Father's - the Greatest Sacrifice
The Father makes the greatest sacrifice in the Godhead, demonstrating the principle of eternal love and life.
G.W. North emphasizes that while the sacrifice of the Son is monumental, the Father also makes significant sacrifices, as illustrated in the story of Abraham and Isaac. The emotional turmoil experienced by Abraham as he prepared to sacrifice Isaac reflects the profound love and pain of the Father in the Godhead. Ultimately, the narrative reveals that the true essence of sacrifice lies in the voluntary nature of God's love, where the Father is seen as the one who makes the greatest sacrifice by allowing the Son to be slain. This act symbolizes the necessity of death and resurrection for eternal life, highlighting the depth of God's love and the reality of sacrifice within the Trinity.
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Great though this sacrifice of the Son is, it must not be thought that among the persons of the Godhead the Son is the only one who makes sacrifices; the Father makes them also. This ought not to be any surprise to us for it is brought out most poignantly in the saga of ABRAHAM and ISAAC on Moriah. In the end of the drama enacted there, it was not the son who was slain but the ram which was caught by its horns in a thicket. What thoughts and emotions rent the hearts of father and son as they undertook the journey to the mount we are not told. Nevertheless we may well imagine what mental torture wracked the heart of Abraham who faithfully led his son to the slaughter. He fully believed he must slay his son and was purposed to do so.
Therefore, before he reached the mount, in heart he faithfully did it, receiving him back again from the dead as a gift from God.
Undoubtedly the Lord, by this incident, has taught us more of the truth about that loving self-giving and painless sacrifice in God which is hinted at by death. In order to have God's eternal life, man must know death and resurrection, for only resurrection life is eternal life. But Isaac did not die, Abraham did not slay his son; so also is it in the Godhead: the Son never dies, the Father does not slay Him. Abraham and Isaac were stopped short of death -- it only took place in a figure.
So God has demonstrated for all time that with Him all is voluntary and therefore real; by this sacred enactment the principle of eternal love and life has been revealed, and it is the Father who is seen to be the one who makes the greatest sacrifice; it is He who slays the Son.
Sermon Outline
- The Father's Sacrifice
- The Father's Sacrifice in the Godhead
- The Story of Abraham and Isaac
- The Principle of Eternal Love and Life
Key Quotes
“It was not the son who was slain but the ram which was caught by its horns in a thicket.” — G.W. North
“Therefore, before he reached the mount, in heart he faithfully did it, receiving him back again from the dead as a gift from God.” — G.W. North
Application Points
- We must understand the principle of eternal love and life, which is demonstrated through the Father's sacrifice.
- The Father's sacrifice reveals the voluntary nature of God's sacrifice, and the importance of death and resurrection in achieving eternal life.
- We can learn from the story of Abraham and Isaac about the importance of trusting in God's plan and provision.