Thursday: The Meaning of the Cross
Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-24. What is Paul saying about the cross, and how does he contrast it with the “wisdom of the world”? Why, even today, when “materialism” (the idea that all reality is only material, which means there is no God or supernatural realm of existence) dominates “the wisdom of the world,” is the message of the cross so important?
The cross of Christ is the very center of salvation history. “Eternity can never fathom the depth of love revealed in the cross of Calvary. It was there that the infinite love of Christ and the unbounded selfishness of Satan stood face to face.” — Stephen N. Haskell, The Cross and Its Shadow (South Lancaster, MA: Bible Training School, 1914), p. v.
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While Christ was humbly offering Himself as a ransom for the human race, Satan was selfishly engulfing Him in suffering and agony. Christ did not die just the natural death that every human being has to face. He died the second death, so that all those who accept Him will never have to experience it for themselves.
In regard to the meaning of the Cross, there are several important aspects that we should remember. First, the Cross is the supreme revelation of God’s justice against sin (Romans 3:21-26). Second, the Cross is the supreme revelation of God’s love for sinners (Romans 5:8). Third, the cross is the great source of power to break the chains of sin (Romans 6:22-23; 1 Corinthians 1:17-24). Fourth, the Cross is our only hope of eternal life (Philippians 3:9-11; John 3:14-16; 1 John 5:11-12). And fifth, the Cross is the only antidote against a future rebellion in the universe (Revelation 7:13-17, Revelation 22:3).
None of these crucial truths about the cross can be discovered by the “wisdom of the world.” On the contrary, then, as now, the preaching of the cross is “foolishness” to worldly wisdom, which often doesn’t even acknowledge the most obvious truth there could be: that a Creator exists (see Romans 1:18-20).
The Greek word for “foolishness” is linked to the English word “moron”; that is, the preaching of the cross is “moronic” according to the “wisdom of the world.” Worldly wisdom cannot know Jesus or the salvation that He offers us through His substitutionary death on the cross.
| Whatever value some “worldly wisdom” can offer, why must we never let it interfere with what we believe about Jesus and the hope we’re offered through “the foolishness of the message preached” (1 Corinthians 1:21, NKJV)? |
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The study shows 5 great points of God's divine wisdom and consistancey to his divine nature, in the death and resurrection of his only begotten Son, at the Cross.
If I could suggest a 6th as follows:
Satan shot himself in the foot as the saying goes, when he killed the incarnate WORD in the flesh, through his influence on human agencies.
All creation, things in the heavens and earth are dependent on Jesus for their life/existence.
Hebrews 1:1-4.
And since Satan killed the author and sustainer of all life, he killed his own subsistence of that life which moved onto a New Creation without Satan and ungrateful agencies.
Acts 3:15
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That's a great observation, Larry. No doubt, Satan would have killed off the Lifegiver, if he actually could.
Here is how I see him shooting himself in the foot. It seems that God has been allowing Satan and sin to continue their operations until enough evidence has been accumulated to ensure that nothing like that will ever happen again. Satan's frantic efforts to defeat and destroy Jesus showed the whole universe his true character, and thoroughly uprooted him from the sympathies of all sinless intelligences. His days are numbered.
Please have the courtesy to supply scriptures in your rebuttals.
Thanks, Larry. I'll try to do better. I didn't see this particular comment, to which you are replying, as a rebuttal. Nevertheless, for Scriptural evidence that Satan "shot himself in the foot" from an influential standpoint, I might suggest that this is the primary meaning of Jesus' cry, "It is finished!" in John 19:30. In my view, that was the death-knell of Satan's kingdom.
Another relevant Scripture might be Revelation 12:10. Although we know, from Luke 10:18, that Revelation 12:7-9 refers back to an earlier "war in heaven," the larger context of Revelation 12 seems to suggest that the "casting down" of the accuser, in verse 10, is primarily a reference to the cross.
The one actual rebuttal that I can recall, from another thread, is where I insist that no one can be saved without regeneration (i.e. new birth) by the Holy Spirit. For that, I might cite John 3:3 and Romans 8:9.
