Reconciler

Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus.—1 Timothy 2:5

Russ Marten

When considering the role of mediators in the world today, typically what comes to mind are those who stand between two parties in a dispute, often a labor dispute. Frequently a “federal mediator” is asked to carry proposals between each of the sides and encourages or even demands that each side give a little more in its position until some agreement between the two original positions can be reached.

But the “mediator between God and man” is a role with only limited similarity to a worldly mediator. The dictionary definition of a mediator is one who is interposed between two parties to effect reconciliation; one who acts as an intermediate agent in bringing, effecting or communicating. The mediator between God and man does fit this definition without compromising or reducing God’s position and principles. That mediator is identified for us: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). In the Greek there is no verb, thus leaving the thought of “himself having been a man.”

Why is a Mediator Necessary?

Is not God able to arrange matters so this function is not needed? While not limiting the hand of the Father in anything, we recognize that he arranged the office of mediator because of his principles.

God is constrained not by weakness or inability, but by his own principles. Justice is the habitation of his throne. God cannot deal with imperfection directly without a covenant to justify the individual or class being dealt with. When there is a conditional covenant in place, he works through a mediator or with an advocate of the sinful party.

Although man’s transition from perfection to imperfection was instantaneous with Adam and Eve’s fall in the garden, the degradation of man’s character has been a process of varying intensity and speed over the past 6,000 years. The merit of Jesus’ ransom is sufficient to instantaneously return man from a state of imperfection to perfection, but the effects of the degrading process of sin cannot be instantaneously overcome. Those logically need time for a process to reverse the effects of sin upon the character of man. Even after coming back from the grave, mankind’s inherent character will not willingly choose what is righteous. The human race will still be more or less at enmity with God. If the reversal of the effects of sin could be accomplished instantaneously, there would be no need for a mediator, only for a redeemer. But God, knowing the effects of years of living under sin and evil, rightly provided a period of a thousand years for the perfecting process.

Thus we see why the role of mediator is necessary. Consider the most basic of conflicts. When two parties are at odds and would do injury to one another, a third party standing between them keeps each from coming in contact with the other and prevents harm. This “third party” is the mediator in the dispute. When the merit of Christ’s sacrifice is presented to the Father on behalf of the world, the resurrection process is initiated and the new covenant goes into operation. The Christ, head and body, must immediately perform the function of mediator, for both sides are inherently in conflict—the justice of God on the one hand and mankind’s fallen nature on the other. For most of the Millennial age mankind will still have either the desire, or at least the tendency, to sin while they are being transformed from sinner to perfect human life. Whatever the motivation, Christ is there as mankind’s mediator to intercede on their behalf. He stands before God’s justice and says in effect, “I bought this race with my blood. I will, for the period of this New Covenant, stand between them and absolute justice so I can work with them, nurture them, and develop them to the point where I can stand aside and let them be exposed to justice.” A mediator works with both sides in a conflict, and surely the bulk of this mediator’s effort will be with mankind’s character as long as the world is less than perfect in thought and motive.

A Mediator Is Not an Advocate

In the kingdom Christ moves from being an advocate for his church to being a mediator for the world of mankind. An advocate stands in support of any action committed by the party he represents, much as an attorney defends his client even when he knows the client is guilty of the crime for with which he is charged. In his support of his church, Christ bestows upon them a robe of his righteousness. Thus the Father sees in essence Christ’s own righteousness for the prospective church members, rather than their fallen human nature. Because it is his robe of righteousness, Christ can and does serve as an advocate for the church before the Father: “The Father himself loveth you” (John 16:27). Paul writes, “It is God that justifeth. Who is he that condemneth?” (Romans 8:33,34). Because God justifies and receives the sacrifice of the church, they need no mediator; they are in heart accordance (rather than at willful variance) with him.

However, the Mediator cannot similarly justify the actions of mankind in the Millennial age, nor can he stand in support of their position. The world of mankind will have been awakened by the application of his merit. They then begin a slow process of learning righteousness, appreciating and developing a Godlike character to replace the tainted one they had under the reign of sin and evil. Because mankind in the Millennial age does not wear Christ’s robe of righteousness, Christ cannot be their advocate, even though they need to be insulated from absolute justice. Otherwise, the first sin after being raised from the tomb would justly condemn them immediately to death again. Christ in his role as mediator can and does insulate mankind from the consequences of God’s justice. The people must (and will) appreciate this as a child begrudgingly learns that discipline, and the insistence that things be done correctly and properly, are ultimately for the child’s best interests, even if to the child it may seem to be just the opposite.

The Christ is to be the mediator of a bilateral covenant that requires fulfillment by both parties: “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament [covenant], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15). The covenant arrangement is simple and it is individually extended. The individual human obeys God’s perfect laws and God grants everlasting life. Action on the part of both provides each with gain: man gains life and God gains the ultimate object of his divine plan, which is a perfect everlasting human race, functioning in harmony with one another, praising and serving him.

It is not correct to think of Jesus as an individual mediator for each member of the fallen race, for he will be the mediator for all under the New Covenant. All mankind will be welcome to come under the arrangements and blessings of that covenant and the benefits obtained by its mediator. The blessing of that covenant will start with and flow through the nation of Israel (Acts 3:25). As the world of mankind is transformed in character and become Israelites indeed, they will then realize the full blessings of the kingdom arrangements under that covenant.

The Blessings of a Mediator

The work and blessings of the mediator will be in the form of instruction, enlightenment, knowledge of the truth, and bringing mankind up out of sin and death, out of ignorance and superstition, and out of unbelief and depravity to a truly blessed state of human perfection. The mediator will be able to transform those evil tendencies into devotion to righteousness and will reveal all the eventual blessings man received from the permission of evil. Mankind will appreciate what sin truly wrought on the race, and come into full appreciation of what the kingdom arrangements of love for all and praise of the Father will yield in eternal blessings. All will become Abraham’s seed, having unwavering faith in the outcome of God’s arrangements for the race. If any instance arises where Jesus’ human experience might not relate to a particular situation at hand, he has a body consisting of 144,000 members with a lifetime of experiences. Those experiences, both of Jesus and his church, will provide a sympathetic response no matter what situation the world experiences in its development. Mankind will see in this process the need to destroy in second death the incorrigible, however few they may be. Although eternally grateful for the work of the mediator, mankind will nonetheless look forward to the day in which they will be so developed in character that the mediator can step aside, and they will be able to stand in full exposure to God’s justice and still live forever.

All will be blessed because they will be thoroughly acquainted with the exceeding sinfulness of sin, but no longer willing to consider indulging in sin. Love and righteousness will be their only desire. The work of the mediator will eliminate the activities and industries driven by sin and those that only exist in a feeble attempt to counteract sin’s effects. These will be replaced with other forms of activity that only build-up and serve mankind and glorify the Father. Not only will the work of the mediator reconcile differences between Jew and Christian, but also between Serbs and Croats, Sunnis and Shiites, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, and atheists, as they learn the ways of the Lord. Christ Jesus’ love, concern, and wisdom obtained through human experience will overcome the misconceptions, bigotry, and prejudice that have caused so much hatred throughout mankind’s history.

Jesus has had many roles throughout the ages, all a result of his total devotion to the glorification of the Father. Each role had different experiences and a different focus on the work to be accomplished. As each mission was completed successfully he surely anticipated moving to the next step. Now one more role, that of mediator, remains. Given his ceaseless desire to please his Father, surely Christ is anxious to see his work as advocate completed and his work as mediator begin, for it is only when that work as mediator will also be completed that the object of God’s plan will be fully realized. It will be then that all creation will eternally praise the Father and the Mediator for what has been done for them all.