What Happened at the Cross?
Patrick Edwards
Colossians 2:13-15
Introduction
What exactly happened on the cross of Jesus some nearly 2000 years ago? How did the death of Jesus obtain salvation from sin for me, for you, for all who profess Jesus as Lord and Saviour? You see in our tradition we often ask 'When we're you saved?' and by that we mean when did you make a profession of faith and the sort. And yes, while it's true that all people are personally responding to Jesus in faith and surrender, can we properly say that is when you were saved? We can say that's when you were regenerated in Christ and indwelled with the Holy Spirit, for sure. But is your conversion the moment when salvation was accomplished?
Perhaps you think I'm being a bit nit-picky this evening, but I'm trying to get us to be able to articulate what actually transpired and took place at Calvary around 31 AD. Did Christ's death on the cross merely make salvation possible or did it actually accomplish something in those three hours? What happened at the cross?
This evening I invite you to Colossians 2, where in a few short verses the apostle Paul summarizes what the cross accomplished for the individual soul, for humanity, and for all creation. He speaks to our spiritual condition before and after the cross, but also to the cosmic victory Jesus won over the powers of this world, powers both visible and invisible. We see that The cross of Christ accomplished freedom from sin and evil for humanity and for all the institutions of this world.
Alienation from God can only be dealt with by Christ v. 13
First, though, Paul states our position and condition before the cross, ''[Y]ou were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh,'' (Colossians2:13a). Who is the 'you' here? For Paul, it begins with the Gentiles, non-Jews. He's writing to believers in Colossae, a city in modern day Turkey, a place inhabited mainly by Greeks. And so, the appeal to ''uncircumcision'' ...
Patrick Edwards
Colossians 2:13-15
Introduction
What exactly happened on the cross of Jesus some nearly 2000 years ago? How did the death of Jesus obtain salvation from sin for me, for you, for all who profess Jesus as Lord and Saviour? You see in our tradition we often ask 'When we're you saved?' and by that we mean when did you make a profession of faith and the sort. And yes, while it's true that all people are personally responding to Jesus in faith and surrender, can we properly say that is when you were saved? We can say that's when you were regenerated in Christ and indwelled with the Holy Spirit, for sure. But is your conversion the moment when salvation was accomplished?
Perhaps you think I'm being a bit nit-picky this evening, but I'm trying to get us to be able to articulate what actually transpired and took place at Calvary around 31 AD. Did Christ's death on the cross merely make salvation possible or did it actually accomplish something in those three hours? What happened at the cross?
This evening I invite you to Colossians 2, where in a few short verses the apostle Paul summarizes what the cross accomplished for the individual soul, for humanity, and for all creation. He speaks to our spiritual condition before and after the cross, but also to the cosmic victory Jesus won over the powers of this world, powers both visible and invisible. We see that The cross of Christ accomplished freedom from sin and evil for humanity and for all the institutions of this world.
Alienation from God can only be dealt with by Christ v. 13
First, though, Paul states our position and condition before the cross, ''[Y]ou were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh,'' (Colossians2:13a). Who is the 'you' here? For Paul, it begins with the Gentiles, non-Jews. He's writing to believers in Colossae, a city in modern day Turkey, a place inhabited mainly by Greeks. And so, the appeal to ''uncircumcision'' ...
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