God's Love and the Lifting of Christ

What We Have Learned:

God, not man, is the source of love.

God’s love results in permanency. It can be known. It can be shown.

In both 1 John 4 and Romans 5, neither God, nor his love, can be understood apart from the sacrifice of Jesus.

The crucifixion, then, is essential to understanding love.

We must dwell on the crucifixion and its meaning for apart from it we can neither understand love or God.

Consequently, it is also essential to understanding God.

It is not only through Christ’s person, actions, attitudes, and teachings that God has revealed himself.

It is also through the crucifixion that He has made himself known.

Confusion about what happened at the cross must be related to confusion about the person of God.

The cross is a historical reference point, similar to the Ten Plagues in Egypt, that can be used to understand God and love.

Human beings define love differently from God, hence the New Testament writers make it a point to explain the contrast between men and God -- think Paul in Romans 5.

In other words, if everyone readily understood what love is, then God would not have been doing anything extraordinary. It would be just “regular ole love.” But, none of the biblical passages that we have studied so far treat it that way. What happened at the cross was remarkable as a demonstration of love.

Would we call a doctor loving who managed our symptoms when he could treat the disease?

Jesus Connects Eternal Life to the Crucifixion:

Jesus’ words establish a parallel between Moses and the Messiah.

Moses was active, he “lifted up” the serpent.

Messiah, the Son of Man, is passive, it is necessary for him “to be lifted up.”

Notice why it necessary for the Son of Man to be “exalted.”

John 3:15 explains why the crucifixion is an essential, historical reality.

What happened to Jesus makes our belief in him effective.

Our faith doesn’t give the crucifixion meaning.

The historical reality of the crucifixion and why it occurred gives our faith meaning.

It was necessary for the crucifixion to occur in order that everyone who believes in the Messiah might have eternal life. (Our faith without the reality of crucifixion does not result in the possession of eternal life.)

Jesus Explains the Necessity of the Crucifixion in Light of God’s Love:

How do we explain why salvation is the way that it is?

How do we explain that it is accomplished in the manner in which it has been accomplished?

What is the why behind the necessity of the crucifixion and the possibility of continual possession of eternal life (being in the Kingdom of Heaven…they are the same)?

The degree of God’s love: notice the explanatory “for.”

Notice yet another emphatic reference that heightens the standard of God’s love.

This is not something natural to humans.

God’s love has to be framed from one assured reality to another.

The first assured reality = God’s destruction.

The second assured reality = eternal life.

Christ’s person and crucifixion substitutes/stands in place of what we had no hope or ability to achieve for ourselves.

Forgiveness

Reconciliation

Peace

Salvation

Eternal Life

As it relates to us and eternal life, God gave Christ so that those who believe in him might have eternal life.

Eternal life is not possible apart from God’s gift of His Son.

Would you give your child to die so your enemy could live? What would you do to your enemy if you could?