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For by one offering He hath perfected for
ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the
Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after
that He had said before, This is the
covenant that I will make with them after
those days, saith the Lord, I will put my
laws into their hearts, and in their minds
will I write them; And their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more. Now
where remission of these is, there is no more
offering for sin. (Hebrews 10:14-18)
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Here it says, "For by one offering..." Who is this holy
offering? It's God's only begotten Son, His one and
only Son. It wouldn't have been so precious if God
had had several sons and said to one of them, "I want
you to go into the world and be crucified, but if you
don't go, I'll send one of your brothers." However,
God gave us His only Son. "By one offering He hath
perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
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For God so loved the world, that He gave
His only begotten Son.
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How do you think God must have felt when He
gave the only Son He had? This brings to mind the
time when Abraham took his son, Isaac, to Mount
Moriah. Abraham set out on a journey in order to
offer Isaac as a sacrifice in obedience to God's command,
a command that he had to obey. Abraham
wasn't young and vigorous when this son was born
to him; Isaac was born when Abraham was old and
his wife was already past the age of childbearing.
She would have given up all hope of ever having
any children, so they must have doted on this son
as they were bringing him up. How must Abraham
have felt when God commanded him to offer his
only son as a sacrifice?
As they were on their way to Mount Moriah, Isaac
said to his father,
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Behold, the fire and the wood, but where
is the lamb for the burnt offering?
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Abraham couldn't bring himself to tell his son the
truth, so he said,
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My son, God will provide Himself a lamb
for a burnt offering (Genesis 22:7-8).
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The son simply followed his father. When they arrived
at Mount Moriah, Abraham bound him tightly
on the altar. Then he took out his knife, but just as
he was about to kill his son, God stopped him. It
was clear that Abraham had already offered his son
in his heart, so Isaac was given his life again.
In the same way, God's only Son suffered atrocious
agony and death for the sake of mankind, but it
was God's plan to bring His Son back to life again.
He had to be brought back to life because only then
would we be able to live.
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Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn
of wheat fall into the ground and die, it
abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit. (John 12:24)
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Only through the death of Jesus the "corn of
wheat" could the spirits of many be saved.
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