Perhaps this is an understatement because it is more than implicit throughout Romans (and the NT). For example,

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1 Questions Regarding the Efficacious Death of Christ (Rom ) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella September 10, 2017 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Introduction Today we are going to take another look at Roman where Paul reaches a high point of assurances for comfort in our struggles with sin and suffering. In a very real sense, having reached a plateau, he pauses by asking questions (in v. 31) and directs us to meditate on the wonder of it all, about God (v. 32) who did not spare His own Son, but gave him up for us all. My title last week for these verses was The efficacious death of Christ. I want to discuss this topic again for a number of reasons, but primarily because the work of the cross is central in all of Scripture on God s saving grace, and sadly (remarkably), though mentioned often, teaching on it is sparse, and much confusion abounds. 1 In this text, Paul says, let s pause and consider another reflection from the diamond of redeeming love that has been our theme and shall be until we die. Looking there we discover to our comfort that the death of Christ is efficacious. This means that all for whom God delivered up Jesus to the cross, will certainly receive all things in eternal glory with Christ. Forcefully and concisely: Jesus died for you, therefore, you will arrive safely in eternal glory. My title is questions about the efficacious death of Christ. We will answer two of many: how is efficacious atonement taught in Romans? If efficacious, how then do I apply it? I. How is the doctrine of efficacious atonement taught in Romans? It is explicitly explained in Romans 6 and 8, but it is implicit (present or presupposed) in every text that speaks about the death of Christ. 2 For now, let s consider these two places. A. Romans 6 This chapter presents efficacious atonement in context of union with Christ. All who were united with Him in His death, who were crucified with Him (6.6) when He died were also raised with Him when He arose and shall certainly be united with him in resurrection life (6.5): if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. In the future beyond the cross, the Holy Spirit will raise them to newness of life from spiritual death (6.4, 8.2) and at the consummation He will give life to their mortal bodies (Rom 8.11). Why is both our death with Him and our resurrection with Him described further as death and resurrection like his? It is because He did not die to sin that condemned and enslaved Him but that is what our death with Him involved for He endured our condemnation. Also, His resurrection was bodily and our resurrection with Him in view here in is resurrection from death in sin to newness of life. His death is efficacious for from it flows resurrection power, from it flows the power that raises us from spiritual death and that will eventually transform our very bodies 1 For example, the fact of His substitution is a regular refrain at the same time that its actuality is denied. Teaching is needed on what it means to say that Jesus is our substitute and to say that Jesus died for us. Perhaps this is an understatement because it is more than implicit throughout Romans (and the NT). For example, 2 Paul explains that propitiation by the blood of Christ appeased the wrath of God (3.25) by the paying our sin debt through redemption (3.24). We receive the benefit of the satisfaction Jesus accomplished on the cross by faith, just as we receive the benefit of the payment for our sins in our justification by faith. Simply put, Jesus satisfied the wrath of God against us when He died settling it forever that we would never be punished for our sins; in the course of time, in our lifetime, He is just in declaring us not guilty (3.26) because our liability to punishment was endured by Jesus on the cross. He made the payment for our sins actually not potentially so that God is just when He justifies us by faith. This is the fundamental teaching in every text that speaks of what He did on the cross for us: He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (Rom 4.25), He died for us (as in 5.8), He reconciled us by His death (5.10), and He intercede for us based on His death and resurrection (8.34).

