Jesus Stood Perfectly in the Gap for You

 

 

So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

—Ezekiel 22:30 (NKJV)

 

 

God sought a Savior among men who could bring deliverance to mankind. But He found no one. No one was qualified. All men had fallen short of His perfection (Romans 3:23). Because no one qualified, God made Himself to be a man and the Savior of mankind.

 

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

 

The Word became flesh (John 1:14). That is precisely how the virgin birth transpired. Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. He was God’s truth in the flesh.

 

Jesus is the glory of the Father (Hebrews 1:3). The truth of God declares that all have sinned and come short of Jesus—the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Therefore, we all deserve God’s judgment. But we have been given Good News! Jesus bore all our judgment. When God, the Father, placed the punishment for our sins on Jesus, Jesus closed the gap that sin had created—the gap that kept us from receiving God’s truth. And, now through Jesus, we can receive God’s mercy (Ephesians 4:2-6). Praise Jesus! God’s truth and the grace of Jesus have come together. Righteousness and peace have finally kissed (Psalm 85:10). Jesus has brought peace between God and man.

 

Jesus was the only one who could close the gap sin had created. He was the only one who could become our bridge to God. Jesus is the giver of our faith, and the Holy Spirit is the sealer of our faith (Romans 12:3, Ephesians 1:13). Jesus is our hedge. He is the Word—our wall of truth that stands against the lies of the enemy. Jesus saved you from God's judgment. He stood in the gap for you to receive God's peace and righteousness. He saved you from destruction.

 

Jesus calls us to stand in the gap for others with His truth and grace until they spiritually understand what Jesus has given them—until they receive the truth of the new life that is theirs in Christ. But standing in the gap for others does not rest on our ability. It rests on God’s ability. It rests on our availability. Standing in the gap is not about how much or how well we work for God. Standing in the gap is about His power—His truth and grace—working in and through us, accomplishing more than we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

 

Our human love can never love God as He loves us. Our love fluctuates. It changes based on how we feel at a given moment. But our relationship with God is all about how much He loves us. It is not based on our limitations in loving Him. His love never changes. It is based on His truth and is the only constant in our lives. God loved us before we ever knew Him (1 John 4:19). He loved us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). We have been given God’s love through the grace of Jesus, but we have to receive His truth and grace to love as He has loved us. We can only love others with God’s perfect love and grace when we believe in our hearts that Jesus has removed our sins as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12).

When we bear each other’s burdens—we care for them with the love of Jesus (Galatians 6:2). When we serve others with God’s love, we serve Him. Serving God is meant to flow out of the truth of who He is within us. If we are struggling to love others as God has loved us, we have not spiritually received an understanding of how much God loves us. God gives grace and more grace (James 4:6). However, abundant grace is received in humility. We cannot receive His grace and love when we are focused on our limitations instead of His grace that overcomes them. When we focus on our ability or lack of ability, our thoughts are on ourselves. And when we are self-focused, we have made ourselves unavailable. 

God is not trying to find you. He has already found you. He wants you to discover and know your right standing with Him because of Christ. He desires you to seek and understand what you have received. 

Jesus fulfilled the debt for our judgment. He paid it all. We are to love others as He has loved us, and in doing so, we fulfill the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). We are to stand in the gap for each other. But we cannot stand in the gap when we believe the lies and condemnation of the old person we once were. We can only stand in the gap for others when we believe Jesus bore our sins and that we have become the righteousness of God in the finished work of His grace (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

 

God came to you as Jesus because He could find no one to stand in the gap for you. Jesus closed the gap between you and God perfectly. There is nothing lacking in your relationship with Him. But standing in the gap for others can only be realized in your life when you believe Jesus stood perfectly in the gap for you.

 

Freely—without cost to you—you have received the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Fulfill the grace of Jesus (Galatians 6:2).  Give freely without cost to another (Matthew 10:8). Hold no one in debt. Stand in the gap for them.

 

"Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world" (I John 4:17).

 

 

 

© 2023 Lynn Lacher

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