God Active in Our World

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

John 12:23–28a

The cross was not an accidental diversion in the life of Christ; it was the center-piece in the plan of God for the Messiah. The word “hour” was used to denote the strategic moment, a brief but determined time. Christ came into the world expressly for the moment of the cross.

The Babe of Bethlehem was adored by the shepherds and worshipped by the wise men, but neither of these events fulfilled the purpose of His coming. He healed the sick and taught the multitudes, and though these were closer to the nature of His coming, He never said about those events that He had come for that hour. He led and mentored the disciples, works that were still closer to the heart of His mission, but even the most intimate moments with them did not fulfill His purpose.

He came to die for the sins of the world. From before time began the heart of Christ the Son was fully committed to the will of the Father, as the Scripture described His heart said, “Behold I have come, in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I desire to do your will, O my God” (Psalm 40:7–8ithe

; Hebrews 10:6–9). The purpose of the coming of the Christ was to be fulfilled in a moment in time. The cross of Christ was not merely a theory, or a value, or a sentiment; it was an event, the key event for all history.

The Old Testament anticipated the cross, as the New Testament brought it to light in its historical milieu, and we today look back upon it as the moment in time that God took upon Himself the sins of the world. One Man at one time died for all people of all times! He not only bore our sins in His body but He became the sin of us all and was rejected by the Father on the cross.

We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:20b-21

Just as His mission was fulfilled in real time, so also we in real time on this earth experience the effects of His sacrifice. Somewhere in the eternal realities of God’s throne room, beyond the blue of the sky above us, Christ appeared in the true holy of holies before the Father as our High Priest and Redeemer.

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9:11–12

And the impact on our lives is also held in God’s record in the heavens; we are now declared innocent, redeemed, justified, and will one day be glorified, when we go to that place He has prepared for us (John 14:3).

But the impact of His sacrificial death is also felt and experienced by us here on earth. The eternal Spirit of the eternal God bears witness to our hearts of this eternal reality that has changed our very souls and regenerated our formerly dead spirits. Christ could have died, I suppose, upon another planet of God’s creation and from a strictly legal perspective it would have been sufficient for our eternity to be changed. But He did not. He died here on this earth, and not only did He die but He was raised to life here as well. And in these acts He provides us a witness of the reality of the eternal God active in our world.

The death and resurrection of Christ have a profound effect on the one who believers. Not based upon some sentimental nonsense, such as we get around Christmas time about “believing in Santa” or the other superstition nonsense we get today through such novels as Harry Potter about believing in magic or believing in possibilities, etc. Rather in Christ it is the eternal reality of God transforming our lives today.

Do you believe that He died for your sins and that He rose from the grave? That faith transforms your heart and life because it opens up your life to the power of God.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for the cross and for the life you give to those who believe. Amen.