Part 1. Who is Jesus?
Vince Lombardi was one of football’s greatest coaches. He coached the Green Bay Packers to five championships. After a disappointing game, Vince walked into the locker room and held up a football. “Men”, he said, “This is a football”. He went on to make the point that there comes a time when the best strategy is to get back to the basics. There is a great object lesson in that illustration. He stood before champions; in this room were of some of the greatest football players in history. Even the best of the best have to stop and get back to the basics when they get off course.
The same is true for Christians. Even the most mature Christian can get off course. Even strong Christians need to take the time to remember the basics. When we get off target (and we all do at times), traditions begin to creep in and before long even solid Christians can find themselves relying more on the traditions and putting doctrines of men over the doctrine of scripture. The message of the cross is the most fundamental doctrine of scripture. If we loose sight of the cross or allow errors to alter this truth, the foundation of Christianity is weakened, if not lost all together. This is not a secondary issue. The message of the cross is the foundation of our faith. If I don’t understand the purpose of the cross or what transpired on the cross, I am building my personal faith on a fallible foundation. Unfortunately today we see people putting more trust in fallible men and less faith in the infallible scripture.
This study will begin by looking at the foundation of our faith – Jesus Christ. I want to first answer the question, ‘Who is Jesus?’ Then I want to look at three questions: why the cross was necessary, what happened on the cross and what happened after the cross.
Who is Jesus?
Let’s begin by looking at the Bible’s definition of who Christ is. Isaiah identifies Messiah this way:
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Some struggle with the definition of ‘mighty God’. Is this the same God who created us, the Jehovah of the Old Testament? Jeremiah gives a similar description to Jehovah that is found here in Isaiah. In the Old Testament, anytime we see LORD in all caps, that is a reference indicating that the Hebrew word was Jehovah (or YHWH).
Jeremiah 32:
18 'You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them -- the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
19 'You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.
Jehovah is called the ‘Mighty God’ and the great counselor. Jehovah gives the fruit of our ways, and Jesus said He produces fruit in our lives when we abide in Him (John 15). Also notice Isaiah’s prophecy, a child is born, but the Son is given. The flesh may have come into existence during conception, but the Son existed before birth and was given as a gift to the world. The son who was to be born of a virgin was given the same attributes that were reserved for the LORD God in the Old Testament.
Where in the New Testament do we see the Son given?
Look at John 3:16; 1 John 4:14
Isaiah 7:14 describes the Son, Jesus Christ as Immanuel or translated, ‘God with us’.
"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Matthew 1:
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
Is the virgin birth a necessary part of the gospel? Why or why not?
The virgin birth is the most scoffed sign that God gave concerning Christ. Some Christians and Christian leaders are intimidated by skepticism and have abandoned the Bible’s clear teaching of the virgin birth of Christ. Why would it be hard to believe that our Creator has the ability to create life in the womb? Some argue that this is impossible, but if it wasn’t impossible, it would not be a miracle. One preacher I read argued that the word ‘virgin’ should be translated ‘maiden’. Even the word maid or maiden in the Bible is always associated with a young woman who remains pure and unmarried. What kind of sign would it be to say, ‘a young woman would be with child’ but not a virgin woman? The virgin birth is essential for two reasons. One, the Bible teaches it. If we are going to be selective about what part of God’s word is really true, then we are essentially denying that God’s word is truth. God clearly states that He exalts His word above His name (Psalm 138). If we can’t trust the word as reliable, then we don’t have a foundation to stand upon with any doctrine.
Second, man has an inherited sin nature. In Adam, we inherit a sinful nature. It is a product of the fall. Any observant person can see that we are born with sin. I have three children. I didn’t teach any of them how to disobey, hit, bite, throw fits or rebel. I didn’t have to teach them to be greedy, stingy or selfish. They are born with these tendencies and as a parent, I reshape their behaviors while directing them to Christ so He can reshape their heart. If Jesus was born through human conception, He could not be perfect and without a sin nature. Therefore He would be in need of redemption and would not qualify to be a redeemer. This goes back to Genesis 3:15 when God declared that the woman’s seed would crush the head of the serpent’s seed. Descendents are always called the seed of the father, but God foretold that satan would be crushed through the seed of Eve, not Adam. Through the virgin birth, Jesus fulfilled this prophecy given at the fall. Jesus was born through the conception of the Holy Spirit and was incarnated with His divine nature and not man’s sinful nature. The virgin birth is essential because it helps us to identify who Jesus is and that He was born with a sinless nature.
