WHEN GOD FLEXES HIS MUSCLES
When God Flexes His Muscles
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
The most familiar symbol in the world today is not the Stars and Stripes; it is not the hammer
and the sickle; it is not the Union Jack; and it is not the dollar sign.
The royal banner of the cross "towering over the wrecks of time" is more widely known on
every continent and every isle of the sea than any other symbol. It is associated with the death
of Christ though there is a wide diversity and disparity of its interpretation. No religion has ever
had a symbol or an emblem that has encompassed so much of the earth's surface, that has been
familiar to so many people over so long a time. The crescent of Islam runs a poor second, and
that may be the reason they try harder.
Yet no one fully knows the meaning of the cross. No one today can adequately interpret the
suffering and the death of Christ. No theologian, no matter how profound he might be, has ever
been able to plumb the depths of the meaning of the death of Christ. It is still a profound mystery.
The Mystery of the Cross
The apostle Paul, who had written most of the epistles that deal with the death and the resurrection
of Christ, could say at the conclusion of his life, "That I may know him, and the
power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death" (Philippians 3:10).
I would suggest a twofold reason for the mystery of the cross. First of all, the cross has
always been foolishness to the world. That is exactly what the Word of God says: "For the
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness…" (1 Corinthians 1: 18). And then Paul
goes on to say, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are
foolishness unto him…" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore the cross is not quite what the world
wants in the way of religion. They were looking for Him to come, even the first time, riding a
white charger to bring victory and deliverance to the earth ...
Dr. J. Vernon McGee
The most familiar symbol in the world today is not the Stars and Stripes; it is not the hammer
and the sickle; it is not the Union Jack; and it is not the dollar sign.
The royal banner of the cross "towering over the wrecks of time" is more widely known on
every continent and every isle of the sea than any other symbol. It is associated with the death
of Christ though there is a wide diversity and disparity of its interpretation. No religion has ever
had a symbol or an emblem that has encompassed so much of the earth's surface, that has been
familiar to so many people over so long a time. The crescent of Islam runs a poor second, and
that may be the reason they try harder.
Yet no one fully knows the meaning of the cross. No one today can adequately interpret the
suffering and the death of Christ. No theologian, no matter how profound he might be, has ever
been able to plumb the depths of the meaning of the death of Christ. It is still a profound mystery.
The Mystery of the Cross
The apostle Paul, who had written most of the epistles that deal with the death and the resurrection
of Christ, could say at the conclusion of his life, "That I may know him, and the
power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death" (Philippians 3:10).
I would suggest a twofold reason for the mystery of the cross. First of all, the cross has
always been foolishness to the world. That is exactly what the Word of God says: "For the
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness…" (1 Corinthians 1: 18). And then Paul
goes on to say, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are
foolishness unto him…" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore the cross is not quite what the world
wants in the way of religion. They were looking for Him to come, even the first time, riding a
white charger to bring victory and deliverance to the earth ...
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