Have a blessed day!
The center of the gospel is LOVE. A love that is proved at the cross! A cross of horror, suffering, rejection, loneliness, guilt, despair, abandoning, for Jesus. But for us, the cross means joy, relief, reconciliation, fellowship, freedom, glory, atonement! All that we were supposed to go through was taken by Jesus, so we could get back on our way HOME again!
C S Lewis has this to say:
Lewis uses, as an illustration, the fact that we have eaten and have been sustained by good food long before we knew anything about vitamins.
Lewis goes on to examine some of the theories and explanations. He does not dismiss them but he recognizes their limitations. His discussion is illuminating and I highly recommend reading Chapter 4 of Mere Christianity. It is a useful adjunct to this week's lesson.
I appreciate your reference to C.S. Lewis's thoughts. It is not without reason that he is regarded as the 20th Century's greatest Christian apologist. I am going to take your advice and re-read the fourth chapter of Mere Christianity.
Those who are trying to make the atonement more "reasonable" or "understandable" should take pause in considering Lewis's reputation as a Christian apologist. By definition, an "apologist" addresses those who do not believe like him. Thus, he would be most in need of showing the reasonableness of his beliefs. And this C.S. Lewis does most admirably. And he did this without re-interpreting Scripture to remove the legal aspect of the atonement.
It reminds me of my high school teaching days and a certain young man whose interest in exerting any effort in his classes was minimal. But he loved to engage me in conversation, and thus I discovered his doubts regarding the foundations of the faith that made that faith-based school possible. Knowing that he loved to read, I leant him the book, Mere Christianity. He read it and told me that that was the most challenging and best book he had read. He was deeply impressed. That was high praise, knowing how difficult it was to reach him on spiritual matters and how much reading experience he had.
If a 17-year-old agnostic can understand and be moved by that book, I'm thinking that it's not beyond the readers of this blog, and I challenge everyone who reads this blog to borrow or purchase this book and commit to a thoughtful reading. (Reminder: An electronic/Kindle version of the book is instantly available.)
Death of a God, so that a human can then live eternally with Him, being Foolishness to the Greek, is very simple: In other words, How can a Divine being becoming a baby via a human woman's birth canal, then becoming a human adult, and then dying on a Roman Cross, and then rising from that death three days later, somehow give a human atonement for his or her sins, and also eternal life with that Deity? In other words, how is this in any way "Wisdom" for atonement for sin, and eternal life also? The fact is that this very fact is and was "The Wisdom of God." And then "By Faith" about this fact, God then goes on and gives the believer what he or she needs, to live now for God, and stand in what God Promises for the future and for Eternal Life too!
Does worldly wisdom not have its place in our lives? Don't we need worldly wisdom to live in this world? So, what is the worldly wisdom the writer is really talking about, that we must not allow to sully our belief in Jesus? When a person has correct data/details/facts/statistics, and is competent in applying these to make good decisions in his or her life, then that person is considered wise. However, when such wisdom is not yoked together with Godly wisdom from the Creator, it is called worldly wisdom, and leads us to become self-absorbed, self-sufficient, selfish, self-centered, self-seeking, egocentric, etc. No wonder 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 regards the wisdom of this world as foolishness with God. When we choose the wisdom of the world, we become wise in our own eyes, according to Proverbs 3:7.
Therefore, we need to have the wisdom that God gives in James 3:13-18. After reading these scripture verses, we can see that worldly wisdom elevates itself. Observe the action of our Savior; He stooped, condescended to become a human being to save us. Worldly wisdom is selfish. While on Earth, He submitted to the Word of God. Worldly wisdom hates the Word of God, loves self, believes in self, boasts of good works, delights to be placed on a pedestal, etc. Do these attributes remind us of a certain entity? Yes, of Satan himself, who has birthed worldly wisdom. Dear brothers and sisters, it is my prayer that we be filled with Godly wisdom.
Question : what is the second death?
Please provide any inspired reference that states Christ died the
second death?
The second death is the death from which there is NO resurrection . Jesus did not die the second death.
