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 saith to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.
And there is no salvation in any other person: for there is no other name under heaven given unto men, whereby we must be saved.
To what end then was the law given? It was given on account of transgressions, until that seed should come to whom the promise was made, being delivered through the ministry of angels into the hand of a mediator.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
But now hath Christ obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been established on better promises.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that, death being suffered for the redemption of transgressions committed against the first testament, they who are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.
and to Jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than that of 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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Then Jesus approaching, spake to them, saying, All power is given me in heaven and upon earth.
For the Father never judgeth any man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, yea, it is now, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son also to have life in himself; read more. and hath given him authority also to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man.
For whom he foreknew, he predestinated also to a conformity with the image of his Son, that he might be the first-begotten among many brethren.
To what end then was the law given? It was given on account of transgressions, until that seed should come to whom the promise was made, being delivered through the ministry of angels into the hand of a mediator.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Wherefore he ought in all things to be made like to his brethren, in order to become a merciful and faithful high-priest in those things which relate to God, to make a propitiation for the sins of the people: for inasmuch as he hath himself suffered, having been tempted, he is able to succour those who are tempted.
For we have not an high-priest incapable of a fellow-feeling with our infirmities, but one tempted in all points, in exact resemblance with ourselves, sin excepted. Let us therefore approach with boldness the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace for seasonable help.
But now hath Christ obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been established on better promises.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that, death being suffered for the redemption of transgressions committed against the first testament, they who are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.
and to Jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than that of 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 begotten Son, that every one who believeth in him should not perish, but have life eternal.
As the Father knoweth me, so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Therefore doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment I have received from my Father.
And hath made from one man's blood all the nations of mankind, to dwell upon the whole face of the earth, fixing the predetermined periods of their existence, and the boundaries of their several abodes;
Is he the God of the Jews only, and is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, verily, of the Gentiles also:
but to us there is one God, the Father; of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
For as in Adam all are dead, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, and the Father; when he shall have destroyed every dominion and every authority and power.
But when he shall have put all things under him, then also the Son himself shall be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
And so it is written, There was a first man Adam a living soul; a last Adam a quickening spirit.
The first man was of the earth, earthly; the second man was the Lord from heaven.
To what end then was the law given? It was given on account of transgressions, until that seed should come to whom the promise was made, being delivered through the ministry of angels into the hand of a mediator. But the mediator of the one [seed] he is not, though God is one.
But the mediator of the one [seed] he is not, though God is one.
Let the same sentiment of mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God counted it no usurpation to claim equality with God: read more. but emptied himself, assuming the form of a servant, made after the similitude of mortal men; and found in fashion as man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even to the death of the cross.
and hath blotted out the handwriting in ordinances that was against us, which was the obstacle to us, and took it from the midst, nailing it to the cross;
who wills all men to be saved, and come to the acknowledgment of truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony to be born in his appointed times;
For we have not an high-priest incapable of a fellow-feeling with our infirmities, but one tempted in all points, in exact resemblance with ourselves, sin excepted.
And thus God, designing more abundantly to demonstrate to the heirs of promise the immutability of his will, pledged himself by oath,
But now hath Christ obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been established on better promises.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that, death being suffered for the redemption of transgressions committed against the first testament, they who are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.
Wherefore, coming into the world, he saith, "Sacrifice and oblation thou hast not chosen, but thou hast exactly fashioned a body for me:
and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which they who heard, earnestly begged that the discourse might not be directed to them: for they could not bear the charge given, and "If but a beast touch the mountain he shall be stoned, or shot through with a dart:" read more. and so terrible was the appearance, that Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and trembling: but ye are come unto mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, and to the general assembly and church of the first-born registered in the heavens, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men perfected, and to Jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than that of Abel.
and to Jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than that of 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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To what end then was the law given? It was given on account of transgressions, until that seed should come to whom the promise was made, being delivered through the ministry of angels into the hand of a mediator. But the mediator of the one [seed] he is not, though God is one.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
But now hath Christ obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been established on better promises.
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that, death being suffered for the redemption of transgressions committed against the first testament, they who are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.
and to Jesus the mediator of the new testament, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than that of 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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Even as the Son of man came not to be waited upon, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.
for this is my blood, that [blood] of the new testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins.
The next day John seeth Jesus coming to him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world,
and looking upon Jesus as he walked by, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
For the Father never judgeth any man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son: in order that all may honour the Son, just as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, doth not honour the Father who sent him.
whom God hath proposed as the propitiatory sacrifice through faith in his blood, in demonstration of his justice for the remission of past sins, through the patience of God;
For if, being enemies, we have been reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. And not so only, but we exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom already we have received reconciliation.
namely, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing to them their offences: and hath committed to us the word of reconciliation.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, "Cursed is every one who is hanged on a tree:"
and might reconcile them both in one body to God by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby;
and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, and given himself for us, an oblation and sacrifice to God, for an odour of a sweet smell.
and found in fashion as man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even to the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath transcendently exalted him, and bestowed on him a name which is above every name: read more. that to the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of beings celestial and terrestrial, and infernal;
The younger men in like manner exhort to be sober minded.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to perfect the Author of their salvation by sufferings.
Seeing therefore that the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he also himself, in exact resemblance, partook of the same, that by death he might destroy him who held the power of death, that is, the devil;
and complete himself, he became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey him;
by so much is Jesus become the surety of a better testament.
Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, there being priests who offer gifts according to the law; who perform the service after the figure and shadow of things in the heavens, as Moses was divinely instructed, when he was about to finish the tabernacle. "For see," saith God, "that thou make all things according to the model shewed thee on the mount."
so Christ having been once offered in sacrifice to bear the sins of men, will appear the second time without sin, to those who expect him, for their salvation.
NOW the law, having a shadow of the good things which were to come, not the very substance of the things, cannot possibly, by the same sacrifices which they offer year by year continually, make those perfect who approach [God];
For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. Wherefore, coming into the world, he saith, "Sacrifice and oblation thou hast not chosen, but thou hast exactly fashioned a body for me:
then I said, Here am I; (in the volume of the book it is written of me) I come to do thy will, O God."
he then added, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He abolishes the first that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all.
but by the precious blood of Christ, as the unblemished and spotless lamb:
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, put to death indeed in the flesh, but raised to life by the Spirit:
BUT there were false prophets among the people, as there will be false teachers also among you, who wickedly introduce damnable heresies, and deny the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.
And they sung a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open the seals thereon; because thou hast been slaughtered, and hast redeemed us for God by thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation;
These are they who have not defiled themselves with women; for they are virgins: these are they who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth: these have been redeemed among men, as first-fruits to God, and to the Lamb.