The
Keystone – The Cross of Christ
By Arthur J Licursi
Introduction to the Cross of Christ - Its Purpose
The
“keystone” is that one stone, which alone holds up the whole structure,
making it work. It is that odd shaped stone at the very top of a Roman stone
arch. Paul refers to Jesus Christ as the “chief
cornerstone” (Eph 2:20), referring to such a keystone (Gk.
acrogoniaios, the extreme uppermost part).
The
Apostle Paul tells us that he was only determined to know Jesus
Christ according to the cross. 1 Cor. 2:2 For I
determined not to know any thing among you, save (except) Jesus
Christ, and him crucified. What
does Paul mean? Have you ever noted that Paul never refers, even once, to
anything that Jesus of Nazareth did before
the cross – that is his miracles or what He said? Paul wrote; 2
Cor. 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after
the flesh (humanity): yea,
though we have known Christ after the
flesh (humanity), yet
now henceforth know we him
no more. Paul was referring to the Christ who was the earthly Jesus
of Nazareth, who had come only to,
and for, Israel. (Matt 15:24).Paul saw that by
the cross, Jesus Christ became the heavenly “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom
8:2, 1Cor 15:45, 2Cor 3:17); for all who would receive Him – they then
become “the church, which is His
body” (Eph 1:22b-23a).
You
see, Paul is the one who to whom the ascended Christ revealed the nuts and
bolts of the cross – to be taught to us Gentiles (Eph 3:1-5), as he wrote
in his fourteen epistles. This paper is to explain in more detail why it is
that Paul would consider Jesus Christ crucified to be the focus of Paul’s gospel, which
would “establish” the
Christian. Romans 16:25
Now to him that is of power to stablish
you according to my gospel,
and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery (musterion, secret),
which was kept secret since the world began, Paul tells us what that
mystery or secret was. Col.
1:27 To whom God would make
known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ
in you, the hope of glory:
The cross
has a duality within it. The cross is the place of death and life, the place
of termination of the old and germination of the new. God works by the cross
which is the fulcrum point for mankind. The cross changes everything between
man and God. Consider that whereas God was heretofore “unapproachable”
– now God in Christ, as the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, dwells within
every believer’s spirit.
The cross
was in the heart of God since before the world began. The cross was not to
rectify an error in God’s judgment in previous dispensations, now to
“get to right”. No, the cross of Christ was in His heart from eternity
past, as seen by the phrase “the
lamb slain before the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8).
The
ultimate purpose of the cross is that it is the basis for God to gain his “many
sons”, according to His loving hearts desire, and which is in accord
with “the eternal
purpose that was purposed in
Christ Jesus” (Eph 3:11). Hebrews
2:10 For it became him (God),
for whom are all things, and by
whom are all things, in bringing many
sons unto glory (expression),
to make the captain of their salvation (Jesus) perfect (completed) through
sufferings. It is the sufferings
that Christ endured, both for us and as
us, that lead to the enlargement
of God’s family, to the children of God who are the living expression
(glory), of their new found Father’s life. God’s
Fatherhood comes out of the work of the cross of Christ.
Jesus
foretold of the cross here. John
12:24 Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Except (unless) a corn
of wheat (a seed) fall into the
ground and die, it abideth
alone: but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit.
This “much fruit” are the many
grains that come out of the One Seed sown into death. The cross has the
purpose of yielding the many grains – born of the One Seed, Jesus Christ
(Gal 3:16, 1Peter 1:23). We, who have been born of that One Seed, are the “many grains” – the “many sons” of God, being brought to
express His life, as being the “glory
of God”. It may not yet appear so to us, but we have the genetics, the
spiritual DNA, of God your Father in your spirit right now, if we’ve been
born of His Seed – Jesus Christ.
The two
most commonly spoken of aspects of the cross of Christ, His blood and His
death are preparatory for accomplishing God’s ultimate intent –
producing these “many sons”.
The blood and death of Christ exhibit only the termination side of the
precious cross of Christ. We know there’s also the resurrection side of
the cross.
I trust
that as we proceed to study we will gain a greater view of the blood of
Christ. We shall see that while most Christians think the cross primarily as
the place of Jesus’ death for their sins, wonderful as this is, it alone
falls woefully short of the depth of the riches of the cross of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. Seeing the elements of the cross with greater
understanding has the power to produce life-changing faith within us - the
power to deeply change our lives.
My prayer
is that we come each to see the riches of the glory of the work of
Christ’s cross, which resulted in the glory that now abides within the
spirit of every regenerated Christian who has been born of God’s spiritual
loins.
