It is
Finished!
All Scripture Quotations are from the King James Bible
By Dr. Ken Matto
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said,
It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
(John 19:30)
I am writing this article three days before Good Friday
2019. The Lord Jesus Christ was
crucified and one of the attendants gave Jesus some vinegar which would only
have increased his thirst but as soon as he received it, he said, “It is
Finished.” This is a very important
saying that Jesus made. First of
all, his days of suffering were now over as he gave up the ghost and physically
died.
Before I comment on John 19:30, I want to dispel a
belief which is very common today among churches and Christians yet is nowhere
found in the Bible. It is the
belief that after Jesus died, he went to hell
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he
might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the
Spirit: {19} By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in
prison; {20} Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is,
eight souls were saved by water. (1 Peter 3:18-20)
Here we have three verses which have been very misunderstood and really used in
outrageous ways. I have heard these verses misused for over 39 years by those
who insist that after Christ died, He went to Hell to preach to the spirits in
prison, those of the fallen angels and unbelievers. However, this is far from
Biblical truth. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He committed His spirit
unto His Father and His body went into the grave.
Spirit
And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Luke 23:46)
Body
And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that
was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. (Luke 23:53)
There are no contradicting Scriptures which teach that anything else happened.
If there were conscious souls in Hell at that time, there would be no purpose in
bringing them the Gospel, since they would all be under condemnation and could
never be saved.
Christ did not go to Hell but He endured the equivalency of an eternity in Hell
to pay for the sins of the Believers. One thing we must realize that God never
does anything which lacks purpose. The key to understanding this passage is
found in verse 20. There we read about Noah who is called “preacher of
righteousness.” And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the
eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world
of the ungodly; (2 Peter 2:5)
While Noah was preparing the ark, he was also preaching about the coming
judgment. This is why he is called “a preacher.” There is one great principle
found in verse 20 and I have it pasted in my Bible when I clipped it out of
something many years ago, “Noah was faithful to God’s message even though there
were no results.”
This is something that we must keep in mind. Many of us want to see instant
results when we witness to someone. This is not always the case. Sometimes it
does happen but very rarely. We are to remain faithful and vigilant even if
there is no visible fruit. Now what does it mean that Christ preached to the
spirits in prison? Jesus did not walk the earth at that time, so how could He
have preached to the spirits in prison? The answer is simple. The Spirit of
Christ was in Noah!
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
(Romans 8:9)
{10} Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
{11} Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which
was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of
Christ, and the glory that should follow.
(1 Peter 1:10-11)
Let us look at the very end of 1 Peter 3:18, “but quickened by the Spirit:”
Isn’t every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ quickened (made alive) by the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit? We read this in Romans 8:9. The same Spirit
quickened the Old Testament Saints as well as all those on the New Testament
side of the cross. The Lord Jesus is not walking on earth today, yet He is
preaching to the world through His regenerated Saints by the quickening of the
Holy Spirit. Jesus is called the “Word of God” and it is through the Word of God
we bring the Gospel.
Notice 1 Peter 1:10-11 which state that the Spirit of Christ was in the Old
Testament Prophets which preached the grace which would come by Christ.
The idea that the Holy Spirit did not indwell Old Testament Saints is
totally disproven by these verses.
With the Spirit of Christ in them, they could now preach whatever the Lord would
tell them to.
Remember That Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:8)
Grace in the life of a person is what? Salvation! Noah was a saved individual
who preached the word of Christ to his generation. So then what is the prison
that is in view? In Isaiah 14, we read about Satan, that he would not open the
house of his prisoners.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut
down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! {13} For thou hast said in
thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars
of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: {14} I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the
most High. {15} Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the
pit. {16} They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider
thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake
kingdoms; {17} That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities
thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? (Isaiah 14:12-17)
Isaiah 14:12-17 speaks about Satan and his desire to be like God. In verse 17,
the Bible states that he did not open the house of his prisoners. Did Satan have
a physical place where he locked up all his prisoners? The answer, of course, is
no. The prison being spoken of here is the prison of unbelief. Satan will not
allow any of his prisoners to hear and understand the Gospel.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: {4} In whom the god
of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
Satan’s desire is to keep all those who are unbelievers as unbelievers by
blinding their minds to the truth of the Gospel so salvation will not take
place. While Satan will control many people until the last day, God has
committed to save many and those that God will save will hear the Gospel and
become saved which means they have been removed from the prison house or the
power of Satan.
