“For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” 1 Corinthians 1:17
Dear Ones:
There are many truths that pertain to Christ’s work of redemption, or that act, work, and process that He put in motion and accomplished, by which the lost soul of man is purchased out of the slave-market of sin and death, to be given the very Spirit of Christ, the life of Christ, to live for the glory of God. This is revealed by a life lived victoriously over sin, Satan, self, and the world. If we were to choose three of these great truths, or elements, by which to live, and be mastered by them, then we should know the reality of true communion with God, and victory in the accomplishment of His will in and through us. These three strands of Redemption’s cord are as follows: the precious blood of Christ, the saving work of the Spirit of God, and the liberating work of the Cross.
We know from the testimony of Scripture that God is holy, and will have nothing to do with sin, in any form or manifestation. If this holy God is to bring sinful man, by redemption, to the place where he can have fellowship with God, then the matter of one’s sins must be completely, totally dealt with. This is why the Lord often speaks to Israel concerning the forgiveness, and cleansing, from ALL her sin. David would pray for this in his great prayer in Psalm 51: 2, “…Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” The apostle John will write of the same matter in speaking of how the blood of Jesus cleanses us from ALL sin. (1 Jn. 1:7,9) There is but ONE provision in this universe, for time and eternity, that can deal with sin in its entirety, and that is the precious blood of Christ, for it alone possesses the POWER to cleanse from all sin.
The second strand of this cord is the Spirit of God, and His ministry to the believer. We find the first mention of Him in the story of creation, where He moved upon the face of the waters. We see Him throughout the Old Testament revealing Himself to men, especially to believers, as the “word of God” is preached and declared by men of God, primarily the prophets. We see Him stirring men up to do the work of God, coming upon men for the accomplishment of the will and purpose of God. In the New Testament, we see Him being out-poured upon all flesh, bringing the lost to faith by a new birth, creating the church, or the body of Christ. It is at Pentecost, and since, that He is working throughout the world, to give to all who will believe, the power to live, overcome, and serve Christ.
The third strand is that of the cross. The cross of Christ is that physical, and spiritual, declaration to the world of the objective, saving work, by which the Lord Jesus has dealt absolutely with sin and the sinner. When Christ died on the cross, and His redeeming work was finished, all that pertained to the sin(s) of man, and his sinful self, was crucified, and buried with Him. This is the only way, in the eyes of God, that sin could be forgiven, forgotten, and forsaken. Jesus took sin and the sinner to the grave with him. All sin has remained there by the power of God, never to be resurrected, nor remembered The work of the cross has declared to sinful man, that there has occurred an emancipation, a liberation, from all that is of sin, self, Satan, and the world. That declaration of deliverance from all that is of sin and death, and the tyranny of trusting one’s sinful self, has also set the believer free to trust in Christ alone as his life and power. This is the definite “effect” of the cross.
Dear Father, Give us grace to live today by the cleansing blood, walking by the Spirit, glorying in the cross, to follow Him. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad