Phil 2:7-8 … made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! And by this, he reconciled to himself all things, and made peace through his blood shed on that cross.
Hmmm, yeah, pretty astonishing stuff. And I don’t mean to detract from the astonishment that all of this brings, but I’m inclined to think that if we really knew God, and I mean “know” him, perhaps there would be little, if any astonishment at all!
1 Pet 1:18-20 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life… but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world…
Rev 13:8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast-- all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
Both of these versus have something very significant in common with each other: each of them state that not only did Christ die, but that he died BEFORE the creation of the world. Whatever does that mean?
Well, you say, that’s easy. It means that his death was purposed before the world was created because God knew that we would sin and the plan for salvation was purposed even before we were made. Yeah! That’s absolutely correct, and maybe that is all the writer had in mind when they penned these particular verses, however, when the entire biblical witness is taken into consideration, we see that this is only part of the truth, something lies behind the purpose! I think it is safe to say that the biblical story assures us that because God is what He is, the cross was inevitable, because it was in his nature and of his character. In the beginning the Father created the human family as a result of sheer holy and joy-filled life. Wanting, for the family, that same holy, joy-filled life with Himself. However, on the understanding that humanity would choose to rebel, he was inevitably moved to redeem it (i.e. us).
His choice to redeem us, that is his free and sovereign choice, arises from the heart and character of a God that is entirely his own choosing. There was, and is no law that commands him then or now, for he is subject to no one or no thing. Because of what he is, and who he is by his eternal choosing, it was inevitable that he would come to our rescue, that he would deliver us, that he would save us.
This is what Peter meant when he stated that Christ was chosen before the foundation of the world; and this is what John meant when he said that Christ was slain before the foundation of the world: chosen and slain before time even began. As stated at the beginning, this is what Paul was talking about in Philippians 2: that in Christ, the Word (the eternal God) became flesh. (John 1:14) While he was in the flesh he did not use his equality with God to his own advantage. In view of how he saw his position in the Godhead he emptied himself (chose incarnation, chose servant hood, chose obedience; even chose death).
When eternal holy love meets sinners own their own turf, that holy love is destined to suffer on their behalf. When we put it like that, it’s as though we are saying that this is God’s fate, it’s not his fate, its his choosing, his decision, his heart! This is what I meant at the beginning when I said that we’d be less astonished if we really knew him, and by that I mean knew him before the creation, for if we did, we’d have known that he was making a cross on which to die. This deed is done because the character of God shown to us through Jesus Christ was eternally present. At the conception of time and creation, it was still present, today it is still present, in Christ we see who God is, and that’s what he’s always been like.
God didn’t change at the cross, he didn’t slum it out with us just to get the job done. This wasn’t a passing mood with God, it wasn’t an act and he didn’t come tip-toeing in to our world in case he was touched or repulsed by our sin. Our sin doesn’t drive him away, it draws him nearer (not that sinning more makes him come to you more- although it kinda does): sin is what caused God to come diving to our aid, he rolled up the sleeves and being knee-deep in our filth he got tore in. The cross isn’t something he steeled himself for, it wasn’t a passing mood with God, it is his unchanging mind toward us and not something outside of his “ordinary mode of life”. The cross wasn’t something that he turned into one supreme effort and then went back a more self-absorbed mode of existence. God didn’t change at the cross, the cross is nothing more than a historical and physical manifestation and revelation of the heart of God! Once you know him, truly know him, you know him forever, for he never changes…
Heb 13:8 [He] is the same yesterday and today and for ever.
Conclusion So, slain before the world began; merely a statement that his death was purposed before the world began? No, more than that, crucified before the creation is another way of saying that it was unavoidable. Not in the way of fate, but in the way of choice, because that is what he’s like, it’s who he is, that’s the outcome of his heart’s burning desire to save us because he loves us.