Why was Adam credited with the fall and not Eve?
The Bible foretells that God will send His messenger to declare His coming.
Isaiah 40: 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.
Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts.
Who fulfilled these prophecies?
Was the One coming to be a prophet? Or God Himself according to these passages?
In these two passages in the Old Testament, we see the messenger who would be John the Baptist would be sent to prepare the way for the LORD/Jehovah and that He is our God. Then God/Jehovah said, “I will send My messenger” to prepare the way before “Me” and the LORD would be the Messenger of the covenant. We know that covenant is the redemption through Jesus Christ.
Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.' "
Prepare the way for the LORD/Jehovah, make straight the highway for our God is declared in Isaiah. The LORD [Jehovah] said “I will send My messenger” in Malachi. This was fulfilled and all four gospels identify John the Baptist as the messenger and Jesus Christ as the one coming. If Jehovah/God said to “prepare the way before Me”, the Bible is clearly identifying Jesus Christ as the Jehovah of the Old Testament.
The title ‘Creator’ is given to LORD/Jehovah in the Old Testament and this is revealed as Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
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10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
Did Jesus Christ create the world?
In this passage, John begins by describing Jesus as the Word of God having come in the flesh and then explains that the Word of God is God. The one who became flesh is also the creator of all things. Some teachers struggle with this idea that the ‘Word was God’. If we look in the context of the passages around this phrase, the One who is called the Word is clearly God. Not a god (or mighty one), but the God in the flesh. Verse 3 says that all things were made through Him. Verse 10 reiterates this by saying that He was in the world and the world was made through Him. His creation rejected Him. Just the fact that Jesus is given credit for creating the world that rejected Him identifies Him as God. Only God can create. Man cannot create anything even if he is a prophet. Angels have no ability to create because they are created and only have the authority that God has given them. If Jesus is the ‘creator of all things’, then He is the only true God. Many passages attribute Jesus as our creator.
Ephesians 3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
Colossians 1:
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
There are so many Old Testament references to Jehovah being creator that it is hard to decide which to use. The first verse in the Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth, but Psalm 89 gives a wonderful description. Not only does it credit Jehovah as being the creator of all things, but this passage also points directly to two other references that reveal Christ’s deity. This passage refers to Jehovah calming the sea, which is one of the miracles of Jesus, and it references the throne of righteousness, justice and mercy which are also attributed to Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Psalm 89
8 O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.
10 You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain; You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
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14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.
In Matthew 8:25-27 we see Jesus calming the waves as His disciples are amazed and asking “Who is this that even the winds and sea obey Him”? Jeremiah foretells of Christ by the word of LORD[Jehovah] saying that out of David will arise a branch of righteousness and He will be called the LORD [Jehovah] our righteousness:
Jeremiah 22:
5 " Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jesus is called our Creator, the LORD our righteousness, the One who calms the seas, the King who reigns in judgment and righteousness. He is also called merciful. All these attributes are given to the LORD/Jehovah of the Old Testament.
Colossians 1:15 says Jesus is “the image of the invisible God, firstborn over all creation. What does “firstborn over all creation” mean?
Before I move on I believe it is necessary to address the phrase “the firstborn over all creation” found in Colossians 1:15. Some people get confused and think this means that Jesus Christ is a created being instead of the incarnate God. It would make little sense to say that Jesus was created and then call Him the creator of all things. This phrase does not mean He was created, but instead means that He was established as having preeminence over all creation. The first rule of interpreting scripture is to compare it with the rest of scripture. God also called the nation of Israel His son and His firstborn. Look at Exodus 4:
22 "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD: "Israel is My son, My firstborn.