Bible gives us some description of what the second death actually is:
• Rev 20:14 “The lake of fire is the second death”
• Rev 21:8 “their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Hi, Lyn. You ask an excellent question. Indeed, the "second death" of Revelation 20-21 is that from which there is no resurrection. So, it might have been more accurate for the lesson to have stated that Jesus experienced the second death.
One indication that Jesus endured such an experience is Matthew 26:38 (and Mark 14:34).
According to Jesus' own words in Matthew 10:28, soul death takes place only in Gehenna, the lake of fire, often translated as "hell."
Again, those who die the first death are not necessarily forsaken by God, but the experience of Jesus, on the cross, was such as to force from His lips the cry:
Since you asked for "any inspired reference," Lyn, I take it you might be interested in a statement from Seventh-day Adventist pioneer, Ellen White, whom many consider "inspired."
This is what I believe the lesson author meant.
Hi Lyn! I do share R.G. White's idea! The death that Christ died is the second death! But what does this second death mean? Does that refer to the unbounded time? No that is not the exact definition of the second death (though it is part of it). The exact definition of the second death is 'being out of the presence of God' as felt by Jesus on the cross as stated in the book stated by R.G. White. We know that at the Great Judgment day, Satan and the wicked will be judged by the second death, Rev 20:14, 21:8. This means they will perish for eternity from existence (of God). But how did Jesus once separated from God (died the second death) and come back to life? It is because, “In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ‘He that hath the Son hath life.’ 1 John 5:12. The Desire of Ages p. 530. That is He is a life giver so that He has a life in Himself John 10:17, 18 "...I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again..."
My understanding is that those whom God does not give eternal life to, get resurrected to die again and never live again at all, this then becomes the "Second death." Those who get resurrected and then allowed to live forever only die once and get resurrected once and this is called "The First Resurrection." There is no scriptural proof that Jesus died "The Second Death." However, Jesus did die for "All Sin," and that is good enough for me.
Thanks for sharing your understanding, Pete.
Could you also please share your understanding of which "death" is the "wages of sin"? (Romans 6:23)
We already reviewed the fact that Jesus called the first "death" a sleep.
As you understand it, did Jesus only go to sleep for a while, as in the first "death," or did He experience a sinner's real death?
Well, to me "death" is equal to "The Wages of sin." We die "once" because of the wages of the sin of Adam and also our own sins too. Because of Jesus we get resurrected if we die with the hope of "Eternal Life in Him." Jesus just died for sin period because He was made sin for you and for me and for "All Sin." But the fact that He resurrected means that He did not die a "Second Death" at all. But because He was and is God and because He was and is "The Second Adam," and because He was and is "Flawless and Sinless," His Death and His Resurrection has made it possible for me to also be resurrected (If I die before He comes) and also to be translated without seeing death if I am still alive when He does appear.
Jesus died for our sins.
Isaiah 59:2 Sin is separation from God.
Romans 6:23 The wages of sin (sin is separation from God) is death.
Conclusion: Jesus experienced total separation from God. Total divorce from God. Total restlessness, total aloneness, total emptiness and all these other painful feelings that come along with a divorce.
E.G.W. The Story of Redemption p.43 (Spanish edition): "No solo sufriria de agonia corporal, sino de una agonia mental con la cual la primera de ningun modo se podia comparar."
And this will be the experience of those that have not received the gift of salvation. At that time they will experience for themselves The Second Death, this Total Separation from God that Jesus experienced on the Cross.
I believe the paragraph re: "In regard to the meaning of the Cross, ..." sounds idolatrous. The verses quoted for each 'aspect' the author states always point to God or Christ (or His action) as its source, not the cross. The cross is a place where actions taken by God and Christ culminated to demonstrate their infinite love for all (not just man.) I believe that each statement needs to be read so that 'Christ' is put in place of 'the cross.'
This could be one reason why such statements are 'foolishness' to the unsaved. Aspects of Christianity are pointing to sticks in the ground as source of salvation instead of the power of His love for us to change us from sin, selfish beings to other-centered recreations. This sounds like knowledge (or 'faith') without power. (I cannot find the verse.)
