Now the guilt of Satan stood forth without excuse . He had revealed his true character as a liar and a murderer . It was seen that the very same spirit with which he ruled the children of men , who were under his power , he would have manifested had he been permitted to control the inhabitants of heaven . He had claimed that the transgression of God ' s law would bring liberty and exaltation ; but it was seen to result in bondage and degradation .
Satan ' s lying charges against the divine character and government appeared in their true light . He had accused God of seeking merely the exaltation of Himself in requiring submission and obedience from His creatures , and had declared that , while the Creator exacted self-denial from all others , He Himself practiced no self-denial and made no sacrifice . Now it was seen that for the salvation of a fallen and sinful race , the Ruler of the universe had made the greatest sacrifice which love could make ; for " God was in Christ , reconciling the world unto Himself ." 2 Corinthians 5:19 . It was seen , also , that while Lucifer had opened the door for the entrance of sin by his desire for honor and supremacy , Christ had , in order to destroy sin , humbled Himself and become obedient unto death .
God had manifested His abhorrence of the principles of rebellion . All heaven saw His justice revealed , both in the condemnation of Satan and in the redemption of man . Lucifer had declared that if the law of God was changeless , and its penalty could not be remitted , every transgressor must be forever debarred from the Creator ' s favor . He had claimed that the sinful race were placed beyond redemption and were therefore his rightful prey . But the death of Christ was an argument in man ' s behalf that could not be overthrown . The penalty of the law fell upon Him who was equal with God , and man was free to accept the righteousness of Christ and by a life of penitence and humiliation to triumph , as the Son of God had triumphed , over the power of Satan . Thus God is just and yet the justifier of all who believe in Jesus .
But it was not merely to accomplish the redemption of man that Christ came to the earth to suffer and to die . He came to " magnify the law " and to " make it honorable ." Not alone that the inhabitants of this world might regard the law as it should be regarded ; but it was to demonstrate to all the worlds of the universe that God ' s law is unchangeable . Could its claims have been set aside , then the Son of God need not have yielded up His life to atone for its transgression . The death of Christ proves it immutable . And the sacrifice to which infinite love impelled the Father and the Son , that sinners might be redeemed , demonstrates to all the universe--what nothing less than this plan of atonement could have sufficed to do--that justice and mercy are the foundation of the law and government of God .
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