Israel was not the first nation. In fact, Pharaoh was the ruler of one of the first civilizations and was established long before Israel. In Psalm 89:20-27 God honors King David for making God the rock of His salvation and his strength. God honored him by saying that He would make David God’s firstborn – the highest of the kings of the earth. Firstborn is a position of honor. The firstborn son had rights not granted to the other sons. The firstborn son received a double portion of the inheritance of his father. The firstborn was a position of honor, the ruler of his family and inherited the authority of his father. The firstborn son also was appointed the spiritual leader of his people. In some instances the second born would inherit the right to be heir in place of the firstborn. For example, Ephraim, the second born son of Joseph was blessed as the firstborn against his father’s wishes. God called Himself the Father of Israel and Ephraim His firstborn (Jeremiah 31:9). Jacob received the blessing of the firstborn in the place of Esau. God counted Isaac as the firstborn of Abraham even though Ishmael was first. Here in Colossians we see Jesus counted as the firstborn over Adam who sinned in the Garden of Eden. All of creation was under the curse through Adam but is redeemed through Christ who has been granted the rights of being the firstborn over creation instead of Adam. It is a position of authority over creation and not a reference to under the creation. It is not consistent with the rest of scripture to call Jesus the image of the invisible God and then call Him created and to follow up by saying “all things were created through Him and for Him”. The Bible is clear – unto us a child is born, but the Son is given. The Son was not born, but existed before the foundation of the world. The Son is the Word and the Word is God. Jesus created all things thus equating Himself with God in Genesis 1:1 and Jehovah our Creator throughout the Old Testament.
What does the title ‘firstborn’ tell us about Jesus?
Psalm 9:
7 But the LORD shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment.
8 He shall judge the world in righteousness, And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.
Here we see the LORD/Jehovah has prepared His throne to judge the world in righteousness. In the New Testament Jesus is revealed as being the judge of the world.
John 5:
22 "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,
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27 "and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.
Who is the judge of the world, Jesus or Jehovah?
In Revelation 3:21 Jesus promises that those who overcome will sit with Him on His throne and in 6:16-17 all those on the earth cry for the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb who sits on the throne. Scripture concludes with a clear reference to Jesus as being on the throne and being God. Revelation 21
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."
6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
7 "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
The entire purpose of this book is to reveal Jesus Christ. He was veiled during the time of His visitation, His Revelation in all His glory is the final process of God’s plan of redemption. As we will see a little later in this study that Jesus identifies Himself in Revelation 22 as the Root and the Branch of David, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega. Scripture in the Old Testament clearly identifies Jehovah as the One who will judge the entire world and the New Testament clearly identifies this Judge as Jesus Christ.
In Old Testament prophecy, God identifies Himself as being valued at 30 pieces of silver. Look at Zechariah 11:
12 Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter" -- that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter.
What is the significance of 30 pieces of silver?
God is saying that the value set on Him is the price of a dead slave. In Exodus 21:32 the law requires that if a slave killed by a bull owned by another person, the owner of the bull must pay restitution of 30 pieces of silver. In Zechariah, God is saying that Israel will count their Creator as the value of a mauled slave. In Zechariah 11:13 the LORD/Jehovah said, “that princely price they valued me” would be thrown to the potter by casting it into the house of the Lord. We see the fulfillment in Matthew as the value of Jesus Christ, which clearly identifies Christ as Jehovah who spoke in Zechariah 11.
Matthew 26:
14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.
Matthew 27:
3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!"
5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Jesus was a servant killed by bulls. In Psalm 22, the Bible gives us a window into Christ’s death on the cross. While He hung dying, He said, “Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me”. Just as Zechariah saw, the LORD or Jehovah in this Old Testament prophecy is revealed as Jesus Christ in the gospels.
Several times in the Old Testament, the LORD/Jehovah is identified with the title, “I am the First and the Last”. Look at these two passages in Isaiah:
Isaiah 44:6 " Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.’
Isaiah 48:12 " Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.
13 Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand up together.
How do these passages point to Jesus in the New Testament?
These attributes of Jehovah in the Old Testament are revealed as Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Jesus is given credit as creating the heavens and the earth and ‘by Him all things consists’. The same language used in the Old Testament. Nothing clarifies this as being Jesus Christ more unmistakably than Revelation 22:
13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
16 "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star."
What does it mean to be “the Root and the Offspring of David”?
This is what Paul called the great mystery. Because Jesus and the plan of redemption were veiled in the Old Testament, they could not see who God was. Jesus is the root, or the beginning of David, king of Israel, but He is also the branch that came out of David. Jeremiah called the offspring of David: THE LORD [Jehovah] OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Matthew 22:
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
42 saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David."
43 He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:
44 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool" '?
45 "If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"
46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
Obviously, the God who created David could not have come into being through David. They did not understand because they could not see the road to the cross. Through David came the promise of a Redeemer and that person was Jesus Christ. Jesus may have been born through David, but He was Lord of David and He was [and is] JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Can a person be saved by faith with a false view of Christ?
Can we deny that Jesus is God and say, “Jesus is Lord”?
