Dear Fellow Believers in Christ, (The truth of the cross IS the liberating power of God)
Many want liberty and freedom. The truth of the cross IS the liberating power of God. How does the cross of Christ take care of every enemy we face? What are the four things that were dealt a death blow on the cross? Did you know that Christ died as you on the cross? What is the liberating secret to our identification with Christ in His death, burial, and now in His resurrected life? God's Word is our trustworthy source, as we listen to the Holy Spirit reveal and confirm it's truth to our hearts.
THE CROSS
By Dwight Davis"But God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal. 6:14, KJV).
First, Paul Knew the Cross IS the Liberating Power of God In Us
Paul clearly put Jesus and the cross first place in his ministry. Paul said, "For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him Crucified" (I Cor. 2:20). Why? Paul knew that was the only way, that the faith of the Corinthians would be in the wisdom and power of God (I Cor. 2:4,5). The cross IS the liberating power of God in the life of every Christian. Why? The cross took care of every sin and enemy that we will every face. The cross literally put to death every real enemy. However, we must let the Holy Spirit fully renew our mind to the fullness of the truth of the cross. Then, we will have the liberating power of the cross fully manifest in the circumstances and situations, (the old C & S gang), that we face. Paul knew the cross IS liberating power of God to fulfil God's will in and through us for others.
Second, Faith or Trust in Anything but the Cross will Hinder its Liberation
Paul said, "For Christ once then sent me not to ever baptize, but to ever preach the gospel: not in wisdom of word, lest the cross of Christ should once then be deprived of its outworking force" (I Cor. 1:17, author's translation). Paul wasn't nullifying the need or importance of baptism with his declaration here. Paul was saying that our faith and our trust is not in any ordinance, religion, or any other thing that man provides or we participate in. Our faith and our trust are only to be in the finished work of Christ on the cross. For if one iota of our faith is in any other than Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, then the cross of Christ will be deprived of the liberating force outworking in us. Genuine faith is only in Christ and His finished work on the cross.
Third, The Cross Put to Death and Finished Everything of Adam and Sin
What is the finished work on the cross? There are four major things that were accomplished and fully finished. First, the original sin nature of Adam that we had received from our natural birthing was put to death (Rom. 5:12-21). Second, you need to see the reality that when Christ was put to death on the cross, that you were "co-crucified" with Him (Rom. 6:3,5; Gal. 2:20). Every part of you and your ties with Adam were all put to death in Christ on the cross. Christ literally died as you. Everything about the old man (Adam) was crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6). Third, The law was fulfilled by Christ and put to death in Him on the cross (Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:15). Fourth, due to the shed blood of Christ on the cross all trespasses and sins that any man has, is, or would commit was taken care of as well (Eph. 2:1-6). So, when Christ was buried and raised, so were you co-buried and co-raised with Him (Rom. 6:4, 7-11). When we were born again by the Holy Spirit coupled with our belief in our heart, we received a new nature, the divine nature (I Cor. 12:13; I Pet. 1:23; II Pet. 2:4). Now, Christ literally lives in us as us. The devil has NO HOLD on Christ and the finished work of the cross.
Fourth, Jesus Told Me The Truth of the Cross in Billows of Love and Peace
Twenty-six years ago, I was teaching a group of Christian men in a weekly noon/lunch Bible study at a large corporation. I stated that Christ paid the penalty for our sins when He went to hell. Another Christian brother quickly replied and said, "I believe it was all done on the cross." He told me to remember that Christ said, "It is finished, just before He commended His Spirit to the Father." I told him, "That was true and I would seek the Lord on the matter and get back with them with the answer." That night I went to bed after praying and seeking the Lord on the matter. During the night while I was asleep, yet as awake, I found myself consciously sitting at a table in a dark room with Jesus sitting across from me. I just asked Him my question on this matter. He lovingly and gently said, "You know Paul over in I Corinthians 2:2 said, he determined not to know anything among them except Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. No mention of going to hell there." "And you know Peter over in I Peter 3:18 and 19 said, I was put to death in the flesh, quickened by the Spirit, and went to preach unto the spirits in prison." "That's what I was doing there." It was if I was rising up out of my chair and said, "Why did you let me teach that then?" He said, "You didn't listen to me, you listened to a man." His every word spoken to me in this sentence gently hit me with such billows of love that every upset was immediately calmed by His love and peace that fully flooded me.
Fifth, Jesus and the Father Really Are One not Just in Unity Only
I sat down knowing that He fully and intensely loved me despite my wrongfully accusing Him. I said, "Who are you?" He said, "I am Jesus." We continued to converse in two different sessions, for what seemed close to 30 minutes on various matters. There is not time to go into those details here. Near the end of the second session, He must have stood as the voice was coming from a higher point. Hearing the same voice as in the first session, I asked Him again who He was? He said, "I am the Father." I replied, "I thought you told me earlier that you were Jesus." He said, " I and the Father are One." At that point, He answered a couple more questions and seemed to turn and walk away and His voice begin to trail and fade away. He was no longer there to answer my last question.
Sixth, The Cross Has Dealt a Death Blow on Guilt and Condemnation
The fact of the matter is that everything was paid for on the cross. That is why "there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ" (Rom. 8:1). Christ and the finished work of the cross has dealt a deathblow on everything thing of guilt and condemnation that the devil, flesh, or our own mind might want to place against us. All shame has been removed. We are now "new creatures in Christ Jesus" (II Cor. 5:17). Christ now lives in us as us with His life, to express himself in His full righteousness and justification to the Father and men.
Seventh, Mind Renewal Releases the Liberating Power of the Cross
Our minds must be renewed by the Holy Spirit to the liberating power of the finished work of the cross (Phil. 2:5-8). We cannot do religious activity to please God. Only Christ and His finished work on the cross please our Father. We cannot stop our sinning by self-resistance and self-obedience. Only Christ living in and through us, through the liberating power of the cross – stops sin (Gal. 5:24,25). As the world is crucified to us, we can fully glory in the cross of Christ.