THE MYSTERY OF THE CROSS

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The Cross reveals our God in 3 persons: God the Father sent the Son to save us, the Son yielded to the Father’s supremacy, and the Spirit, our Comforter abides in us forever, Jesus followers. Redemption was predestined by the Father – Eph 1: In love ⁵he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. Redemption was accomplished by the Son – Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. Finally, redemption was applied by the Spirit – Eph. 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. God did not withhold the Son, and the Son submitted Himself to the Father’s will and that is the mystery of the Cross.

God gave man authority and dominion; man was in charge and he had communion with God – Gen 1: ²⁶Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”; man was a friend of God and a partner; God made man to partner with him and rule the earth but in Gen 3:9-19, man messed up. As such, God had to devise a strategy to save the world once again and once for all through His Son. The Cross is God’s secret strategy that the devil did not comprehend. 1 Pet: ³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

The mystery of the Cross is the mystery of death that releases life; the mystery of death that multiplies, the mystery of death that makes us overcomers and it is the mystery of death that brings power – 1 Cor 1:¹⁸For the message of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

If not for the Cross, there would be no Christian on earth, except Jesus, the Only begotten Son of the Father and the rest of us, would have been under the bondage of the devil. Jesus went to the Cross to bring many to glory, to produce many who will be qualified to go to heaven in glory. Jesus had to taste death, which was gruesome and an offence to many. It was not easy for the righteous son of God who knew no sin – 1 Cor 5:²¹For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus who did not offend the Father in any way, had to taste a horrible death in order to save humanity and yet those who were lower than Him, (for example Enoch, Elijah and Moses) were taken up to heaven.

If we identify with Jesus, then His life, character, mannerisms should rub off on us; if we are truly followers of Jesus. Jesus chose to taste death, so that the world can be delivered from the power of darkness. Jesus came for this reason and for this time, so that He might bring many more to glory. John 12:²⁷“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

The Cross is not only a place where Jesus paid for our sins, it is also a place where the devil was defeated. The Cross is the judgement that finished the prince of this world and it is the basis of drawing men to God, a plan that was established before the foundations of the earth. Our expectation of revival, people being saved and delivered from the power of darkness is only possible by the power of the Cross. Col 1:²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Anytime you want to deal with the issue of the Cross, it brings out the judgement that impounded and nullified the authority of the devil to keep men in bondage. The Cross is the place where all the atrocities that started in Gen chapter 3 and continued throughout the Bible til we came to the Cross, where the matter was completed once and for all. If you want to be saved, you must come to the Cross. If the power of the devil is to be broken from over our lives, it has to be at the Cross. If you have not come to the Cross, there is nothing in your life that can deliver you from the hands of the devil. Hebs 12:²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus on his way to the Cross was a shattered man by earthly measures but a broken one by heaven’s measure. Jesus accepted his fate. He embraced the cruel circumstances he found himself. He lifted no hand nor offered any resistance. Nor did he grandstand his piety; silently, privately, he bore the crucible of humiliation for you and I. Because of this he was deeply wounded and bruised. His whole inner being was mutilated. His face was altered. When the gore was over, Jesus was barely unrecognizable. His suffering gave birth to thousands of followers all around the world. Jesus bore his suffering in silent agony.

The mystery of the Cross is the story of self-giving love because God’s love restores. The Cross is the judgement that finished the prince of this world and it is at the cross, that the basis of drawing men to God was established by Jesus’s death. Jesus went to the cross in order to make us a partaker of the heavenly glory; He went to the cross so that he may bring thousands onto glory. 1 Cor 2:⁸None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The Cross is the hidden wisdom of God; the Cross was planned and ordained for our redemption. The Cross is the devil’s mistake and everlasting regret. On the Cross, Christ did not only conquer sin and death, but he conquered the spiritual forces of darkness. He disarmed powers and authorities, putting them to open shame, and triumphed over them on the Cross Col. 2:¹⁵He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

The Cross cancelled the record of debt that stood against humanity. On the Cross Jesus bore our sins in his body, so that we might die to sin and death – 1 Pet 2:²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. The curse of sin and death was placed on Jesus so that we might obtain the blessings of Abraham Gal 3:¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”. Understanding the Cross and resurrection as a single event is important, for it is through the death and resurrection of Christ that death is swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15:54–55) and the whole world has the opportunity to be reconciled to the Father. Roms 6: 23b tells us that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. In order for Jesus to bring many sons to glory, He had to taste death for every man. Jn 12:²³And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life and therein lays the mystery of the Cross.