Jesus Christ, the One Mediator between God and Humanity

By Jennifer Anne Cox

In Jesus Christ, we have a true mediator between God and humanity. Indeed, he is the only person who qualifies as a mediator between sinful humanity and a holy God. Only Jesus is both human and divine. Only he has lived a sinless life and can therefore present humanity to God. Only he knows God from the inside and can show us who God is. The goal of Jesus Christ, the One Mediator between God and Humanity is to turn Christians away from the false kinds of mediation that are prevalent in Christianity today and turn them back to Christ, the one mediator.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jennifer Anne Cox
• Release date: Dec 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005440664

Jennifer Anne Cox

Jennifer Anne Cox has a PhD in theology and is the author of several theological books. Dr Cox seeks to provide theological resources that will help the church to understand the Bible and to put Christ at the centre of all things.

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Jesus Christ, the One Mediator between God and Humanity

Jennifer Anne Cox

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2020 by Jennifer Anne Cox

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All Scripture quotations are from ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016)

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Table of Contents

Introduction

What is a Mediator and Why Do We Need One?

False Ideas in the Church about Mediation

Types of Christ’s Mediation in the Old Testament

Introducing Christ, the Mediator

Jesus Christ is Our High Priest

The Implications of Christ’s Priesthood

Jesus Christ is King over the Kingdom of God

The Implications of Christ’s Kingship for the Church

Christ as Prophet

The Implications of Christ’s Prophetic Mediation

What Is the Purpose of Pastors?

Conclusion: What Part Do Christians Play in the Mediation of Christ?

About the Author

Introduction

Many Christians do not have a solid understanding of Christ as our heavenly mediator. For this reason, many look for ways to get to God apart from the mediation of Christ. This is evident in the many books, videos and courses purporting to provide just that. The purpose of this short book is to point Christians to the Lord Jesus Christ as the one mediator between God and humanity (1 Tim 2:5). It is my hope that when the mediation of Christ is better understood, Christians will look to him as the only way to God (John 14:6) instead of seeking all manner of substitute methods and mediators. The message of the gospel is just this, that Jesus Christ is the way to the Father in heaven and we have no need of any other person or method to be right with God or to find favour with him.

The impetus for writing this book was an observation that Christians often assume that pastors or ministers are more spiritual than the average Christian, and as such the pastor has better access to God and can gain his favour in ways that ordinary people cannot. I am not a pastor and yet some Christians assume that, because I have studied and taught theology or because I write books, God must hear and answer my prayers more than theirs. Nothing could be further from the truth. Pastors are not mediators. When operating rightly, pastors serve the church by proclaiming the gospel so that Christians will constantly be drawn back to Christ, the one mediator.

The substance of this book centres on what theologians call the three offices of Christ: priest, king and prophet. These three offices are to be found in the Old Testament. Priests, kings and prophets were the main leaders of Israel. The task of priests was to serve within the sacred space of tabernacle and temple and to offer sacrifices on the altar to God. They mediated atonement on behalf of God. The task of kings was to rule over Israel and to protect the nation from its enemies. In this way kings mediated God’s rule over his people. The task of prophets was to communicate words from God to the people of Israel, and sometimes to the nations surrounding Israel. In this sense they mediated God’s words.

None of these priests, kings and prophets were an end in themselves. They all failed to live up to the expectations of the people and the call of God. Thus, they pointed forward to the one who would fulfil these functions perfectly and completely, namely the Son of God come in the flesh, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the perfect mediator because he is both sinless human being and God. He stands on both sides of the divide between God and humanity. No one else could fulfil this function as he does. He is thus utterly unique as a mediator. For this reason, there are no longer any more types and shadows of his mediation, because he is forever the one mediator.

Jesus is the ultimate priest, because he offered up the perfect sacrifice of himself as a sinless offering to God. He is the king of his people, ruling over the kingdom of God. He is the ultimate prophet in that his whole being reveals God; he is the eternal Word of God. The mediation of Christ does not end with his life, death and resurrection but continues on for eternity as he intercedes for his people from the right hand of God. We have no need of any other mediator between us and God.

My aim is that you might grasp the truth regarding the mediation of Christ and its implications for you as an individual Christian as well as for the church as a whole. Then we may all stop relying on the false methods of mediation that are so prevalent in Christianity today.

Return to ToC

What Is A Mediator and Why Do We Need One?

Before diving into a discussion regarding the mediation of Christ, it is necessary to understand the purpose of a mediator and why human beings need a mediator between them and God. A mediator acts to bring together two parties who are at odds with one another. In other words, a mediator brings about an agreement between warring parties. A mediator might also be called a go-between. The English word mediator is taken from the Latin mediātor, itself connected to the word medius, meaning middle. Thus, a mediator stands in the middle between two parties who need to be reconciled.

Most are familiar with the idea of mediation in secular contexts. In industrial disputes a company and workers need mediation to resolve matters to do with pay and workplace conditions. Two people going through a divorce are sometimes assigned a mediator by the court to settle property and custody issues. Two countries at war may use a mediator to broker a peace settlement.

This book is not about work place relations, divorce settlements or international diplomacy. It is, instead, about something more pressing to the lives of Christian believers, namely, our relationship with the God who made the universe. Christians want relationship with the living God, the God of the Bible. We want to have God hear our prayers and answer them. We want to know him and receive his love. We want to know his will for our lives and to experience his favour. We intrinsically know that we need help in order for these things to happen. This is why there are so many books claiming to provide seven steps to achieving these goals. I am not going to provide you with seven steps to anything, but instead point you to the one mediator