This is a lot of scripture, but I believe it is essential to establish who Jesus is based on scripture. If we have a false view of who Jesus Christ is, then we have no foundation for our faith. A man cannot redeem our sins. If Jesus was not God, then He cannot save. If we deny or are unsure of the deity of Jesus then we are standing outside of the essential Christian doctrine. Without faith in Christ, there is no salvation. Faith in a lesser Christ is not faith in Christ at all. Many false religions say, “Jesus is Lord” or “Jesus Saves” but that doesn’t mean Jesus Christ is truly their Lord. We can create a god in our image and call it ‘Jesus’, but that does not make it Jesus. An idol cannot save, nor can a false Jesus save. God has revealed Himself in scripture. To accept Him is to accept Him as He has been revealed. If we reject God’s revelation, we have already rejected God.
Part
2.
Why is the Cross Necessary?
A common question I hear is, "Why doesn't God just get rid of all sin and take us all to heaven?" Another frequent question is, "If God is so loving, why would He send someone to hell just because they don't believe in Him?"
How would you answer the question, “Why would a loving God send someone to hell?”
What is the purpose of man?
There are hundreds of skeptical questions that I could include here, but there is one basic flaw in all of these types of questions: man is at the center of it all instead of God. What we are really asking is, "Why doesn't God conform to my ways?" We were created for the purpose of having a love relationship with God, our Creator. Revelation 4:11 says, "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created." All things exist (including man) because of the will of God. Philippians 2:13 tells us that God works in us for His will and for His good pleasure. What God wants for us is good but it usually conflicts with our human nature. It isn't God that needs to alter His will, but man who needs to yield to God. The world does not center around our will, but God's will. He has the right to decide how man is created and what man's purpose should be.
God did not create us as robots. An automatic response is not love. If we did not have any choice to love God, it would not be love at all. I can program my computer to say, 'I love you' each time is starts up, but that is meaningless to me. If we don't have a choice to not love God, then we also don't have a choice to love God. Man is the crown of all creation because we are created in God's own image and we have been given the capacity to love God and the right to choose whether or not to love Him. The purpose of the cross is not to get us into heaven. The purpose of the cross is to restore the lost fellowship with our Creator by paying the penalty of our sin that separates us from Him. Why would a loving God send anyone to hell? Why would a loving God violate our choice of not wanting to love or have a relationship with Him? Heaven would be hell for those who hate God. The entire focus of Heaven is a face-to-face relationship with God. Everything in Heaven centers around God. If a person despises the idea of God interfering with their life here on earth, how much worse would it be in heaven for that person to have to worship, praise and live in a place that is completely focused on God? If they have already willfully rejected the person of God, it would be misery to live a life that glorifies God? God does not force us to love Him now, and He will not force us to love Him in heaven. Everyone will bow and acknowledge Him as Lord, but they will not be forced to love Him. It would be the height of injustice to make someone who rejects God to serve Him in heaven against their will. But for us who love God and take pleasure in serving Him here will be overjoyed to serve and fellowship with God when we can see Him in all His glory!
Is the cross our ticket to heaven? Or the door to a relationship with God?
Can we be satisfied outside of God’s will?
Even on earth, the void created within us cannot be satisfied outside of complete surrender to God. Because God has created us for a purpose, if we substitute our purpose for the deception of the world, we will never be satisfied. We can be gratified, but never satisfied. It is important to understand the difference. Gratification is the point where we saturate our desires. We may be able to temporarily get to the point where we no longer desire a particular pleasure and maybe have a brief illusion of satisfaction, but as the pleasure fades, the emptiness inside returns. It is like putting a square peg in a round hole. You may be able to make it fit, but you can never fill in the gaps. People crowd their lives trying to cover up the hole inside, but it continues to rise to the surface. Therefore we are forced to find something else to cover it or we will be consumed with the emptiness. That is why people run from pleasure to pleasure and can never rest. From the world's perspective, the Christian life seems to be uneventful. They cannot comprehend not being driven by pleasures. But when we are satisfied, we no longer need to live for the purpose of finding pleasure. Instead of ruling us, pleasures take their rightful place in God’s design. All pleasure has been created by God and was never intended to be the object of our focus and our first love. When pleasure is our purpose and it is gone, we are without purpose until we find another pleasure to pursue. But when God is our focus and purpose, He sends pleasure into our lives. The pleasure never becomes our focus so we are free to enjoy without remorse and continue to pursue our relationship with God. We were not created for pleasure and if self-gratification is our god, our lives will never be fulfilled regardless of how much activity we crowd in. Anything outside of our purpose of loving God will not work. We were created for this purpose and until we fill the void in our hearts with our Creator, nothing will be fully enjoyed. You will never find a man or woman who loved God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength crying out, "I hate my life" or saying, "I don't know who I am anymore".
