Oh can it be

God moved in another's crucifixion, but this other One is the embodiment of God. The first One moved in the second One's death, and the second One is the embodiment of the first One. This is the stairway we need to understand the crucifixion. All proper Christians admit that they were redeemed by Christ's paying the price for them.

Christ died and shed His blood for us. He died on the cross as our replacement. The Bible tells us that God decided to crucify Christ Isa. If Christ had not died as our replacement, then God would have become unrighteous in crucifying Christ, because Christ is the only person who is absolutely righteous and just. One of Charles Wesley's hymns says, "Amazing love! The just God-man died for the unjust sinners 1 Pet. One just God-man died for many unjust sinners.

Such a vicarious death is judicial. God redeemed us judicially by the blood of Christ. To redeem, in a sense, is to purchase. When you purchase something, you have to pay the price. God's redemption is a kind of purchase. God purchased us sinners judicially by paying Christ's blood as the price on the cross. Also, Christ was crucified on the cross for us, and He was on the cross for six hours.

In the first three hours, Christ was persecuted by men for doing God's will; in the last three hours, He was judged by God for the accomplishment of our redemption.

It was during this time that God counted Him as our suffering substitute for sin Isa. Hence, darkness came over all the land Matt. God forsook Him because of our sin. Economically, God was judging Him as a sinner and the judging God left Him economically. Essentially, however, He was dying on the cross as the Triune God-man.

This is why Charles Wesley in one of his hymns Hymns, says, "Amazing love! Actually, however, that was not God dying, but God passing through death. More than two centuries ago, Charles Wesley wrote a hymn that speaks of God dying for us. In this hymn Wesley says:. In this hymn Wesley goes on to say, "'Tis mystery all! Charles Wesley saw the vision concerning this and declared in his hymn that God died for us. The God who died for us is not the God before incarnation. Prior to incarnation, God certainly did not have blood, and He could not have died for us.

It was after the incarnation, in which God was mingled with humanity, that He died for us. Through incarnation, our God, the Creator, the eternal One, Jehovah, became mingled with man. As a result, He was no longer only God—He became a God-man. As the God-man, He surely had blood and was able to die for us. Paul said in Acts that the blood that Christ shed on the cross was God's own blood.

God bought, purchased, the church with His own blood, so the church is so dear, so beloved, in the feeling of God and in the eyes of God. This was the word spoken by Paul to the elders of Ephesus. He was impressing the elders from Ephesus that they should love the church, considering the church very dear and beloved as God does.

The church is so dear and beloved to God in His feeling, so He purchased the church with His own blood. The Bible in Acts says that the divine God has human blood. As we have pointed out, Charles Wesley wrote a very good hymn with a good melody, in which he spoke of the crucifixion of Christ.

This is hymn in our hymnal. A number of years ago, I translated this hymn into Chinese. Charles Wesley had the boldness to say in this hymn that the immortal God died for us. I am so glad that he declared this truth and that it is printed in the hymnal.

Follow us:. Toggle Navigation. The music cannot be played on your browser. Text Piano Guitar. Comment Your Name. Your Comment. Cancel Comment. Nov 11 Emmanuel Nde Douala, Littoral, Cameroon. It out me. Nov 7 Who can explore His strange design? In vain the firstborn seraph tries To sound the depths of love divine! Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine, Bold I approach th'eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own. Wesley had known his Bible well before this time but had not yet experienced affirmation of new birth or the wholeness of grace in his life.

Wesley starts the first stanza by expressing admiration over the love shown by Jesus dying for him and wonders how we who "pursued" his death are now graced by it. In the second stanza, Wesley calls for appreciation of God's love and mercy in this sacrifice. In the fourth stanza, Wesley harkens to the "imprisonment" of his own sin and the freedom he found in Christ. A Prayer for When Your Soul Is Downcast — Your Daily Prayer — November 13 As we journey through this weird world, we are most certainly going to experience many twists and turns in our well thought out plans.

Such is the amazing love of God in Christ! Charles Wesley b. Epworth, Lincolnshire, England, ; d. Marylebone, London, England, wrote his powerful and joyful hymn text in in the days immediately following his conversion to belief in Christ May 21 ; he sang it with his brother John b.

Epworth, ; d. London, shortly after John's "Aldersgate experience. Traditionally one of the great hymns of Methodism, this text appears in a number of modern hymnals. Like so many of Charles Wesley's hymn texts, "And Can It Be" is full of allusions to and quotations from Scripture; a few of the more obvious texts are Philippians , Acts , Romans , and Hebrews Wesley's use of metaphors is also noteworthy — he deftly contrasts light and darkness, life and death, slavery and freedom, and especially Christ's righteousness and our unrighteousness.

