Transcription
Father, we just come before you this morning. We yield our lives to you, God. And we say thank you, Lord, for your presence, for your Spirit, and for the cross, God.
Father, we ask for a special grace to fall on us, God, to gain deeper revelation of the cross and all that Jesus afforded and accomplished through that act. God, through the suffering, through the pain, through the death and the risen Christ, God, we ask for a grace to fall on us now, God, that we would not get stuck in a familiarity, God, that we would not, um, shrink back or shut down, God, as we hear your word come forth, God, to speak again and to declare your truth of what Jesus did for us on the cross.
Holy Spirit, we're asking you to move our hearts, not just our minds, but our hearts toward the cross this morning. Father, we declare that we cannot comprehend, we cannot understand the depths of the cross and all that Jesus accomplished without the power, without the working of your Spirit to do what we cannot do for ourselves in understanding. And so, Lord, we're asking, would you come in power? Would you open our eyes and open our ears and open our hearts, God, to more revelation, to more awe and wonder at who you are? In Jesus' name, amen.
Welcome to the Freedom in Christ class on the cross. And, um, I want us to know that, that today, as we speak about the cross, that subject matter, that, that we're going to enter into is inexhaustible. And of all the lessons that we, we teach and all the lessons that we speak about, this particular lesson, um, really is, is one that I am overwhelmed at the thought of, of even trying to express or bring any light to what Jesus accomplished on the cross for us. Today, we'll just scrape the surface of an inexhaustible topic, um, just the tip of the iceberg. And I want us to see, Seth, I want to set the stage, um, on what we're going to talk about with this backdrop by reading First Corinthians 2:1-11.
This is Paul speaking, and he says, "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom, as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on man's wisdom, but on God's power. We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or, or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understand it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no man has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.' But God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."
See, that's our heart's cry, that God would shower us with spiritual revelation as we dive into the topic of the cross. One of the greatest revelations of the kingdom of God concerns the finished work of what Christ did on that cross. All that God did to demonstrate, prove, and test his love for you and I. One of the dangers, the longer we walk in relationship with Jesus, is that we would become complacent and even numb to the extravagant beauty of the gift Jesus gave on the cross. May it never be so. May every time we look straight, square into the center of the cross of Christ, that we are filled with awe and wonder afresh.
See, whether we realize it or not, we are desperate. We're desperate for a greater understanding of what God has done for us to seal us into his eternal work of grace in Christ. And the truth that he has given us all things through Christ. He has given us all things through Christ, through what Jesus did on that cross. God has said, "Everything I have has been given to you through that one act." We will spend eternity receiving revelation into the depths of these truths of what was truly accomplished for us at the cross. Every chance we get to remember and reflect on the cross, I want to be filled with the awe and wonder, the gratitude and humility of receiving what Christ has done for us.
See, it's important to say that when I'm speaking of the cross, what I'm speaking about and speaking to is not only the sacrifice of Jesus that he made upon the cross, all that led up to the cross, all the suffering, all the pain, all the torture. But I'm also speaking about what he accomplished through his death, burial, and resurrection. That one word, the cross, encompasses so much. So, we're going to look at the cross in three stages today. We're going to look at his death, his burial, and the resurrection. The death being the perfect sacrifice, the burial, the total defeat of the enemy, and the resurrection, us learning how to follow a risen Christ.
So, to understand and appreciate the cross, we must first recognize the depth of our need of the cross. It's not popular to talk about sin these days, not in our culture, anyway. We call it mistake, wrong path, my choices, my willful, my willful ignorance. But the reality is, sin is sin, and it bears horrible consequences when it's left unresolved. So, let's look at what scripture says about sin and the consequences it bears.
Psalm 14:1-3 says, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."
See, our plight before the cross was literally despair and darkness. Romans 3:23 says it this way, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And in Romans 6:23, we hear, "For the wages of sin is death." Revelation 1:5 says, "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood." And Revelation 5:9 says, "Because you were slain and with your blood you purchased men for God."
See, sin has severe consequences, and those consequences require death. Requires a blood sacrifice. First John 2:2 says, "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the world." Whether the world acknowledges it or not, there are consequences for sin, and that sin creates a debt that must be paid. A debt that no man, apart from Jesus, could ever hope to pay.
Jesus's death on the cross was the one perfect, final sacrifice. I love this scripture in Hebrews 10:11-14. It says, "Day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest, speaking of Jesus, had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time, he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."
