Righteousness and The Cross
For I determined not to know anything
among you, save Jesus Christ, and
him crucified… The Apostle Paul
How could the death of Jesus on the cross make
us right with God? The answer to this question
must be received through the revelation of Christ.
God is just and righteous, and as such required
punishment, a payment or penalty, for our wrong
doings. Someone had to be punished as a sacrifice,
so we could find favor. This person was Jesus.
As prophesied, He took God's judgment for our
sin upon Himself, so we could become right and
not have to be judged. "…Surely he
hath born our griefs [pain], and carried our sorrows
[sickness]: yet we did esteem [regard] him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted" (Isaiah
53:4, emphasis added).
THE REVELATION OF CHRIST
The blood of Jesus was shed on the cross to wash
and cleanse away our sin. This is why we can look
back 2000 years ago and be cleansed by His act
on the cross. He was not only crucified for us,
but buried in a tomb in our place. The penalty
for sin is death. Jesus came to identify with
us and to take the penalty for our sin in every
way.
The revelation of the cross is the central message
of the New Testament. The Apostle Paul said, "For
I decided to concentrate only on Jesus Christ
and his death on the cross" (1 Corinthians
2:2 NLT). Paul's vision was solely the redemptive
revelation of Christ's payment on the cross for
our sins. The basis of his relationship with God
consisted of the truth found in the death, burial
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He spent his
Christian life, "Looking unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith; who for the
joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right
hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).
Paul was on a journey, and, "…As
he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly
there shined round about him a light from heaven"
(Acts 9:3). Jesus appeared to him. He was blinded
by the light, but fasted and prayed for three
days until God gave him spiritual sight through
the light of Christ. Paul went on to zealously
write 14 books of the New Testament where he establishes
our new relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
He wrote concerning our righteousness because
of the cross, "But of him are ye in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctifica-tion, and redemption…
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom
of men, but in the power of God" (1 Corinthians
1:30; 2:5). "For he [God] hath made him
[Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him
[Jesus]" (2 Corinthians 5:21, emphasis
added).
The Psalmist David prophesied about Jesus on
the cross, saying, "I am poured out like
water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart
is like wax… My strength is dried up…
my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought
me into the dust of death… the assembly of
the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands
and my feet" (22:14-16). But why is such
violence required? It is explained in the New
Testament, "…without the shedding
of blood is no remission [act of forgiving] …So
Christ was offered to bear the sins of many…"
(Hebrews 9:22,28, emphasis added). "As far
as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed
our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12).
OVERCOMERS OF THE WORLD
God raised Jesus from the dead, and in so doing,
He raised us up from the dead as well. The Holy
Spirit, God's Helper, comes into us and raises
us from the dead. We are raised from the dead
by the same Spirit (Romans 8:11), and "…he
that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit"
(1 Corinthians 6:17). Jesus brings us to life
so we can be right with God in every way. He brings
us to life so we can live with our Heavenly Father
forever, free from the penalty of our wrong doings.
The Apostle John saw Jesus as the resurrected
Lamb, "…clothed with a garment down
to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden
girdle. His head and his hairs were white like
wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a
flame of fire…" (Revelation 1:13b,14).
Jesus overcame sin, the world, the flesh and the
devil. We are overcomers because of Him, Who defeated
sin and death at the cross. During Jesus' earthly
ministry, He said, "…in this world
ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer
[courage], I have overcome the world"
(John 16:33, emphasis added). John expounded in
his first epistle how we overcome the devil because
of the resurrection, and that Jesus is greater
in us than the devil is (1 John 4:4). He went
on to say that we have the victory and overcome
the world by faith in Jesus (1 John 5:4,5).
Later in John's Revelation of Jesus Christ, Chapters
2 and 3, the resurrected Christ tells of our inheritance
in Him. We will eat of the tree of life and partake
not in the second death because we are born again.
We eat hidden manna, are given a white stone and
a new name. We receive power over the nations,
and He gives us the morning star. He clothes us
with white clothing and confesses us before His
Father and the angels. We are made pillars in
the temple, and He writes upon us the name of
God and the name of the city of God, which is
the new Jerusalem, which comes down from heaven.
We are promised to sit with Him on His throne.
All these promises are to us as overcomers!
And that's not all, we "…overcame
him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb, and
by the word of their testimony: and they loved
not their lives unto the death" (Revelation
12:11, emphasis added). We are to testify concerning
what the blood of Christ has provided: righteousness
(Romans 3:25; 5:9; Ephesians 1:7); redemption,
or having purchased us from sin (Acts 20:28; 1
Corinthians 6:20; Hebrews 9:12; 1 Peter 1:18,19:
Revelation 5:9); the presence of God in our life
(Ephesians 2:13; Hebrews 10:19); grace and peace
(Colossians 1:20); a clean conscience (Hebrews
9:14); forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22); sanctification
or holiness (Hebrews 13:12, 1 Peter 1:2); cleansing
and love (1 John 1:7); and the blood of Jesus
Christ has even made us priests (Revelation 1:5,6).
