The Message of The Cross

Introduction

Jesus Christ is the New Covenant.

This means that He doesn’t merely have the New Covenant or merely proclaim the New Covenant, but rather is the New Covenant. The meaning of this Covenant was given to the Apostle Paul, the meaning of which is the Cross of Christ, which Paul gave to us in his 14 Epistles. The Cross of Christ is the Gospel. This means that it does not merely contain the Gospel but, in fact, is the Gospel. Paul said:

1 Corinthians 1:17 ESV

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

In this one Scripture we are plainly and clearly told exactly what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. It is the Cross of Christ.

THE NEW COVENANT

The New Covenant is different than any other Covenant which God has ever made with humanity. It is different in the fact that it cannot fail. While it is between God and man as all other Covenants made by God, still, it cannot fail. The reason it cannot fail is because it is all in Christ. Christ is both God and Man, so He fills both roles. Man may accept the Covenant, or he may reject the Covenant, but that does not affect the Covenant. Because it is in Christ, Paul could call it, and rightly so, “The Everlasting Covenant” (Heb. 13:20).

Hebrews 13:20 ESV

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,

Man may fail and, in fact, will fail, but The Man Jesus Christ will not and, in fact, cannot fail. THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS One might say and be Scripturally correct that THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS is THE NEW COVENANT. It is the most complex Work ever carried out by God and, at the same time, the most simple. We have tried to bring this great Work under four headings. They are: Jesus Christ is the Source of all things that we receive from God (Jn. 1:1, 14, 29; 14:6, 20; Col. 2:10-15).

John 1:1 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:29 ESV

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:20 ESV

In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Colossians 2:10–15 ESV

and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

The Cross of Christ is the Means and the only Means by which all of these wonderful things are given unto us (Rom. 6:1-14; Gal. 6:14; Col. 2:14-15).

Romans 6:1–14 ESV

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Galatians 6:14 ESV

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Colossians 2:14–15 ESV

by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

With our Lord as the Source and the Cross as the Means, the Cross of Christ, without fail, must be the Object of Faith (I Cor. 1:17, 18, 23; 2:2).

1 Corinthians 1:17–18 ESV

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:23 ESV

but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

With our Lord as the Source, the Cross as the Means, and the Cross the Object of our Faith, and exclusively the Object of our Faith, then, the Holy Spirit, Who works exclusively within the parameters, so to speak, of the Finished Work of Christ, will work grandly on our behalf. If our Faith is placed anywhere other than the Cross of Christ, the Holy Spirit will not and, in fact, cannot function and work on our behalf. He is the One Who works on our behalf, Who Alone can make us what we ought to be, and Who works exclusively within the boundaries of the Cross of Christ (Rom. 8:1-14; Eph. 2:13-18).

Romans 8:1–14 ESV

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Ephesians 2:13–18 ESV

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

THE WORD OF GOD

The Story of the Bible is the Story of “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” even as “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified” is the Story of the Bible. This means that ninety-nine percent of the Word of God is given over exclusively to telling Believers how to live for God. The sad truth is most modern Christians, and I speak of those who truly know the Lord and love the Lord supremely, do not know how to live for God. I realize that is a statement that will raise some eyebrows; however, it happens to be true.

THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS will tell you how to live for God, how to order your behavior, how to have victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil, and how to live this life.

Were most Christians to be asked the question, “Do you know how to live for God,” I think you would be met mostly with a blank stare. Then, after a few moments of hesitation, most would ask what you mean by such a question.

The reason it causes most Christians to think twice is simply because deep down in their hearts, they realize that they really do not know how to live for God. Many would say that they know how, but they have trouble putting it into words, and that is true with many.

However, I think if you will read carefully what we have to say in this Book, this question as to how to live for God will be thoroughly answered, which can revolutionize your life.

“Let King Jesus reign in your heart today,

“As your Lord and King, let Him hold full sway:

“Whatsoever the cost, follow at His Call:

“Let King Jesus reign, yield to Him your all.”

“Let King Jesus reign, swear allegiance true,

“Choose to do His Will, let Him reign anew:

“Hail Him as your King, Christ the Crucified;

“Let King Jesus reign, twas for you He died.”

“Let King Jesus reign, ere your life is o’er,

“Hold the standard high, trust Him evermore:

“Lay your trophies down at His Pierced Feet,

“Then with Christ your Lord life will be complete.”