The Cross - The Power of God
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What Is So Important About The Cross?
What Is So Important About The Cross?
1 Cor 15:3 Of First importance – Christ died and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
Mk 10:45 Jesus came to serve and to give his life away as a ransom for many
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jn 1:29 Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Gal 6:14 boast in cross Through which the world was crucified to me and I to the world.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Jn 20:31 By believing you would have Life in his name. BELIEVING: The most important word in the bible..
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The Cross - The Power of God
The Cross - The Power of God
The first piece of worship after you enter through the gate is the Altar of Sacrifice
The Cross was God’s Altar of Sacrifice
This is where self is crucified with Christ…
Gal 2:20 I Am crucified with Christ
1. The Cross Was the Death Penalty For The Worst Of Sin and Sinners.
1. The Cross Was the Death Penalty For The Worst Of Sin and Sinners.
The worst of criminals were hung on a tree
Christ took our place as the worst of sinners
Gal 3:13 Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Because the wages of sin is death…And because of God’s Intense love for us, he became a curse on our behalf
Jn 3:16 For God so loved the world
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
WHAT IS THE WORST OF SIN?
GOD’S COMMAND: Genesis 2:17 Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
SELF-WORSHIP: The Sin committed by man in the beginning was the sin of SELF WORSHIP GEN 3:1-7
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Adam and Eve covered themselves with their OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS but God covered them with a lamb skin...THE FIRST SACRIFICE, A PICTURE OF JESUS...Animal sacrifice - INATE IN MAN IS THE KNOWING that something must die to pay the penalty for sin.
Genesis 3:21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve
The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
2. The Cross Is The Power Of God.
2. The Cross Is The Power Of God.
WHY?...Death to self and self worship is where true freedom is found
1 Corinthians 1:17 lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Romans 1:16-17 I am not ashamed of the gospel, For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed,
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
3.Power and Authority Were Released When God Raised Jesus From The Dead.
3.Power and Authority Were Released When God Raised Jesus From The Dead.
NEW POWER AND AUTHORITY COMES TO THOSE WHO ARE RAISED INTO CHRIST....Ephesians 1:18-21 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Col 1:27 Christ In You The Hope Of Glory
27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
4. As Christians, We Are Supposed To Know And Walk In This Power.
4. As Christians, We Are Supposed To Know And Walk In This Power.
Philippians 3:10-11 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
2 Cor 4:6-7 We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Col 1:29 Struggling with all God’s might that is working so powerfully in me
29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.
5. The Message Of The Cross Is Foolishness To The Greeks And A Stumbling block To The Jews - It Nullifies The Things That Are.
5. The Message Of The Cross Is Foolishness To The Greeks And A Stumbling block To The Jews - It Nullifies The Things That Are.
Because man worships himself, the message of dying to self worship is foolish and or a stumbling block
1 Corinthians 1:18-24 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no-one may boast before him.
Isaiah 29:14 quoted in 1 Cor 1:19 I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder
For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
A. Jews are looking for a miraculous sign
B Greeks are looking for wisdom
C. To those who believe Christ the power of God and the Wisdom of God.
D. But God chose the weak and lowly things, the despised things to nullify the things that are, so no one can boast.
6. The Cross Was And Is God's Secret Weapon.
6. The Cross Was And Is God's Secret Weapon.
Satan didn't understand that God was coming to die
Jesus Christ was slain before the foundations of the earth
1 Cor 2:2, 5-8
1 Corinthians 2:2 I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:5-8 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Acts 2:23-24 it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
STOP HERE SAVE THE REST FOR NEXT WEEK...
STOP HERE SAVE THE REST FOR NEXT WEEK...
7. Why Did Christ Have To Die On A Cross?
7. Why Did Christ Have To Die On A Cross?
1. To show His justice
1. To show His justice
Romans 3:25-26 he did it to demonstrate his justice
God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished —he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
In order to be just we must see he is just!
