"By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Hebrews 9:12 |
If Jesus Christ be not God Incarnate, if Jesus Christ be not "God manifest in the flesh," then the above verse is a fable, redemption is a dream, and no man has ever gone to heaven.
Divine justice devolves on merit, and unless it was God's blood that bled for sinners, then justice was never satisfied, for no blood in all of creation has the least drop of merit in it. None whatsoever. Only divine blood has merit, and it is merit - and nothing BUT merit - that can satisfy divine justice, and if divine justice be not satisfied, then God's glory and God's government - and all of creation with it - are forever sequestered in darkness with nothing but eternal damnation for an everlasting habitation.
I will open these truths - and much more besides - as I explicate the text, for nowhere has the Holy Ghost been more pleased to offer an endless river of illumination than in the mystical workings of redemption upon due consideration and obedient reflection of his written Word, and thereby to reveal the righteousness of God from faith to faith in those he indwells. The natural man, of course, can receive these truths only notionally and intellectually, but the saints receive them as firebrands burned into their souls, for there is no greater glory than to witness in the Spirit the thrice holy God moving upon the face of redemption.
Behold, then, both the wisdom of God and the power of God in that incomparable act whereby "God purchased his church with his own blood." Acts 20:28
In opening this fountain, we will observe these several particulars from the text -
I. |
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He entered in. |
II. |
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He entered in ALONE; he ONLY entered in; no one was with him. |
III. |
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He entered in with POWER - no one before him was ever able to enter in, and no one after; he ONLY has ever been able to enter in. |
IV. |
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Blood was his vehicle and blood was his key - thereby he entered in. |
V. |
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It was his OWN blood, and nobody else's. |
VI. |
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The place wherein he entered was a holy place. |
VII. |
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The holy place wherein he entered was a PARTICULAR holy place; it was THE holy place, the holiest of ALL places. |
VIII. |
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His entering in was EFFICIENT - he needed enter but ONCE to accomplish his ends. |
IX. |
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His entering in was EFFECTUAL - he needed enter but ONCE to accomplish his ends. |
X. |
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His entering in was MERITORIOUS - he needed enter but ONCE to accomplish his ends. |
XI. |
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He did not come empty-handed; he entered in with a trophy - a trophy of eternal redemption, which he had already obtained. |
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XII. |
He entered in not for himself, but FOR US; he did not win eternal redemption for himself, but FOR US. |
Thus he entered in.
It is axiomatic that the more intimate the truth, the fuller must be the explication of it, for each truth has its own depth, and to come short of that depth in explication is to risk impugning the truth itself. Accordingly, I must be exceedingly brief in my explication of these particular heads and the limitless ocean of truths contained therein, and the mountains of grace enfolded in each. I must, in fact, deal only with the basics of these truths, for to do otherwise would require volumes of exposition in lieu of this short treatise. Nevertheless, every regenerate saint will find great glory in Jesus Christ in the words that follow, and will therefore, hopefully, apply himself to a greater consideration of who it is he belongs to, and what it is that Jesus Christ has purchased for his church, and the cost involved to his person in doing so.
The best of saints in all ages know only too well how utterly wretched and miserable and piteous our thankfulness is to him who purchased us with his own blood, who obtained eternal redemption for us at great expense and violence to himself. The saint who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit spends more groans on his own wretched shortcomings of love and thankfulness and praise to Jesus Christ than he does on all other groans combined. Give him affliction, give him poverty, give him persecution, give him sickness - or give him all of them at once and together - yet with them all, give him a greater capacity to love and praise the Lord Jesus by the Spirit, and he will conclude the whole bargain to be an incalculable profit. The greatest mourning that the true saint ever goes through in this world is his inability and waywardness in loving and thanking and praising the Lord Jesus as he should, which is through the Spirit, and no other way, for no other way is acceptable. Such saints - and them only - are fit for the kingdom of God, and therefore they are constantly bewailing their deficiency in this matter.
Thus, the more of God's glory in Christ Jesus that is unfolded to us through this great mystery of redemption, the greater will be our outpouring and sanctification in praise to him, and the greater will be our success in being conformed to his image, and to being fit for our eternal habitation in his body, which is the church, notwithstanding all our praises together will never be more than a pinprick in the fabric of eternity - if that much - for he deserves more than an eternity of eternities could ever give. It is true that the Spirit sanctifies the praises of the saints and makes them acceptable, but we have the Spirit with measure, and we will never have him without measure, thus Jesus will never receive from us what is his due.