The Blood of Christ:
In order
to understand the impact of the blood of Christ shed for us at His
crucifixion, we must view man according to God’s intention, as he was
created. Man was created to simply become a living container to bear the
very life of God – to be a living vessel for God’s expression. For this,
man was created tri-part, with a body, soul, and spirit. God’s intention
was that one day God would place His very life
into the created man’s human spirit, thus making reborn in spirit
– to be born of God Himself. This is indicated by the fact that God placed
Adam before the Tree of Life.
If
we see a verse that lists these three parts of man, but in a different order
than I have listed above. 1 Thes.
5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I
pray God your whole spirit and
soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. We can note from
this verse, by a hermeneutic device called the “law of first
mentioning”, that the spirit is listed first, placing it as the foremost
part of man’s being. God intends that spirit rules soul, and soul is to
rule the body.
This
brings us to see the physical body as the least part of man according to
God’s eternal plan. It is in the members of the physical flesh body that
Sin as a nature dwells (Rom 7:17-23). The body contains the fallen nature
that Adam gained at the fall in the garden, and which came also to all
mankind as the lineage of Adam. Romans
8:3 For what the law could not
do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: Sin
has contaminated the originally created man with “acts of that Sin
nature” which we call sins.
Thus, if God is to bring man into accord with His eternal plan to have “many
sons” by placing the life of Jesus Christ into them, there is a
problem that needs to be remedied – man as a vessel had become a dirtied
container – dirtied by acts of Sin in the flesh, called sins.
It
is the blood of Christ that washes away our sins, making us suitable to
receive the life of Christ. Let’s now look at some of the scriptures
referring to the many aspects of Christ’s blood shed for
us. Christ’s shed blood is
supreme, matchless and absolutely effective. In Paul's fourteen epistles, under his “mystery gospel” of the
pure grace of God, given him by the ascended Jesus Christ “for ye Gentiles” (Eph 3:1-2), there’s no such thing as repentance
for each sin, or for sin.
Paul,
our Apostle, never suggests, as John does to the Jews to whom he writes,
1Jn 1:9 If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. This is conditional forgiveness, Paul saw a
deeper truth. Thus, Paul never once writes of confessing our sins, he only
mentions “confessing” as “homologeo”,
as in “acknowledging”, that “Jesus
Christ is Lord”.
Continual Forgiveness by The Blood of Christ
We must
note the many verses that all indicate that the work of the cross on our
behalf as completed as having been accomplished once and for all time –
its never seen as something that “shall
be” for the believer, rather, as “having
forgiven all your trespasses”, “you
have been”.
As with
all aspects of Christ’s cross, we must view the blood of Christ
dispensationally, under grace, versus being under the law, in order to fully
appreciate its benefits to us. Paul, having been the first to see the truth
of the effectual blood of Christ in depth, never uses the phrase “if”,
as in “if we confess our sins”. Rather, Paul shares his revelation of the
cross as the finished work of God, on our behalf, in his many writings to “the
church, which is His body” – the body of Christ.
Paul saw
that the forgiveness of our sins as being solely by the grace and blood of Christ, PLUS NOTHING of our effort. Paul here in Eph 1:6-7
reveals the continual means by which
we are washed of our sins, a means that is effective once and for all time, for the believer. It only requires that we
believe it.
Eph.
1:6-7 …
wherein he
(God) hath made us accepted in the beloved (Christ).
7In whom (Christ) we
have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of his grace;
Paul saw
that forgiveness of sins is found only by being our “IN
Christ”; and we know that we were placed into Christ’s body by
the Spirit (1Cor 12:13), at the moment we receive
Him – being regenerated. Our “receiving Christ” placed us into
Christ. We might say that we repented or changed our direction once;
it was when we turned our heart to God and received
Christ; that was our one,
everlasting repentance. Paul also writes, Col.
2:13 And you… hath
he quickened (made alive) together with him, having
forgiven you (<< past tense)
all trespasses (sins).
Note here that this is a past tense statement; we have been forgiven of
all sins – past present and future. The term “all”
in the Greek is “pas”,
having the meaning of absolutely all;
past, present, and future. Paul saw that absolutely all our sins
have been forgiven in Christ’s one offering of His shed blood. I know that
we have been taught by religion that we must list our sins and ask God to
forgive them often or daily in order to be forgiven, but this is in conflict
with the revealed truth of God that we have received by the Holy Spirit
inspired revelation of the blood of Christ given to Paul. We will see this
even better as we go on.
Is
Confession of Sins Necessary?