Does God want us to have pleasures in this life?
What is the difference between the Christian perspective of pleasure and the world’s perspective?
Did God change the plan of salvation from the Old Testament to the New Testament? Are the Old Testament saints saved through the cross or through the law?
Without the cross, there cannot be a relationship with God. Even Old Testament believers are saved through the cross of Jesus Christ. In reality, there are no Old and New Testaments. The Bible is one revelation as God carried mankind by the hand from Adam's fall to redemption in Christ. All of the Old Testament prepares the way so that we understand what God is doing through the cross. The purpose of the law in the Old Testament was not to make man righteous, but to prepare our hearts for Christ. Look at Romans 3:
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Did keeping the law justify anyone? Did the sacrifices take away their sins?
The law never justified anyone. The Old Testament sacrifices did not purify anyone. The Bible says that "it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin". The believers in the Old Testament were justified by faith just as we are today. They kept the law out of faith in God's provision for sin even though they did not understand the purpose behind it. They looked ahead to the coming Messiah and obeyed God out of faith. We look back at the revealed Messiah (Jesus Christ) and we obey out of faith. It is not and never has been the law that justified anyone. It is and always has been obedience through faith.
Several passages make salvation by grace clear – even for Old Testament saints. 2 Timothy 1 says that God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ” (verses 9&10). Many miss this important point. The grace of God was issued before time began, but was not revealed until Jesus Christ died on the cross. The plan of redemption was in place and working in the lives of men from the very beginning. The fall of man to sin was not a surprise. Redemption was planned before man even fell.
The power to redeem is only found through the Cross of Jesus Christ. God is a holy God and because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God that we were created to reflect, we are separated from God. Sin is simply disobedience to God. God's commands are designed for our protection and to teach us to adopt God's character. Anything that violates God's character violates God's law.
It is true that the Bible teaches that God is love, merciful and kind, but the Bible also teaches that God is just, holy and pure. God's mercy does not nullify God's justice. Instead, because God is merciful, He paid the penalty demanded by His justice. We were under the penalty of sin, but God suffered that penalty on our behalf. God will never sacrifice His character and He cannot change. Even in our human perspective we see the need for consistent justice. When a judge shows leniency in the courtroom, we feel like justice has been violated. We call that corruption. Yet with God, somehow people think that justice should be violated. It would be a confusing world if we did not know if and when God was going to uphold His standard. God does not change and He declared that heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will never pass away. All will be fulfilled just as He declared. God's law is based on His own character. God said that He will avenge and punish every sin committed. The Bible also says that God is the God who forgives, but He takes vengeance on our sins. That sounds contradictory until you see it in light of the cross. For those who are in Christ, God has avenged our sins. Through Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven and avenged. Only in Him are mercy and justice united. The cross is necessary because without the cross, the penalty of sin would fall on our shoulders. Forgiveness is not possible without justice. Because of the cross, God is able to be just and the justifier of those who place their faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26). The cross is necessary because God was able to be just - or judge our sin and issue a just penalty for the violation against righteousness, and still have mercy and forgive us by becoming the justifier - or the one found guilty and judged for our sin.
Why doesn’t God’s mercy overlook sin?
What Happened on the Cross?
1. Jesus became our sin.
Look at these two passages:
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Colossians 3:
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
What does it mean, “to be sin for us”?
Has every sin been paid on the cross?
See 1 Timothy 4:10
Do we have the right to override that option?
Jesus was sin-free but became our sin in our place. The wrath due us was poured out against the sins that He bore in His own body on the cross. Romans 5:9 tells us that we are justified by His blood and saved from God's wrath against our sins through Jesus. If not for the cross, we would stand in account for our own sins. God's vengeance against sin would have been laid to our account. Because of what Jesus did on our behalf, no one is judged for their sins, but we can be judged with our sins. In other words, our debt has been paid. God has already paid the just penalty for every sin I have ever committed or will commit. Because of Jesus Christ, I can either let Jesus nail it to the cross by surrendering to Him by faith, or I can exercise my right to pay for and be judged with my own sins. Every sin will be judged. The only question is where? For us who trust in Christ, our sins are already judged and paid in full. Those who reject Jesus Christ will pay the just penalty of their own sins. Judgment is always God's last alternative, but He does allow us to choose eternal judgment if that is our will.
