The effects of Christ’s suffering and death for the believer

Christ’s sufferings and death are a past event. When He rose from the dead, they ended. We know that the effects of His death carry forward to today just as they carried back to the sins God had “passed over” prior to Christ’s death (Rom. 3:25). His suffering and death also affect Him now.

“He is a merciful and faithful high priest in things facing God, to propitiation regarding the sins of the people. For in which He suffered, He is able to respond to the cry of help for those being tempted” (Heb. 2:17-18). He experienced the things we experience. God cannot be tempted with evil (Jas. 1:13). So the Son became man to experience our struggle. In this way, He has mercy towards us in our struggles, our pain, and our temptations. Mercy is His pity on suffering as a result of sin, whether our immediate sin, the sin of Adam that affects us all, or another’s sin against us. The verb “propitiate” is in the Greek present tense indicating that He continues to be the satisfaction for our sins (cp 1 Jh. 2:1-2). The words “He has suffered” are in the Greek perfect tense indicating a past act with continuing results or a result. The participle “being tempted” describes the specific area of suffering. When believers are tempted, and Jesus was also tempted, the past suffering is real to Him and He does not stand aloof from our struggle. We see a version of this in people relating to and helping others who are going through something that they at one time experienced. We all can help others even when we haven’t gone through their experience, but there is a unique perspective among those with a shared experience. So, Jesus’ past experiences have an effect on Him in His human nature, glorified human nature, but still human. 

Jesus’ prayers for us

Before Jesus left the upper room, He spoke to the Father about His disciples. “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;” (Jh. 17:9). He did not ask for the Father to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one (17:15). He sent them into the world recognizing how hard it would be and warning them of what was to come for them. He did not ask the Father to keep them from hardships or pain. He had faced both, and in human nature, He learned obedience and matured through suffering (Heb. 5:7-9). As our high priest, does He then ask for us to escape suffering and hardship? He didn’t Himself. His intercession for us is not escape but strength (spiritual/mental) to go through that suffering.

As an aside, these facts need to be taught in our churches. Too many churches present Christ and salvation as believe in Him, come join, and have the best life ever. We try to sell people on Christianity being fun, fun, fun. Christianity is fulfilling with the right mindset. Peter and John could leave the Jewish council after being beaten and go away rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ. I can’t imagine the early church ever misrepresented the gospel or taught new believers about the best life ever in terms of fun and material prosperity.

Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane by Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto, c. 1543

Jesus’ prayers in Gethsemane

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to the Father about His coming sufferings. His hour was that stretch of time during which He the Creator submitted to Himself to the creation, even allowing them to mistreat Him, mock Him, and put Him on a cross. He also prayed to the Father about the CUP. “My Father, IF it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You desire.” (Mt. 26:39). The “if” with the verb “is” in this statement form a FIRST CLASS CONDITION, a statement that assumes the first part of the condition to be true. Rephrased, Jesus’ request reads, “Since it is possible…” The Old Testament anticipated redemption through suffering. John the Baptist and Jesus spoke of Jesus providing a redemption and bearing sin. So, was Jesus saying that God’s purpose could be accomplished without Jesus dying? Hebrews 5:7 corrects the common misconception that Jesus was asking to avoid death, “Who, in the days of His flesh having offered, with strong cries and tears both supplications and pleadings to the one being able to save Him out of death and being heard, because of His God-honoring actions.” Note, that the writer says Jesus asked to be saved “out of death” not “from death.” Jesus knew He was going to die. He had prophesied His death. But in His human nature, He did not know how long that death would be. “WAIT,” you say, “He said He would rise in three days.” Indeed. We think only of His physical death, but from noon until three, Jesus experienced spiritual death, separation from the Father and the Spirit. This is the death about which He asked. He did not know how long that death would last. Hebrews 5:7 states that He was heard, meaning the Father did end that spiritual death before His physical death. Yet not knowing the extent of that death, Jesus willingly faced that death. In this same way, He intercedes for us. He sympathizes with our weakness and we can receive mercy and find grace for our cry for help that is well-timed (Heb. 4:14-16). 

Jesus’ example for suffering

On the cross, Jesus responded to others in silence. He left us an example of how we can suffer (1 Pet. 2:21-23). Human nature responds to others in kind. If they treat us well, we treat them well. If they insult us, we tend to insult in return. Jesus spoke no threats. We are reminded of His words, as the soldiers nailed Him to the cross, “Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing.” (Lk. 23:34). Many modern Christians need to learn this lesson as we have become quite vitriolic in our reaction to the world, a very non-Christian, non-Biblical response. Christ entrusted Himself to God, who judges righteously. The centurion, the Roman soldier who was likely in charge of the others at the crucifixion, when he observed all these things and how Jesus breathed His last, he glorified God and said, “Truly this man was God’s Son.” (Mt. 27:54; Mk. 15:39; Lk. 23:47). An unbelieving Romans soldier saw a difference in Jesus Christ and it impacted Him. We’d like to believe that he became a believer.

