Reference: Mediator
American
One who stands between two parties or persons as the organ of communication or the agent of reconciliation. So far as man is sensible of his own guilt and of the holiness and justice of God, he shrinks from any direct communication with a being he has so much reason to fear. Hence the disposition more or less prevalent in all ages and in all parts of the world, to interpose between the soul and its judge some person or thing most adapted to propitiate his favor - as a priestly order, an upright and devout man, or the smoke of sacrifices and the sweet savor of incense, Job 9:33. The Israelites evinced this feeling at the Mount Sinai, De 5:23-31; and God was pleased to constitute Moses a mediator between himself and them, to receive and transmit the law on the one had, and their vows of obedience on the other. In this capacity he acted on various other occasions, Ex 32:30-32; Nu 14; Ps 106:23; and was thus an agent and a type of Christ, Ga 3:19. The Messiah has been in all ages the only true Mediator between God and man; and without Him, God is inaccessible and a consuming fire, Joh 14:6; Ac 4:12. As the Angel of the covenant, Christ was the channel of all communications between heaven and earth in Old Testament days; and as the Mediator of the new covenant, he does all that is needful to provide for a perfect reconciliation between God and man. He consults the honor of God by appearing as our Advocate with the blood of atonement; and through his sympathizing love and the agency of the Holy Spirit, he disposes and enables us to return to God. The believing penitent is "accepted in the Beloved" - his person, his praises, and his prayers; and through the same Mediator alone he receives pardon, grace, and eternal life. In this high office Christ stands alone, because he alone is both God and man, 1Ti 2:5. To join Mary and the saints to him in his mediatorship, as the antichristian church of Rome does, implies that he is unable to accomplish his own peculiar work, Heb 8:6; 9:15; 12:24.
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Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.
And there is salvation in no other; for there is no other name given under heaven among men, by which we can be saved.
What then? The law was added on account of transgressions, till the offspring should come to which the promise was made, being appointed by angels by the hand of a mediator.
For there is one God, and one mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus,
but now he has obtained a more excellent service, by as much also as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which is established on better promises.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that death having been for a redemption of transgressions [transgressors] under the first covenant, the called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to a sprinkled blood which speaks better than Abel.
Easton
one who intervenes between two persons who are at variance, with a view to reconcile them. This word is not found in the Old Testament; but the idea it expresses is found in Job 9:33, in the word "daysman" (q.v.), marg., "umpire."
This word is used in the New Testament to denote simply an internuncius, an ambassador, one who acts as a medium of communication between two contracting parties. In this sense Moses is called a mediator in Ga 3:19.
Christ is the one and only mediator between God and man (1Ti 2:5; Heb 8:6; 9:15; 12:24). He makes reconciliation between God and man by his all-perfect atoning sacrifice. Such a mediator must be at once divine and human, divine, that his obedience and his sufferings might possess infinite worth, and that he might possess infinite wisdom and knowlege and power to direct all things in the kingdoms of providence and grace which are committed to his hands (Mt 28:18; Joh 5:22,25-26,27); and human, that in his work he might represent man, and be capable of rendering obedience to the law and satisfying the claims of justice (Heb 2:17-18; 4:15-16), and that in his glorified humanity he might be the head of a glorified Church (Ro 8:29).
This office involves the three functions of prophet, priest, and king, all of which are discharged by Christ both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation. These functions are so inherent in the one office that the quality appertaining to each gives character to every mediatorial act. They are never separated in the exercise of the office of mediator.
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And Jesus coming near spoke to them, saying, All power is given me in heaven and on the earth;
For the Father judges no man, but has given all judgment to the Son,
I tell you most truly, that the hour comes, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those that hear shall live. For as the Father has life in himself, so has he also given to the Son to have life in himself; read more. and has given him authority and judgment to execute, because he is the Son of man.
For whom he foreknew, he also predestinated to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he may be a first-born among many brothers;
What then? The law was added on account of transgressions, till the offspring should come to which the promise was made, being appointed by angels by the hand of a mediator.
For there is one God, and one mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus,
Whence he ought in all things to be assimilated to the brothers, that he may be a merciful and faithful chief priest as to things relating to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he has himself suffered, having been tried, he is able to help the tried.
For we have not a chief priest who cannot sympathise with our infirmities, but one tried in all respects as we are, without sin. Let us therefore approach with boldness the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace for timely aid.
but now he has obtained a more excellent service, by as much also as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which is established on better promises.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that death having been for a redemption of transgressions [transgressors] under the first covenant, the called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to a sprinkled blood which speaks better than Abel.
Fausets
Six times in New Testament (Ga 3:19-20; Heb 8:6; 9:15; 12:24; also the verb, Heb 6:17, Greek "mediated," emesiteusen, "by an oath," "interposed as mediator between Himself and us with an oath"; Jesus is the embodiment of God's mediating oath: Ps 110:4). One coming between two parties to remove their differences. The "daysman" (Job 9:33) who "lays his hand upon both" the litigants, in token of his power to adjudicate between them; mokiach, from yakach, "to manifest or reprove"; there is no umpire to whose authoritative decision both God and I are equally amenable. We Christians know of such a Mediator on a level with both, the God-man Christ Jesus (1Ti 2:5). In Ga 3:20 the argument is, the law had angels and Moses (De 5:5) as its mediators; now "a mediator" in its essential idea (ho mesitees, the article is generic) must be of two parties, and cannot be "of one" only; "but God is one," not two.