Did God protect Himself on the cross?
Jesus' final words were, "It is finished" and "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit". The words, "it is finished" comes from the Greek word, 'Tetelestai' which literally means, 'paid in full'. In Rome, when a debt was paid off, the receipt was stamped with the word 'tetelestai' or 'PAID'. The weight of the law required death to sin, and Jesus fulfilled this obligation. The Bible says that God paid our debt with His own blood (Acts 20:28). We know that God endured the suffering on our behalf. He did not shield Himself, but suffered up until the final words, 'Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit'. It wasn't just the fleshly body that endured, but the very heart of God. The greatest suffering on the cross wasn't the physical pain, but the spiritual agony of the wrath against our sins.
Before I move on, I want to look at how scripture tells us that Jesus became sin for us. Did Jesus have to cease from being God on the cross to become our sin?
Did Jesus cease from being God on the cross?
This is a major area of confusion and if we don't understand this, we can't recognize the errors that are often taught. We know that Jesus never ceased from being God. Above I referenced Acts 20:28 which clearly states that God purchased our sins with His own blood. Also look at 1 Timothy 3:
15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
There is no question scripturally that Jesus was God manifest in the flesh and that He paid for our sins with His own blood. We know that the body of Jesus was God in the flesh even while on the cross. It was not until He gave up His spirit that His departed his body.
Was God able to allow sin to be laid to Him on the cross?
Another area of confusion here is that many struggle with the idea that sin was poured out on God. After all, God is holy and sin cannot abide in His presence. We have to remember that it is sin that can't stand in the presence of God and not God that can't stand in the presence of sin. Sin does not affect God, but His holiness has a drastic effect on sin. Sin did not attack God on the cross. God attacked sin on the cross. The cross was God's victory over sin. Instead of judging sin in the world (which would have doomed us all), He took on the sin of the world and judged Himself. That is the amazing love story of redemption.
2. Was God divided?
Was God divided on the cross?
This is not possible. The Old Testament teaches that the heavens and earth cannot contain God and that He is omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent (everywhere at once). The scriptures clearly teach that Jesus is God and Ephesians 4 tells us that Jesus is the one “who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things”. If the heavens and the earth cannot contain God and similarly, Jesus fills the universe, then it would be literally impossible for God to have abandoned Jesus on the cross. That would require Jesus to no longer be God and this is not possible because God cannot change (Malachi 3:6). We are given an amazing insight into the crucifixion in Psalm 22. This passage vividly describes the crucifixion and gives us a glimpse as to what was going on between the Father and the Son.
Psalm 22 begins with the famous words found in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, "My God, My God. Why have you forsaken Me?" We are not given any further details in the gospels because eyewitnesses could not see what was going on spiritually. But God has revealed a portion in this Psalm. As Jesus bore the weight of the sins of the world, He did not shield Himself from our pain or our perspective. Otherwise He could not have claimed "in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest" (Hebrews 2:17). In His suffering He was punished for our transgressions, but He was never rejected by the Father and He was never abandoned. There is nothing in scriptures that remotely indicate that the Father turned away from Him. In fact, the scriptures teach the opposite. Psalm 22:19-22 shows us that Jesus cried for help and said, "do not be far from Me…" and then says, "You have answered Me".
Are there any scriptures that teach that God rejected Jesus on the cross?
Psalm 22:24 says, "For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard." Don't miss the impact of this passage. He (the Father) did not despise nor abhor Christ even during His affliction for the sins He bore on the cross and the Father DID NOT hide His face from Him. This is encouraging to us because during our darkest hour and the times we feel afflicted, it seems as though God has abandoned us, but in reality, we can only see the burden we are bearing and this blinds us to the fact that God is actually carrying us through it. Because Jesus is our High Priest and He had to suffer all things to identify with our needs, He experienced those same feelings. However, faith is not based on feelings. Regardless of how we feel, God's mercy covers us and He cares for us, hurts with us, and bears our burdens. In the same way, Jesus' suffering was necessary. There was no other way for us to be reunited with God without the suffering of Jesus Christ. The Father could not take away the cup of suffering and still accomplish our redemption, therefore He suffered with the Son through the cross. The moment the cup of His wrath due us had passed, the relief was found and victory was proclaimed by Jesus.
