The Real Exchange

UV 3652/10000 The Real Exchange He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross ( willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice), so that we might die to sin ( becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin) and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you ( who believe) have been healed. I Peter 2 v 24 Peter under the influence and leadership of the Holy Spirit blends the old covenant promise in Isaiah with His own witness of the Anointed One, the Messiah being offered up on the cruel Roman cross as a sacrifice. Jesus as the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls offered Himself as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. We are now immune from the penalty and power of sin though not yet free from its presence. We are now to live for righteousness. By His 39 stripes and the five nail pierced wounds on His limbs, we are healed, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. His blood protects us from a flood of troubles and temptations in this life. We have victory by our faith in His blood being the price and payment for our sins. A spiritual exchange has taken place at a point in history. Though it is spiritual, it is real, it is historic. Since we are bought with a ‘blood price’ of Christ, we no longer belong to ourselves but to the Lord God. His standard of righteousness is our standard or yardstick. The word of God is our measuring rod. His promises and commands are our daily manna. The Shepherd and Guardian of our Souls leads us to the green pastures of His word. The world is a dry and dreary place and our bones are dry from hopelessness that there is no escape from certain death and judgement but the Word releases the oxygen of living hope, the moisture of joy in us so that we become vibrant and dynamic. We are no longer the lost sheep, the wandering sheep but the ever wondering sheep, wondering and pondering on what the Lord would want us to do, where He would want us to go. We are free and not free. We are free from the chains of bondage but we are not free to do whatever we want. Like good and obedient sheep, we listen to the Shepherd’s voice and obey Him. In such obedience is our fulfilment. We receive both healing, blessing, guidance and manifest our love for the Lord. Jesus proved His obedience by allowing Himself to be offered as a sacrifice on the cross. We prove our obedience by carrying the cross of obedience and faith daily. The heavy chains of bondage to sin and death are replaced by the lighter yoke of our commitment to follow the example of Jesus. We only need to nail our sins to the cross. We do not believe in the power of cavalry or human power or prowess to save or destroy us but we believe in the promise of Calvary.