Jesus’ suffering for our freedom

Christ’s suffering is also a call for us to experience freedom from sin’s dominion. Christ suffered in flesh, and we should equip ourselves with the same intent, to cease from sin (1 Pet. 4:1). Christ was sinless, the unblemished and spotless lamb of God (1:19). He did not have to cease sinning because He never sinned. Yet His death dealt not only with our guilt under sin but of sin’s dominion. We are no longer enslaved to sin. Peter is referring specifically to our sin nature, also designated as the flesh. This can be seen in some of the areas of sin Peter refers to in 4:3, acts which are also mentioned among the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). Suffering can sometimes result in our excusing sin because we think we already have it so bad. Referencing Christ’s suffering, Peter points out the fallacy of such thinking. As Paul said, we were put into Christ’s death and should count ourselves to be dead ones to that sin nature, but living ones to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:3-4, 11). Christ’s suffering and death mean our freedom today.

Many believers have experienced this comfort through the centuries, not by Christ granting us escape from our pain, temptation, and hardships, but by asking the Father for our growth through hardship (Heb. 7:25). 

Did Jesus descend into Hell?

The Apostles’ Creed includes the lines about Jesus “was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell.” This old form of the creed dates to about AD 340. The Old Roman form on these lines reads, “Who under Pontius Pilate was crucified and buried, on the third day rose again from the dead.” Whatever the original form, why did people make such a claim, a claim which is repeated weekly in numerous churches? 

Hell, Hades, and Gehenna

In the 1995 edition of the New American Standard Bible, the translation “hell” occurs thirteen times. All but one translate the word gehenna.¹ Gehenna gets its name from the valley of Hinnon (Hinnom) to the south of Jerusalem.² It was a garbage dump that always burned and smoldered and was used for disposing of bodies. In Old Testament times it was a location at which people worshipped the Ammonite deity Molech by burning people even sometimes (often times) children (Lev. 20:2; 2 Ki. 23:10; Jer. 7:31; 32:35). The Jews had taken to using this name for the place of eternal punishment for the damned. Daniel prophesied of a time in which some would be raised to eternal life and others would be raised at another time to eternal ruination (Dan. 12:2). Very early in Israel’s history, it is clear they understood that a fire burned beneath the mountains in a place they called the lowest Sheol (Dt. 32:22). So David recognized God’s lovingkindness in delivering him from the depths or lowest Sheol (Ps. 86:13). As Isaiah announced God’s judgment on Israel, he prophesies, “The strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both burn together And there will be none to quench them.” (Isa. 1:31). In connection with the new heavens and new earth, we also find, “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have rebelled against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.” (Isa. 66:24). The concept of a place of punishment was not a newly developed idea in the centuries just prior to Jesus’ arrival. The burning valley of Hinnon (Hinnom) with its awful history became a picture of the place of future punishment for the Jews. 

Duccio di Buoninsegna, “The Harrowing of Hell” c. 1308

Jesus taught that gehenna was the place of punishment for the wicked. In the sermon on the mount, He warned of actions that would result in one being cast into this place (Mt. 5:22, 29-30; cp 18:9)). Gehenna is where God would destroy soul and body (Mt. 10:28). In this text, “destroy” has the sense of ruining something from its God-designed purpose. He warned that religious leaders would receive the judgment of gehenna namely burning for their actions (Mt. 23:33). Jesus said that He would tell the goats who did not do His will to depart into eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25:41). It wasn’t made for man but for God’s spirits who rebelled against Him As Jesus revealed to John many things that will come, He made John see the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14-15). The burning valley of Hinnon is an appropriate picture of a lake of fire. The lake of fire is the place for those who have rebelled against God, whose names are not written in the book of life.

Hades and Death and the Lake of Fire

Did Jesus descend to Hell, to gehenna, to the lake of fire? NO. Death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14). In the Greek text, “death” has a definite article. “The death” often refers to spiritual death (cp Rom. 5:12). Spiritual death is separation from God. We come into this world separated from God. It is only through salvation that God undoes our separation, giving us eternal life (Jh. 5:24; 1 Jh 3:14). So, the lake of fire will be the place of separation from God. Hades is also thrown into the lake of fire. Hades is a Greek term that corresponds to the Hebrew term Sheol. It is the place of the dead both believing and unbelieving, of righteous and unrighteous. This is why David knew God had rescued him from the lowest Sheol or the place of punishment. Jesus tells the account of Lazarus and the rich man (Lk. 16:19-31). The rich man is in torments (note the plural) and Lazarus is resting in Abraham’s bosom (16:23). Hades/Sheol is a place for both with a great chasm fixed between the two so that those in each cannot pass back and forth (16:26). Hades is the temporary place of the dead, not the permanent.

When Peter proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus in Acts 2, He quotes David speaking not of himself but of Christ, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol.” (Acts 2:27; Ps. 16:10). Peter substitutes the Greek Hades for the Hebrew Sheol. How could Christ’s soul be abandoned to Sheol if He did not go to Sheol? A common error of Bible interpreters is to assume everyone went to heaven at death. However, prior to Christ’s resurrection, no one went to heaven. Even believers went to Sheol, specifically to the place of rest not torment, while they awaited Christ’s resurrection at which time He would move them from Sheol/Hades to the edge of the third heaven. Properly, Jesus descended into Hades at death and awaited the day of resurrection. In the same moments that His physical death took place, He was made spiritually alive (1 Pet. 3:18). In the state of physical death, He went and made a proclamation to spirits in prison, who were once disobedient in the days of Noah (1 Pet. 3:19-20). What He proclaimed, Peter does not tell us. He did not evangelize them or offer them a second chance, that is not the word used here. He may have made a proclamation of triumph over them. Peter is clear, in death, Christ went to the location where these disobedient spirits were. 

Christ’s Descent into Limbo, Albrecht Dürer 1512

Jesus’ Resurrection and Change

When Jesus met Mary, He told her not to touch Him for, “I have not yet ascended to the Father.” (Jh. 20:17). In mere moments He ascended to the Father, and upon returning, appeared to the other women who grasped His feet (Mt. 28:9). When Jesus ascended, “He lead captive a host of captives.” (Eph. 4:8). Who were these? He led those who had been in Hades to the edge of the third heaven, a new location for paradise (2 Cor. 12:2-4). For this reason, Jesus could say of His Church, “the gates of Hades will not prevail over it.” When we die, we go directly into the presence of our Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). Paul anticipated Christ saving him into His heavenly kingdom at death (2 Tim. 4:18). We do not go to Hades. There is no one righteous in Hades anymore. He has led them all to heaven. No one ascended to heaven prior to Christ’s resurrection (Jh. 3:13).

So, we can say that Christ descended into Hades. Since our English Bibles use Hell for the lake of fire, we cannot say He descended into Hell. He died on a cross for our sins, His body was buried in a tomb, but He descended to Hades, and upon rising from the dead, He led the captives free. Only the spiritually dead descend to the lowest sheol/hades. Christ’s spiritual death ended at the end of His time on the cross. In His physical death, He descended to the place where the Old Testament saints waited. But now He lives. He has removed the fear of death and opened the way for all who believe (Heb. 2:9, 14-15).

1. The AV was less careful and used “hell” for three other words: hades, sheol, tartaroō ↩︎
2. William Mounce, Mounce’s Greek Dictionary, G1147 ↩︎

For whom did Christ die?

“and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 Jh. 2:2).

John’s plain statement is that Christ did not die only for our sins. He died for those of the whole world. Plain statement. Plainly understood. Leave the theology, logic, and philosophy behind and take God’s Word at face value. Did the First Century Christians have advanced training in logic and philosophy so they could reason their way through such an obscure statement, or is it a simple statement? I think it is the latter. Some have tried to limit the extent of those for whom Christ died. I’m writing this to encourage, not to enter into a debate with those who hold opposing views, though I will have a brief closing comment that addresses that view.

“and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” (2 Cor. 5:15). 

Christ’s death was for all. However, not all live. Those who do live are encouraged to live for the One who died and rose again in their place. Why do they live? We’ll come to that in a bit.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Tim. 2:5-6).

Christ’s death was not a ransom for some, but all. He mediated between God and men because He is both. God does not die for God does not change in His nature and death is the ultimate change. Man can and does die. Christ became man so He could die and be that ransom for all. 

“For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” (1 Tim. 4:10).

Jesus is the Savior of all men. Remember, He is the satisfaction for everyone’s sins. He is especially Savior for those who believe. Why? Because to those who have believed, the Father has given the forgiveness of sins. 

“Of Him, all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 10:43).

While Christ died for the sins of all people, the forgiveness of sins is offered through faith in Him. Apart from faith in Christ, the provision of Christ’s death is not applied. We have forgiveness of sin “in Christ” (Col. 1:14). But we are only placed into Christ and there receive forgiveness if we believe in Him. 

His death was for all. No one will stand before God and be able to claim that God did nothing to save them. Rather, they rejected what God provided through Christ’s death. 

The death of Christ does not automatically save. We can say that Christ’s death does not save. This is one of the arguments used by those who do not think that Christ died for everyone. They ask, “Does the death of Christ save?” Most people respond, “Yes, of course.”  It doesn’t state this in Scripture. Rather we can say that God saves. For New Testament Christians, we can say that God saves us by applying in time what Christ provided through His death two thousand years ago. His death was the means of redeeming us, but God applies that redemption by placing us into Christ (Col. 1:14). Christ made a cleansing for sins, but the Spirit saves us by applying that cleansing in the act of regeneration (putting the Godhead into us)(Tit. 3:5). He reconciled us through His death, but He applies reconciliation to us by placing us into Christ (Col. 1:22; Eph. 2:15-16). His death provided a satisfaction (propitiation) for our sins and a demonstration of God’s love, but that satisfaction is applied by giving us life through Christ, which we receive by having the Son (1 Jh. 4:9-10; 5:11-12). His death and resurrection are the bases of our salvation, but God saves us when we believe by applying what Christ accomplished either by putting us into Christ or putting Christ into us.