As His own representative He gives the blessing directly, without mediator such as the law had, first by promise to Abraham, then to Christ by actual fulfillment. The conclusion understood is, therefore a mediator cannot pertain to God; the law, with its mediator, therefore cannot be God's normal way of dealing. He acts singly and directly; He would bring man into immediate communion, and not have man separated from Him by a mediator as Israel was by Moses and the legal priesthood (Ex 19:12-24; Heb 12:19-24).
It is no objection to this explanation that the gospel too has a Mediator, for Jesus is not a mediator separating the two parties as Moses did, but at once God having "in Him dwelling all the fullness of the Godhead," and man representing the universal manhood (1Co 8:6; 15:22,28,45,47,24; 2Co 5:19; Col 2:14); even this mediatorial office shall cease, when its purpose of reconciling all things to God shall have been accomplished, and God's ONENESS as "all in all" shall be manifested (Zec 14:9). In 1Ti 2:4-5, Paul proves that "God will have all men to be saved and (for that purpose) to come to the knowledge of the truth," because "there is one God" common to all (Isa 45:22; Ac 17:26).
Ro 3:29, "there is one Mediator also between God and man (all mankind whom He mediates for potentially), the man (rather 'man' generically) Christ Jesus," at once appointed by God and sympathizing with the sinner, while untainted by and hating sin. Such a combination could only come from infinite wisdom and love (Hebrews 1; 2; Heb 4:15; Eph 1:8); a Mediator whose mediation could only be effected by His propitiatory sacrifice, as 1Ti 2:5-6 adds, "who gave Himself a vicarious ransom (antilutron) for all." Not only the Father gave Him (Joh 3:16), but He voluntarily gave Himself for us (Php 2:5-8; Joh 10:15,17-18). This is what imparts in the Father's eyes such a value to it (Ps 40:6-8; Heb 10:5). (See PROPITIATION; RANSOM; ATONEMENT; RECONCILIATION.)
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For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that every one believing in him may not perish but have eternal life.
as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I give my life for the sheep.
Therefore my Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have a right to lay it down, and I have a right to take it again; this commandment have I received from my Father.
and he made of one blood every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, determining their appointed times and the bounds of their habitation,
Is God [a God] of the Jews alone? and not also of the gentiles? Yes, also of the gentiles,
yet to us there is one God the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through him.
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ also shall all be made alive.
then is the end, when he delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when he will destroy every principality and every authority and power.
and when all things have been put under him, then will the Son also himself be subject to him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
And thus it is written; The first man Adam became a living soul; the last Adam is a life-giving spirit.
The first man was from the earth, earthly, the second man is from heaven.
What then? The law was added on account of transgressions, till the offspring should come to which the promise was made, being appointed by angels by the hand of a mediator. But there is no mediator of one; but God is one.
But there is no mediator of one; but God is one.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God thought it not a robbery to be equal with God; read more. but he abased himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of man, and being found in form like a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient even till death, and the death of the cross.
having blotted out what was written by the hand in ordinances which was against us, and has taken it away from between [us], having nailed it to the cross;
who wishes all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of truth. For there is one God, and one mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus,
For there is one God, and one mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus,
For there is one God, and one mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all, a testimony for its own times,
For we have not a chief priest who cannot sympathise with our infirmities, but one tried in all respects as we are, without sin.
for which cause, God wishing more abundantly to show to the heirs of the promise the immutability of his purpose, interposed with an oath,
but now he has obtained a more excellent service, by as much also as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which is established on better promises.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that death having been for a redemption of transgressions [transgressors] under the first covenant, the called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Wherefore, coming into the world, he says, A sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, but a body didst thou prepare me.
and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, which those who heard desired that the word might not be spoken to them any more,??20 for they could not bear what was commanded, And if a beast touches the mountain it shall be stoned;
and so fearful was the sight, that Moses said, I fear and tremble,??22 but you have come to Zion, the mountain and city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels in general assembly,
and to the church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge the God of all, and to spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to a sprinkled blood which speaks better than Abel.
and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to a sprinkled blood which speaks better than Abel.
Morish
Middle man, one who can stand between two and have intercourse with both. Such was Moses: he conveyed to the people the words of Jehovah, and carried to Jehovah the replies of the people. Again and again he pleaded their cause. The very fact of a mediator acting between two, is used by the apostle to show that God's acting with Abraham was on a different principle. "A mediator is not of one, but God is one," and He made to Abraham personally an unconditional promise. Ga 3:19-20. The Lord Jesus is the Mediator
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What then? The law was added on account of transgressions, till the offspring should come to which the promise was made, being appointed by angels by the hand of a mediator. But there is no mediator of one; but God is one.