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into
the kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians 1:13)
Now let us go back to the time of Noah. What does this translate into? It means
that Noah was preaching to all the unbelievers for the duration of the building
of the ark. We have seen that those in spiritual prison are the unsaved. When a
person becomes saved, they become free.
But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit
unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (Romans 6:22)
Section Summary
So the prisoners that Christ was preaching to were all the unbelievers at the
time of Noah, through Him indwelling Noah with the Holy Spirit. They were not in
any special place but were all walking around the earth. How does this apply to
us today? Well, it is the same principle, because all the unbelievers are still
in spiritual prison and the only way a person becomes free from that prison is
by receiving a full “Heavenly Pardon.” Once this takes place, they are
transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God as we read in
Colossians 1:13. When we look at 1 Peter 3:18-20, we see how much deeper they
are than just a “homily in hell.” These verses speak of the beauty of salvation
which we can all thank God for this day. For we were once a prisoner but now we
are set at liberty.
Now let us return to John 19:30.
When the Lord Jesus stated that “it” is finished it marked the end of his
sufferings as we noted before but the major teaching stemming from that verse is
the fact that God’s salvation plan was now complete, in that all that the feasts
were looking forward to, all that the prophets spoke about and the teachings of
Jesus himself. The free will
movement believes that when Christ died, he opened the gates for anyone to walk
through and that salvation was now available to the “whosoever.”
Unfortunately this is another serious error being taught
by the free willers because if you notice what the Lord said, “It is finished.”
He did not say, it is beginning.
So what was finished? The
Lord Jesus Christ came to save his people.
And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their
sins. (Matthew 1:21)
This is where the doctrine of Limited Atonement comes in.
Jesus died for his people and not for the whole world.
When he died, the Elect were now saved and sealed because Christ
fulfilled the demands of God’s righteous law on their behalf.
{21} Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and
hath anointed us, is God; {22} Who
hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
(2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
(Ephesians 1:13)
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are
sealed unto the day of redemption.
(Ephesians 4:30)
These are the ones who were named by God from the
foundation of the world to inherit salvation.
Christ came to specifically die for his Elect and as we previously read
there is no way Christ died for everyone in the world or else everyone will be
saved. This is the error of the
free will movement as it is built upon randomness which if one studies the
creation and the Bible will not find any.
Can you imagine the universe existing by random chance?
Don’t they call that the Big Bang which is totally ridiculous?
Can you imagine if the sun was not controlled by God but by randomness?
What would keep the sun from getting closer to the earth and burning it
up? How about the fact that the sun
rises and sets the same way every day, is this according to randomness or
according to God being in control? Why God has saved some and not others is a
mystery. One thing we must keep in
mind and free willers ignore this principle too and that is, that man was the
one who walked away from God in sin, God did not walk away from the human race.
If he did we would all be going to hell.
The great miracle is that God chose to save a great multitude from the
penalty of hell. He didn’t have to
he could have just allowed the human race to die out by attrition.
I have a study on line called “The Last Will and
Testament of Christ”* and you will see according to the Scriptures that it will
be legally impossible for anyone who is not named in it to have salvation.
Once Christ died, his last will and testament was now in force and
included only those who were named in it, that is, the Elect of God.
And there shall in no wise enter
into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or
maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
(Revelation 21:27) Since
unbelievers cannot regenerate themselves, then they are classified as defilers,
liars, and those who perform abominations.
There is the separation that only those who are written in the Lamb’s
book of life are qualified to go into heaven.
Let us look at three verses which illustrate the reality
that a believer’s name is already written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits
are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written
in heaven. (Luke 10:20)
The words “are written” are in the aorist tense.
The aorist tense is a tense which indicates a past action.
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that
defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they
which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
(Revelation 21:27)
The words “are written” are in the perfect tense.
The perfect
tense is a primary tense because
it emphasizes the present, or ongoing result of a completed past action.
Remember, Christ was slain in principle from the foundation of the world
and therefore the Lamb’s book of Life was completed before the foundation of the
world.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world:
(Matthew 25:34)
The words “prepared for you” are in the perfect tense
which is the result of a past action which was completed.
Keep in mind that in the order of the narratives when Luke 10:20 and
Matthew 25:34 were penned, it was still before the time of the cross which means
what is in view is the past action of the believer being named for salvation and
a place being prepared for them in heaven.
When you prepare for a wedding, do you prepare say for 100 guests and
then throw open the doors for the whole town to come?
Of course not, you prepare for those 100 invited guests and that is all
you paid for. Just like Christ who
paid for the sins of his Elect and that was it!
*Last Will and Testament of Christ