2 !2 (8.11). The newness of life for sanctification will take us to this transformation; therefore, efficacious atonement is a promise of Christian perseverance on the path of holiness. B. Romans 8 The saving death of Christ is here in three ways at least. First, consider the context from In the flow of thought that begins with God s forelove (those He foreknew), the apostle forges an inseparable connection between election (29a) and crucifixion (32). In other words, the work of the cross is another blessing that flows from the fountainhead of foreknowing, distinguishing, electing love. The truth is a remarkable complex: God delivered up His own Son for us (32) to secure our predestined goal of conformity to His image, to insure God s call to bring us to the obedience of faith, to ground the just and true declaration of our justification; to guarantee our glorification in conjunction with the restoration of the entire creation (the efficacy of His death has an astounding universal dimension). In summary, the death of Christ secured all the purposes of election; therefore it has efficacious power. Second, consider the connection indicated by the phrase for us in Paul shows that God is unquestionably for us by pointing to all these things that flow from electing love, such as predestination, calling, justification, and glorification (directing us back in the context). He then lunges forward in thought to the death of Christ that in conjunction with all these things also shows us that God is unquestionably for us because of the outflow of His electing love in sending Christ to die for us! His death secured all the purposes of election. Therefore, it has wonder-working efficacious power. Third, consider Paul s argument in He presents the delivering up of Christ as a guarantee that obtained our eternal inheritance with Him. The power of reasoning, a fortiori, from the greater to the lesser is built on the unbreakable tie of delivering up Christ for us with the intended goal of giving all things to us (32): He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? It is an astounding fact here that God did not spare His own Son, astounding because it means that when He was delivered up for us on the cross, He was not spared punishment in our place. God's intention then is to give all to all for whom Christ suffered. Surely all things must include the effectual call to faith, along with all other things necessary to attaining the goal of our journey through the time until we all arrive in glory, such as providence, calling, justification, and glorification. It is impossible that any for whom He died will fail to receive the inheritance of eternal life as joint-heirs with Christ. His death is efficacious because it secured and guaranteed all these things; by His suffering He secured the gracious application of all these benefits to us according to God s purpose for us of heavenly glory. II. Given that the atonement is efficacious, then how do I draw application for me? To get there we will discuss a strange question, an unusual delegate at Dort, comfort in a universal offer, and then how do I make application to me? A. A strange but common question This question of application may seem strange, but it has a backdrop in much prevalent reasoning about the work of Christ that relates to gospel proclamation and evangelism. It is commonly taught that we need to be specific in witnessing to the lost by saying God loves you, and this is demonstrated in the fact that Jesus died for you. Scripture mentions no names, so what is the basis for this way of addressing individuals? The reasoning is from all to you. We know that Jesus died for all and therefore He died for you. The goal is personal evangelism that is similar to how we offer the whosoever will promises. We may say, whoever includes you; you can put yourself in the text; write your name there in the Bible. Likewise, you can assuredly say, He died for me. This way of thinking is not only important generally

3 !3 (commonly) today, but it has a significant history in the reformed tradition. We need some perspective on saying for you and for me, which we can get from an unusual source. B. A delegate at Dort For example, one of the delegates to Dort (1618), John Davenant (from England) shows how many reformed thinkers try to incorporate universal elements into the doctrine of the atonement. There are difficult passages, and within reformed thought there are various approaches to them. For Davenant, in the work of Christ, God intended to save, and precisely to save the elect, but God intended to do more than save them. It appears that Davenant mainly defends something acknowledged on all sides: that the death of Christ is sufficient for all and efficient for the elect. This has the ring of unlimited atonement, that Jesus died for all to save all. 3 But by this language, he does not defend unlimited atonement because by efficient for the elect, he means that the atonement is efficacious for the saving of the elect, it is only efficacious for them savingly, and that is God s design in it for them. This efficacy was not intended for the non-elect. What makes his view distinct as a reformed writer is the emphasis he places on saying Jesus died for all, which obviously overlaps with the claims of those who hold to unlimited atonement. By died for all, he means that God intended a sacrifice that would be sufficient for all. In brief summary, distinctive of his view is how he argues for this sufficiency from the benefits for all that he believes are purchased for them by Christ s death. 