Good Friday

Some quotes from John Owen in "The Death of Death in the Death of Christ"
(which honestly should be titled "Who is saved by the Death of Christ")

"The means in this work can be distinguished into 2 parts... His oblation and His intercession...

By His oblation we do not design only the particular offering of Himself upon the cross an offering to His Father, as the Lamb of God without spot or blemish, when He bare our sins or carried them up with Him in His own body on the tree, which was the sum and complement of His oblation and that wherein it did chiefly consist; but also His whole humiliation, or state of emptying Himself, whether by yielding voluntary obedience unto the law, as being made under it, that He might be the end thereof to them that believe, (Rom 10:4) or by His subjection to the curse of the law, in the antecedent misery and suffering of life, as well as by submitting to death, the death of the cross : for no action of His as Mediator is to be excluded from a concurrence to make up the whole means in this work. Neither by His intercession do I understand only that heavenly appearance of His in the most holy place for the applying unto us all good things purchased and procured by His oblation : but also every act of His exaltation conducing thereto, from His resurrection to His sitting down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, angels and principalities, and powers, being made subject to Him."

"Christ then, by His death, did merit and purchase, for all those for whom He died, all those things which in the Scripture are assigned to be the fruits and effects of His death. First, such that are privative -
1. Deliverance from the hand of our enemies (Luke 1:74) & from the wrath to come (1 Thess 1:10)
2. The destruction and abolition of death in His power (Heb 2:14)
3. Of the works of the devil (1 John 3:8)
4. Deliverance from the curse of the law (Gal 3:13)
5. From our vain conversation (1 Pet 1:18)
6. From the present evil world (Gal 1:4)
7. From the earth and from among men (Rev 16:3)
8. Purging of our sins (Heb 1:3)

Secondly, positive -
1. Reconciliation with God (Rom 5:10, Eph 2:16, Col 1:20)
2. Appeasing or atoning of God by propitation (Rom 3:25, 1 John 2:2)
3. Peacemaking (Eph 2:14)
4. Salvation (Matt 1:21)"

"The first thing that we shall lay down is concerning the dignity, worth, preciousness, and infinite value of the blood and death of Jesus Christ. The maintaining and declaring of this is doubtless especially to be considered; and every opinion that doth but seemingly clash against it is exceedingly prejudiced, at least deservedly suspected, yea, presently to be rejected by Christians, if upon search it be found to do so really and indeed, as that which is injurious and derogatory to the merit and honour of Jesus Christ. The Scripture, also, to this purpose is exceeding full and frequent in setting forth the excellency and dignity of his death and sacrifice, calling his blood, by reason of the unity of his person, “God’s own blood,” (Acts 10:28); exalting it infinitely above all other sacrifices, as having for its principle “the eternal Spirit,” and being itself “without spot,” (Heb 9:14) transcendently more precious than silver, or gold, or corruptible things,(1 Pet 1:8); able to give justification from all things, from which by the law men could not be justified (Acts 13:28).

Now, such as was the sacrifice and offering of Christ in itself, such was it intended by his Father it should be. It was, then, the purpose and intention of God that his Son should offer a sacrifice of infinite worth, value, and dignity, sufficient in itself for the redeeming of all and every man, if it had pleased the Lord to employ it to that purpose; yea, and of other worlds also, if the Lord should freely make them, and would redeem them. Sufficient we say, then, was the sacrifice of Christ for the redemption of the whole world, and for the expiation of all the sins of all and every man in the world. This sufficiency of his sacrifice hath a twofold rise:— First, The dignity of the person that did offer and was offered. Secondly, The greatness of the pain he endured, by which he was able to bear, and did undergo, the whole curse of the law and wrath of God due to sin. And this sets out the innate, real, true worth and value of the blood-shedding of Jesus Christ."