Have you believed in Christ? Do you know that your sins are forgiven, or are you still in your sins? If you haven’t believed in Him, why not today? He died for your sins, He was buried, and He rose again so that we might be forgiven and have life.

How do the writers of Scripture speak of the death of Christ?

John

Christ came to save the world (Jh. 3:17).

Christ came to be a satisfaction for our sins (1 Jh. 2:1; 4:10).

Peter

Christ redeemed (paid the penalty) us by means of His blood (violent death) (1 Pet. 1:18-19).

Christ carried [ACTIVE] our sins on His body on the tree (cross)(1 Pet. 2:24).

Christ suffered in place of the unrighteous (we were not good people) (1 Pet. 3:18).

Paul

Christ gave [ACTIVE] Himself as a ransom (for our penalty) (1 Tim. 2:6).

Christ died [ACTIVE] in place of our sins (1 Cor. 15:3). We often think He died for ME, as though I were a worthy candidate, but He died for the ugliest part of us, our own sins.

The Father (He) made Christ (Him) to be sin in our place (2 Cor. 5:21).

Christ is God’s means of redemption and satisfaction for our sins (Rom. 3:24-25).

Christ died in place of ungodly people (Rom. 5:6). Ungodly means to dishonor God.

Christ died in our place when we were sinners (not good people) (Rom. 5:8). 

Christ gave Himself that He might redeem us from all lawlessness (Tit. 2:14). Lawlessness is a refusal to acknowledge that God can require anything of us. “You’re not the boss of me!!”

Writer of Hebrews (Paul)

Christ (the Son) made a cleansing for sins (Heb. 1:3).

Christ experienced death for every man (Heb. 2:9).

He satisfied the Father for our sins (Heb. 2:17).

He pleaded with God to save Him out of death (spiritual) (Heb. 5:7). He didn’t ask to be saved from dying (Jh. 12:27).

He did not offer Himself for His own sins (He had none) (Heb. 7:27).

He offered Himself once for all (Heb. 7:27). We need no repeated sacrifice or offering for sin.

He offered a sacrifice once to carry away sins (Heb. 9:28).

He offered His body once for all to sanctify us (Heb. 10:10).

He offered one sacrifice in place of sins forever (Heb. 10:12).

He suffered outside the gate to sanctify the people (Heb. 13:12).

Thinking about His death

Is this how you understand Christ’s death? You may not know all these things, but you must believe that He died to deal with our sin, rebellion, God-dishonoring ways, and unrighteousness. Open your Bible and read through these texts. Think about and thank God for the sacrifice of His Son.

Death or deaths?

Death as a penalty

When God placed Adam in the garden, He provided him every good tree for food, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17). He warned him that on the day he eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would surely die. The words “surely die” translate a Hebrew construction that combines two forms of the same verb: a Qal infinitive and a Qal imperfect. We might render it word-for-word “to die you will precede to die.” The Hebrew uses this form to emphasize intensity. We may say “I am really running.” In Hebrew is would be word-for-word, “To run I am running.” Therefore, “you will surely die” represents the emphasis. However, Adam’s death involves more than just physically dying and returning to the dust. Adam died spiritually. Adam was cut off from God.

Christ on the Cross Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1631

Ephesians 4:17-18 describes spiritual death. It is a mind that cannot draw the right conclusions about God. It is thinking that is darkened. It is alienation from God’s life. It is ignorance. It is a hard or stubborn heart. This state of spiritual death entered as a result of the sin nature (Rom. 5:12). Both the words sin and death have a definite article in Greek and refer to what we might call the sin nature and the spiritual death. “By the trespass of the one the many died,” (Rom. 5:15). Adam’s choice to eat the fruit bent his nature and that fallen dead nature has been passed to all humanity.

Christ’s Dual Death

What Christ did on the cross had to deal with both aspects of death. While Jesus was still physically alive upon the cross, He died spiritually in the realm of His human experience. Paul states that Christ died to sin once for all, but lives to God (Rom. 6:10). When did Christ die to sin? He had no sin but was blameless (1 Pet. 1:19). While He was on the cross, He was bearing our sins in His body (1 Pet. 2:23). That’s His spiritual death. Just as our spiritual death means we are alienated from God, so on the cross, in His human experience He was alienated and cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Mt. 27:46). In the brief moments before He released His spirit, He uttered, “It is finished” referring to His spiritual death and then, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Lk. 23:46). His spiritual death was finished.

