1 Peter 3:18
The first two verses of this song are loaded with grace. In only a few lines, we sing of our sin, guilt, idolatry, and due punishment, and yet we can sing it with joy and hope because we have one ?“who took the sinner’s place”? and who ?“is our righteousness.”? We deserved death and God’s wrath for our sin, but instead, Jesus Christ took our place. He took our imperfect and debt-ridden record and replaced it with His perfect obedience and holiness. Now God the Father looks at us with the same pleasure and delight as He does His Son. This means that even when ?“we give our hearts to less”? or when ?“Satan’s lies of guilt abound,”? we have a God who promises to forgive, restore, and sanctify us and a Savior who sings His grace over us (Zephaniah 3:17).
Being near a holy God is a divine miracle.
The Bible is emphatic about the chasm that exists between sinful humans and the holiness of God. In short, God is holy, and we are not. How are we able to draw near to this holy God? The gospel reminds us that we cannot do anything. Fortunately, we can draw near to a holy God, because we have a Savior who was crucified on our behalf. This is a divine miracle. We can respond with nothing other than ?“All my heart, all my soul / All my life is Yours alone …”
We have a present and future hope.
We have the promise that He will return just as He said. Jesus Christ will come back again, and on that day, He will set all things right and make all things new. We will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye and become like Him when we see Him (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 John 3:2-3). Our only response on that day will be to fall to our knees and declare, ?“Holy, holy, holy is our God”? ! Until that day, may we continue to lift our voices and our lives to the only God worthy of a song like this one.
By Dr. Greg Breazeale
