The Work of Christ

[rjlynam]

If there was no cause for the saving work of Jesus Christ, would our knowledge of the person of Christ be diminished?

 

[py3ak]

Yes. Of course we can't say what and how God might have revealed of his Son if he had decreed something different. But neglecting that unascertainable hypothetical, Romans 9 is fairly clear that both reprobation and election serve to display some aspect of the truth about God. We beheld the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, because the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, if I may conflate John with 1 John.

 

[rjlynam]

Yes. Of course we can't say what and how God might have revealed of his Son if he had decreed something different. But neglecting that unascertainable hypothetical, Romans 9 is fairly clear that both reprobation and election serve to display some aspect of the truth about God. We beheld the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, because the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, if I may conflate John with 1 John.

Thank you, thank you, thank you very much. This should not be considered a benefit of the fall though, correct?

 

[Solparvus]

Thank you, thank you, thank you very much. This should not be considered a benefit of the fall though, correct?

In a loose sense, I think so. We know God is powerful, but He is most powerful when He triumphs with all against Him. We are dead in sins, dead-set against Him, and God triumphs in Christ through humiliation, resistance, and death. If His glory would have been better manifested a different way, God would have done it another way.

God is glorified when He uses means.
God is more glorified when He works without means.
God is most glorified when He uses contrary means.

 

[py3ak]

This should not be considered a benefit of the fall though, correct?

Strictly speaking, the fall itself doesn't have any benefits. The benefits are from what God does in response, to overcome that disaster. It is part of the glory of divine grace to overrule evil for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose. O felix culpa is a somewhat paradoxical expression, but one that worshipful hearts find some occasion to use.