When Jesus released His spirit, He died physically. Peter describes the conjunction of these two deaths simply, “having been put to death in flesh, but made alive in the spirit.” (1 Pet. 3:18). Jesus had to die physically because physical death was part of the “You will surely die” curse. God said, “Till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Gen. 3:19). Scripture emphasizes Christ’s spiritual death with the word “blood.” His blood or physical death is the instrument of God satisfying Himself regarding our sins (Rom. 3:25). His blood or physical death is the channel for our redemption (Eph. 1:7). His blood is the means by which we are justified (Rom. 5:9). His blood is the means by which we are brought near (Eph. 2:13). His blood is the channel through which which we are reconciled and made at peace with God (Col. 1:20). His physical death addressed many aspects of our separation from God. 

The penalty for sin is death. Our death is both separation from the body and more importantly separation from God. Jesus died both spiritually and physically. Both were necessary to address our fallen state. We can have forgiveness of our sins as well as life because our Savior died in place of our sins.

Remembering, the Believer and Death

This morning I received word that a good friend and former seminary teacher went home to be with the Lord. I prayer for his wife, brothers, and brothers in Christ. We grieve with them. I tear up when I think about what he’s seeing and hearing right now. Those are tears of joy.

God used this man to get me through Biblical Greek. He was patient. The Greek program where I attended seminary began with second-year Greek. I was supposed to have a year of Greek under my belt, and I had taken a semester and worked on Greek, but I was miserably incompetent. Thanks to this man’s patience, I passed all nine quarters of Greek, learned to follow along in Greek in all New Testament Bible classes, and today I read Greek nearly every day. But beyond that, he was kind. He demonstrated Christ-likeness to me then and has continued to as we have met off and on over the years since. God used him to help me in both my family life and church life in the many years since finishing seminary.

A dear sister from our church went home several months ago. I was asked to do a graveside with her family. This is the brief outline I shared with them. These truths come to mind whenever I hear of a believer going home. I share these brief passages and observations in the hope that God will use them to comfort you when you face loss, whether that loss is in the past, the present, or yet to come.

The Study

The believer in Christ can have hope-filled grief. This is for those who have believed that Jesus died for their sins and rose again. If a believer dies, they sleep through Jesus. He has the keys of death. So when a believer goes home, it is as though Jesus turns the key, opens the door, and invites that believer into their rest, “Come on home. Your work is done.” But, He will lead them back with Him. He will raise them. They and those of us who remain alive will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. From that time on, we will all be together with the Lord

1Thessalonians 4.13   But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. ¹⁵ For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The believer is living in a tent (our body). We’re ready for this camping trip to be over. If we die, we can still be pleasing to Him. That means that even in death, we are or will be actively doing something. If we die, we are absent from the body but present with the Lord.

2Corinthians 5.4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. 6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord — ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight — ⁸ we are of good courage, I say and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. ⁹ Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

For the Believer, death is much better. Paul preferred to go home. He knew it was much better than this present life. Staying here involves work or serving others. He also knew it wasn’t up to him.

Philippians 1.20  according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²² But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. ²³ But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; ²⁴ yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

The Believer can be encouraged from Paul’s experience. Paul died at one time. Paul was caught up to heaven. He heard things that we can’t put into words. He heard things God does not permit anyone to speak about here on earth. SO, when Paul said going to be with the Lord is much better, he knew it to be true.

2 Corinthians 12:1 Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. ² I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago — whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows — such a man was caught up to the third heaven. ³ And I know how such a man — whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows — ⁴ was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. ⁵ On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses.

For the Believer, death is a rescue from the evils of this life. When Paul wrote 2 Timothy, He was about to die (executed by Rome). He had fought his spiritual struggles in his life, this is Christian living. He had finished his marathon; the Christian life is not a sprint. He had guarded God’s promises to us (the Faith). The Lord would rescue Paul from every evil work by allowing him to die. The Lord will rescue Paul into a heavenly kingdom meaning there is activity for believers who have died.

2 Timothy 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; ⁸ in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

2 Timothy 4:16   At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Conclusion

Because of our faith in Christ’s death and resurrection, we can face even death with courage, cheerfulness, and without fear. We can know that He has something better for us. We can also know that it is not the end. He will raise us one day and we will all be gathered to His immediate presence.

We should live as though the Lord may return today. However, if we die, or if another believer dies, we can have hope that even in death Christ will one day raise the dead and all of us will be changed and forever with our Lord. We should also be comforted knowing that between death and our Lord’s coming for us, those who have died are in a kingdom with activity and rest. Death should not make us tremble. These truths comfort us as we live in this mortal existence.

Glorify Your Son

In John 17, we are audience to our Lord’s communication to the Father. He asks for Himself, He asks for His disciples, and He asks for us who believe through the disciples’ words. He brings together the new teachings He has shared in the last four chapters, teaching He shared over about an hour. He just scratched the surface of these teachings. This prayer to the Father demonstrates that He expected these new teachings to be further explained through the Spirit’s work and worked out by believers as they learn and live these truths.

