Topic: The Work of the Cross
Greetings Sons of God:
What is the work of the cross? We know it was at the cross
that Jesus died and paid the ultimate sacrifice that none of could and by His
sacrifice He has given us a way back to the Father so that we may live out His
purposes for our lives, manifest His Will and restore His order to the earth
through the administration of His Kingdom.
For many people it ends with that.
Unfortunately it does not end there because we have many Scriptures to
tell us about how our path to sonship must go through the cross. Let begin to show you:
Matthew 16:24-26: Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any
man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow
me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his
life for my sake shall find it. For what
is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his
soul?
Now first let’s get the most important part of this and it
is that first one must make a decision to follow Christ. Once you have made the decision the next
thing you must do is deny yourself. Why
must we deny ourselves you may ask? Because all this time who you thought you
were is not who God sees you to be. In
addition, your very perception of your identity in Christ was blurred and so it
is through the work of the cross that clarity is brought to this foggy
situation. Now let me sum up what the
work of the cross is and then we will dissect and break it down:
The work of the cross is for us to
die to the soul and fleshly nature!
Let’s prove
it! Go back to Matthew 16:24-26! Jesus says you must deny yourself, pick up
your cross and follow him and then He goes into a very teaching. He says this:
Whosoever will save his life shall lose it and whosoever will lose his
life for my sake shall find it. And then
he says What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but lose his
soul! Now what is Jesus saying? Jesus is saying those who will die to who
they think they are (soulish identity) they will find their life (Son in the
Spirit). In our soulish nature we will
seek to gain the things of this world for our provision, protection and in some
cases our “wealth”. But Jesus says if we
live this way then we will lose our soul.
Understand this when we are saved, the Holy Spirit abides with our
spirit and fellowships. Our soul is
still trying to rule but when we deny ourselves and learn the excellence over
our soul, the soul will be redeemed to its place of blindly following the
spirit. But when we are carnally minded
(soulish) the Scriptures say it leads to death (but to be spiritually minded is
LIFE AND PEACE (Romans 8:6)!! So when
Jesus says anyone who will give up their life (soul) they will find it
(spirit). Now let’s talk about the
importance of the work of the cross and death.
John
12:23-25: And Jesus answered them
saying, The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn
of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit. He that
loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall
keep it unto life eternal.
Jesus tells
us that when a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die it will bring forth
much fruit. Now did we ever think about
that? If you have ever grown anything,
you know that when you plant a seed in the ground the seed will decay and die
first before bringing for a plant and ultimately it’s fruit. So are the sons of
God. We must die first and the Spirit
(water) will give life to us to bring forth the divine fruit. Now just like in
the Scripture in Matthew after speaking of death he speaks of losing life and
finding life. So here are two distinct
Scriptures speaking of the necessity of death to bring about life. Let me give you this other picture:
Romans
6:3-5: Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted
together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his
resurrection.
Even when
you decided to give your life to Christ, death was necessary to bring forth
life. When you were baptized by water,
this was a symbolic gesture to the heavenly that this person has decided to die
to sin. So the purpose of water baptism
is to symbolize death but just as you make that decision, the Spirit of Christ,
the Spirit of Son comes into your spirit or gives life to your spirit,
resurrected you from the dead that you may now fulfill the eternal purposes
that the Father has for your life. This is why 2 Corinthians 5:17 says this:
2
Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away (dead); behold
(look) all things are become new.
Now after
we are born again we must continue to die as it pertains to submitting the soul
to the rule of the spirit. The rule of
the soul is an enemy of God because it does not know the things of God. Only the spirit of a man can receive the
things from the Spirit. So we must
continue to allow the Lord to burn the soulish nature from out of us. We must work together in unison with the Lord
to hasten this process of maturity. This
is why we have Scriptures such as these:
2
Corinthians 4:10-12: Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord
Jesus that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto
death for Jesus’ sake that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our
mortal flesh. So then death worketh in
us, but life in you.
Psalm
116:15: Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his saints.
Now as for
the Psalm Scripture you may wonder why would the Lord say precious in His sight
is the death of his saints. First a
major concept is brought about right here is that the only place that the work
of the cross can be done and completed is in His presence. Death is not just the physical death but
moreover when the saints lay down their lives, die to the rule of the soul and
flesh, it pleases the Lord because more of Him can be seen through them.
Know this
is a worth call and it requires a personal response. No one can make you do this and no one,
including God will force this upon you.
The walk is for those who have chosen to mature and be all that the Lord
has made them to be. On this walk it may
seem to get lonely but know that the Lord is with you and you must take comfort
in that very fact, Christ in you the hope of glory. Now let me share this last Scripture:
Hebrews
10:38,39: Now the just shall live by
faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto
perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Do not draw
back to soulish living when you have experienced the power of the Spirit. When you know better the Lord will hold you
accountable when you draw back to soulish living. The Scripture says he takes no pleasure in
one that draws back. Dying to the soul
and flesh nature saves your soul because now everything would be in the
original order as the Father designed it:
The spirit leading, the soul blindly following the spirit and the flesh
manifesting the will of the Spirit. We
must go through the cross and work in unison with the Lord to hasten our
maturity. When you let your soul rule
you slow the maturing process.
Peace, Love and Grace,
Calvin Calhoun, Jr.