21 …You have answered Me.
22 I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from Him; But when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You.
Regardless of how we examine this passage, we cannot get past the testimony of Jesus where He said, “You have not abhorred”, “You have not despised”, and “You did not turn away”
When we are corrupted by sin, does God turn away from us?
Sin does separate us from our relationship with God. It does not turn God away from us, but us away from God. When I was living a sinful lifestyle, I felt rejected by God, abandoned and abhorred. My feelings blinded me to the fact that God did not reject me, but was working in my life to bring me to repentance so that I could have an abiding relationship with Him. My feelings made me feel forsaken, but in reality, God never moved. God never moves or turns from us. We move and turn from Him.
What Happened after the Cross?
Was redemption completed on the cross? Was it finished, or was there more to be done?
Did Jesus have to suffer in Hell?
There are many who reject the redemption on the cross by claiming that Jesus had to do more. Some claimed that Jesus had to suffer in hell. I have heard many teachers say, "if you don't believe Jesus suffered in hell, you can't be saved". This idea comes from misinterpreting the Apostle's Creed and these passages
1 Peter 3:
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
Psalm 16:10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption
The King James Version translates 'Sheol' into 'hell'. In the Old Testament, 'sheol' is used for the grave, a pit and hell. Therefore it is important to examine the context. In Psalm 16:10, the context is that God's 'Holy One' will not see corruption - or decay in the grave. This is a prophecy about Jesus' bodily resurrection and not that He is rescued from hell. In 1 Peter, the context is that Jesus will preach to the spirits in prison. Whether that prison is the grave or hell itself is not important. What is important is that Jesus did not go there to suffer, but to proclaim His victory.
The Apostles also interpreted this passage as ‘the body in the grave’. The on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to preach. He used this same passage from Psalms in his sermon. He said that David wrote it, not about himself, but foresaw the face of Christ. Peter said that David’s tomb was known and his body was still in it, but this passage referred to the bodily resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:25-36). It is also worth noting that in verse 27, Peter uses the word ‘Hades’ as the interpretation of Psalm 16:10, not hell or ‘Gehenna’. Whenever the Bible refers to hell as the place of torment, it is ‘Gehenna’. Jesus always referred to ‘Gehenna’ as the future torment of the wicked. ‘Gehenna’ was a word-picture Jesus used to illustrate hell.
Gehenna was actually a valley south of Jerusalem where the city dumped dead animals and the filth of the city. It was known for its foul odor and decay. To attempt to control the decay, a fire was continuously burning there. Obviously, there is no way to accurately describe to people what is spiritual and beyond comprehension. Therefore, Jesus used Gehenna as symbolic of hell because He knew everyone was repulsed by this infamous valley. When Jesus said, “if you eye offends you, pluck it out. For it is better to enter into eternal life maimed than to go with two eyes into ‘Gehenna’ where the worm does not die and the fire does not go out”, everyone had a terrible mental picture of what hell must be like. So when the Bible says that Jesus would not remain in the grave, the word Hades is used, not Gehenna. It was not referring to torment, but the bodily death and resurrection of Jesus.
Does the passage saying that Jesus suffered in all ways like us require hell also?
One opposing view given is that Jesus had to suffer in all ways like us, therefore, He had to suffer in hell to fulfill that requirement. The problem with this logic is that hell was never intended for man. Hell was created for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41) and not for man. Because man is not appointed to hell, there is no need for Jesus to suffer in hell. Hell is only for those who have chosen to be followers of the devil by rejecting salvation through Christ. Or as Jesus put it in Matthew 7:
13 " Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
People accuse God of sending them to hell, but in reality, God doesn't make that choice for anyone. God allows for two doors and we all choose which door we enter in. Following our selfish desire is a choice. It is just easier to be carried by the current than to take that difficult path that leads to life.
Jesus did not have to suffer in hell. The doctrine of Jesus suffering in hell does not derive from scripture. This idea is mostly a modern sway from doctrine. Those who teach it try to associate it with the beliefs of the early church, but this is not a true statement. Even the Apostle's creed does not say Jesus suffered after death.
I believe in GOD, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven
and earth.
