A meditation on the last stanza of the hymn “Amazing Love” by Charles Wesley, (the Grand Poobah of all hymn writers, period).
“No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in him, is mine;
alive in him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach th' eternal throne, and claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”
“No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in him, is mine…and clothed in righteousness divine”
A person stands before the throne of God, without hope of justification for their evil actions and thoughts. There is no way any person can, by their own works, effort, striving, tears, or pleading, avoid the just condemnation of God almighty because men are too imperfect and unrighteous. However, there is no condemnation for the person who has put their faith in Jesus Christ. They are forgiven forever, based on the work of Christ on the cross. He has borne the condemnation already for sinners and all that is Jesus, his righteousness, his integrity, and his very life is seen by God as placed upon the person who puts his faith in Christ so there is now nothing for the believer to dread from the judgment of God. (Romans 8:1; Col. 1:22, 2:13-14).
“alive in him, my living Head,”
People apart from Jesus Christ are dead in their sins. Not only are they dead in terms of their guilt before God, but internally, in their spirits, they are dead. A non Christian’s spirit is hostile to God and is bent on evil and sin and is a slave to their nature. However, a Christian is alive in Jesus Christ. He is their life, so that now a believer lives in and through the life that God provides in Christ. They are no longer slaves, to their sinful nature. They have a new identity, master, and resource for living through Jesus by the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 6:8-11; Ephesians 3:4-6; Colossians 3:3-4; Galatians 2:20; Eph. 4:22-24; Gal. 5:16; Romans 6:1-8; Colossians 2:11-13).
“bold I approach the eternal throne, and claim the crown through Christ, my own.”
Men were separated from God because of their sin. Because of God’s holiness, he could not tolerate the sin of man. We see this in Adam and Eve, who were cast out of the holy presence of God after their fall from grace, (which incidentally was only the one sin of eating the forbidden fruit). Moses was unable to enter the promised land because of his disobedience of God. (It was not the only sin Moses committed, to be sure, but it highlights the holy standards of God). All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23), and are separated from God by their sin. Yet in Christ we are brought near to God by the blood of Christ, (Eph. 2:13), and are reconciled to God, (2 Cor. 5:20-21), so that we are have righteousness of God and are called his sons and daughters in Christ!
“Amazing love, how can it be, that thou, My God, shouldst die for me!”
Consider the love of God, that Christ, fully God, the very Son of God, the one who was formed all creation, who upholds all things by the word of his mouth, who called life into being, thought up the idea of DNA, cells, atoms, and complex nerve systems. Christ is the one who created the sun, moon, stars, planets, galaxies, and solar systems. He creates wonderful things like sweet tea, blues music, and indoor plumbing. This Jesus Christ, creator and sustainer of all life, God almighty, chose to come to earth, live as a poor human being with no notoriety, no fame, no worship from others. He humbled himself to suffer the disrespect, dishonor, and persecution from his own creation. He was unjustly accused, tried, and found guilty by those he came to save. He was beaten, whipped, and tortured, dying a death on a cross in the most inglorious fashion. All this was done to save people who did not love, want, pursue, honor, or deserve him. The God of all creation, suffered and died for worthless and wicked human beings. God died. Wrap your mind around that sentence!
This is but a blur of meditation on the amazing grace of God displayed in Jesus Christ. An entire volume could be written just on this one stanza of one hymn by Charles Wesley and I have given it two pages, (double spaced, mind you). Two thoughts on this:
1. Charles Wesley was the MAN in terms of hymn and song writing and there have been few, then or now, who come close to writing with as much depth and power as he did.
2. The grace of God is truly incredible. Indeed, ‘Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”
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