Living beyond the victory of the cross
Live Life Beyond the Victory of The Cross
The cross is the victorious gift of mercy, love, victory, and grace from our Father God to all who choose to receive it. Knowing this, the Apostle Paul wrote:
“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him n the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2 v 4 – 9
Thank you, Jesus for the victory of the cross. We choose to embrace that gift.
But imagine someone said to you:
“For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.” 1 Corinthians 15 v 17
How would you choose to react? Would you doubt or would you stand firm in your faith? We stand in faith because our hope is not limited to this temporal life. It takes great faith to believe in the resurrected life of Jesus Christ. It takes great faith to believe that our Father God has forgiven our sins. Our great faith keeps us humble in knowing that the God of the impossible does impossible things. This is where our confidence is found. The Lord God said through the prophet Isaiah:
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed and food to eat, so My Word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and it will prosper where I send it.” Isaiah 55 v 9 – 11
Through the experience of nurturing his covenant relationship with his Father God, King David prophesied:
“For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo Decay.” Psalm 16 v 10
King David was not speaking of himself. Our faith in the resurrected life through Jesus Christ is not in vain, because what was confirmed through prophecy in the Psalms, God first promised in the Garden of Eden, when He told that old serpent – the devil, that He would raise up a victor – Jesus Christ:
“He will strike your head…” Genesis 3 v 15
The victory of the cross broke Satan’s headship and authority over death and the grave.
“Know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.” Romans 6 v 9
When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden they fell foul to Satan’s lies and deception:
“You will not die!” Genesis 3 v 4
Yet they were physically separated from God and they were spiritually disconnected and dead. But the resurrection victory of the cross righted that wrong. Jesus Christ won our freedom at the cross to bring us back into covenant relationship with our Father God.
The Apostle Paul declared:
“Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Grave, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” 1 Corinthians 15 v 51 – 56
King Solomon (King David’s son and heir to the throne) noted in the wisdom that he asked and received from our Father God that:
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” Ecclesiastes 3 v 11
The reality of the cross was brutal, painful, and physically challenging, yet it was for our eternal benefit. The prophet Isaiah said:
“Surely, He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgression, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53 v 4 – 5
The cross was a place of transition from death to eternal life bringing healing to our spirit, body, and soul.
“But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible from Him to be held in its power.” Acts 2 v 24
It was impossible for the grave and death to hold ‘the Alpha and the Omega’. Jesus Christ’s obedience at the cross elevated Him to a position where the Apostle Paul said:
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names that at the name of Jesus EVERY knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2 v 8 – 11
The victory of the cross takes away our natural fear of death because we have been translated into the supernatural realm of eternal life.
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8 v 11
When you know, understand, and believe that death is not your final destination, you no longer need to live your life in fear. You can choose to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is who He says He is. He told Martha the sister of Lazarus:
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die.” John 11 v 25
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. His words still stand true for me and you and that is why we believe Him.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My Word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself.” John 5 v 24 – 26
When we come to Jesus Christ through repentance, belief, and confession we trade fear for faith. That faith brings eternal life and that eternal life brings us back into a covenant relationship (originally lost at the Garden of Eden) where God becomes our heavenly Father and we are His children of faith.
The Apostle Paul said:
“For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry “Abba Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. And if we are children, then we are heirs.; heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ – if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Hm.” Romans 8 v 15 – 17
Believing the promises of God through the resurrected life of Jesus Christ means we live our lives beyond the victory of the cross. We live as He lives, dying to our will by saying “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup from me, yet not my will, but thy will be done.” Luke 22 v 42
Speaking of his Damascus Road experience in Acts 9 and Christian life, the Apostle Paul said:
“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2 v 20
We no longer live feeling condemned by our past. We live knowing that through the resurrected power of Jesus Christ’s Holy Spirit living within us, we can walk in ‘newness’ of His life. The grace and mercy the Apostle Paul experienced is for us all. He said:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8 v 1 – 4
Like Paul, we celebrate the life we now live by giving all the glory to Jesus Christ, who helps us to live by His righteousness, through His holy Spirit, who dwells within us. We have chosen to make Him Saviour and Lord.
Living a resurrected life beyond the victory of the cross also means allowing your sphere of influence to be influenced by Jesus Christ. You need to make a choice how you choose to live as a Christian. Do not be deceived. It matters how you live. If you need to, make a fresh decision today to live for and like Jesus Christ.
“Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their mind of the Spirit. The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8 v 5 – 7
The Apostle Paul said:
“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.” Romans 12 v 2
Living a resurrected life beyond the victory of the cross means living an approved life embracing the mind of Christ.
“Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” Colossians 3 v 1 – 2
Living a life beyond the victory of the cross is a lifestyle of humility, a lifestyle of service, a lifestyle of obedience and a lifestyle of glorifying our Heavenly Father in our thoughts, words, and deeds. This is the life of the resurrected. It is a lifestyle that leads to peace with our Father God. We learn this through the character of Christ.
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; Who existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to be glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2 v 5 – 11
For us, it is progressive and ongoing. It is a lifetime commitment in recognition of the resurrection of the cross. Everyday is a day to celebrate the gift of salvation and to say thank you Jesus for being obedient and sacrificial on our behalf. Thank you that you have given us eternal life.
Amen xxx