Beware that you apprehend these doctrines and truths aright, for if you apprehend these doctrines and truths only notionally, you of all people are one of the most miserable creatures in the history of the world, even if you don't know it yet, for the things which follow herein are things that angels desire to look into, and there is not an angel in heaven who wouldn't trade places with the meanest of saints on earth, to be indwelt by the very Spirit of Christ, and to see in the Spirit the mystery of redemption, to see in the Spirit such glorious truths revealed unto him, truths that only the Spirit can reveal, and only to saints, truths that no words can begin to describe, to have the fellowship of the Spirit in that particular manner by which only those who are partakers of the divine nature can know. There's not an angel in heaven who wouldn't trade for that.
And so take heed, for whether you like it or not, you are about to enter holy ground, and the words that follow will either bless you or damn you. One or the other. There is no middle ground, for holy ground either blesses or damns. If you will be blessed, remove the shoes of your heart and beg Jesus Christ to give you ears to hear with, and eyes to see with, for he can give both, and much more besides, for he is rich, and his treasures are endless.
Behold therefore both the wisdom of God and the power of God as you advance through these words, for these words will lead everyone who is wise directly to that fountain from which the wisdom of God and the power of God spring, even to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is HIMSELF the source of both, as it is written - "Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." 1 Corinthians 1:24
This is without question one of the greatest triumphal statements in all the Word of God - HE ENTERED IN!
This event occurred at the pinnacle of Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven in his glorified body, at the very height of the praise celebration among the angels and saints then present, ten days in advance of Pentecost, and in preparation thereto.
"And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight." Acts 1:8
Never had heaven beheld such glory and exaltation! Never had a cloud of witnesses been so enraptured! God manifest in the flesh - first on earth, now in heaven in his glorified body. The divine nature and the human nature in one person, the very mystery of godliness, God and man together in one, the hypostatic union of the divine and the human in a single being, wherein he assumed not another person, but another nature, yet so as to remain distinct from his divine nature, and so as not to alter his own essential and eternal identity one iota, nor to impinge or modify or mingle his divine nature in any way, but rather subordinating his human nature to his divine, he thereby in that fashion dwelt among us, a wonder never before witnessed, yet now seen of angels, even Christ, God Incarnate, himself among the celestial throng, leading the procession -
"The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels; the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them." Psalm 68:17-18 [Ephesians 4:8, 1 Timothy 3:16]
Aye, never had the celestial realm witnessed such majesty and splendour; the very gates and doors of heaven itself were commanded to give way -
"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in." Psalm 24:7
Thus was the wisdom of God and the power of God exhibited in Christ's ascension, for the most majestic appearance of Christ in the Old Testament occurred when he manifested himself among his angels at Sinai, so thick that the mount was blanketed with a cloud, from whence issued lightnings and thunders. This was the formal signification of the administration of the Law, and so it is only fitting that at the abrogation of the jurisdiction of that very same Law - himself having fulfilled and satisfied all its demands - Christ should once again be among his cloud of angels, only this time ascending to the mount of congregation instead of descending to the mount of Sinai, yea, ascending to the heavenly mount instead of descending to the earthly mount, ascending into the holy place itself, thereby openly declaring the incomparable glory of the New Testament over the Old by bringing life and immortality to light through the gospel. For whereas the covenant from Sinai gendereth bondage, and answereth to the earthly Jerusalem, so the Jerusalem which is above, and to which the victorious Christ - in both his human and divine natures - now ascended, is free, and the mother of all who belong to its worthy King.
Thus he ascended in victory, God and man in one - the divine nature and the human nature ascending up to heaven in one essential person, even Christ, that blessed and only Potentate, and King of kings and Lord of lords! Never was there a greater procession of victory as he led captivity captive and received gifts for men!
"God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet." Psalm 47:5
I pass by the obvious parallel to the rapture, and will only remark before moving on that the thunders and lightings at Sinai signify, among other things, that the Throne itself was present at the giving of the Law, thus revealing that even here - even at the giving of the Law - that great river of redemption was gushing forth upon the Israel of God, which I shall address more fully under another heading. [Exodus 19:16, Revelation 4:5],
And so, though very briefly discussed, this was the manner whereby - HE ENTERED IN!
