Sermon Tone Analysis

But if we want a full understandign of what took place on the cross we cannot do so without battle imagery.

Col. 1:15-

23 Newbigin is able

31

Cosmic Reconciliation= Penal Substitution + Christus Victor

Christ, who is God’s power, righteousness, blessing, grace and life, overcomes and carries away these monsters, sin, death and the curse.

Rutledge, Fleming.

The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ (p.

357).

Wm.

B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

Cosmic Reconciliation= Penal Substitution + Christus Victor

If there were to be any doubt about this, would be the clincher: “To this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Kurios both of the dead and of the living.”

Each of the domains envisioned by Paul has its slaves: Do you not know that if you yield yourselves to any one as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness (dikaiosyne).

() No one is capable of being captain of his own soul, master of her own fate.45

Each of us is worked upon by unconscious impulses of which we are not even aware and over which we have little control.46

Paul, unlike the typical American, does not think in terms of autonomous human beings.

Paul proudly identifies himself as a “slave of Christ” ().

What Paul means by this is that, since we were slaves to Sin, righteousness had no place in us, no dependable foothold.49

The clear implication here is that there is no way for the human being to move from the domain of Sin to the domain of God’s righteousness unless there is an invasion of the kingdom of Sin from outside.

The domain of Sin leads to Death; its goal and purpose (telos) is Death.

There is no way out of this downward-moving spiral of dissolution.

But here is the good news: “You have been set free from [the domain of] Sin and have become slaves to God; your fruit is holiness and the telos is eternal life” (cf.

).50 Being a “slave of righteousness” and a “slave of obedience” will sound intolerable to most modern ears.

The famous ending of chapter 8 (“Neither death, nor life . . .

nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord ”) is not an all-purpose, generic piece of religious uplift.

Paul can promise this only because he has a genuinely revelatory piece of news to declare.

A new world has come into being through Christ the Kurios.

Concluding his letter to the Romans, Paul asserts with the confidence that only the gospel can give, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (16:20).

As we move on, however, a synthesis will be proposed; Jesus is preparing to enter the lists not only as the utterly undefended commander of the Lord’s hosts but also as the one who will stand alone on the front line in our place, absorbing the full onslaught of Sin, Death, and the devil.

Cosmic Reconciliation= Penal Substitution + Christus Victor

And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him.

()

The incarnation itself was widely understood during most of the Christian era to be God’s invasion of Satan’s territory.

Cosmic Reconciliation= Penal Substitution + Christus Victor

explains that Jesus died to “destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

The primary reason Jesus died, the main goal of the cross and resurrection, was to defeat sin, death, and Satan.

In our rightful zeal to defend the truth of penal substitution, we must remember to always place it into this larger picture.

Penal substitution is the means to the end, not the end itself.

These are militant words- they are not soft and they are not weak, they are not comfortable, they are war and battle and struggle, and imposition.

Kingdom means an actual reign.

But a reign that is taking ground.

We know that today, when someone speaks the name of Jesus or tries to live for him in any real way, she will find herself in a battle; it will not be neutral.

Saved- from what and for what?

Came to save the lost, to set captives free, and to liberate.

Lord- this is not just adding something extra to make it sound fancy “Jesus Christ our Lord”

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CHRISTUS VICTOR

What happened at the cross is mysterious , and beautiful and when we look at it we get our best glimpse of the power and the love of God.

And so in this series we have been turning the diamond of the cross.

Looking at it from different angles and allowing the light to hit it and our hope is that as we will gain a greater understanding of what took place at the cross.

And this is important…not simply so we have a better theology, or can speak with greater wisdom, but ultimately so that we know him more, worship him more deeply, and follow him more passionately!!

Col. 2:13

PRAYER

When Christians think about the power of God displayed, they tend to go directly to the resurrection.

But in many ways Scripture tells ius that we are rushing it!

Christus Victor is a latin term that means that Christ is Victorious

CHRISTUS VICTOR - Christ is Victorious

So the entire point of the CV is this....you can write it down.....He Won!!

No longer does the enemy have any claim in victory; over your life, over creation, only Jesus does.

Take every movie you have ever seen where evil has been winning, and the good guy of girl kicks the door down, to see the villain cower in the corner.

That is Christus Victor

We were enslaved to sin and death and Jesus came in Rambo style, but far more intelligent and took out the powers of darkness.

PAUSE

“The work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the Powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil. . . .

The victory of Christ creates a new situation, bringing their rule to an end, and setting men free from their dominion.”

There are some truths that if you grew up Christian you just accept, then you get older and you realise that they are some pretty far our beliefs:

God loves us.

We are sinners, God hates sin.

God deals with sin.

But that is not all.

BUT scripture that you and I are not the only players in this drama.

That Jesus has moved in on darkness.

And as John writes in , the darkness has not overcome it.

And what I’d like to point out this morning is that this Victory of the Cross is Victory for us, in us,

The Cross is Victory FOR us, IN us, and OVER us!

I.

The Cross is Victory for us (v.13-15)

it is victory over the Accuser (Devil)

Scripture makes it clear that evil has made its way into God’s perfect creation and that it has a hold.

If you need proof that evil has a hold I offer you..........everything as proof!!

our media our news our relationships, our ability to take the gifts of God and manipulate them, our own intricate issues all point to the fact that evil has a hold.

And the issues are so deep and invading that a bandaid wont do it.

And anything outside of a deep deliverance and healing will not suffice.

Something untainted from without must come within to mend and rectify.

Scripture refers to the evil at work as that of the Devil, accuser, evil one, the tempter, prince of the air; which implies that his reign is temporary.

And we see more than a hint of his future in

That the devil, the accuser who has been around since Adam and Eve.

That the devil, the accuser who has been around since Adam and Eve.

Offering us what we’ve always wanted if we take on the position of God.

In the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 4, The same Devil that went after Jesus in the wilderness trying to get him to bow down to him to follow the same path as the rest of humanity... to worship him.

That is Kingdom talk.

Why, becauseThat is the devil seeing Jesus moving in on his territory.

And so he offers him the same promises of

The Bible makes it clear that when Jesus stepped into history, he did not do so onto neutral ground!!

We know that today, when someone speaks the name of Jesus or tries to live out faith in any real way, she will find herself in a battle; it will not be neutral.

And it is evident maybe more than ever that there is fundamentally a spiritual battle going one where there seems to be a blindness to the dangers of ignoring boundaries and foundational beliefs.

Why the push back!

Why because the devil does not like to give up ground:

He doesn’t like it when truth comes in because truth strangles lies.

He doesn’t like it when pure love shows up, because perfect love casts out fear.

And he doesn’t like it when forgiveness arrives because he is the accuser, and when you have ben forgiven there is nothing to accuse you of!!