6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.
Because the law (both temporal and spiritual) cuts us off
from Heavenly Father, we need a way back to Him. Otherwise we are lost. Justice
cannot redeem us, since none of us is perfectly clean, and no unclean thing can
dwell with God. As much as we need law, it is not what brings us home to our
Father. That requires grace, which grace is provided by Jesus Christ. He
becomes the pivotal person in time, space, and eternity. If our loving Heavenly
Father wants us to return to Him, He relies on the Savior as much as we do. As
has been discussed, God the Father must live according to the eternal law of
justice, or He ceases to be God (see Alma 42 for an in-depth explanation). By
the strict requirements of that law, we have no chance of successfully
returning to Him, and He has no way of personally stepping in to intervene to
save us, as much as He may want to. He simply cannot let us off the hook, so to
speak, to leave our sins unpaid for, and yet His work and glory, His job, so to speak, is to make that
happen, to bring about our immortality and eternal life (see Moses 1: 39). The
Savior, Jesus Christ’s Atonement was the only way to mediate, the only way to
provide mercy and grace without violating the law of justice. John 1: 17 states
it clearly: Moses gave the law (by which we are cut off from the Father), but
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (by which we are reunited with our
Father).
- John 1: 17 (14, 17)
- 1 Nephi 10: 6
- 2 Nephi 25: 20
- Alma 12: 22 (22–25)
- Moses 1: 6
