Introduction

The atoning work of Christ brought about a reversal of the alienation of men, which implies, a restoration to a former state. Indeed, many of the things Christ accomplished for us are a restoration but not all are.

As for our alienation, take note that though both Jews and Gentiles were alienated from God, it was really the Gentiles who were alienated. As for the Jews, they had most of the privileges the pre-alienation generations had, but with limitations placed on them through the Law.

As you go through this study, try to see in what ways Gentiles were far away but Jews were near to God and try to understand what diminished the value of the nearness of the Jew.

Things that Jesus Accomplished for Men

The following are some of the things Jesus accomplished for us through his atonement,

1. Reconciliation: Reconciliation to God [2Co 5:18-20]
2. Abolishment of the Law:
   1. The Law was introduced as part of the alienation of men for the Law brought limitations upon the people of God, the Jews. The Law could have been a solution, but its design ensured that it became more of a problem than a solution.
   2. Sin was a problem, whether or not there was a Law, and the Law tried to bring about forgiveness but failed [Heb 9:9; 10:1-4]
   3. The Law offered eternal life [Gal 3:12] but instead, through transgression, strengthened the reign of death which was the result of Adam’s transgression in the Garden of Eden.
   4. Because of transgression, the Law made justification by faith impossible—no one can be justified under the Law
3. Grace, forgiveness of sins:

   Our sins have two major consequences which Christ’s work deals with,

   1. We were alienated from God on account of our sins. Therefore to be reconciled to God, our sins had to be forgiven
   2. God cut off all men from the hope of eternal life on account of our sins.

   The Jews were nearer to God, and on account of the Law had the hope of eternal life for the Law offered them life [Gal 3:12b,21b]. On account of their transgressions [Rom 4:15] of the Law however, they could not be given eternal life [Rom 7:10-11]

4. Reality: Truth [Joh 1:17] as opposed to types and shadows [Col 2:17]
   1. Even before our alienation, we did not have the truth of worship. Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God, this means that they too did not have the truth. The true tabernacle in heaven does not require animal sacrifices [Heb 9:23-24].
5. Peace with God [Col 1:19-20]
6. The Gospel: The preaching of the Gospel [Mat 28:18-20], if God does not send men to preach, there will be no preaching of the Gospel [Rom 10:14]
   1. Before the alienation of men, the gospel was preached for the name of Yahweh was proclaimed [Gen 4:26]
   2. God withdrew the gospel from Gentile nations, letting them go their own way [Act 14:16]
   3. God did not withdraw the Gospel from the Jews. The Jews had the very words of God [Rom 3:1-2], indeed, unlike the Gentiles the Jews had the word of God preached to them [Rom 10:14-18; Heb 4:1-2]
7. Adoption of Sons into God’s Family:
   1. The Jews were part of God’s family, but were not sons, rather they were servants, e.g., Moses [Heb 2:5; Gal 4:1-2]
   2. The Gentiles were not a part of the family of God, they had been cut off
   3. Before the alienation of men, starting with Adam, all men were God’s people and there was no distinction between them
8. The Holy Spirit: The gift and presence of the Holy Spirit
   1. He was present at the very start of creation [Gen 1:2] and continued to be with man; Adam had the Holy Spirit for how else could he have descriptively named the animals since he was not there when they were created? The prophets in Adam’s family, Enoch, Lamech, Noah, etc. also confirm that the Holy Spirit was with men. God withdrew his Spirit from mankind [Gen 6:3] as he later on did from King Saul [1Sa 16:14].
   2. The Jews had the Holy Spirit among them [Isa 65:9-10; Hag 2:5]
   3. The Gentiles of course did not have the Holy Spirit but instead had demons. Nevertheless, alienating men did not mean that the Holy Spirit could not use a person temporarily; Pharaoh was a Gentile, but he received a dream from God concerning a decree He had made; Nebuchadnezzar received dreams from God one, describing all the kingdoms that will exist from his kingdom to the coming of the kingdom of God [Dan 2(:36-45)].

   Jesus said that the bread of the children—the people of God—should not be given to their dogs—the Gentiles and sinners [Mat 15:26] and the gift of the Holy Spirit is part of the children’s bread [Mat 7:9-11 cf. Luk 11:11-13; Act 2:38-39]. This means that those who do not belong to God’s family have no share in the Holy Spirit.

9. The Hope of Eternal Life:
   1. This was always there, though Adam had been cut off from the Tree of Life, there was always a hope among the saints of God that God would one day give them relief from the curse upon the earth [Gen 5:29] and that they would be free from death [Psa 49:7-9,].
   2. This hope was always however tied to service, just as Adam only had this privilege at the beginning because he was employed in the service of God as a gardener. The Law which offers life does so on the condition of faithful obedience [Gal 3:12]and even the New Covenant offers us eternal life only if we will faithfully serve the Lord Jesus Christ [Heb 5:9]. Therefore, men, being cut off from God, meant that they could not serve him and could not reasonably hope for eternal life.
10. Justification by Faith:

    This is always possible as long as men know God and have faith in him, and there is no sin or judgment, such as is upon all men, standing in the way [Rom 4:6-7]

    1. As we can see from the justification of Abraham, justification by faith was possible before alienation. To be justified by faith however, one must have faith which requires the knowledge of God and relationship with Him. Since men were in darkness and were ignorant of God, they couldn’t have had faith and thus could not have been justified by faith.
    2. The Jews had the word of God, but the challenge for them was on one hand, the Law, for it made them transgressors and as transgressors, they could not be justified [Gal 3:]. On the other hand, the influence of the powers of darkness meant that though they were in the light, they were blind to see, though they had and heard and read the word of God, it did not produce the required faith in them because of the influence of Satan [2Co 3:14-15; 4:4].
11. New Covenant:
    1. Men did not have the New Covenant before Christ came
    2. Nevertheless, the most essential part of the New Covenant—we being God’s people and God being our God—is not new but a restoration to what things were.
12. Made Gentiles God’s people:
    1. All men were God’s people before God alienated them preserving only the Jews as such. Through Christ, even the Gentiles can now be God’s people [Eph 2:13]
13. Deliverance from the principalities and powers:
    1. The principalities and powers have always had rule of our world and only in the age to come, the age of the kingdom of God, will this change [Heb 2:5]. The rule of the angelic authorities is because man being mortal, flesh and blood, is lower than angels who are spirits [Heb 2:7a].
       1. The principalities gained direct rule over us when God divided men into nations [Gen 11:7-8; Deu 32:7-9]. This action was well planned, and was not simply left to random forces for exact boundaries were predetermined [Act 17:26], and nations were placed under the ‘sons of God’[Deu 32:9 cf. Dan 10:13,20; 12:1 where angelic princes of Persia, Greece and Israel are mentioned].
       2. The major problem was that, we were by the rejection of God confined to their rule, more or less, forever. The Law is what made our being under their rule permanent [Gal 3:23] because it meant that we could not be glorified due to transgression.
       3. Just as with King Saul [1Sa 16:14], and as Jesus taught [Mat 12:43-45], the vacuum created by the general withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from mankind, was filled up by evil spirits.
14. The hope of glory:
    1. Man would eventually have been glorified. This we know for certain
       1. From the mandate given him to subdue the earth, since it required it (man’s dominion of the world was not to be through science but by the power of the Spirit of God) and
       2. From the fact that Eden was a temple complex indicating that man was to eventually enter God’s Most Holy Place which would have required glory.
    2. Also, God plainly states that we were (originally) created for His glory
       1. Therefore, the hope of glory, which we now have in Christ Jesus, is a restoration of what once was.
15. Intercession
16. Our priesthood
17. Heavenly citizenship