We looked at the Reformation phrase of Soli Deo Gloria the past few times and now we turn to another. When we speak of the phrase Solo Christo or Christ alone, there are many ways to approach this. The first approach is to look at it in light of Soli Deo Gloria. We saw that for man to do all for the glory of God alone that this at the very least implies that God does all for His own glory as well. Now if we look at what Christ alone means, we will know that God does all for the sake of His own name in Christ. Salvation is by Christ alone because Christ is the perfect display of the glory of God and is the shining forth of the glory of God’s love, grace, justice, wrath and all of His holy character. Since the Gospel is really the glory of God in the face of Christ, this tells us that if salvation is by Christ alone then the glory of God shining in the Gospel is all of Christ and for Christ alone.
What we must flee from the common thought that Jesus Christ is all about human beings for the sake of human beings alone. In our man-centeredness we think of Christ as coming because He could not bear to let man go to hell without a chance or opportunity for salvation. To be a perfect sacrifice Christ had to have been perfectly sinless which means He had to have kept the Greatest Commandment perfectly in all ways and at all times. When He went to the cross in was from love for God or He would have sinned. During the time of the life of Christ on earth He lived out of love for God and His glory each and every moment. Christ is the only way of salvation because God alone saves and Christ is God in human flesh. Christ is the way that God has saved sinners to the glory of God and out of love for Himself. In other words, salvation is by Christ alone because salvation is by the work of God alone in and through Christ. Salvation is by Christ alone because that is the only way that God saves. Salvation is by Christ alone because God will only save in a way that displays His glory and Christ alone does that.
Salvation is by Christ alone because Christ is the shining forth of the glory of God (Hebrews 1:3) and the Gospel is the Gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ (II Corinthians 4:4, 6). There is no other place or person where the glory of God shines in such a way that it could make up for sin which is falling short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Human beings fell into sin and lived for themselves and by themselves rather than doing what they were created to do which was and is to be empty vessels by which God’s glory would be manifested. Sanctification is also Christ alone because human beings are no more sanctified than they are dead to self with the glory of God shining through them because of the life of Christ in them who is the glory of God shining.
All the works of human beings that are not from the life of Christ in the soul are rubbish and dung to the living God. God never made human beings to work as if to do something for Him that He could not do for Himself, but they were made to be instruments of His glory and those who put His love for Himself on display. The Law sets forth the glory of God’s holiness and love in such a way that man should be able to see that he cannot do one thing to earn righteousness. The Great Commandment sets out that man is to love God with all of his being and yet man is completely void of true love apart from Christ and the Spirit of Christ. All of this should drive human beings to see that they are utterly dependent on God who is love for love. This should drive us to see that all of God’s love for human beings is purchased by Christ alone and is not available in any other way. This should drive us to see and to feel that there is no eternal life apart from Christ alone who is the very shining forth of the life of God.
When we utter Solo Christo we are uttering words that point to the very glory of God shining in Christ. The Gospel is by and through Christ alone because there is nothing a human being can do to remove the wrath of God from him or herself and there is nothing any human can do to earn the slightest bit of righteousness much less a perfect righteousness from God. The Gospel puts the beauty of God on display and proclaims that it is by Christ alone because it is all by the works of God through Christ. The Gospel also tells us of the glory of God in the New Covenant which is the very life of God in human souls sharing His love and life with them. This is eternal life and this is Christ Himself in the soul. I John 5:20 makes this point with great beauty: “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” It tells us that Christ is the true God and He is also eternal life. This is why one must believe in Christ to have eternal life. It is because Christ is eternal life. I John 1:1-3 tells us that Christ is the Word of life and that very life manifested. It is all Christ alone because He is the life of God alone and He is the only way to eternal life. Only He who is eternal life Himself can give eternal life and can cleanse sinners by His blood as applied by the Holy Spirit and so He can be the life of true believers. The glory of the Gospel is the shining forth of the glory of God in Christ and so the Gospel is truly Christ alone.
God Loves... Himself 
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