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Sovereign Grace Doctrines
Concerning 'THE GOSPEL' - JESUS CHRIST
CHRIST TYPIFIED IN THE RAINBOW (2)
GENESIS 9:8-17
GOOD NEWS FROM THE REDEEMER
DANIEL E. PARKS, PASTOR
MARCH 6, 1999 - RADIO MESSAGE #257
Noah and his family found in their ark refuge and salvation from the deluge which destroyed the world of their day (Genesis 6-8). God then promised that He would never again destroy the world with water, and gave the rainbow as the perpetual token of that promise (Genesis 9:8-17). The rainbow is a type of Christ in the following regards. (We here continue where we paused at the end of the preceding message.)
II. Both rainbow and Christ signify that God's justice has been discharged and satisfied. The rainbow does so by its form. This bow has no arrow, because God's justice has been already discharged. And this bow is pointed away from earth, because God's justice against earth's inhabitants has been already satisfied.
The wounds of Christ declare that God's justice has been discharged and satisfied. These wounds are those which He received at His crucifixion in His whip-plowed back, thorn-crowned brow, nail-driven hands and feet, and spear- pierced side. Christ's wounds declare that God's justice against His elect has been discharged (Isaiah 53:4f): He was "stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted" and "wounded for our transgressions." And Christ's wounds declare that God's justice against His elect has been satisfied (Isaiah 53:11): "[God] shall see the travail of [Christ's] soul, and be satisfied." God's elect therefore sing:
Five bleeding wounds He bears, / Received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers, / They strongly plead for me:
Forgive him, O forgive, they cry, / Nor let that ransomed sinner die.
The Father hears Him pray, / His dear anounted One;
He cannot turn away / The presence of His Son:
His spirit answers to the blood, / And tells me I am born of God.
III. Both rainbow and Christ are perpetual reminders of God's covenanted mercy. God ordained the rainbow to be such a reminder (v.16): "The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." If the rainbow is a satisfactory reminder to God, how much more so should it be to us!
Christ also is a perpetual reminder of God's covenanted kindness. His wounds, yet visible to God in heaven, are a constant reminder to God of His covenanted mercy to His elect. This is good news for the redeemed, who need assurance that the sins they commit after trusting in Christ are forgiven by His blood and do not result in the forfeiture of their salvation. Christ is for them a perpetual Advocate before God when they sin (1 John 2:1). And His wounds are a perpetual token of His "blood of sprinkling that speaks" (Hebrews 12:24) and which "cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7: note the present tense in both texts). God is therefore perpetually reminded by Christ's wounds of His covenanted mercy.
IV. Both rainbow and Christ join heaven and earth. The bases of the rainbow on earth and its acme in heaven are inseparably joined by its arc. The rainbow spans the gulf between the God of mercy and the earth, the recipient of His mercy.
Christ is the only Mediator between heaven and earth. The sinfulness of man has resulted in a gulf between himself on earth and God in heaven which neither will bridge. Man is sinful and therefore at "enmity against God" (Romans 8:7), and consequently both unwilling and unable to go to God. God is so holy that He cannot even "behold evil" or "look on wickedness" (Habakkuk 1:13), and consequently will not come to man. But Jesus Christ has in Himself bridged this gulf (2 Timothy 2:5): "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." By virtue of His possession of the divine nature, He is able to take hold of God's hand. And by virtue of His assumption of humanity, yet without sin, He is able to take hold of man's hand. He thereby joins God in heaven and believers on earth. And He alone does so! The gulf between God and man cannot be bridged by the supposed mediation of Mary, baptism, sabbath-keeping, moral reformation, good works, or any other person or thing but Christ alone.
(To be continued.)
Your servant for Jesus' sake.
Address all questions to pastor
Daniel E. Parks (2 Corinthians 4:5) e-mail RedeemerBC@aol.com
Pastor, Redeemer Baptist Church
2801 Cleveland Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40206 / 502.899-9205
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