Are you saying that unless God died for you the sacrifice is not worthy of you? to be despised
Not at all. Again you don't understand the reason for Christ's sacrifice. It has nothing to do with whether or not it is worthy of me, but that it satisfies God's righteous call for judgment. Nothing LESS THAN PERFECTION could satisfy that call. God alone is perfect.
Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Galatians 3:3
It was not the physical (fleshly) death on the cross that was the sacrifice, but those 3 hours of darkness that was the real sacrifice. While the above portion is in reference to the Galatians trying to attain salvation through the law (flesh), the idea of trying to gain salvation through the flesh, is denied on any level. Fleshly sacrifices did not please God:
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
“ Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure. Hebrews 10:4-6
Since such sacrifice could not please God nor satisfy that righteous call for justice, Christ, God's Son (who always was/is/will be; never created = no beginning or end) offered to be a sacrifice for many:
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’” Hebrews 10:7
And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Hebrews 10:11-14
Furthermore, there were countless prophets that had the Spirit of God (else, how could they perform those miracles that they did?), but they were not perfect and holy for a sacrifice of such magnitude. It had nothing to do with desire, for I have no doubt that most, if not all, of the OT prophets would have offered themselves as a sacrifice to save the souls of many. Even looking at John the Baptist:
He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. Luke 1:15 (last part)
If anybody was capable of being such a sacrifice, surely it would John? And yet no, for John, even though he was filled with the Spirit from birth, was not BORN OF THE SPIRIT. Only Jesus can claim that.
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Luke 1:34-35
And being born of God, He was God, for only God can beget God. Remember, God alone is refered to as 'Holy One' (this is seen throughout the OT), yet Jesus was also called 'Holy One'.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
Think about this, how does Christ dying for us allow God to demonstrate His own love toward us?
slappy
