What Actually Happened on Christ's Cross?
So much more than religion tells us...
Mocked, spit on, beaten within an inch of His life in order to carry a wooden stake around town. The Son of God tortured, nailed to a cross and suffocating for the creation. The very creation that through Him was created.
The scene and experience of the crucifixion of Christ is impossible to imagine. For Christ: the spiritual, emotional, and physical torture is beyond what we could possibly know. Why did this happen…what was accomplished?
The cross of Christ accomplished many things, but in this article I am going to focus on the new creation that the cross produced and what this means for all creation.
First, let’s look at the old creation or the ‘old humanity’ in order to heighten our understanding of the new creation.
The ‘old humanity’ is what we inherited from Adam. This includes the death, sin, and condemnation operating in all mankind from Adam’s one offense to all of us today. The moment we are born, actually before we are born, we begin to die. We all have death operating in us and we are subjected to vanity by our Creator (Romans 8: 20-21).
We are subjected to this old humanity and this vanity by God in order to eventually be set free from it (Romans 8:21). Human beings are subject to death, sin, condemnation and apparent separation from God in this life. After all, scripture says this about life: It is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it (Ecclesiastes 1:13).
We experience evil to shape us and to learn contrast in order to enjoy God that much more. The purposefulness, immortality, righteousness, and being completed by God will have so much meaning because of our experience of vanity, death, sin, and separation from God. Once these evil things serve their purpose, they will be done away with forever as all will be subject to God and will have Christ’s immortality (1 Corinthians 15:22,28).
So how do we get rid of this old humanity in favor of the new creation? Well, scripture says that that our old humanity was crucified together with Christ (Romans 6:6). So what happens to something when it is crucified? It dies…its dead. Our old humanity is dead because it was crucified with Christ! Its not resurrected like Christ, but it remains dead never to be resurrected again.
Christians and the religious believe that the old humanity never was crucified or that it will be resurrected if they don’t make the correct faith choice or don’t live right. NO!
Here it is in a nutshell: The old humanity, our old humanity was put on Christ on the cross. Christ Jesus became sin itself and God killed Christ, sin, and the old humanity itself on that cross. God resurrected Christ into a new creation forever free of these evils. However, the sin, death, and old humanity remained dead in that tomb defeated forever. Now obviously, not everyone is constituted sinless, just, and immortal at this time because sin and death are still in the world. But, Christ’s work on the cross accomplished the abolition of death in spirit now and all will be constituted immortal each in their own order (1 Corinthians 15: 22-23). Some by faith and many through judgement.
So, how is humanity transferred from the old humanity to the new creation? Romans, chapter six explains it. We were entombed together with Christ and we have been planted together into His death. So, that we shall be of the resurrection also.
You see, we are made immortal together, jointly with Christ, not apart from Him. Religion has us believe that Christ died and was resurrected and now it is up to the human to save himself or herself by faith choices and good deeds. Not so, we have died and are resurrected WITH Christ.
13 Who rouses Him from among the dead, you also being dead to the offenses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He vivifies us together jointly with Him, dealing graciously with all our offenses (Colossians 2:13)
We will one day be just like Christ because we have participated in Christ’s death and resurrection. That is why He is the Firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29-30). See, God vivifies us together jointly with Christ, dealing graciously with ALL OUR OFFENSES (Colossians 2:14). Is unbelief and bad behavior an offense? Yes, and God deals graciously because every offense died with Christ and Christ was resurrected, and us with Him, without those offenses.
Christianity teaches that we must overcome these very offenses that have been nailed to the cross! Christians teach that Christ has been resurrected separate from us and now we must do the right thing in order to be included with Him in resurrection. Not true, we are resurrected jointly with Him. We are resurrected when He was resurrected, in spirit. All humanity participated in this resurrection and each will eventually be perfected, each in their own order of course.
The last group of scripture I am going to mention today is found in Colossians 1: 15-20. Here, we get a complete idea of what Christ being the Firstborn among the dead accomplished for all creation. First, in verse 19, Paul says that in Christ the entire complement delights to dwell. Then, in verse 20, it is said that all creation through Christ is reconciled to God making peace through the blood of His cross.