4 It turns out that the benefits boil down to the single benefit of having the gospel sincerely offered to them. The ground is a provision sufficient for all due to its infinite worth because its provider is God the Son. Notably, the delegates at Dort affirm the infinite worth and sufficiency of the atonement for 3 Unlimited atonement teaches that Christ died for all to save all, even though some will perish. Accordingly, it is often argued that we can only know that Jesus died for me on the basis that Jesus died for everyone from Adam and Eve to the last person born at the end of history. That is so because our actual names are not written in the Bible for us to read them there for our assurance. But there are many problems with this basis. To begin with one, if he died for all then all will be saved since dying for all in 8.32 means that all will receive the eternal inheritance. Of course, not all will be saved; many perish like Pharaoh and Judas. What is important is not the extent of the atonement but its nature as efficacious: dying for someone means guaranteeing that person s salvation. It is not such a guarantee in the unlimited view when to avoid universal salvation the teaching is that Christ s death rendered the saving of those for whom He died a possibility or a potentiality. Compton cites a number of texts used by Davenant (DBTJ, Vol 21, 2016, 173). and he questions the relevance of 4 them all by saying: Where in Scripture are these benefits clearly dependent on a universal provision? (181). Most of the passages relate to the indiscriminate and universal offer of the gospel. This may be Davenant's central argument, that the privilege of receiving a sincere offer of salvation is a benefit secured by Christ and it must be so, for Davenant, or the offer would be insincere and groundless. Although not on the list, we get perspective by considering Peter s statement about false prophets who deny the Lord that purchased them (2 Pet 2.1). Of course, if they were purchased but not set free, then the sufficiency of the purchase was only potential or possible and not actual in saving value. Then we have two lines of thought, the death of Christ purchased redemption for all potentially (as a possibility, as a universal provision) and for Davenant it did that but it also purchased the release of the elect from their sins as a certainty (Christ s intercession and offering of Himself specially for the elect was to infallibly procure for them these benefits [of faith, perseverance, and salvation itself] (DBTJ fn.93, 177). Thus, we should recognize that Davenant teaches limited atonement, the infinite value of the atonement, some confusing things regarding universal elements also intended in the sacrifice of Christ, and (important to him) he teaches that he has biblical warrant to say, Jesus died for all as the ground for the offer of the gospel to all. To my mind, most of the confusion here is eliminated by simply sticking with the infinite value of the sacrifice as one of the grounds for the universal offer (along with the texts that command it, and the texts that teach God's universal desire regarding the non-elect). This is so because Davenant believes that the infinite value of the atonement does not issue in the salvation of all but is limited in its design to infallibly secure the salvation of the elect, those given to Christ by the Father for whom Jesus made special intercession and for whom He specially offered Himself to death on the cross.

4 !4 all, and they affirm that it is to be sincerely offered to all (2nd Head, Art. 3-5). 5 But they differ from Davenant on the claim that Jesus died for all. Dort states that He died for the elect and them only (2nd Head, Art. 8). Still, in harmony with Davenant, it is the infinite value of the atonement as the death of God that is one of the grounds they cite for a sincere universal offer (2nd Head, Arts. 3-5). 6 C. Offering comfort in a universal offer Davenant is trying to defend saying Jesus died for all because he thinks this truth is necessary to ground gospel proclamation. Likewise, to fulfill the Great Commission some people try to comfort unbelievers and stir them up to come to Christ. They do this by speaking of His death in very passionate terms, or by trying to show His suffering in an emotion stirring film on the passion of Christ. They may say, He suffered terribly, but be comforted, He did that for you. What will you now do for Him? The least you can do is believe in Him. However, being deeply moved by the story of the Passion is not the same as being moved by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. 7 Moreover, unbelievers as such have no right or claim to the comfort of the gospel. Comfort is promised to them (to all) on condition of faith: believe and you will be saved, have peace, and find comfort for life and death. It should be obvious that the biblical examples and commands show us how to offer the gospel to all people everywhere and to each one personally by saying, if you believe, and submit to baptism, you will be saved (Act 2.38; 16.31; 17.30). What should be clear from the Book of Acts is that offering the gospel to all does not require the notion (or include the notion in witness-bearing) that Jesus died for all and so He died for you. D. Okay, if I cannot reason from all to me, how do I apply His death to me? How do I get from He died for some, the elect, to he died for me? It goes without saying that God does not stamp elect on our bodies at birth like finger prints; just look there, the elect have a distinct imprint; so there you have it. But not so. The names written on the hands of Christ when He died are not recorded in the Bible where we can read them and thereby discover our true standing. Let s speak to this question on a basic level and then on dynamic level. 