Now, I
want to explain that there is a place for telling the Lord we are sorry for
our sins – but, it is not necessary
that we confess our sins in order to gain forgiveness of sins. Paul
addresses this in his writing to the Hebrews. Hebrews 10:22 Let
us draw near with a true (right) heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an
evil (poneros, hurtful)
conscience, and our bodies washed with pure
water. Paul here addresses the condition of a part of us called our
consciousness – we have consciousness in our soul - it becomes dirtied and
hurtful to us. This cleansing comes not by the blood of Christ
but by the washing of the water of the Spirit. It is a refreshing by the
Spirit – a renewal. After we sin we sometimes note that we have a hurtful
heart within our consciousness. It is not a matter of sins being noted by
God – He has long ago, at the cross, dealt with and forgiven ALL our sins.
In this verse Paul instructs us saying, we can have a true (right) heart in
full assurance of our relationship with God our Father; because the water of
the Spirit of God can also cleanse
our consciousness. We see by this that any such response of expressing
our sorrow is not for God (He is
satisfied by Christ’s blood), rather, it
is for us, to put us at ease. To ask for God’s forgiveness of our
sins would mean we do not yet believe in the sufficiency of Christ’s
blood.
You
see, if we live by the orthodox teachings of modern day Christianity, we
would in all honesty have to spend most of our day confessing sins. Ask
yourself, do you as a Christian really list and ask God’s forgiveness for
every sin? I am sure you do not. Remember,
all sin is sin - there are no big or small sins.
Just
look at the standard as to what sin
is, according
Paul’s grace gospel. Paul writes in Rom 14:28 "whatsoever
is not of faith is sin".
Sin then would be to live and have your way, apart from trusting and obeying
the leading and guidance from Christ, who we know now is within us. Wow,
that means when I live with anxiousness and fears, as proof of my lack of
faith toward God as my sufficiency, I am sinning. When I think I must
correct the people around me to control all the situations and circumstances
of my life, I am then distrusting God as being sovereign over all “working all things for my good” (Rom 8:28), and I’m thereby
sinning. Then, considering my rampant and admitted unfaithfulness or
distrust of God, if I would have to repent of each and every sin, I would
spend about 2 hours a day repenting. So, let’s dispense with the old
religious idea that we must
confess every sin. Our Father, God, has provided the blood of Christ to pay
for all sins – past, present and future. This is why Christ’s blood is
so very precious. In Christ and by His blood that was shed once
and for all time, we stand blameless, righteous, and pure before
God, in His love (Eph 1:3-4); we stand cleansed in Christ’s blood for
evermore.
More Scripture
Concerning Christ’s Blood
Christ’s innocent blood shed to deal with the sins
of mankind was foretold by typology, without the mention of blood
specifically. The blood may be seen in the innocent
blood that was shed to cover Adam and Eve’s sin.
Gen 3:7 the eyes of them
both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made them aprons.
3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord
God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Jesus
foretold of the purpose and work of His blood for Israel’s new
covenant. Mat 26:28 For this is my blood
of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Paul
writes Hebrews 9:22 And almost all
things are by the law purged with blood; and without
shedding of blood is no
remission.
Then Paul
writes to the Hebrews to let them know, from his familiarity with
their own Jewish heritage and historical understanding of animal sacrifices,
now in the light of the revelation he had received from the ascended Christ,
the differences between
animal sacrifices and that of Christ. Paul makes clear to the Hebrews that
unlike the blood of animal sacrifices of the old covenant under the law,
which were offered repeatedly, they were not able to actually take away
sins. Hebrews
10:3-4 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every
year. 4For it is not
possible that the blood of
bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Paul tells the Hebrew - Hebrews
9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered
in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us. He goes on. Hebrews 10:17
And their sins and iniquities will I
remember no more. The
sins are gone and once sins are remitted then there is no more offering
needed. Hebrews
10:18 Now where remission of
these is, there is no more
offering for sin. Paul
tells them they now can have boldness through the work of the shed blood of
Christ. Hebrews
10:19 Having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the
holiest by the blood of Jesus,
Peter confirms
the efficacy of Christ’s blood, writing to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. Only Christ’s blood remits sins, whereas there traditional
offerings of Israel do not redeem men.
1Pet 1:18-19 … ye were
not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with
the precious blood of Christ, as
of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Paul tells the Gentiles
that it is by Christ’s cross that God made us alive and forgave us of all
sins. No matter what you have done - God has already
forgiven all our sins. Col
2:13-14b NKJ … He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all (pas,
being past, present and future) trespasses
(sins)
Luke
quotes Paul, here speaking of
the redemption in Christ versus the impotence of the Law of Moses.
Acts 13:38-39 NKJ
"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man
(Jesus) is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 "and by Him everyone who
believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Paul
tells the members of the body of Christ - Romans
6:14b…for ye are not under the law, but under
grace.
