The message of the cross shows us the meaning of the preaching of the word of God, which dignifies us but also humiliates us, since we owe to him all the Glory and all the attitude of reverence for having offered his own son as a sacrifice to save us
However, the message of the cross turns out to be crazy for those who are lost, unlike those who reach salvation, this message represents the Power of God. So this message is a stumbling block for the Jews, and folly for the Gentiles. However, for those who have been called by God, it represents the wisdom of the Lord.
At present, the different congregations have replaced the message of the cross of the cross with any other message that edifies or truly transforms people, and has no substance or makes miracles possible, because they do not possess the true power and value .
Therefore, the message of Christ and the purpose of his coming to earth must be resumed, and preach about that perfect sacrifice that frees us from sin. So the only message that reveals the supernatural power of God is the message of the cross.
The message of the cross and its purpose on earth
The message of the cross is not only a theological preaching where news is proclaimed and a message is delivered. So, preaching does not specifically consist of transmitting new ideas, but in recounting a story that refers to the grace of God in our salvation, and hoping that through this revelation, God will speak again and become present in our lives.
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In this way, the true meaning of the cross is the sacrifice that Jesus made, giving himself up for all of us in a perfect sacrifice. So the cross of Christ presents two important roles for the son of God, and it is time for the church to proclaim the message of the cross, which should be the center of all preaching, since it contains the purpose of Jesus on earth. , revealing the authority and majesty of the supreme God, defeating evil with this.
What does the cross of Christ represent?
Many philosophers carry out studies of the cross from the abstract, but the message of the cross of Christ is a real event in history that remains through the word. So there is no other solidity in the world, and it is an absolute truth that cannot be erased.
It turns out to be the most substantial event in history. When we do not put the message of the cross first, our faith can be broken, since the sacrifice of Christ is God’s perfect plan and should be the most relevant Christian principle within the preaching of the temples.
In this sense, Jesus manifested on the cross the supernatural grace of the Almighty, and that grace represents an undeserved gift. It is the maximum eternal manifestation full of power, which gives us the experience of being and being able to do what we cannot do by our own strength, since when we walk without the grace of our Heavenly Father, we can fall into temptations and lose salvation. .
Preaching and the Kingdom of God
When it comes to studying the aspects of preaching, one must begin by analyzing the New Testament, where John the Baptist began to preach in the desert: “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the desert of Judea, and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:1-2)
Jesus Christ preached the same message and sent his twelve disciples to proclaim that message, and he went through the towns and villages, teaching in the synagogues, announcing the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing the sick.
According to the Gospel of Luke, the Risen Christ also taught the disciples for forty days about the meaning of the kingdom of God and the purpose of proclaiming that Kingdom until the end of the world.
In this sense, the central theme of the first three gospels is the message of the cross, the arrival of the kingdom of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Despite the fact that the theme of the Kingdom is not so present in Paul and in the fourth gospel, due to the different political and cultural circumstances of its purpose, it continues to be very relevant.
For his part, Paul’s missionary work refers to that of “to go around preaching the kingdom of God” (Acts 20:25), and in the final stage of his mission, while imprisoned in Rome, Paul “preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:31).
And Jesus himself announced in his prophetic sermon that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world” until the end of the world (Mt 24:14).
5 benefits of the message of the cross of Christ in our life
Having knowledge about the revelation of the purpose of the cross is the key to obtaining its benefits, which are salvation and eternal life.
Furthermore, if we internalize the message we will be able to walk in righteousness, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Among the benefits that we can find in this beautiful sacrifice are the following:
1.- The message of the cross frees us from the old man
The term “old man” refers to the old way we have to act in our daily lives, it is our sinful nature, obtained in Genesis by Adam and Eve, after having eaten the forbidden fruit. This is simplified in the rebelliousness of the human being.
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So, unfortunately, we are born with that rebellious condition, since we were begotten and formed in iniquity, and in order to defeat that sinful and rebellious man, God sent his Only Begotten Son to sacrifice himself for us, and thus be able to be forgiven.