What the writer is saying there is that by, by Jesus dying on the cross, he made a perfect, total, all-sufficient provision for every sin of every human being for all time. That's astounding. That's an amazing sacrifice. He would, man would never again have to sacrifice. Why didn't the priests of old ever sit down? Because their job was never finished. See, you and I don't have to strive and and perform our way into God's graces any longer. The perfect sacrifice was made for us, and Jesus sat down because the job was completed.
See, while on the cross, Jesus said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and he gave up his spirit. Jesus completed the work. Man would no longer have to strive for what, what was it we were striving for? We were striving for the, the and earning, trying to earn, getting into the presence and relationship with God. And Jesus accomplished that on the cross for us.
Isaiah 53:6 says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each one of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." So, what is iniquity? What does that mean? It means the rebellion, the evil consequences, and all the judgment and wrath due. See, when Jesus came, he knew he was going to be rejected. He knew the sins, the rebellion of the people when he came, before he even came. And yet, he still chose that love. That is amazing to me. Because of Jesus' willingness to die on the cross, all that was due to us by justice was put upon the back of Jesus, so that all the good due Jesus might be available to us.
Isaiah 53:10 says, "Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. And though, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hands." What he's saying is, because of what Jesus did, because of taking and bearing our sin on the cross, Jesus was able to see the offspring, you and I. That was a gift and a blessing and an offering, a beautiful offering to his Father. He says it this way, "For the joy set before me, I endure the cross." And that joy that was set before him was the gift of us being brought back into relationship with the Father, God.
There's but one remedy for sin, and that is a blood sacrifice. The Old Testament sacrifice didn't take away sin, it just covered it up, and they had to continually go in and offer year after year after year. Jesus took away our sin. Second Corinthians 5:21 says this, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Romans 8:31 says, "What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" So, the one sacrifice of Jesus releases the abundance of God's mercy and provision. We don't need any other basis to enter in. The cross of Jesus is the only one and only and forever sacrifice. That is the basis for the release of God's grace and mercy to his children.
This is really important for us to know because if we come to God under any other basis than the sacrifice Jesus himself made, it's a false basis and it will gain us nothing. We cannot come to him on the basis of our good works, of our backgrounds, of our talents, because God is not impressed by those things. The only thing that releases the mercy and the grace of God is Jesus taking upon himself our sinfulness as he died in our place and rose again from the grave. It's through the cross that God's supernatural grace is released in our life.
Christianity is not a set of rules or laws. The law is righteous and it's perfect, it's holy and good, but we can never, and we can never improve on the law of Moses. But if that alone could do it, there would have been no need for Jesus. Galatians 3:11-12 says, "Certainly no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous shall live by faith. The law is not based on faith. On the contrary, the man who does these things will live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us."
The purpose of the cross is to bring us to the end of our own strength and abilities. Galatians 2:20 says, "As a result of the cross, I came." Paul says, "I came to the end of my life when I came to the cross. Paul died, and now it is not Paul that lives, but it's Christ living in me." When we come to the cross, that's the end of us as we know us, because it's now Christ who lives in us and through us.
The cross is the sole basis of the total defeat of our enemy. Satan can't change this truth, but he tries to keep the church and the children of God from realizing it. It's futile to come against dark forces with anything other than what Jesus accomplished on the cross and through his resurrection. But when we do, the enemy must flee. Satan had everything under his control and had enslaved humanity, robbed them of all the wealth and blessing that God, God had intended for his children to, to live in and to have. And by man, he was undefeatable until Jesus. That's good news.
Luke 11:21-22 tells us the parable of a tyrant oppressor who has a strong house and a great deal of spoils, forcing those he opposes, he oppresses to do his will. But a stronger man comes, and he takes from him all his weapons and releases the captives and plunders his goods. That strong man, that stronger man was Jesus. And one of the greatest weapons the enemy uses against the believer is guilt. Jesus bought back that weapon.
God did two things through the death of Jesus to deliver us from guilt. One was he made provision for our past forgiveness. He, he forgave us all our trespasses. Satan wants us buried under the guilt of our past. Jesus gave us a shovel, the gift of confession. First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness." Literally, when we find ourselves in that place where we recognize that sin nature, that, that sinfulness, that rebellion, that independence from God, when we come face to face with truth and conviction begins to fall, we have the shovel through the gift of repentance to come out from underneath that guilt and condemnation.