And if that is not enough, we "…shall
inherit all things" (Revelation 21:7).
THE FINISHED WORK OF THE CROSS
Our life is to always center around the finished
work of Jesus Christ at the cross. At the cross,
He delivered us from the curse of the law to bless
us; He took our pun-ishment to cleanse us; He
was bruised to heal us; and He conquered sin to
give us His righteousness. All these things are
part of the finished work of the cross.
The central theme of Paul's message is the cross.
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us… that
the blessings of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
[us] through Jesus Christ; that we might receive
the promise of the Spirit through faith"
(Galatians 3:13,14, emphasis added). "Blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it [the
law] out of the way, nailing it [the law] to the
cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers,
he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over
them in it" (Colossians 2:14,15, emphasis
added).
The Apostle Paul prayed that we would have spiritual
understanding of this finished work. "…I
pray for you constantly, asking God… to give
you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that
you might grow in your knowledge of God"
(Ephesians 1:16,17). Paul knew how important it
was for us to have the knowledge of the fin-ished
work of the cross. He wanted us to realize our
wonderful future. He wanted us to realize our
rich and glorious inheritance, and that we are
now seated with Christ in heavenly places. He
desired us to know that we are now complete in
Christ (Colossians 2:10).
The Scriptures encourage us to always have Christ
on our mind. This is a mind of humility which
believes what the Scriptures say about Jesus.
In other words, our mind and mouth confess [or
says the same thing that God says], about who
we are and what we have in Christ, what we can
do in Him, and that all we have and are comes
from God. Humility is not calling ourselves a
filthy sinner, which would be a lie and prideful.
God says we are sinners before we receive Christ,
and saints after being born again. We are His
children, risen with Christ and seated with Him
beside our Heavenly Father in heaven as His family.
We recognize that by ourselves we are inadequate,
but with Him, we have dignity and worth. We believe
and confess what the Word says about our death,
burial and resurrection with Christ. Jesus Christ
is our salvation.
As we identify with the finished work of the
cross, our sense of worth begins to rise. We no
longer let fear and unbelief rule our heart through
negative talk. We accept and believe what God
has made us as a result of the cross. We see ourselves
completely forgiven, a new crea-tion, and we begin
to act that way. We see ourselves as God sees
us. Through the blood sacrifice of His Son, we
are righteous and true.
WHO IS GOD?
God is our salvation. In the Old Testament book
of Exodus, God reveals His Name to Moses at the
burning bush. His Name is represented by four
Hebrew letters translated into English as Y-H-V-H
(or Y-H-W-H). His Name is sometimes written Jehovah
or Yahweh, by adding vowels to these letters,
although Jewish scholars point out that the actual
pronunciation of this name is not to be spoken.
In English translations, it is usually written
as the "LORD" using capital letters.
When read in Hebrew, the speaker will substitute
the word "Adonai," meaning "Lord"
or "HaShem," meaning "the Name."
What is important about God's Name as revealed
is not how it is said, but what it represents.
It means "I AM THAT I AM" (Exodus
3:14, emphasis in the original), or it could possibly
be translated, "I will be who I will be."
Our God burns like a fire with love and righteousness,
yet remains the same and never diminishes. God
reveals who He is. It is not for us to define
Him.
The Name is often combined with other Hebrew
words to form new names that speak of God's attributes.
One such name is "Yehshua" or "Joshua."
This name means "The Lord Saves." It
is translated into Greek in the New Testament
and then into English to become the name: JESUS.
Our God is the author of life and salvation.
His "I am" expresses that He is infinite,
original, personal, behind everything and that
nothing defines our God, but He Himself. He is
powerful, sovereign, and defines Himself as truth
and salvation for His creation.
God revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
by this Name as the One Who protects and blesses,
but they did not know Him to the full extent that
Moses did. We are fortunate to know God today
in a way that even Moses did not. The promised
seed of Abraham came to earth as a child. "And
she [Mary] shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt
call his name JESUS [Yehshua]: for he shall save
his people from their sins" (Matthew
1:21, emphasis added).
Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh (1
Timothy 3:16), is our salvation. He is our deliverance
from the power of sin and the devil; our payment
for sin. We are forgiven for our sins; past, present
and future. We have the power of Christ's resurrection
and this allows us a foretaste of our future life
as His children. Our experi-ence of salvation
will be complete when Christ takes us to this
heavenly kingdom to live with Him forever.
Let us pray as the Apostle Paul prayed in his
letter to the Philippians, saying, "That
I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his suffer-ing, being made
conformable unto his death; If by any means I
might attain unto the resurrection of the dead"
(3:10,11).
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