For there is one God, and one mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus,
but now he has obtained a more excellent service, by as much also as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which is established on better promises.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new covenant, that death having been for a redemption of transgressions [transgressors] under the first covenant, the called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to a sprinkled blood which speaks better than Abel.
Watsons
MEDIATOR, one who stands in a middle office or capacity between two differing parties, and has a power of transacting every thing between them, and of reconciling them to each other. Hence a mediator between God and man is one whose office properly is to mediate and transact affairs between them relating to the favour of almighty God, and the duty and happiness of man. No sooner had Adam transgressed the law of God in paradise, and become a sinful creature, than the Almighty was pleased in mercy to appoint a Mediator or Redeemer, who, in due time, should be born into the world, to make an atonement both for his transgression, and for all the sins of men. This is what is justly thought to be implied in the promise, that "the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head;" that is, that there should some time or other be born, of the posterity of Eve, a Redeemer, who, by making satisfaction for the sins of men, and reconciling them to the mercy of almighty God, should by that means bruise the head of that old serpent, the devil, who had beguiled our first parents into sin, and destroy his empire and dominion among men. Thus it became a necessary part of Adam's religion after the fall, as well as that of his posterity after him, to worship God through hope in this Mediator. To keep up the remembrance of it God was pleased, at this time, to appoint sacrifices of expiation or atonement for sin, to be observed through all succeeding generations, till the Redeemer himself should come, who was to make the true and only proper satisfaction and atonement.
The particular manner in which Christ interposed in the redemption of the world, or his office as Mediator between God and man, is thus represented to us in the Scripture. He is the light of the world, Joh 1; 8:12; the revealer of the will of God in the most eminent sense. He is a propitiatory sacrifice, Ro 3:25; 5:11; 1Co 5:7; Eph 5:2; 1Jo 2:2; Mt 26:28; Joh 1:29,36; and, as because of his peculiar offering, of a merit transcending all others, he is styled our High Priest. He was also described beforehand in the Old Testament, under the same character of a priest, and an expiatory victim, Isa 53; Da 9:24; Ps 110:4. And whereas it is objected, that all this is merely by way of allusion to the sacrifices of the Mosaic law, the Apostle on the contrary affirms, that "the law was a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things," Heb 10:1; and that the "priests that offer gifts according to the law, serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for see, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount," Heb 8:4-5; that is, the Levitical priesthood was a shadow of the priesthood of Christ; in like manner as the tabernacle made by Moses was according to that showed him in the mount. The priesthood of Christ, and the tabernacle in the mount, were the originals; of the former of which, the Levitical priesthood was a type; and of the latter, the tabernacle made by Moses was a copy. The doctrine of this epistle, then, plainly is, that the legal sacrifices were allusions to the great atonement to be made by the blood of Christ; and not that it was an allusion to those. Nor can any thing be more express or determinate than the following passage: "It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin. Wherefore when he [Christ] cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering," that is, of bulls and of goats, "thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. Lo, I come to do thy will, O God! By which will we are sanctified, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all," Heb 10:4-5,7,9-10. And to add one passage more of the like kind: "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without sin;" that is, without bearing sin, as he did at his first coming, by being an offering for it; without having our iniquities again laid upon him; without being any more a sin-offering:
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as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.
this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
On the next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
and looking at Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God.
The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.
For the Father judges no man, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father that sent him.
whom God set forth [to be] a propitiator through faith in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing by of the errors committed previously in the forbearance of God,
For if when enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more having become reconciled we shall be saved in his life. And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we received the present reconciliation.
to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing to them their offenses, and has given to us the word of reconciliation.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree,
and reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, having destroyed the enmity by it.
and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God of good odor.
and being found in form like a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient even till death, and the death of the cross. Wherefore God also highly exalted him, and gave him a name which is above every name, read more. that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of beings in heaven and in the earth and under the earth,
In like manner exhort the younger to be of a sound mind,
For it became him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, to perfect by sufferings the prince of their salvation, bringing many sons to glory.
Since then the children have partaken of blood and flesh, he in like manner also partook of them, that through death he might destroy him that has the power of death, that is the devil,
and being made perfect became to all who obey him an author of eternal salvation,
whence also he is able to save forever those who come to God through him, always living to intercede for them.
For if he had been on earth he would not have been a priest, there being priests to offer, the gifts according to the law, who serve for a symbol and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when about to make the tabernacle; for see, he says, that you make all things after the pattern shown you in the Mount;
so also Christ having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time without sin, to those who look for him for salvation.
For the law having a shadow of the good things that were to come, not the very likeness of the things, could not by the sacrifices which they offered continually every year perfect the offerers;
for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore, coming into the world, he says, A sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, but a body didst thou prepare me.
then I said, Behold, I come,??n the volume of the book it is written of me,??o do thy will, O God.
then he said, Behold, I come to do thy will. He takes away the first, that he may establish the second, by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all.
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish, and without a spot;
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might lead us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
But there were also false prophets among the people, as there shall also be false teachers among you, who shall bring in by stealth destructive heresies, even denying the master that bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction;
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for thou wast killed and hast redeemed to God with thy blood [men] from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
These are they who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins; these are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from men a first fruit to God and the Lamb,