Liturgical Use: Service of confession and forgiveness; adult baptism; in conjunction with doctrinal preaching; many other occasions. Several members of the Wesley family are significant figures in the history of English hymnody, and none more so than Charles Wesley. Charles was the eighteenth child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, who educated him when he was young.

Their purpose was to study the Bible in a disciplined manner, to improve Christian worship and the celebration of the Lord's Supper, and to help the needy. Charles Wesley was ordained a minister in the Church of England in but found spiritual conditions in the church deplorable. Charles and John served briefly as missionaries to the British colony in Georgia. Enroute they came upon a group of Moravian missionaries, whose spirituality impressed the Wesleys.

They returned to England, and, strongly influenced by the ministry of the Moravians, both Charles and John had conversion experiences in see more on this below. The brothers began preaching at revival meetings, often outdoors. These meetings were pivotal in the mid-eighteenth-century "Great Awakening" in England. Though neither Charles nor John Wesley ever left the Church of England themselves, they are the founders of Methodism.

Charles wrote some sixty-five hundred hymns, which were published in sixty-four volumes during his lifetime; these include Collection of Psalms and Hymns , Hymns on the Lord's Supper 1 , Hymns and Spiritual Songs , and Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People called Methodists Charles's hymns are famous for their frequent quotations and allusions from the Bible, for their creedal orthodoxy and their subjective expression of Christian living, and for their use of some forty-five different meters, which inspired new hymn tunes in England.

Numerous hymn texts by Wesley are standard entries in most modern hymnals; fourteen are included in the Psalter Hymnal. Charles's elder brother John also studied at Christ Church College, Oxford, and was ordained a priest in the Church of England in After his contact with the Moravian missionaries, Wesley began translating Moravian hymns from German and published his first hymnal, Collection of Psalms and Hymns , in Charleston, South Carolina ; this hymnal was the first English hymnal ever published for use in worship.

Upon his return to England in Wesley "felt his heart strangely warmed" at a meeting on Aldersgate Street, London, when Peter Bohler, a Moravian, read from Martin Luther's preface to his commentary on the epistle to the Romans. It was at that meeting that John received the assurance that Christ had truly taken away his sins. That conversion experience followed a few days later by a similar experience by his brother Charles led to his becoming the great itinerant evangelist and administrator of the Methodist "societies," which would eventually become the Methodist Church.

An Anglican all his life, John Wesley wished to reform the Church of England and regretted the need to found a new denomination. Most of the hymnals he prepared with his brother Charles were intended for Christians in all denominations; their Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People called Methodists is one of the few specifically so designated. John was not only a great preacher and organizer, he was also a prolific author, editor, and translator.

He translated many classic texts, wrote grammars and dictionaries, and edited the works of John Bunyan and Richard Baxter.

Most significant, however, is his well-known strong hand in editing and often strengthening his brother Charles's hymn texts before they copublished them in their numerous hymnals. And can it be that I should gain. Wesley at that time underwent. His diary of that date gives minute details of the mental and spiritual struggles through which he passed, evidences of which, and the ultimate triumph, are clearly traceable in both hymns.

It was first published in J. When included in the Wesleyan Hymn Book , , stanza v. It has passed from that hymnal into numerous collections in Great Britain and most English-speaking countries. Stevenson's note on this hymn, dealing with the spiritual benefits it has conferred on many, is full and interesting Methodist Hymn Book Notes , p. Original text in Poetical Works , , vol. It was published in John Wesley's Psalms and Hymns in that same year with six stanzas.

The refrain is a repetition of the last two lines of the first stanza. Sometimes there is an expanded refrain, in which these two lines are sung twice after every stanza, replacing the last two lines of the second through fifth stanzas, but this omits some important lines of the hymn.

However, in the twentieth century this text was paired with SAGINA, and with few exceptions, this is the only tune used today. The tune is fairly well-known, but it can present difficulties for congregational singing because of its wide range and frequent melismas. It is a good idea to sing in parts, especially on the refrain. This hymn is used as a song of response, and is especially suited to a service of confession and forgiveness, or an adult baptism.

The soft, haunting mood of this arrangement is best suited for Lent or Holy Week, and allows the listener to contemplate the sober reality of Christ's sacrifice. A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent e. Skip to main content. Home Page.

Hymnary FlexScore. Choral Palms, Passion and Alleluias. Refrain: Amazing love!