Sermons - 2008 Week 02 - Jan Wk 2
The Messages of the Cross
1Corinthians 2:2
The emphasis for the apostle Paul is nothing is important except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Why was this so important to Paul?
And how could this event alone of Christ encapsulate his whole belief system?
In Christ’s crucifixion we will see the death on the cross as an experience for us. We will see that Christ was crucified for us, as our representative and crucified in us.
Let us take the first understanding of Christ crucified for us. In this He died for our sins and this act is thus a propitiation of God for our sins He has put in its place His righteousness so that we are justified in the sight of God. In short Christ died for us.
In the second, Christ was crucified as our representative. But it is not just dying for our sins, He was crucified as us. Here we are looking at having been saved, we need to rid ourselves of the old man and put on the new man renewed in knowledge according to His image. (Col 3:10). We need to deny ourselves and take up his cross and follow Him. In this we see that the crucifixion on the cross goes beyond salvation because one reckons oneself to be dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Thus the death on the cross was to give us life to God. But our old self must die in order than the new man be alive.
Finally the crucifixion also means that Christ was crucified in us. In Luke 9:23 we are told to take up the cross not once but daily.
What would that mean if Christ had been crucified for us, it cannot be taking up the cross daily?
This must mean that in our daily life we walk in the Spirit. The Spirit indwells in us for we have discarded the sinful old man and put on the new man that allows this to happen. This new man needs to be brought to subjection to God. Then can we begin to manifest by the renewing of our mind and to conform to His image.
Mr and Mrs Chua
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