1. At the most basic level, you know that Jesus died for you by the fact that you call out to God as your Father, which is done only by the witness of the Spirit (Rom ). Fundamentally, you know that Jesus died for you, and you are one of God s elect, by the fact that you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is the resurrected Lord; you can 5 Perhaps wisely, Dort does not use the language sufficient for all and efficient for the elect. That may be due to the fact that the phrases are imprecise. Even sufficient for all does not say enough, as Jonathan Ostella put it, wouldn t it be better to say that it is more than sufficient, because sufficient for all seems too limiting? Not using sufficient for all, Dort states that His perfect sacrifice is of infinite worth and value, abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole world (Second Head, Art. 3). 6 Other grounds are the commands and promises in the examples of preaching in Scripture, and the reality of God s desire for the repentance of all. In his sermon on A Divine and Supernatural Light, Jonathan Edwards gives the following cautionary: It is not 7 every affecting view that men have of religious things that is this spiritual and divine light. Men by mere principles of nature are capable of being affected with things that have a special relation to religion as well as other things. A person by mere nature, for instance, may be liable to be affected with the story of Jesus Christ, and the sufferings he underwent, as well as by any other tragic story. He may be the more affected with it from the interest he conceives mankind to have in it. Yea, he may be affected with it without believing it, as well as a man may be affected with what he reads in a romance, or sees acted in a stage play. He may be affected with a lively and eloquent description of many pleasant things that attend the state of the blessed in heaven, as well as his imagination be entertained by a romantic description of the pleasantness of fairy land, or the like. And a common belief of the truth of such things, from education or otherwise, may help forward their affection. We read in Scripture of many that were greatly affected with things of a religious nature, who yet are there represented as wholly graceless, and many of them very ill men. A person therefore may have affecting views of the things of religion, and yet be very destitute of spiritual light. Flesh and blood may be the author of this: one man may give another an affecting view of divine things with but common assistance, but God alone can give a spiritual discovery of them.

5 !5 do that only by the Spirit (1 Cor 12.3). This is the basic level of assurance that even though Jesus did not die for all, and even though you are a sinner through and through, those He did die for display the fruits He secured for them of believing that He is risen Lord and of praying to God as Father. This is how you move in thought from some to me. 2. On a dynamic level, faith grows as knowledge of the gospel grows. My assurance deepens into settled joy as I understand better and better how it is that I am justified by faith in the risen Lord Jesus. Technically, as we grow in knowledge we soon recognize that justification is not literally by faith. Instead, it is through faith because faith has no saving power. Thus, I am justified through faith by Christ by the power of His blood. Now let s be clear about the meaning of justification. It means to be declared not guilty. But (we ask again and never tire of asking) how can it be true, even for God to say this of me when I am an unworthy sinner from head to toe? I know I am guilty, as guilty as sin! To get to the bottom of things here, the important thing to know is the meaning of guilt. It means more than I am a sinner, and it means more than, I have sinned, still sin, and deserve nothing from God let alone an eternal inheritance. Of course, these statements are all true for me and for all of us, but guilty is more precise than sinful. Highly important is the fact that guilt means liability to punishment. Let me expand on this definition by contemplating the pronouncement of guilt in the courtroom. To pronounce guilt is to say given that the charges are true, punishment is now to follow; given what all the evidence proves, the liability to punishment is truly and justly now on the table. If this is said of me, as it should be said, I could only respond by saying, I am liable, I am legally, rightly, morally answerable for what I have done. The true and just answer for my sins before God is death. So, in the courtroom of divine judgment by a perfectly holy and allknowing judge, we rightly assume that there can be only one declaration, guilty, and therefore the immediate sentence has to be: take him away to eternal death. How then could I hear the stunning word from God, you are not guilty, i.e. you are justified by faith? From God? It sounds scandalous, impossible, unbelievable. Yet that is the biblical doctrine of justification. It is by faith in Christ Jesus the resurrected Lord. I know that that is what Scripture says, but how can it be true and just that I am not guilty, that is, not liable to punishment. It is true because I was already punished in union with Christ in His death. It is just because justice was served regarding my specific sins in His execution in my place. This is how my faith, knowledge, and assurance grows to the point where I can say and sing, arise my soul arise, shake off thy guilty fears His bleeding sacrifice appears and my name is written on His nail pierced hands the wounds on