He begins His communication by recognizing that His hour had come (Jh. 17:1). He referred to His hour as the time that He the Creator would allow the creature to exercise authority over Him, specifically to arrest Him, try Him, reject Him, beat Him, mock Him, and crucify Him. Earlier in His ministry, others attempted to seize Him but they could not because it was not yet His hour (Jh. 7:30). On another occasion, they took up stones to stone Him but did not succeed because it was not yet His hour (Jh. 8:20). Jesus knew His hour involved dying like a single grain falling to the earth but afterward springing up to bear fruit (Jh. 12:20-24). Jesus knew His hour was why He came into the world and He would not ask to be saved from it (Jh. 12:27). He knew that His hour involved departing the world and going before the Father (Jh. 13:1).

Glorify Your Son

BUT, Jesus asks the Father to glorify the Son (He identifies Himself as deity in the third person). Everything that was planned: Christ’s incarnation, life, submission to speak all the Father gave Him, submission to do every work the Father gave Him, and submission to the cross, and then Christ’s resurrection and exaltation, all these were designed for His glory. The cross and resurrection were the penultimate glory. To this day, nearly 2,000 years after these events when people think about Jesus or speak about Jesus, they normally arrive at the cross, His death, His resurrection, and ascension. The glory or reputation of Jesus can be summed up in everything revolving around the cross.

So when Paul arrived in Corinth, He said, “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2). The writer of Hebrews encourages us, “keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who in place of the joy that lay before Him, endured a cross while despising the shame He has taken His seat in the right of God’s throne.” (Heb. 12:2). Paul told the Philippians that this Jesus having become a slave and obeying the Father even to the point of a humiliating cross death, is now exalted by the Father, and He is the One to whom every knee will bow, and every tongue will agree that He is LORD (Php. 2:5-11). Peter writes, “Because, indeed Christ suffered for sins once, a righteous one in place of unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, being put to death in flesh but made alive in spirit…through Jesus Christ’s resurrection, who is in God’s right, having gone into heaven, angels even authorities and powers being subjected to Him.” (1 Pet. 3:18, 21b-22). ALL THAT SPEAKS OF HIS GLORY, HIS REPUTATION!

He did not shy away from the cross. He knew it was God’s will. He knew it was how He in His humanity and then in His deity would be glorified. It was through obeying to the end that His glory, His reputation would be seen.

That the Son may glorify You

When the Son submitted to the Divine will and yielded Himself into the hands of sinful men, He glorified the Father. “God loved the world like this, He sent His special kind of Son” (Jh. 3:16). “He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins.” (1 Jh. 4:10). “God commends His love to us because while we were yet sinners, Christ died in place of us.” (Rom. 5:8). “…that the eyes of your heart might be enlightened that you know…the excelling greatness of His power…which He worked in Christ raising Him out from among dead ones and sitting Him in His right in the heavens far above all rulers and authorities and powers and lordships and every name being named, not only in this age but in the one coming. And He subjected ALL THINGS under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things for the Church, which is His body, the fullness of the one filling all things by all parts.” (Eph. 1:18, 19, 20-23). Christ’s work not only brought Him glory but also focused us on God’s glory, His reputation.

Persecuting Jesus

“but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:23).

I’m currently teaching a study on the Upper Room Discourse of John 13-17. In chapter fifteen, Jesus tells His disciples that if the world hates them, they need to remember that it hated Him first (Jh. 15:18). He adds that if the world persecuted Him, they would persecute the disciples (15:20). Accounts of Christians being persecuted litter Church history. Sometimes because Christians meddle in things God never intended for us to do, but at other times because like our Lord, Christians speak what He gave us to share and do what He gave us to do. Why does this bring persecution?

Alexamenos graffito c. 200

Christ gave two reasons that the world hated and persecuted Him: He spoke and He acted (Jh. 15:22, 24). When Jesus spoke, He said what the Father gave Him to say (12:49; 14:10). When He stepped from heaven’s throne to become man, He yielded the free exercise of His divine abilities and submitted to the Father’s will in all things (Php. 2:5-8). Because of His words, people had sin. They always had sin for all are sinners (Rm. 3:23; 5:12) but confronted with His command to believe in Him, they were now guilty of the sin of not believing in Him (Jh. 8:21, 24; 16:8-9). They refused to believe that He is God but attempted to kill Him because He claimed to be God (Jh. 5:17-18; 10:30-31). For by rejecting what He said, they had sin.