Jesus Christ did not assume the office of Mediator unilaterally; he was appointed thereunto by his Father from the foundation of the world, his human nature eternally predestinated, thus fitting him to be the Mediator, thereafter conceived and anointed thereunto in his commencement of that work by the Holy Spirit. Thereupon and in consequence was the government of the kingdom placed upon his shoulder, his formal objective consisting in the bringing of many sons to glory, thereby building his church, her administration to be conducted by him as Prophet, Priest, and King, to the intent that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and powers in heavenly places in the fulness of time. Accordingly, all things were created by him, and all things were created for him, of things in heaven, of things in earth, visible and invisible, including angels, men, and every other creature or created thing. In short, everything outside of the Godhead was created by him. Without him was not anything made that was made. [Revelation 13:8, Isaiah 9:6, Colossians 1:16, John 1:3, Ephesians 3:10]
Whereby sanctify yourselves upon this holy ground, and tremble, and observe:
The first - the VERY first - DECLARATIVE act of the Godhead in eternity past - mark it - the VERY FIRST DECLARATIVE ACT of the Godhead in eternity past - that act which COMMUNICATED the Godhead EXTERNALLY or MANIFESTATIVELY, even though none but the Godhead itself was there to witness it - the VERY FIRST DECLARATIVE ACT of the Godhead in eternity past, was the CONSTITUTION of the PERSON OF CHRIST, this CONSTITUTION respecting his INCARNATION IN PARTICULAR. All other DECLARATIVE acts of the Godhead proceeded from, and were actuated in consequence to, and for the purpose of, the PERSON OF CHRIST, with special respect to his INCARNATION. No DECLARATIVE act of the Godhead preceded this act, and no DECLARATIVE act of the Godhead has ever since taken place apart from this FOUNDATION, this FOUNDATION being the CONSTITUTION OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST.
In deep eternity past, the CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST - that is, the APPOINTMENT of his ESSENTIAL nature - not the CONSTITUTION of his ESSENTIAL nature, which is ETERNAL, but the APPOINTMENT of his ESSENTIAL nature - understand ESSENTIAL nature as his DIVINE ETERNAL nature - to be UNITED with his HUMAN nature in one CHRIST, yet retaining his ESSENTIAL ETERNAL IDENTITY in the SAME CHRIST - that is, the ASSUMPTION of his HUMAN nature into PERSONAL SUBSISTENCE with HIMSELF, his DIVINE SELF, his ETERNAL SELF - the conjoining of the DIVINE nature with the HUMAN nature into ONE INCOMPARABLE PERSON - the very MYSTERY OF GODLINESS - yea, this CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST was the FIRST, THE VERY FIRST, DECLARATIVE act of the Godhead in eternity past, wherefore Jesus Christ is most gloriously and ineffably called - "The beginning of the creation of God." Revelation 3:14 [John 17; Ephesians 3:9-11; Colossians 1:15-19; Ephesians 1:3-10; Proverbs 8:22-36; Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2; Romans 8-9; Titus 1:2; 1 Timothy 3:16; etc.]
Hereby was the ESSENTIAL WISDOM of God and the ESSENTIAL POWER of God communicated to and through CHRIST, for the eternally begotten Son is - and has ALWAYS been, has ETERNALLY been - the ESSENTIAL WISDOM of God and the ESSENTIAL POWER of God. This CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST - whereupon the ETERNAL SON would assume into PERSONAL SUBSISTENCE with HIMSELF a HUMAN nature - yea, this CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST, every facet of this CONSTITUTION actuated in accordance to, and in conjunction with, the counsel of the THREE PERSONS of the Godhead - FATHER, SON, HOLY SPIRIT - was the FIRST - the VERY FIRST - DECLARATIVE ACT of the Godhead in eternity past. This CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST - the conjoining of the DIVINE NATURE with the HUMAN NATURE in ONE ESSENTIAL PERSON - is what the Holy Ghost calls the MYSTERY OF GODLINESS, this MYSTERY OF GODLINESS consisting in the conjoining of the DIVINE NATURE with the HUMAN NATURE in ONE ESSENTIAL PERSON, and thus carefully defined by the Holy Ghost with the GREATEST GUN in ALL the Word of God, namely - "GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH." 1 Timothy 3:16
This verse takes us back to the very foundation of the eternal counsels of the Godhead, to the very foundation of CHRIST, which is why it is undeniably the GREATEST GUN in ALL the Word of God. It is no wonder therefore that Satan has duped the ignorant and apostate into silencing THIS GREAT GUN, for there is NO GREATER GUN in ALL the Word of God than THIS GUN, and although the ignorant and apostate don't know that this is the GREATEST GUN in ALL the Word of God, their father the devil does, which is why he's laboured so fiercely to silence it, and why he has found such great success among the unregenerate within professing Christianity. Again, that is no wonder, for Christianity has never had greater enemies than those who professed to be its friend, but who were in fact unregenerate, which has always been the vast majority of those who professed to be Christians.
