“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14
Why is the cross of Christ central in the proclamation of God to the world that salvation has come to men, a salvation that is so perfect, complete, and everlasting, that Paul would write that he glories in it? It is because of the “message” of the cross, first of all, in declaring the love of God for mankind, all men. There is no other explanation as to why God ordained that Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, should choose to die as the sacrificial Lamb, so that man’s sins could be forgiven, removed, washed away, in order for him to be accepted forever by God. Only Love could do this, and only Love would accomplish it.
A second aspect of this cross that must be seen, and grasped, believed in and embraced as one’s own, is that when Christ died, all that was and is of sin was crucified and put to death and buried. Scripture calls this “body” of sin to be the “old man.” It is a term that gathers and assembles together every aspect of the existence of a life lived, even in the smallest detail outside of Christ, unbelieving and rebellious. All that a man was, and is, that is not of Christ, has been crucified in Christ, to be forever removed from the sight of God and man, the believer in Christ being absolutely free to love and serve God, which is his calling and purpose.
When the Apostle Paul declared that he would glory only in the cross, what was it that he was saying? First of all, he was testifying to the fact that the wretchedness of sin, and all that pertains to it, was only worthy to be put to death, buried and forgotten forever. He also was proclaiming that there was no other remedy, or answer before God, for the sin of man than that of putting it to death to be destroyed. Just as flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, so sin, and any aspect of it, will not exist there. The cross is God’s means by which sin, and every manifestation and evidence of it, is dealt with. To glory in the cross is to first of all to fall at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving and praise for being willing to die there, accomplishing the perfect work of salvation for us. Secondly, it means that the believer is called upon by the Everlasting, Unchanging God, “the Lord who IS God,” to enable him to “take up his cross daily,” in order to follow Christ. The taking up of that cross is the personal, individual appropriation of Christ’s work on that cross, a work by which, as the Apostle Paul would declare, “…by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.” It is also the realization, acceptance, and grasping of the fact that, “…our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with.” (Romans 6:6) All that is not of Christ, every object of trust that is not of God in Christ, has been “nailed to the cross,” and has perished in the sight of God, so that the believer can rise up, cast off his shackles and bonds by faith, go forth, to follow Christ, know Him, abide in Him, Christ abiding in the heart.
What is on the other side of the cross, that which is beyond it? If it deals with sin and the sinner, what about Life and Power by which the believer is called to live and to know? The answer is found in Paul’s words, “…for the law of the Spirit of life IN Christ Jesus, has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2) Just as real as being crucified with Christ, is the call to live by Christ’s power and love, communicated by the Spirit.
Dear Father, Fill us with Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.