Bill Vanderbush

When Christ Sat Down

The incarnation is the time and place in all of eternity where God and man meet, and find union in Christ. Jesus reveals God as Father, and unveils the truth of not only who God is, but the truth of who we are as his sons and daughters. So the revelation of God as Father unveils our identity. If you don't see God as Father, you'll never truly know your identity. So now, when we come to God, do we come in the law-based ideology of approaching God, in the style of the Levitical priesthood of the Old Covenant? I think a lot of people do, but the invitation is for us to know God through the mediation of our great high priest, who is Jesus Christ, according to a completely different order than the Old Covenant.

Seen, Known, Loved, Chosen

In the Christic Covenant God's relationship with humanity shifts from law-based performance to grace-based intimacy. This covenant emphasizes that our identity and worth are not earned but freely given through faith in Jesus Christ. We are not striving to be noticed or accepted by God. Instead, we live in reconciled rest in the reality that God already sees us fully, knows us intimately, loves us unconditionally, and has chosen us purposefully. This study explores these four aspects through the Scriptures and shows how being seen, known, loved, and chosen flow from God's grace, not our merit.

Christ and the Cosmos

In Christ, we're not distant admirers but intimate participants. "In Him we live and move and have our being." Our faithlessness doesn't sever this bond because He cannot deny Himself, and if you're in Christ, you're part of that unbreakable Self. This is grace unbound. It transforms doubt into assurance, brokenness into wholeness. No matter the chaos around or within, His faithfulness sustains, His presence envelops, and His grace redeems.

Wonder Restored

Don't settle for a wonderless faith. The new covenant invites you into complete, perpetual awe, gazing at a father who is wildly for you. So dive in, rest deep, and watch wonders unfold from His finished work.

Vicarious Victory

Meditate on this word, vicarious. It's a living proxy, a stand-in whose actions ripple eternally. Adam embodied humanity vicariously, not by vote or consent, but by divine design. His choice resulted in a "free gift" of sin imputed to us all, unasked, unearned (Romans 5:12-19). Did anyone poll you? Invite you to inherit Adam's sin? No. yet here we stand, heirs to the fall. But oh, the counterpoint! Jesus Christ, our true Vicar, steps into the chaos as humanity's Champion. In Him, the Trinity's redemptive council unfolds. The Father sends the Son (John 3:16), the Son lays down His life (Philippians 2:8), the Spirit seals the victory (Ephesians 1:13-14).