The Power of the Cross

One more post from my older writing. Next week I will look at prayer and social media distractions.

THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS – THE POWER OF GOD – 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18 (OCTOBER 1992)

In continuing on with the idea of spiritual maturity I want to look at the work of the cross in our lives. I believe that as we look at what the scriptures teach we will find a new liberty in our walk with Him.

The foundation for understanding how the cross works in our lives is the awareness of the place of the spirit and soul in relation to the cross. When we are born again Christ joins His Spirit to our spirit (1 Cor. 6:17, Rom. 8:9). At this time the sin nature/old man is crucified and Christ imparts His life and Himself to our spirits so that we are born again as a new creation (Rom. 6:9, Gal. 2:20, 2 Cor. 5:17, Col. 3:9-10). The work of the cross in our spirits takes place at conversion and is a one time event never to be repeated.

The reason we do not necessarily walk after the Spirit in newness of life is that the cross needs to work in the soul/flesh and this work needs to continue until we die or Christ returns. To walk after the Spirit means taking up the cross so that we do not walk after the soul. (Matt. 10:38, 16:24-26, Mk. 8:34, 10:21, Lk. 9:23, 14:27).

Taking up the cross does not mean crucifying ourselves. Nowhere in the scriptures are we told to crucify ourselves because it is impossible. We are told to take up the cross and to recognize that we are already crucified. If taking up the cross meant crucifixion it would mean either a very slow painful process or one which needs to be often repeated because Jesus said we are to take up the cross daily (Lk. 9:23). The taking up of the cross is simply the submission of our will to His will, not self crucifixion.

Christ’s cross was submission to His Father’s will and that is the cross we are also called to carry. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane to the point that He was sweating blood (Lk. 22:44) there was no confusion in His mind regarding His Father’s will. The battle was Jesus knowing His Father’s will and His soul wanting to draw back from the horror that He knew lay ahead. He was choosing to submit when He said, “not my will, but Yours, be done.” Keep in mind that there was no sin in Christ’s soul.

The soul life is our natural life and is described by Paul as the fleshly/carnal nature or the carnal man (Rom. 7:14,18,25, 8:1, 3-9, 12-13, 1 Cor. 3:1-4). To be carnal or spiritually immature is to be in the habit of walking after the flesh or desires of the soul rather than submitting to the cross and denying our soul/self.

To walk after the Spirit means that not only do we have to cease doing evil deeds but good deeds as well. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the personification of the soul life, whereas the tree of life is the personification of the spiritual life. For Jesus to be made manifest means that not only do have to recognize the evil works of the flesh but also; “good deeds” rooted in things like selfish ambition (Gal. 5:20) that produce confusion and an open door to demonic deception (Jas. 3:16), or simply our desire to do what we know needs to be done, like Moses trying to be the deliverer of Israel 40 years ahead of Yahweh’s schedule.

The idea of ceasing our good deeds in an offensive doctrine but true nevertheless. It has always been, and always will be in the Kingdom of God, that works born of the flesh are flesh and works born of the Spirit are spirit (Jn. 3:6). The soul is unable to produce that which is spiritual (1 Cor. 15:45).

I earlier mentioned the idea that the soul is not to be crucified. Not only is it not to be crucified, it is instead to be purified by submission to the leading of the Spirit. 1 Peter 1:22 says, “you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.” The soul is purified as it submits to the Spirit. This is the true taking up of the cross.

We need to be aware that no matter how pure the soul becomes, it (just like Christ’s in the Garden) can never take the lead in spiritual matters because it lacks the capacity. It was designed to be the servant of the spirit and when it embraces this place it prospers (3 Jn. 2). It can prosper in no other way.

The idea of taking up the cross is very important in our daily lives. An example from my own life relates to prayer. I was praying one morning and had a sense in my spirit that it was time to stop and go upstairs to have breakfast with my family. At this time I was also aware in my mind (soul) of some things I thought it was important to pray about so I continued to pray. Almost immediately I realized I was not praying in the Spirit and had to repent of my rebellion before I went up for breakfast.

I can think of other illustrations as simple as not taking that dessert or extra helping at the table when the Holy Spirit says no, or not exercising our rights out of submission to the Holy Spirit. When someone has wronged us and we have every legal right to seek justice we need to seek the mind of the Lord on the matter. When we feel anger or bitterness at something someone has said or done, no matter how right the cause, we need to repent of our wrong heart attitude and submit to Him. When we truly submit grace comes flowing into our hearts, our feelings change and the fruit of the Spirit is made manifest.

These are for the most part simple things but very important as they release His grace in our lives as we obey. I know that if we are not faithful in the little things He is not able to trust us with the larger things (Lk. 6:10). The big battles are won or lost by the character we cultivate in the little daily decisions that can seem so inconsequential.

Having said all of the above, Romans 8:1-2 best sums up the Christian walk. As we daily choose to submit and take up the cross it becomes a habit and we know the cross as the power of God. By walking after the Spirit we experience the reality of the law of the Spirit of life moving against and overcoming the law of sin and death. The result is the mind being conformed to the likeness of Christ (Col. 3:10, Eph. 4:23) and the fruit of the Spirit being seen in our lives (Gal. 5:22-23). The message of the cross is the power of God!