13-14).

Paul teaches us that we must think in terms of curse and blessing. Jesus Christ took upon himself the curse of our sin so that we might receive the blessing of his salvation. We were living under "the curse of the law" (Galatians 3:13). The law had been given by God. The law had been broken by us, The law had been given to us for our blessing. Now, the law highlights our condemnation. Paul puts it like this: "the very commandment which promised life proved to be death to us" (Romans 7:10).

What is Paul saying here? What does he mean, when he speaks of "the curse of the law"? Is he suggesting that the law is no longer the law of God? No! He's not saying anything like this. The law is still God's law. Paul makes this clear when he writes, "The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good" (Romans 7:12). How, then, can he speak of "the curse of the law"?  There is nothing wrong with God's law, but there's a great deal wrong with us. We are sinners who have broken God's law. This is what Paul is saying when he writes, " (Romans 7:11). 

 * We are under "the curse of the law" because of our sin. 

  (a) What has God done about it? - "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Galatians 3:13).

  (b) How did he do this for us? He became a curse for us by being crucified for us - "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree."

  (c) Why did he do this for us? - "that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit."

  (d) How do we receive this blessing, the promise of the Spirit? - "through faith" 

 * "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law." What does this mean? "Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18). The righteous for the unrighteous - In this phrase, we have a great description of the meaning and purpose of Christ's death. He is "the righteous." On our behalf, he took upon himself the penalty for our failure to keep God's law. Why did he do this? - "to bring us to God"