This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 3: the Lamb’s Book.

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Why is the book of life also called the Lamb’s book? When we think of Jesus as the Lamb of God, and we see Scripture identify the book of life as belonging to the Lamb, we should note that lambs play a key role in redemption.

The Passover lamb is the means by which obedient Israelites are spared the wrath of the angel of death, who comes to claim the firstborn in Egypt (Exod. 11 – 13). This lamb must be young, spotless, and precious. Brought into the house for several days to be examined, he becomes a familiar and beloved member of the family who must then die, and whose blood, sprinkled on the doorposts, is a sign to the destroyer to pass over the house.

Other Old Testament passages depict the Passover lamb as a type of Christ. Isaiah 53, for example, tells us of the coming Messiah being led like a lamb to the slaughter:

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was taken away because of oppression and judgment, and who considered his fate? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he was struck because of my people’s rebellion. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully (Isa. 53:7-9).

But as the Passover lamb provides redemption for obedient Israelites, the Messiah’s death also leads to victory:

Yet the LORD was pleased to crush him severely. When you make him a guilt offering, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and by his hand, the LORD’s pleasure will be accomplished. After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities. Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels (Isa. 53:10-12).

Isaiah’s detailed prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. John the Baptist sees it coming. He tells his followers, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). 

Jesus dies on the cross as our Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7), not to cover our sins annually – as in the Old Testament work of atonement – but to take them away once and for all time. As the writer of Hebrews notes: 

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us. He did not do this to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for people to die once ​— ​and after this, judgment ​— ​ so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Heb. 9:24-28).

Lastly, John sees the slaughtered, resurrected, and glorified Lamb in heaven, the only one worthy to take the scroll and open its seals (Rev. 5:6-14). The one who is worthy of worship. And the one who, as final arbiter of justice, possesses the Lamb’s book of life, which is opened on judgment day.

So, why is the book of life the Lamb’s book? We close this chapter with ten observations. 

First, the book of life is the Lamb’s book because he is the anointed offspring of woman  (Gen. 3:15), the lone person of the Trinity sent from heaven to rescue fallen humanity from the ravages of sin. It’s the Lamb’s book because, without his redemptive work, there would be no such book.

Second, the book of life is the Lamb’s book because he received it through obedience to the Father: “… the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior” (1 John 4:14).

Third, it’s the Lamb’s book because Jesus purchased it with his blood. That is, he voluntarily laid down his life for us. No one took his life against his will; he laid it down, and he took it up again (John 10:18).

Fourth, it’s the Lamb’s book because he authored it through his death, burial, and resurrection. These works did more than make salvation possible; they secured salvation for those written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. We might say the Lamb’s book of life is written in the red ink of the Savior’s blood.

Fifth, it’s the Lamb’s book because Jesus ensures its accuracy. Jesus keeps all the Father has given to him. He hasn’t lost one of the redeemed, and on the last day, he will raise them up (John 6:37-40).

Sixth, it’s the Lamb’s book because he shares the royalties with us. The Father has adopted us as his children and made us co-heirs with Christ. His kingdom is ours; its eternal blessings are for us to enjoy in his presence (see Rom. 8:14-17, 23; Gal. 4:4-5; Eph. 1:5-6).

Seventh, it’s the Lamb’s book because we meet the requirements for our names to be written there through the finished work of Jesus. The Father has declared us in right standing with him based on the blood of his Son.

Eighth, it’s the Lamb’s book because he sent the Holy Spirit to ensure that our names are written there. Specifically, he sent the Spirit to regenerate, indwell, baptize, sanctify, and seal those whose names are written there (John 1:29-34; 7:37-39; 14:16-17; Rom. 8:9; 2 Thess. 2:13; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30; Tit. 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:3, 23).

Ninth, it’s the Lamb’s book because we are Christ’s bride, and he’s preparing a place for us in heaven (John 14:1-6). Our names are written in the registry, and we are certain to enjoy the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9).

And tenth, it’s the Lamb’s book because Jesus is returning one day to set things right in resurrection, final judgment, and creation of new heavens and a new earth (John 5:28-29; 14:1-6; 2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 21-22). 

Whose book is the book of life? It’s God’s book. It’s the Father’s book, the Son’s book, and the Spirit’s book. All three persons of the Trinity play decisive and complementary roles in our salvation. But just as Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), he also is the “pioneer and perfecter” of our faith (Heb. 12:2). He is our Savior, and he has secured our place in his book – the Lamb’s book of life.

Next: Written from the Foundation of the World