The Father also gave the Son works to do (Jh. 5:36). By those works He glorified the Father or demonstrated the Father’s reputation (Jh. 17:4). People do works. People often do good works or at least good from their point of view. They rest in their self-righteousness thinking that they are fine without God or with some help from God. However, Jesus did works that demonstrated their works to be worthless (Jh. 3:20). Consider Jesus’ works in John. He turned water to wine, healed a man’s son though they were miles away, healed a lame man, fed over 5,000, walked on the water, made the disciples’ boat arrive immediately at its destination, healed a blind man, and raised Lazarus from the dead. Those are just in John. To this list, we can add from Matthew’s account that He healed a leper (8:3), healed a paralyzed man (8:5-13), healed Peter’s mother-in-law (8:14-15), cast out demons and healed many that same evening (8:16), healed another paralyzed man and forgave his sins (9:2-6), cast demons out of others because He had compassion for them (9:32-34), healed a man with a palsied hand (12:9-14), cast demons out of more people (12:22-24). All these were acts of goodness for suffering people. He demonstrated the real good and compassion absent in the “good” works of others.

Alexamenos Graffito line drawing

Jesus didn’t do His works hidden away in a corner, an inner room, or a deserted area far away from people (Acts 26:26). He did His works plainly in front of others, before crowds, before groups and lines of people who came to him all day at times for the purpose of being healed (Mt. 15:30; Lk. 6:17-19; 15:24). Jesus performed real works of power, not sleight of hand or the power of positive thinking. Peter later said that He went about doing good (Acts 10:38), yet despite all the good He did, they put Him to death (Acts 10:39). Paul said that upon trying Jesus, they could find no cause for putting Him to death but they asked Pilate to take Him away (Acts 13:28). We know the story does not end there but that God raised Him from the dead (10:40; 13:30). However, many fail to see that they did not put Christ on the cross to make Him a Savior-God made Him a Savior-but because they were angry with how His words and good works demonstrated their sinfulness.

As a result, they persecuted Christ. They did so during His life through ridicule and blasphemy. They did so by multiple attempts to kill Him and finally in their success with putting Him to death on a cross. They did the same with His disciples as they also spoke the words about Jesus and performed good works. The world continues to treat true Christians with disdain for sharing the good news about Jesus Christ. They do not want to hear that they need a Savior and that Jesus is the only way to the Father (Jh. 14:6). As Peter said, there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). That makes Christ unique.

As we near Christmas, let us not forget that the little baby born in Bethlehem grew to be the man who did all these good works and spoke all the good words. He was the one who showed to all people real love and goodness. For that, He was hated and killed. But by His death, our sins our paid and by His resurrection we have life. If you have not believed in Christ, why not now? If you have believed, remember that we are privileged with demonstrating similar good works and speaking good words through which others might believe. Do not focus on the baby to the exclusion of the man.

A note on the attached illustrations

The persecution of Christ and believers is illustrated in the attached photo and line drawing of the photo. It is known as the Alexamenos graffito. It is graffiti scratched into a wall in Rome about AD 200. It mocks a person named Alexamenos for worshipping the man dying on a cross who has the head of donkey. The head is intended either to mock the deity Jesus or because some Romans erroneously thought that Christians worshipped a donkey headed man, this due to false rumors written by others. The Greek text reads  ΑΛΕΧΑΜΕΝΟϹ ϹΕΒΕΤΕ ΘΕΟΝ

 ΑΛΕΧΑΜΕΝΟϹ (Alexamenos) ϹΕΒΕΤΕ (sebete – worships) ΘΕΟΝ (theon – God).

Your Identity in Christ: Buried!!

Having been buried with Him in baptism,   Col. 2:12

The gospel for the unsaved, the gospel by which they may be saved tells us that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4). When Paul preached this good news, he included Christ’s burial, “they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.” (Acts 13:29). We bury a body that has died. The body separated from our human spirit is dead (Jas. 2:26). If we vacate this tent (our body), it will be dead and others will bury it. Buried is a condition or location for the body in death.

We have seen that God counts each believer in Christ to have been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20) and to have died with Christ (Rom. 6:3, 11). Remember, We died (Rom. 6:6-7). The sin nature did not. We died to the sin nature. The relationship is then like that of us and our body. When we died, God sees us as separated from our sin nature. 

In Colossians 2:11, rather than using the noun “death” or the verb “die,” Paul uses the word circumcised. Circumcision removes a piece of flesh from a male. That piece of flesh dies because it is separated from the rest of the body. Paul is speaking of the spiritual separation of believers from their sin natures in Christ. He then follows this with the idea of our being buried and raised with Christ. The circumcision in this passage relates to our dying with Christ as expressed in Romans 6:2-3. Our death or this circumcision separated us from our sin nature. This is what God counts true of us in Christ. In Him, we died to the sin nature, and have put off the body characterized by the sin nature.

Because we died with Christ we were jointly buried with Him (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12). Our burial confirms our state of death with Christ to the sin nature. It confirms that the body characterized or dominated by the flesh has been put off. Only Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12 state that we were buried. We are only said to have been “jointly-buried.” The verb sūnthaptō combines the Greek preposition sūn, meaning close union or association, with the verb thaptō to bury. When we believed, we were put into Christ so that we share closely with Him in His death and then in His burial.

Just as in our death with Christ, our burial is not the end. We died, we were buried, and then we were jointly-raised in Christ (Col. 2:12). The point of emphasizing our burial is that we remember that our relationship to the sin nature should be viewed as ended. We’re dead and buried regarding the sin nature. Our resurrection is now to life with God (Rom. 6:11).

