Westminster Project 8.4

The Lord Jesus undertook this office completely willingly. So that that he might carry it out, he was made to be under the Law, and he perfectly fulfilled it. He endured grievous torments directly in his soul, and very painful sufferings in his body; he was crucified, died, was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. On the third day he rose from the dead, with the same body in which he suffered, with which also he ascended to heaven, and sits there now at the right hand of his Father, making intercession; he shall return to judge people and angels at the end of the world.
(WCF 8.4)

In chapter 8 of the WCF so far, we have seen that because of the sin of Adam—humanity’s first federal head—people were unable to approach God by any means of their own (Gen 3:17-19, 23-24; Rom 5:12-15). Under the old covenant, however, God made a way for His people to approach Him through the nation of Israel, and more specifically, through the Levitical priesthood (Gen 12:2-3; Ex 28; Lev 8). 

These Levitical priests of Israel served as mediators of the Mosaic law, and they themselves could only approach God by and through substitutionary victims (Lev 1-10). This was the only way for people in their sin to approach God under the old covenant. They had to come to Israel and have a priest from the tribe of Levi offer sacrifices and mediate on their behalf.

This is important because the sacrificial system, substitutionary victims, priesthood, and mediation were all types or "shadows" pointing the people of God toward Christ (Heb 10:1-17). God gave the law so that people living before Christ could learn about Him and trust in the promised “Seed” before He took flesh and dwelt among us (Gen 15:4-6; Gal 3:15-16).

What is incredibly interesting is that all of this was not a plan B. It wasn’t as if Adam sinned in the garden and God then wondered what to do. On the contrary, God, in His wisdom and understanding, knew Adam would sin and had already planned that the second person of the Trinity would take flesh and deal with the problem of sin (Jn 1:29; Rev 13:8). That’s why, when the law was given, it was never designed to save but to magnify sin so that people could look to Christ in the types (Heb 10:1-4).

As the confession states, the Lord Jesus undertook this office completely willingly. To carry it out, He was made to be under the Law and perfectly fulfilled it. When the confession says Jesus “perfectly fulfilled” the law, we must remember what the law contained. It was like scaffolding—intended to build something beyond itself, not the building itself. When the law commanded the shedding of blood, innocent lambs, substitution, sacrifice, and offerings, it served as a framework pointing toward what Jesus would fulfill in His ministry (see Isa 53).

Our confession also notes that He endured grievous torments directly in His soul and very painful sufferings in His body; He was crucified, died, was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. This is why the Old Testament is so important to study (Ps 1, 119), because it explains, among other things, the substitutionary atonement of Christ’s ministry for the world (Jn 3:16; Rom 3:19-26). It also explains why Jesus’ physical resurrection was so vital. His sacrifice was fully accepted, so the wages of sin could not hold Him in the grave (Rom 6:23). By fulfilling the law, all its blessings were passed to Jesus—the second federal head—who now sits as our great high priest, mediating on behalf of His people (Heb 4:14-16). As we read here: On the third day, He rose from the dead, with the same body in which He suffered, with which He also ascended to heaven and now sits at the right hand of His Father, making intercession.

In Christ’s first advent, He came as a servant and lamb and perfectly fulfilled the will of His Father. He now sits in heaven interceding and mediating for His church, of which He is the head (Col 1:18). But this role will be added to. There will come a time when the Lamb of God will return as the Lion of Judah to judge people and angels at the end of the world. To that, the people of God say, “Even so, come Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20).