The second thing that Jesus did for us through the cross was that he gave us the answer to the question, "Does God love us?" The answer to the question every human heart screams, whether we recognize it or realize it or not. The cross is the answer. It is the ultimate demonstration of the love God has for us and the value we have to him. John 15:13-14 says this, "Greater love has no man than he lay down his life for a friend."
Romans 5:6 and 10 speaks of four things about our condition when Christ came. When he died for us: Number one, we were without strength. We could do nothing to help ourselves. We were powerless. And number two, we were ungodly. We had a nature and a way of life that was ultimately other than thinking in the kingdom of God. It was a way of living that was totally alien and opposed to God. And number three, we were disobedient, rebellious, and in no sense seeking to please God. It wasn't even in us to desire to please God. And number four, we were enemies of God. This was our condition when Christ chose to die for us. This was our condition when Jesus made the agonizing choice to fulfill God's ultimate plan.
So, what in the world makes us think that when we receive him and when we stumble and sin and fall, that we could do anything other than go to the cross and repent and receive fresh from him the gift of his cleansing blood? This is the measure of God's love for us. If you ever have doubts about God's love, those doubts will never be fully resolved until you grasp the condition you were in when Christ said, "Yes, anyway." Our bad behavior cannot cause him to withdraw his love from us, ever.
We often question our value and our worth. We are worth what God was willing to pay as our ransom. Listen, any artist knows that what they've created doesn't get to determine its value. That it's the purchaser that states what the value is by what he's willing to offer in exchange for ownership. God exchanged everything he had, the most precious thing that he had, and he looked at us and he said, "I will give my very best for that one." And what he desires in exchange is for us to receive the fact that he now has ownership of this most valued and precious possession.
First Peter 1:18-19 says this, "For you know that it was not with perishable things, for you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Jesus." In God's kingdom economy, streets are paved with gold and silver, precious jewels. The very streets that we walk on are paved with precious gold and silver. Those things that we think have most value, his streets are paved with those. What is of greatest value to God in God's economy is blood. Precious blood, pure, spotless, undefiled, untainted, holy, sinless blood. And that's what Jesus spilled on our behalf.
Mark 13:45-46 tells a parable of a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went and sold everything he had and bought it. God is saying, "Look at the cross. I gave everything I had to purchase you. You are the pearl. You are the prize. And I gave what was of most value in exchange for you."
That leads us to the resurrection of Christ. That beautiful resurrection where he no longer is dead, but he's alive, and he's living as he's living today. And what the resurrection speaks to us as believers in Jesus is that we are following a risen Christ. Romans 8:32-35 says, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who is raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also ever interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"
Jesus on the cross was a love act. Every time we look straight into the face of the cross, we see the evidence of God's extreme love for us. We see the passionate heart of Jesus desiring above even his own life to give Father God what he sent, what he sent his heart to receive, you and I. We see the covenant promise-keeping, ever-faithful God when we look into the face of the cross.
Through the cross, Jesus represents the exchanged life. I don't know about you, but that is good news. That is news that we can celebrate on a day-to-day, moment-by-moment basis. Remember back what your life was like, what you were headed for, what you were destined for before the cross of Christ, before his death, burial, and resurrection. Remember that it was our sin in exchange for his holiness and righteousness. It was my weakness in exchange for his strength and power. It was my sorrow for his joy, my bondage for his freedom, my shame for his dignity, my ordinary life for his extraordinary, supernatural life that now lives and breathes and moves in us. My foolishness for his wisdom, my imperfect love for his perfect, unconditional love, my pain for his healing, my past for his future.
The cross must be the center of all that we are and all that we do. Would you pray with me? Father, there are no words to say what wells up in the heart of your child, God, when we stare face in the center of your cross, God. When we look you straight in the eye, God, there aren't words. So, Father, we ask that you would sink deeply within us the reality and the revelation and the truth of the truth that at the cross, we exchanged who we are for all of who you are. Father, we make the conscious choice this moment to die once again to self and to live for Christ, right where we're at, God. We ask, would you blow fresh on the gift of a thankful heart for all that our Savior has done for us, all that he accomplished, God, on the cross? And Father, with that faithful, grateful, thankful heart, God, it's our deepest desire to give you what you long for: our affection and our love, God, for our Savior, our Father, our Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.