And in JESUS Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was
conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God
the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the
dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen
People who hold the unbiblical doctrine of Jesus’ suffering in hell lead others to believe that our church forefathers believed in this false teaching, but that is not true. The Apostles and the early church testified that Jesus preached to the spirits, but they did not teach He suffered there. Whether Jesus went to hell itself or preached His victory to dead believers waiting for His redemption is not entirely clear and really is not important. It is important when someone denies the redemption of the cross. When Jesus declared that 'It is finished / the debt has been paid", it is a slap in the face of the gospel declared by God to then say, "No, you have to do more than what Jesus did". It is the height of arrogance to declare God's sacrifice insufficient for our redemption. Jesus cried to the Father, "Into Your hands I commit my spirit". He could not have stated it any plainer than this. He was not committed into hell to finish the job. He declared the plan of redemption as complete and committed His spirit to the Father in victory. He then was able to descend into hell or the grave and preach His victory.
What is the purpose for the resurrection?
Even the resurrection is not part of the salvation message. The resurrection is the evidence that Jesus was who He claimed to be – God in the flesh and the Resurrection itself. He rose bodily to prove His words were true. He did not see corruption in the grave, but fulfilled prophecy and His own claims that if you kill destroy this body, I will raise it up again on the third day (John 19-21). When people asked for a sign that He was who He claimed to be, He declared that the only sign given was the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in a fish three days, so Jesus would be in the earth three days. It is funny that Jesus performed many signs through healings and miracles, yet He said the only sign given as evidence was the resurrection. All of the miracles didn't prove He was divine. The only sign to be concerned with was that He would not see corruption in the grave, but would rise again on the third day. His resurrection is the sign that everything He taught was true and the redemption on the cross was sufficient for our sins.
What was the only sign given to validate who He was?
When we lose sight of these things, traditions begin to creep into the biblical message of the gospel. The gospel message will never change. Even the apostle Paul warned that even if he should return and change the message, he was under the judgment of God. Regardless of how great of a prophet of God someone claims to be, if their doctrine does not align with scripture, they are not of God. God does not change and the gospel does not change. Even if God's own angel stands before us and proclaims a different gospel, we have been forewarned not to believe him. Look at Galatians 1
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
The word ‘accursed’ comes from the Greek word 'anathema', which literally means 'cursed by God without hope of redemption'. I don't believe this is referring to mistakes we make in doctrine while we are still learning. We all grow and increase our understanding of scripture and when we see that we have a flawed doctrine, we align ourselves with what is taught in scripture. However, when someone chooses a tradition or flawed doctrine over the word of God, then they are on dangerous ground. This is Paul's warning. When someone chooses to reject God's word because it doesn't comply with what they prefer to believe then they are in rejection of God. It is God who stated that He exalts His word over His own name. We are not given the option to pick and choose which part of God's truth we want to believe. When someone sees the truth of God's word and refuses to turn from their error and then teaches others to follow a false gospel, they are under God's curse. We are commanded not to listen or welcome teaching and not to be afraid of the threats many self-proclaimed prophets will issue. It does not matter if a false teacher curses us. They are under God's curse and do not have the right or the power to curse God's people. Curses are used to keep people in submission when a false leader knows that he or she is in error. We are not commanded to avoid the curse of teachers, we are commanded to validate what is being taught to what God has already revealed in scripture. If the two cannot be reconciled, we are to count them as under the curse if they refuse to submit to God's word. There is nothing to fear from any spiritual leader. No God-ordained leader will curse anyone. The scripture commands that we bless our enemies and not to curse. We are also commanded to love our brethren in Christ. We aren't given any room to curse those who oppose us. That right is reserved by God and He desires mercy first. It is when people choose traditions and doctrines of men over the word of God that we stand under the curse.
Should we fear the condemnation of others when we uphold the truth?
1 Corinthians 16:22 says, "If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed". Outside of Christ, we are under the curse and we have the right to choose this option. It all centers around a love relationship with our God. It is not rules, works or anything we can do that gives us salvation. It is a love relationship with God. The cross was necessary because we have sinned and God is just and cannot violate His own nature. The cross was the payment due us poured out on Christ. Jesus died in victory, and preached that victory to the spirits in prison after our redemption was sealed by His own blood. Jesus rose from the grave as evidence that His words and claims were true and to give us hope of our future resurrection when He returns.
It is a complete story and a complete work of redemption. There is nothing we can add to it. We can only take away from it by polluting God's amazing grace with tradition and pet beliefs. We have always been and will always be counted as righteous by our faith in God's redemption offered to every man who will surrender to Jesus Christ.
Exchanged Life Outreach
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