Meaning of the Cross- 7 Devotions

 7)  The Cross as the Way to God (1 Peter 1:18; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21) For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,    19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.  (1 Peter 1:18, 19) 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. a  The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!  18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:   19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.   21 God made Him who knew no sin to be sin   on our behalf, so that i...

 6)  The Cross as Descending into Hell (1 Peter 3:18-20; Colossians 1:18) 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.  19 After being made alive,   he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—  20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. (1 Peter 3:18-20) 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross.  9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names,  10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:8-11)  18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn fr...

 5) The Cross as a symbol of God's Love (John 3:16; John 15:13; Romans 5:8) It is possible to sacrifice out of duty or a sense of law.  But the love of God seen in the cross is never in doubt. The sacrifice of Christ was not just His calling- but He did it out of love.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten (one and only) Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)   God loved us so He sent His Son to die for us that might have life- and come to Him.  So when many see the sacrifice of Christ to get us to heaven they see the first proposition of that verse- God so loved us.        For the last several years, this scenario has played out each year.  A father rescues his child from dangerous rip currents, but drowns himself in the effort.  June 20, 2023 47 year old Christopher Pierce of Alabama was able to save his daughter from the strong current in Panama City Be...

 4) Jesus the Sacrificial Atoner for Our Sins on the Cross (Hebrews 10:10, Col. 2:14; 1 John 4:10) And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:10) 14 having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross! (Colossians 2:14)  10 And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice  for our sins. (1 John 4:10) God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood-- to be received by faith.  (Romans 3:25) He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)...For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.  He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.  (1 Peter 3:18)...

(Altarpiece Ghent- Van Eyck 1432- note the cross)  Jesus the Victorious King Over Death and Evil (Colossians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 15:57) They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. (Revelation 12:11)  13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you  alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,  14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.  15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15- esp. 15) 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”  55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, ...

 For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45) For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all. (1 Timothy 2:5,6) A ransom usually is used to rescue someone from captivity by a price paid.  The clear meaning of this is that the cross- the death of Jesus- rescues us.   Jesus also associated ransoming us with serving us.  He served us by giving Himself on the cross.  Service to others is a way we can follow Jesus' example of ransom.   For many, the ransom idea brings to mind C.S. Lewis' The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe's idea of Aslan rescuing us from the witch and thus brining in the true kingdom.   The question may come from what or who does Christ rescue us?   He clearly rescues us from slavery to sin (Romans is full of this message).   He clearly rescues us from death an...

 The cross is one of the most cherished symbols and most recognized symbols of Christianity.  The Red Cross is a universal symbol of help.  The cross is used to mark especially military graves as a reminder of the Christian hope given by the cross.  The power of the symbol is seen in its use in exorcisms or as a protective mechanism.  But wearing the cross is a form of identifying with the most famous person who died on it- Jesus the Christ.  The person of Christ is tied up in the important work that He did while on earth, and centralized upon the giving of Himself on the cross.  He spoke often and early in His ministry about His death as a ransom (Mark 10:45), as a sacrifice, as evidence of God's love (John 3:16-18).  There are multiple meanings- perhaps- if we believe each meaning is a matter of our perception or incorporation of it- then there are billions of facets of the purpose, definition and efficacy of the cross.      ...