Before anyone argues that this is not all creation, verses 15-17 established the context of what ‘all’ Paul is referring to. This ‘all’ includes everyone in the heavens and the earth, everyone visible and invisible, every throne, lordship, sovereignty, and authority. This includes wicked entities in the heavenly realms. Hell does not exist because, again, the evil is in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). So this covers all of creation. Therefore, the ‘all’ of the context is all creation. The same all (all creation) discussed in verses 15-17 is the same ‘all’ reconciled to God through Christ’s cross in verse 20. Read for yourself:
15 Who is the Image of the invisible God, Firstborn of every creature,
16 for in Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties, or authorities, all is created through Him and for Him,
17 and He is before all, and all has its cohesion in Him.
18 And He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is Sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first,
19 for in Him the entire complement delights to dwell,
20 and through Him to reconcile all to Him (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.
-Colossians 1: 15-20
1 Corinthians 15:28 also discusses God’s end game and the final accomplishment of Christ’s cross. This verse explains that the only Being not subjected to Christ is God Himself. Every single creature ever created is included in the subjugation to Christ.
You see, Paul goes the furthest into the future. Yes, there is a time when people are not saved and miss out on either the 1000 year kingdom or the New Heavens and the New Earth age. Yes, some will go to the Lake of Fire. However, these verses in 1 Corinthians 15, talk about a time after the ages are complete and the Lake of Fire (2nd death) and all death is abolished. This is a time when all have been perfected by Christ as this is what being subjected to Christ actually is. Jesus Christ perfects every creature ever created so that God can be ALL in all.
This is the glorious endgame of scripture and the cross of Christ. All creation being perfected so that God will be All in everyone of His creatures. That is what will be once the cross has completed its work, once Christ has given up His reign.
What actually happened on that cross? God was in Christ conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to them (2 Corinthians 5:19). God perfected His universe through the blood of the cross so that He would be every creature’s All. Everyone saved, everyone perfected, everyone with God because of the work of Christ Jesus on the cross.
Every single creature that carried the ‘old humanity’ from Adam, given to the new creation of being children of God from Christ. That is what actually happened…
Grace and peace to you all.
Beautifully explained Scott, thank you. I try to keep these things as simple as possible for me, a simple soul. Having studied the Bible under the guidance of JW, (which I didn't join for various reasons), I discovered some inconsistencies. One was JW claiming that the sacrament is to be taken only once a year - upon the Ransom at Easter (a pagan festival, no less!).
Yet Jesus tells us to do "this often in my name". Jesus spoke of the spirit (an unearthly thing) that the priests did not understand:
" There was a man of the Pharisees named Nic·o·deʹmus, a ruler of the Jews. This one came to him in the night and said to him: “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher, for no one can perform these signs that you perform unless God is with him.” In response Jesus said to him: “Most truly I say to you, unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Nic·o·deʹmus said to him: “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter into the womb of his mother a second time and be born, can he?” Jesus answered: “Most truly I say to you, unless anyone is born from water and spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. What has been born from the flesh is flesh, and what has been born from the spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed because I told you: You people must be born again. The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who has been born from the spirit.” [John 3: 1-8]
"When they heard this, many of his disciples said: “This speech is shocking; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were murmuring about this, said to them: “Does this stumble you? What, therefore, if you should see the Son of man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that is life-giving; the flesh is of no use at all. The sayings that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. [John 6: 60-63]
I was aware of my eternal spirit at an early age choosing to dwell in my Creator's house; His angels were sent to protect me all my life; I have reached the ripe old age of 80 this year [Psalm 91]. I know that I have been blessed, not with material riches but enough to go without suffering hunger or thirst, but to preach the Good News.
Jesus had great difficulty in trying to explain the nature of the spirit when most were consumed in the low-vibration, earthly material world which, as Jesus says, is of no count.
I understand that my Earth-walk is a learning curve to draw closer to my Creator through the guidance of Jesus's wisdom and His angels who bring strangers to me every day as I grow towards His Light. There's more to tell of my remarkable journey - for another time.
Blessings
AP