In stark contrast, one of the greatest theologians of all time, a Puritan scholar without equal, who likewise lamented the unregeneracy of the vast majority of professing Christians in his day, John Owen wisely noted over three hundred years ago, that apart from this visceral truth, that is - GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH - apart from this visceral truth, ALL OTHER SPIRITUAL TRUTHS ARE CORRUPTED, for ALL spiritual truths have a consistency ONLY in their relation to GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH, as every regenerate person knows, and as Owen so efficaciously demonstrated in his works on the glory of Jesus Christ.
And so deep in eternity past, the FIRST DECLARATIVE ACT of the Godhead was that most glorious of MYSTERIES, even the MYSTERY OF GODLINESS - GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH - that MYSTERY OF MYSTERIES, whereby the DIVINE NATURE can coexist with the HUMAN NATURE in ONE ESSENTIAL PERSON, yea, a MYSTERY that God ONLY can decipher, which is exactly why it's called the MYSTERY OF GODLINESS. Thus was the ESSENTIAL WISDOM of God and the ESSENTIAL POWER of God manifest in his eternal counsels, for it is impossible for any creature - angel or man - to know God in his absolute, divine essence. God is unknowable in this manner. The ONLY way the creature may know God is by virtue of that manifestation wherein God is pleased to reveal himself.
That manifestation is CHRIST, with his own peculiar glory, distinct and apart from his consubstantial union in the Godhead, this CHRIST manifested in his DIVINE nature prior to his INCARNATION, and thereafter manifested in both his DIVINE nature and his HUMAN nature together in ONE ESSENTIAL PERSON, that is - "God manifest in the flesh" - yet, the SAME ESSENTIAL PERSON ALWAYS, for the ETERNAL SON is the ESSENTIAL IDENTITY OF CHRIST - mark it - THE ETERNAL SON IS THE ESSENTIAL IDENTITY OF CHRIST - and thus before God ever made the first creature or created the first thing, this CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST - investing him with his OWN PARTICULAR GLORY, DISTINCT from that of his CONSUBSTANTIAL GLORY - yea, before God ever made the first creature or created the first thing, this CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST was SET UP, as it is written - "I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was." Proverbs 8:23 [John 8:58, 17; Ephesians 3:9-11; Colossians 1:15-19; Ephesians 1:3-10; Proverbs 8:22-36; Isaiah 9:6; Micah 5:2; Romans 8-9; Titus 1:2; 1 Timothy 3:16; etc.]
Not only was this CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST the FIRST DECLARATIVE ACT of the Godhead, it was also the most glorious, for God did not - first and foremost - appoint this CHRIST for US, that is, for the creatures or for creation; rather, the CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST was appointed first and foremost FOR GOD'S OWN GLORY. The Father neither required nor desired any witnesses to behold this CONSTITUTION, for God HIMSELF REJOICED - the Father HIMSELF REJOICED - and REJOICED to the UTTERMOST, UTTERLY DELIGHTED AND REJOICED IN - that is, the Father HIMSELF was PERFECTLY PLEASED with and INFINITELY REJOICED in, this CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST.
To apply human terminology, God contrived in his eternal counsels a way whereby he could express his glory to the UTTERMOST. That contrivance - the very BEST that God could do in expressing his INCOMPARABLE GLORY, the HIGHEST, most SUBLIME counsel that God HIMSELF could contrive, employing ALL of his INFINITE and INEXHAUSTIBLE wisdom and knowledge, the very BEST that God HIMSELF could contrive to manifest his OWN GLORY - was this CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST. God HIMSELF could not contrive, invent, or come up with any better way to manifest HIS OWN GLORY. This CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST is truly and substantially the PERFECT MANIFESTATION of the GLORY OF GOD, which is why CHRIST is called "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." In short, it is IMPOSSIBLE for God to manifest his glory more PERFECTLY than he has already done in THE PERSON OF CHRIST. God HIMSELF cannot - CANNOT IN ANY WAY - improve upon what he has done in CHRIST. [Hebrews 1:3; Proverbs 16:4; Revelation 4:11; Ephesians 1:9-11; Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 3:17; etc.]