For which Jesus gave his life on the cross for all of us, in order to free us from the condition we have as sinners. But we must believe in this message of the cross in order to transform ourselves and leave behind the old man and our old life, to be born again in Christ Jesus. As we can see in the following quote:
“If indeed you have heard him, and have been taught by him, according to the truth that is in Jesus. As for the past way of living, put off the old man, which is corrupted according to deceitful desires, and renew yourselves in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, created according to God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 7:21-24)
2.- The message of the cross frees us from the ego
The ego belongs to a part of the soul where there is what “I feel”, what “I want” and what “I think”. Most of the people who find it difficult to receive Christ, it is due to their own ego, since they have to get away from the social security they have always had, get away from sin and seek to have a new life, which not everyone understands , which can give rise to rejection and loneliness for going against everyone.
3.- The liberation of the flesh through the message of the cross
As the word of God says: “If anyone wants to come after me, deny himself, take up his cross every day, and follow me” (Luke 9:23), we must deny carnal desires and give ourselves wholeheartedly to a new life with Christ Jesus, in order to achieve salvation, which is the purpose of sacrifice.
In this sense, the flesh continually wants to act independently of God’s will, and to live in the flesh, we must only let ourselves be guided by our own will. But, if we use the supernatural power of God over the flesh, we will always be able to live in victory, overcoming the adversities of life.
4.- The liberation of the world through the message of the cross
As the following biblical quote expresses it, we must free ourselves from the world and give ourselves completely to the purpose of the cross in our lives: “But far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14)
Most of them are always in constant anguish due to society and its system, due to the daily routine, stress and fatigue. But life tells us not to allow the world to wrap us in its paradigm. To avoid such a system, we have to eliminate the earthly mentality and begin to renew our mind, in order to have God’s thoughts, and do his perfect will.
Which does not mean that we should be isolated as hermits, since we must be in this world and do activities, do homework, study, among other things. But we must be clear that God loves the world but he hates sin and the corrupt system.
Therefore, our duty is to make a difference and be that light in the midst of darkness, not to join the system but to transform the system, not to be part of the system, but for the system to be part of us and get closer to the kingdom of God, through the message of the cross, the preaching of the good news.
Which is a challenge in the midst of a society so corrupted and enraptured by everything the world offers, which are banal things before God’s purpose for us.
5.- The message of the cross freed us from the power and authority of Satan
In the following biblical quote we can see that the message of the cross has the purpose of separating us from all evil authority: “And having stripped principalities and powers, he made a public display of them, triumphing over them on the cross” (Colossians 2:15)
The message of the cross reveals Jesu s’ triumph over Satan and his evil hosts, and there is nothing he can do to change or eliminate the perfect sacrifice on the cross, since it is unalterable, but if we approach Satan, what is our enemy, somewhere other than the cross we are going to be defeated.
So we must not trust ourselves and we must be firm, since the enemy will always be stalking us because he knows that through the message of the cross, we are saved.
What changes did the message of the cross of Christ make in us?
The message of the Cross reveals what God did for us and what this fact produces in us. At present the true message of the cross and its divine purpose is not being proclaimed, but rather there is a lack of actual understanding of this fact.
But we must focus and know the truth through the word, in which we are clearly told about the purpose of Jesus on earth, his perfect sacrifice and resurrection, and we will not obtain the benefits of the cross unless we recognize that the sacrifice was designed solely with the intention of compensating us and freeing us from sin.
In this sense, the symbol of the cross consists in the fact that Jesus Christ took the place that corresponded to us as sinners, and suffered in his own flesh all the punishment that our disobedience deserved, and for that reason we receive all the fruitfulness that Jesus obtained for doing the will of God.
In this way, our goal is to become like Christ, to be like him, as his word demands in Romans 8:29. “For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
The message of the cross: Wisdom and power
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