Calvary pour out effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me and He owns me as His child so, with confidence I now draw nigh, and Father, Abba, Father cry (Trinity, 223). Thus, to our question, I know He bore my sins on the tree and settled my salvation there and then forever because what He does for those for whom He died is give them all things necessary to arrive safely in heaven s glory (Rom 8.32). That means that the people whose names were written on His hands will be given the word and the Spirit at the appointed time in the future that will unfold from His death forward. It means that all for whom Jesus died will be called to the obedience of faith; it means they will be justified by that faith and adopted into the family of God by trusting in Jesus as risen Lord; it means that they will confidently cry out to God, Abba, Father. So, I know He died for me and I am one of God s elect because, what He does in the hearts of His elect by the Spirit, He has done in my heart from which I call out to the

6 !6 Father and confess that Jesus is Lord; that is done from the heart only by the Holy Spirit who is the reward given to Christ by the Father and given by Christ to His people. 8 Finally, our question leads to this subquestion: should we preach the gospel of the efficacious death of Christ to unbelievers or should this doctrine be reserved only for inside the family? To both (no either/or), because this is the core of the good news. We preach and testify to the death of Christ as a saving death and the only hope for sinners. We say, He secured the salvation of His people on the cross, so that the deliverance His death promises is from first to last all of God (that s good news!): it does not rest on us; it is God who saves and who cannot be thwarted in the accomplishment of His will (that is good news!). He died for sinners and His death is of such infinite value and power that no sin that you have committed is beyond His ability to forgive. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. If you acknowledge your sins against the holiness of God and entrust yourself to Christ as your mediator, commit yourself to learn from Him, and submit to His authority over you as your Lord, then He will give you rest of soul (Mat ). When we say, He died for our sins according to the Scriptures and was raised for our justification (Rom 4.25) we are doing what Paul did in 1 Corinthians 15, we are explaining the gospel to brothers and sisters who believe the gospel (15.1). But what about unbelievers who may be present in the gathering, what sense does it make for them to hear that he died for our sins? This is simply the question, what sense does it make to explain the gospel to them. It is every bit sensible to explain the gospel to the church and to all that are present because the preaching and teaching of the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Specifically, when an unbeliever hears that Jesus died for our sins, he is invited to own that confession for himself by faith; he is invited to join the family of believers. If he believes and confesses that Jesus is the risen Lord, then he becomes a family member and can then, together with us all, say, He died for our sins. As He grows in faith, He has before him the joy of knowing in personal terms that He died for my sins, nailed them to the cross, settled my inheritance in heaven before I was even born. As part of the our, as part of the household of faith, he can then with confidence draw nigh and call God his Father. As he grows in faith, he can say, my name is written on His hands. Conclusion: why does the L in the tulip not mean leave it on the shelf? Richard Mouw has an interesting book on the five points of Calvinism, and before I speak to something in it that I find confusing and misleading, let me say that I highly recommend the book. It s title is Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport: Making Connections in Today s World. On the whole, his explanations are helpful and his advice for making connections in today s world is even more helpful. However, he is at his worst when he discusses his belief in limited atonement, which I want to relabel literal substitution to preserve the L in the tulip acrostic. Here is what he says that I find confusing and misleading. Of all the doctrines of the tulip (and he embraces all five points), the one he finds least useful is limited-definite-literal-efficacious substitution. He calls it a shelf doctrine, one that he believes is true and will defend if he has But is this a shift to trusting in my faith? No. This is not trusting in my faith or believing in the strength of my 8 trust. It is believing the gospel of the work of the triune God regarding the efficacious death of Christ, namely, that His death secured the certainty of fruit in the lives of those He died for. That fruit is belief in the heart and confession with the mouth that Jesus is risen Lord, a fruit that is present only by the work of the Spirit who is the reward given to Christ by the Father for His saving death and the gift given to the elect who were given to Christ by the Father so that He would give them eternal life (Jn ). That fruit is the testimony of the Spirit in the hearts of His people by which they manifest their adoption in calling to God as Father. Simply put, the work in salvation of the triune God in the lives of those owned by the Father and given to the Son comes to realization in their confession that Jesus is risen Lord and God is their Father. My faith looks away from myself to the gospel of God concerning His Son (Rom 1.1-4) who obtained His church with His own blood (Acts 20.28).