This was
according to God’s plan from …before the world began. We do not have
to plead or to convince Him to forgive us. He planned for our forgiveness
from before “the foundation of the world”. John writes in Revelation 13:8 And
all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written
in the book of life of the Lamb slain (already) from
the foundation of the world. Christ was crucified, shedding His
blood already in the heart of God for the redemption of mankind, before the
world began.
We must simply believe Christ’s one offering of his
blood was sufficient payment for ALL sin, and thereby God has forgiven
us. Our redemption by the blood of Christ is forever – eternal. Heb
9:12 Neither by the
blood of goats and calves, but by his
own blood he entered in once
into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us. Now all we can do is
simply believe and thank Him.
Note this Contrast between Law
& Grace:
1) Sins, under the law, were only
“covered” – so as not to be held against the righteous
who lived by faith, such as Abraham. Until the cross and Christ’s
blood was shed, men’s sins could only be covered.
Psalm 85:2 NKJ You have
forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all
their sin.
Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for
mine own sake, and will not remember (zakar, take
note of) thy
sins. Hebrews 8:12 For I
will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their
iniquities will I remember (nmaomai, bear
in mind) no more. Sins were still there, but God did not keep
them in mind.
2) Now, after
the cross, our sins are… “Cancelled”.
2 Cor 5:19 NKJ that is,
that God was in Christ reconciling
the world to Himself, not imputing (logizomai, no
longer inventoried)
their trespasses (sins)
to
them…
AMPLIFIED
Bible - 2 Cor 5:19 It was God (personally present) in Christ, reconciling and restoring the
world to favor with Himself, not
counting up and holding against
[men] their trespasses [but cancelling
them]; and committing to us the message of reconciliation -- of the
restoration to favor.
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath
set forth to be a propitiation (a
expiatory sacrifice that compensates
or pays for sins) through faith
in his blood, to declare his righteousness for
the remission (Gk., paresis, toleration)
of
sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Thus, God, by Christ’s shed blood, has fully compensated for the sins
that were only tolerated or covered
by Him in the past.
The good news
of the Pauline Grace Gospel for the body of Christ is that Jesus Christ already paid the price
for all of our
sins. Not only is God no longer holding any sin against us, but all our
sins have been dropped entirely from the record of our debt. We have been forgiven
of ALL sins. Our debt was not
covered, but cancelled – as
being Paid in full!
Now we must simply believe in order to receive the benefit of Jesus' sacrifice. Ephes
2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9Not
of works, lest any man should boast.
We have redemption and justification through his
shed blood.
·
Redeemed = Our Debt is now paid
in Full
·
Justified = “just-as
–if-I’d” never sinned
Ephes 1:7
NKJ In Him we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according
to the riches of His grace
Col 1:13-14 NKJ He has delivered
us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom
(REALM) of the Son of His love, 14in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins.
Rom 5:9 … being now justified
by his blood…
We simply need to trust that what God says in His
word is true – all
our sins are taken away – past, present, and future sins. We must
see the fact is that we cannot be
condemned. Rom 8:1
There is therefore now no
condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus. God has also sprinkled and cleansed our consciousness
with water of the “Spirit
of life”, so we can keep on walking in Him, with our mind at
ease. Heb
10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil (poneros, hurtful) conscience,
and our bodies washed with pure water. Thus
we can have confidence in our good standing and our acceptance by God “in
Christ”.
Let’s now
compare God’s forgiveness of sins under the two dispensations of Law and
Grace.
1) Under
the Law, Jesus told the Jews they had to forgive first in
order to receive forgiveness. Matt
6:12 And (God) forgive us our
debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Here we see there is a conditional requirement for being forgiven
while under law. Any preacher who preaches this conditional requirement
preaches law. That would be in conflict with Paul’s statement. Romans
6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under
the law, but under grace.
2)
Under the “Dispensation of the Grace of God”, our
forgiveness is UNconditional
– we’ve simply received forgiveness by receiving Christ’s
substitutionary work on our behalf.
We are
unconditionally justified.
Roman 3:24 Being justified
(dikaioo, rendered innocent) freely
(dorean, without cause, unconditional)
by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Paul
then writes this.
Eph
4:32 be ye kind one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another, even as God
for Christ's sake hath
(already) forgiven you. Col. 3:13 Forbearing one another,
and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as
Christ forgave (already) you, so also do
ye.
How is it that
God has forgiven us?
God forgave us freely.
Paul encourages us to forgive others
in the same way. So, we now forgive others freely.
How is it that
we can forgive others?
We must see that God not only forgave us, but He also
gave us His life and love on the inside. Thus He has equipped us to forgive
ourselves, and others freely -- even when they have wronged us.
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