“Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord God and His Spirit have sent Me” (Isaiah 48.16).

What did God the Father and the Holy Spirit send God the Son to do? Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. That is, Jesus came over 2,000 years ago to set us free from sin and death. We all deserve the penalty of eternal death for our sins. Yet if the Son has set us free, we are free indeed! So, the Scriptures reveal the triunity of God and His relationship to our salvation or redemption. The word redemption means to set free or loose from bondage. 

The Scriptures reveal that redemption is anchored in the Father’s love. Redemptions originates and comes from the heart of the Father. He sent His Son and delivered Him up for us all. The Father also sends the Holy Spirit to energize new life in the believer. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to live the Christian life. 

God the Son, the Lord Jesus, came to purchase salvation and obey the Father’s will. Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man. There is no other mediator. Isaiah reveals that Jesus is God’s Servant, His Elect One in whom the Father delights. The Holy Spirit is upon Him to bring forth justice (and mercy) to the Gentiles (see Isaiah 42.1). Jesus delights in doing the Father’s will. Ephesians 5.2 states the Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God (notice the work of the triune God here), cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9.14)? Jesus said that no one takes His life from Him. Instead, He laid it down voluntarily. He alone had the power to lay it down and take it back (resurrection; see John 10.18). The resurrected Christ ascended to the right hand of the power of God. There He makes intercession for those who come to God through Him (see Hebrews 7.25). John 14.2 tells us that Jesus is preparing a place in Heaven for us. He is the head of the Church. He shall bestow a kingdom upon us, just as the Father bestowed one upon Him (Luke 22.29). We shall reign with Him!

The Holy Spirit empowered Jesus to carry out His ministry of redemption. Once Jesus ascended to Heaven, the Holy Spirit was sent to testify of Him. He convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He comforts those who sorrow. He purifies and sanctifies believers. He reminds us that we belong to Him and are sealed until the day of our final redemption. This work is accomplished through a steady intake of God’s Word. However, there are subjective elements to the Holy Spirit’s work as well. As we obey the will of God, the Holy Spirit strengthens and empowers us greatly. 

The good news today is that we are elect because we are in the Elect One. All of this is “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1.2). The work of redemption is accomplished through the Triune God.