7 !7 to, but in his words, it does not function in my life on a day-to-day basis for the most part it just sits there on the shelf. 9 In response to these sentiments of Mouw, I see literal substitution (also called limited atonement to good purpose when carefully defined) everywhere in Scripture regarding the redeemer promised to powerfully save a people by crushing the head of the serpent that bruises His heel (Gen 3.15). Is that not a promise of an efficacious atonement by a powerful Savior? I am convinced that rightly understood the doctrine of the literal, actual, powerful, efficacious substitution of Jesus in my place is a book on the shelf of biblical theology (OT and NT) that I take down and use every day! That is so because every day I am aware of my sins. I call out to God, saying, Abba, Father knowing that I am not worthy to be called a son of God. These thoughts do not always overwhelm me; sometimes they do, but even when they are not overwhelming, they are there, and my resource is the good news that Jesus dealt with my sins once for all and forever when He died for our sins according to the Scriptures. That s the L in the tulip. When I struggle with my sins and wonder about the future and how I could ever make it across the Jordan and into the heavenly Canaan, I have one source of comfort and hope, which is that Jesus was delivered up for us all so it is impossible for God to fail to give us all things necessary to receive an eternal inheritance with Christ in glory. Us all of course refers to all who by the witness of the Spirit call God, Father. Us all refers to all of us who by the Spirit and from the heart call Jesus the risen Lord. Of course, we do that by the Spirit because He is the gift from the Father to Christ as the reward of His accomplished work, and He is the saving gift from Christ to us all. Therefore, we all have this hope, each one of us. That is why I have this hope. My look to the future rests in the death of Christ that was endured for us and for me; my hope is in the efficacious power of His death that secured the application of all that I need to arrive safely in heaven. I need faith to be justified; He secured the gift of God s call to the obedience of faith by which I am graciously declared not guilty. I am not guilty because Jesus took away my liability to punishment by being punished in my place on the cross. I need to battle with sin for holy living, and battle to my death; He secured the gift of the Spirit to lead me all the way to glory and by whom I put to death the deeds of the body (Rom 8.13). In short, I need to believe, and flowing from His death is His help with my unbelief sustaining me to the final day by the same faithfulness and power by which God called me to know Him in fellowship, as my Father in heaven in submission to Jesus as my risen Lord. This is a surprise because for me efficacious atonement is the very heart of what I cherish about Calvinism, 9 namely, that in His death, Jesus put death to death. He put my death to death by securing the forgiveness of my sins there on the cross by bearing my punishment in my place once and for all! For me, this seals the truth of election to salvation. It is sealed and guaranteed because He secured even my faith by being lifted up on the cross to draw people of all nations to Himself (Jn 12.32). This drawing is to faith in answer to man s inability to believe (Jn ; with Jn 6.44). His death is efficacious, by being lifted up on the cross, Jesus will not only draw people of all nations to Himself, but He will raise them up on the last day. On the way to the last day, from His efficacious death flows His efficacious call into the family of God (Rom 1.5-7).

8 !8 So, included in what we shall say to these awesome things is that the efficacious death of Christ functions in my life on a day-to-day basis. 10 It does not just sit there on the shelf for the most part. It is the healing balm of God s gospel concerning His Son who finished His work on earth on the cross and became the Son of God in power by the resurrection. May we fall down before the majesty of God our Father in heaven; may our hearts overflow with praise and adoration because of the efficacious death of Christ; may the Holy Spirit enable us to understand that Jesus was actually punishment for our sins, for us specifically, and for our sins specifically to guarantee our calling, justification, and glorification; to the triune God be all glory, now in His church and forever, amen. 10 Of course, there are many other questions and many other things to say about the actual substitution and full accomplishment of redemption by Christ on the cross. We have the question of whether efficacious atonement is logical or biblical and the fact that Paul logically defends it in Romans What about the problem passages? Do we emphasize all or some (as Mouw thinks)? A better approach is, do we focus on all (world and the like) or do we focus on the nature of Christ s death and work from there to do justice to each text? There are others such as: should we use the terminology of limited atonement (yes, if careful definition is on the table), should we have a significant and true universalism as part of the doctrine of efficacious atonement (yes, in the fact that He secured the restoration of all things that waits on, depends on, His guarantee by death of the resurrection of those who died with Him, 6.5, 8.13, 8.23)? Then, how can we sing, His blood atoned for every race : is it not because of the shift in redemptive history from Jewish particularism to national universalism? Also, how can we sing, His five bleeding wounds pour effectual prayers, they strongly plead for me? And this is asking a question that answers itself, can we separate the sacrifice of our high priest in death from the intercession of our high priest now in resurrection?