New Song: Perfect Savior

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

-Jeremiah 53:4-6

We'll be singing this new song together this week that proclaims the perfection of our Savior. It celebrates not only that he was perfect, in a sinless sense, but that he was EXACTLY what we were desperate for in our sinful state. We needed him in the deepest, most urgent way, and he has infinitely filled that need.

The person of Jesus has come under attack many times throughout history, and for many things: people saying he was not God, others saying he wasn't fully man, others saying he never existed at all, and still some saying he was just "a good teacher." (I personally love C.S. Lewis' argument against the possibility that Jesus was just a good teacher, check it out HERE)

It was one of these attacks on Jesus that occurred in the fourth century that prompted the first council of Nicea. A man named Arius had set forth a teaching that although Jesus was divine, God the Father had created him at a specific point in time, and that there was, therefore, a time when Jesus did NOT exist. This contradicts the teaching of the trinity, and the words of 1 John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God..."

Emperor Constantine convened a council of around 300 bishops, and they reviewed the major beliefs that all Christians held. It was a significant event because it was the first time the church sought consensus through a representative assembly.

I have adapted the bridge of this song from the portion of the Nicene Creed that deals with the person of Jesus. When we sing this bridge together, we will affirm what the Bible and the historical church have taught since the beginning, and we will echo the centuries of Christians who have read this creed aloud in their meetings.

Here are the lyrics:
(verse 1)
I was a dead man walking
So little good was in me
I was ruled by my sin
He was a perfect Savior
All that was good was in him
He laid it all down for me

I lived my life for myself
Not wanting to surrender
Or know the cost of my sin
He gave his life for all men
Submitting to the Father
He knew the cost of my sin

(Chorus)
So you died on that cross; died the death I deserved
So that I'd have new life; all God's wrath satisfied
Until you come back again
May I forever proclaim
Redemption poured out for men
Through you the pure spotless Lamb
Yes you are the perfect Savior!

(verse 2)
You conquered sin and the grave
You rose again in three days
And you're alive, Lord, today!
Thirsting for righteousness now
Follow your Spirit's leading
Renewing me from within

God you are ever faithful
Meeting the needs of my heart
Making me more like your Son
I want to sing it louder!
I want to shout it out now:
"This sinner's heart's been made new!"

(bridge)
We believe in you Lord Jesus
The only Son of God
Begotten of the Father
God from God, Light from Light
Very God from very God
Begotten and not made
One being with the Father
Through you all things were made

For us and our salvation
From heaven you came down
Born of the virgin Mary
To take on man's design
For our sake crucified
Suffered death and burial
But the third day rose again
Just as the Scriptures said

You ascended into heaven
Sat down at God's right hand
You'll come again in glory
Judge the living and the dead
Your kingdom has no end Lord
Forever you will reign
You've sent your Holy Spirit
He'll be with us to the end!