1/16/2019

Acts 20:28

²⁸ Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

There is an age-old question in the Church.  Who did Christ die for?

He died for the world.  Salvation is no longer within the bounds of national Israel. The gospel is international.  Both Jews and Gentiles are to have it preached and anyone who believes, Jew or Gentile, will be saved. He died for the world that by His death creation would again be under the dominion of the Sons of Adam. Adam lost this dominion by his sin, Christ regained it by His sacrifice.

As the text above, Acts 20:28, plainly states He died for His Church.  This has a two-fold sense.  First and in the broadest context, this Church is all that the name of the Triune God is as their  God and bind themselves to Him with the Covenant sign of baptism.

Just as there was a true Israel within the National Israel, so there are God’s elect within the professing Church.

For these, the elect, Christ has efficiently procured their salvation.  His shed blood given for them at that time efficiently procured their salvation.  But it doesn’t matter at what level, Christ's death is effectual to its intention.