2. He Died For Our Sins And Was Raised For Our Acquittal (righteousness, justification)
2. He Died For Our Sins And Was Raised For Our Acquittal (righteousness, justification)
Romans 4:25 He was delivered to death and was raised to life for our justification.
He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
3. Because He Loved Us
3. Because He Loved Us
Romans 5:6-10 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
4. To Bring All Authority Under His Dominion
4. To Bring All Authority Under His Dominion
Colossians 1:19-20 and through him to reconcile to himself -by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
8. What Is The message Of The Cross?
8. What Is The message Of The Cross?
The Cross is our avenue of deliverance from the law (SELF WORSHIP)
Rom 10:4 Christ is the end of the law
4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
The Cross is deliverance from sin Romans 5:12-21 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
9. Christ Defeated Death Through Complete Obedience.
9. Christ Defeated Death Through Complete Obedience.
Philippians 2:5-11 Have the same attitude as Christ
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
10. How Was I Included On The Cross?
10. How Was I Included On The Cross?
Romans 6:3-11 All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
BAPTISIM; Must be completly dunked…/dyed to take on color/ saturated… In other words I must fully and totally receive that I died with Christ!
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 7:4 you also died to the law through the body of Christ,
We must end our worship of self
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
Romans 8:3-4 For what the law was powerless to do God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.
For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
11. How Do I Access The Message Of The Cross?
11. How Do I Access The Message Of The Cross?
I must receive and believe the revelation of the cross… It must be revealed..
Jer 29:13 You will seek and find when it is with all your heart
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Romans 10:5-17 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.”But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Isaiah 53:1-12 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
12. What Are The Benefits Of Believing In What Christ Did On The Cross?
12. What Are The Benefits Of Believing In What Christ Did On The Cross?
1. Peace through freedom from the law
1. Peace through freedom from the law
Ephesians 2:13-16 For he himself is our peace, -- by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
2. Fullness, the flesh was removed by the power of the Holy Spirit
2. Fullness, the flesh was removed by the power of the Holy Spirit
Colossians 2:9-12 In Him, you have been given fullness in Christ
For in Christ all the fulness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fulness in Christ, who is the Head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
3. You are alive to God, your sins are forgiven, and the enemy has been disarmed.
3. You are alive to God, your sins are forgiven, and the enemy has been disarmed.
Colossians 2:13-15 God made you alive with Christ. / forgave us all our sins, He disarmed the powers and authorities, triumphing over them by the cross.
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
4. He became a curse for you to deliver you from every curse.
4. He became a curse for you to deliver you from every curse.
Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
5. You became crucified to this world.
5. You became crucified to this world.
Galatians 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Just a thought:
On the third day when God said let dry ground appear calling it land, he said let the land produce vegetation. ---> plants producing vegetation and trees bearing fruit with seed in them that reproduce after their own kind.
This is the same land (ground) that God used to create man. The ability to produce plants and trees is in the substance of the soil. Similarly, in the soil of our hearts is the ability to produce spiritual things that cannot be seen. Just like Adam and Eve cultivated the Garden of Eden so we must cultivate the garden of our hearts, guard and keep it. The garden had to have been a spiritual place, the place of God's presence. As well, Eden had spiritual trees growing in it, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There were two trees in the middle of the garden that vied for Adam and Eve's attention. Could the cross represent the ultimate decision to love, to obey? The cross was made from two pieces of tree. Could the Cross of Christ be a cross of the two trees, one bringing life the other bring death. God puts before us life (the tree of life) and death (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), blessing and cursing. Does the cross represent a choice between the two trees? Does it represent the decision that love requires? Does it represent the decision that we all have to make, to love or not to love? Could it represent the choice that Christ had to make to love us to the point of death? Prior to man's sin, life was a more simple choice. After man sinned, life became only accessible through death, suffering. Christ died for us because our death could never produce life! To identify with this death means life.
Song of Songs 8:6-7 love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.
Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of his house for love,
it would be utterly scorned.