It was not just this one act that proved God's love for us but the entire life of Christ.
Jesus said:
Paul said:
It is used as a metaphor and there is nothing idolatrous in that. We need to distinguish between the use of metaphors for salvation and the idolatrous worship of the cross.
I disagree that the ss lesson (for Th) is clear in distinguishing between metaphor and truth.
If it meant to say that the actions/choices of Christ on the cross lead to aspects then clarify with words; readers cannot read another's mind. For it is what put Christ on the cross and what kept Him there 'til death, that matters, not two pieces of wood.
It seems to me that the metaphorical cross represents the choices one makes to trust God or not and how to live that out, (even Christ had to make these decisions.) (I refer back to the verses presented by Mr Ashton.) However, it is Christ that is the 'revelation of God’s justice'. It is Christ that is the 'revelation of God’s love.' (Jn 17:6) It is Christ that is the 'great source of power to break sin's chains.' (Rom 8:2) It is Christ that is 'our only hope of eternal life.' (1 Ptr 1:3) It is Christ that is the 'only antidote against a future rebellion.' (1 Jn 4:4)
I guess, Dorothy, that we see what we are preconditioned to see. I see the cross being used entirely symbolically in this study and it takes a bit of mental gymnastics to see it otherwise. I do, however, appreciate the fact that others see it differently. Having a different perspective is not wrong, but it does make it imperative that we respect one another.
I believe that God had plan A as Jesus being accepted as King of Israel at Jesus' "Triumphal Entry" on a donkey. Then crowned as King then and there. Then He as Crowned King of Israel and as High Priest, would have gone (6 months later) during the "Day of Atonement Feast" and just taken the place of the bullock and Lord's goat and laid down at the altar of the then standing Temple and bled for sin then and there. Three days later, He would have taken back His Life and then our faith would not have needed to be on any "Roman Cross" but just on "The Lamb Slain from the foundation of the world." But because He (Jesus) was rejected for who He was and is, then The Father went a step farther with Plan B of "The Roman Cross." Jesus was shrinking away from His Fathers' Plan B not from Plan A. He knew full well that PLan A still had to be fulfilled and He already was willing to do that from the "Foundation of the world."
An interesting idea Pete, but it is not what happened is it?
I met a woman the other day that has been my girlfriend, sort of, many years ago. For a brief moment, I let my mind think about what it would have been like if I had married her. But it did not happen. The reality is that I married Carmel and have no regrets. I thought about what could have happened for about as long as it has taken me to write this paragraph. The reality is more important than the conjecture.
The plan of Salvation could have been played through several different scenarios, but what happened is what happened and that is sufficent for us.
Romans 6:23 says that "The wages of sin is death..." It does not say that (The wages of sin is the Second Death.) There is nothing at all, scripturally, that says that Jesus died "The Second Death." All who die the "Second Death," never come back from it to live again. Jesus rising from death means He did not die any so called "Second Death." If Jesus had died a death like that He never would have come back to life after He died. It is only in the book of Revelation that talks about "The Second Death," for all who will never come back to life at all after that. And that death is because they fail to accept all that "The Way, The Truth, and The life, and His resurrection from His only death once for all----Jesus," did with His life and His Ultimate Sacrifice for "All Sin."
Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
--- Regarding my previous question about second death...first death is far more different than the second death. The second death is exclusively for those who have rejected Christ. It is not a place believers in Christ should fear.
Jesus did NOT die the second death.
Christ came back to life. He was resurrected because there was no sin in Him and the tomb could not retain Him.
Second death is only for satan and anyone who follows him.
This is a good news for everyone...JESUS died for us and and those who believes in HIM should not perish but have eternal life and will Not experience nor receive the second death.
Yes, I joined with the thought that Jesus did die for "All Sin," and that is good enough for me.
What great rejoicing will attend the first resurrection! What great anguish at the second! What a responsibility we have to share the Gospel! “And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire” (Jude 23).
(Proverbs 23:23) Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
(Proverbs 3:3-4) Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, {4} And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
God bless us all. Amen.