And thus those apostates who attempt to silence the visceral, foundational truth of GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH, and who also attempt to wrest the above verse - Revelation 3:14 - into their own sinful DECLARATION - thereby usurping the clear DECLARATION of God in his Word - by their serpentine assertion that CHRIST is a CREATED BEING, thereby exceeding even the arrogance of devils, who believe and tremble, do openly manifest their own unregeneracy and blindness, and do openly testify of their own just damnation, for the Spirit and the Word both witness that CHRIST cannot be conceived or in any way comprehended APART from his ETERNAL NATURE, the ETERNAL SON HIMSELF being the ESSENTIAL IDENTITY of CHRIST, his DIVINE nature SELF-EXISTENT, but his HUMAN nature SOLELY dependent upon his DIVINE nature. This simple truth is both basic and cardinal, so by their deeply wicked DECLARATIONS in OPEN OPPOSITION to the Word and Spirit of God, these apostates testify of themselves that they have "crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." Jude 4
The fruit of their apostasy is also reflected in their attitude to the doctrine of Christology, for they pervert the truth yet again, and yet again offer another infallible proof of their unregeneracy, for they avow what no man born of the Spirit could avow, namely, they avow that the doctrine of Christology was not initially as formidable as it now is, that the church over time adopted a higher view of the deity of Christ and his overall administration than the Apostles themselves ever had, that the doctrine of Christology grew over time to be greater than that which the Apostles taught, a diabolical paradigm which is THE driving force behind textual criticism - and has BEEN the driving force behind textual criticism for over one hundred years now - all of which is not only pernicious to the highest degree, but perverted and false, and as I said, an absolute proof of their unregeneracy, for the doctrine of Christology is the FOUNDATION instilled by the Holy Spirit the MOMENT he regenerates a man - there are NO exceptions - even if the newborn can't articulate it, yet he knows intuitively and experientially that CHRIST is the foundation of ALL, as it is written - "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:11
In fact, the more filled with the Holy Spirit a Christian is, the higher will be his Christology, for the Christology of the Holy Spirit is UNSURPASSED and INFINITE. Yea, the doctrine of CHRISTOLOGY is the fountain of ALL OTHER DOCTRINES, because the CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST is the FOUNTAIN OF ALL REVELATION. Hear it again - the CONSTITUTION OF CHRIST IS THE FOUNTAIN OF ALL REVELATION. Accordingly, the ONLY doctrine that proceeds IMMEDIATELY from the Godhead is the doctrine of CHRISTOLOGY. All other doctrines - there are NO exceptions - proceed MEDIATELY from the Godhead, that is, THROUGH the doctrine of CHRISTOLOGY. In other words, the doctrine of CHRISTOLOGY proceeds from the Godhead both ESSENTIALLY and EFFICIENTLY, and ALL other doctrines then proceed from the doctrine of CHRISTOLOGY, and therefore none of them - no not one - are ESSENTIAL or EFFICIENT in relation to the Godhead, but the doctrine of CHRISTOLOGY ONLY. There is no doctrine above or equal to the doctrine of CHRISTOLOGY in rank. The doctrine of CHRISTOLOGY is the ONLY doctrine that proceeds ESSENTIALLY from the Godhead; the doctrine of CHRISTOLOGY is the ONLY doctrine that proceeds EFFICIENTLY from the Godhead.
That's why Jesus Christ declared HIMSELF to be the RESURRECTION. That's why Jesus Christ declared HIMSELF to be the WAY. That's why Jesus Christ declared HIMSELF to be the TRUTH. That's why Jesus Christ declared HIMSELF to be the LIFE. That's why Jesus Christ declared HIMSELF to be the BREAD OF HEAVEN. That's why Jesus Christ declared HIMSELF to be the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. That's why Jesus Christ declared HIMSELF to be the DOOR OF THE SHEEP. That's why Jesus Christ declared HIMSELF to be the GOOD SHEPHERD. That's why Jesus Christ declared HIMSELF to be the TRUE VINE. That's why Jesus Christ declared HIMSELF to be the very IMAGE OF THE FATHER.
As CHRIST HIMSELF is the MEDIATOR between God and men SUBSTANTIALLY, so the doctrine of CHRISTOLOGY is the mediator between God and men REVELATORY.
And therefore be it known that this CHRIST is that LIVING WORD; this CHRIST is that WORD that existed from all eternity; this CHRIST is that WORD that became flesh; this CHRIST is he who was constituted in eternity past by the ETERNAL SON HIMSELF; this CHRIST is that WORD that God magnified above all his name - yea, it is not a bible version that God magnified above all his name, but his WORD - HIS TRUE WORD - mark it, and mark it hard - it is HIS TRUE WORD that God magnified above all his name, and that TRUE WORD is the PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST, and NONE OTHER.
Consequently, as CHRIST was appointed from eternity, he is the ONLY Person qualified to carry the government upon his shoulder, and thereby he is the ONLY Person capable of making satisfaction for sin, for only DIVINE BLOOD can make atonement for sin, as we shall see, yea, Jesus Christ is the ONLY Person upon whom the Father has set his seal, and therefore, no one else - NO ONE EVER AT ANY TIME - was appointed to be a MEDIATOR, but CHRIST ONLY, and that from the foundation of the world, and therefore it is written -
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5
And thus - He Entered In ALONE!
(Finis - Part I)