V. The work of the Son
We shall now consider the work of the other party, the Lord Jesus Christ, which consists of
(A) His acceptance of both the conditions and the promises,
(B) His fulfillment of these conditions, and
(C) His demand that the promises be fulfilled based on His having fulfilled the conditions.
First of all, the Lord Jesus, who is very God and a holy man, upon hearing these conditions, according to His human nature, could do naught else but accept them as due to His perfect holiness and love for God. With full joy He accepted them, as Psalm 40:6-8 states, “Burnt offering and sin offering hast Thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.” When this passage is cited in Hebrews 10:5-7, the application is extended more fully to Christ.
Secondly, He also accepted the promises. This is confirmed by the fact that the Father strengthened Him in executing the covenant by means of its promises, oaths, and seals. “He is near that justifieth Me; who will contend with Me?” (Isa 50:8). This is why He is said to be justified in the Spirit (1 Tim 3:16). In what way is Christ justified? The Father reaffirmed and assured Him of the fact that His suffering and death was a perfect ransom for all the sins of the elect, that He was perfectly satisfied with the execution of His suretyship, and that He merited a complete salvation for all the elect. Therefore He will “appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Heb 9:28). It is evident that Christ strengthened Himself with these promises, because in His suffering He anticipated the glory that was promised to Him. “...For the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Heb 12:2).
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