Teach Me The Bible
What happened when Christ died upon the Cross?
He offered up Himself as a sacrifice, bearing the punishment due to sinners, fulfilling God's plan whereby men and women might be reconciled to Him through Christ.
The Cross cannot be understood unless the plight of men and women in their sin is understood and appreciated.
We are in danger of perishing (John 3:16).
We have all sinned against God (Romans 3:23).
Our sins have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2).
Sin has brought death upon us as its wages (Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23).
We are by nature the objects of God's wrath (John 3:36; Ephesians 2:3).
The Cross was no accident but the set purpose and plan of God (Acts 2:23).
Before the world was founded God the Father determined that His Son should fulfil the function of a Saviour for sinners (1 Peter 1:20).
The Father and the Son entered into a compact and a covenant. The Son was to accomplish the work assigned to Him (John 12:27; John 17:2, John 17:4), and the Father promised that as a result a great number of men and women from all nations would be given to Him as His inheritance (Psalms 2:7-8) and He should be supreme Head to the Church (Ephesians 1:22; Philippians 2:7-11; Hebrews 12:2).
The world was prepared for the great event of the Cross by many symbols and illustrations:
- The Old Testament sacrifices all looked forward to the coming of Jesus and His death upon the Cross for sinners (John 1:29, John 1:36; Hebrews 9:24; Hebrews 10:3-14).
- The Passover Lamb was a picture of Jesus (Exodus 12:21-23; 1 Corinthians 5:7) and Jesus used the feast of the Passover to establish the Lord's Supper as a reminder of the meaning of His death (Luke 22:7-22).
Christ bore the punishment due to sinners.
The initiative in the Cross was God's.
Loving the world so much God gave His Son (John 3:16).
It was God's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer (Isaiah 53:10).
The bitter experience of the Cross was accepted by the Son as the Father's will (Matthew 26:39, Matthew 26:42).
The design of the whole plan of Christ's atoning death for our sins and His satisfying God's anger against us was the Father's (Romans 3:25).
Christ willingly died upon the Cross.
Before the creation of the world Christ had committed Himself willingly to the Cross (Isaiah 50:4-7; Hebrews 10:5-10; 1 Peter 1:20).
He laid down His life (John 10:11, John 10:18).
He poured out His life to death (Isaiah 53:12).
He gave Himself up as an offering and a sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:2).
Christ bore the punishment due to sinners.
He bore the sin of many (Isaiah 53:12; 1 Peter 2:24).
He bore the wrath of God against sin that sinners deserve (John 3:36; Romans 1:18; 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10).
He bore the curse of the law that sinners through their disobedience deserve to experience - death and separation from God (Galations 3:10, Galations 3:13; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 5:12; Mark 15:34).
He bore the pains of death and the grave that sinners deserve (Psalms 18:5; Mark 15:33-34).
We cannot overemphasize either the worth or the eternal character of Christ's sacrifice.
The punishment He suffered was sufficient to satisfy for the transgressions of all because He who suffered was not only a man, but God also. He was of infinitely more value than all those who had offended (Romans 5:9; Hebrews 9:13-14).
His sacrifice was final - once and for all - and utterly sufficient for all time (1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 9:26; Hebrews 10:11-14).
The benefits achieved by Christ's death.
The justice of God was satisfied (Isaiah 53:11).
- The punishment sin deserves has been allotted and carried out (Isaiah 53:4-6; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
- God has shown Himself just and may justify all those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Redemption from the power of sin, death and hell was made possible for sinners:
- The price of redemption has been paid in full by Christ (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:6) - the price being His own precious blood (Acts 20:28; 1 John 1:7).
- Christ has utterly overcome and defeated Satan, death and the powers of hell, that hold us captive. The devil's power is broken (Hebrews 2:14). As a consequence the power of death is broken too (John 5:24; Hebrews 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57). Furthermore, through Christ we may escape the coming wrath of God (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
The new covenant that God had promised was confirmed:
- It was promised when Adam sinned (Genesis 3:15).
- Both Christ and the covenant were promised to Abraham (Genesis 12:3; Galations 3:8, Galations 3:16).
- Yet more details were promised through the prophets (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Jeremiah 32:40).
- This new covenant could come into operation only by the work of Jesus as Mediator (Hebrews 8:6, Hebrews 10-13).
- A testament or a covenant demands a death - a testament is operative only after a death - and Christ made valid the new covenant by the shedding of His blood, the blood of the eternal covenant (Hebrews 9:14-26; Hebrews 13:20).
Grace and glory are assured for all who enter into this new covenant:
- Having given His Son to die such a death, there is nothing good and beneficial that God will fail to lavish upon those who are saved by it (Romans 8:32; Hebrews 4:16).
- Every spiritual benefit in this life and in that to come is assured (Ephesians 1:3-14).
- Eternal life is the gift of Christ to those who are saved by His death (John 14:1-6; John 17:2-3).
These benefits may be summed up in the word 'reconciliation'. Through God's work in Christ of reconciling the world to Himself, our sins and misdeeds need no longer be counted against us (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). United to Christ we may receive a new life altogether (2 Corinthians 5:17) and be declared righteous by God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Only by Christ's death may we be reconciled to God. The message of the gospel is plain: be reconciled to God through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).