The Colossians were being led astray by persuasive arguments, philosophy, and empty deceit, all of which were human standards for thinking and living (Col. 2:4, 8). These teachers presented an unBiblical view of Christ and attempted to add religious requirements for the believers such as law-keeping, worship of angels, and observance of religious feasts and sabbaths (2:16, 18, 20-24). All these things are related to the mind of our flesh which is related to our sin nature (2:18). Pursuing religious rituals and keeping law involves our sin nature. Paul states, “the sting of the death is the sin nature, and the power of the sin nature is the Law” (1 Cor. 15:56). God gave the Law to demonstrate how sinful the sin nature is. If the Colossians listen to these false teachers, it will impel their sin nature to action.

It is better to remember that we died and were buried with Christ to our sinful nature. It is better to relate to Jesus Christ as our head and life. Those who try to live by the Law are not holding the head and missing out on what Christ supplies us when we relate to who we are in Christ. So Paul reminds them, “If you died with Christ to the basic principles of the world…” (Col. 2:20). A couple of breaths later, he encourages them (we’ve looked at this), “Therefore if you have been jointly-raised with Christ, seek things above…set your mind to things above.” (Col. 3:1-2). We do this because we died (3:3). He doesn’t use the word buried here, but as in 2:11, having died, we were buried. Our death to the things below: the things of this world, the philosophies and traditions of men, the Law, and the religious rituals, means we should have nothing to do with any of these. Those matters should be settled because the me or you who once lived under those things has died and is buried. Now that we live with Christ, our life is now hidden with Christ in God (3:3). 

When others try to put you under the Law or a law that they may have invented, or when they add requirements such as religious rituals, remember that in Christ you not only died but have been buried regarding that life. When your sin nature rises within you and craves for what is contrary to God’s design, remember that in Christ you not only died but have been buried regarding that sinful nature. The you who lived under those things is dead and buried. The you who lives lives to God. 

Was Jesus a liar?

For most Christians, the answer to this question is an easy, NO. However, an increasing number of people who identify as Christians must confront a different answer due to their generous view of who will be saved. I meet and hear more people who claim they are believers in Jesus Christ and at the same time insist that those who have never heard but are sincerely pursuing God or something moral will make it to heaven or simply that they will be saved. They love to point to Jesus’ kind demeanor and good works toward others. However, they must face Jesus’ own words about His exclusivity and how many will be saved.

^{detail of a 6C. painting of Jesus as the Almighty}

The gospel is a simple yet powerful message. It is the good news that Christ came into the world, died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4). As stated by Peter, Jesus came into the world being “Lord of all” (He’s deity), He did good for the people by healing them and freeing them from the torment of demons, was killed by His people, was raised by God, and was visible to His followers after He rose again (Acts 10:38-41). Those are facts. Then Peter gives a promise, “that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” (10:43). Because He died for our sins when one believes in Him, God forgives the sins.

Earlier, Peter spoke to a crowd in Jerusalem about how a lame man was made to walk. Having denied that he or John healed him by their power or God-honoring ways, he explained, “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12). First, Peter references His (Jesus’) name. “Name” indicates who this Jesus is: His identity, His work of providing salvation through death on the cross and rising again. We do this; think of how often we associate a whole bunch of characteristics, activities, and history upon hearing the name of an individual, whether a close friend or a notable figure. By using “name,” Peter means that one must know something about this Jesus, specifically what He did for us on the cross. Therefore, sincere belief in some other god or religious system is not sufficient because that is not the Jesus in whom we are to believe. Second, notice Peter’s closing phrase, “by which we MUST be saved.” “Must” translates the Greek verb δει which means it is necessary. According to Peter, it is necessary to be saved by who Jesus is. It is necessary to know who He is, what He has done, and that since He did it, our efforts are excluded. If we accept faith in other gods, then Peter is a liar.

Jesus also indicated that He is the only way. Speaking to His disciples, He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (Jh. 14:6). God does not offer alternatives to Jesus. He does not accept people’s sincere efforts or beliefs. Those who worship a god of the sky, a god of the sun, a god the sea, or any of a myriad of other deities, are not worshipping the one true God. If we accept alternatives, then we make Jesus a liar.

To the large crowd of Jews, Jesus explained that the way to His kingdom is not easy. He said, “Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it!” (Mt. 7:13-14). On another occasion, He was asked whether few are saved and He responded, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” (Lk. 13:23-24). The view of God that thinks He will save anyone who is sincere regardless of personal faith in Jesus Christ, neglects Jesus’ words that few find the narrow way. In the context of Matthew 7, Jesus warned the Jews against false prophets who will mislead them. His words about the narrow way indicate that many follow the words of the false prophets but few listen to the truth. Most stake their future upon their works and the gods of their imaginations rather than in Jesus’ work and Jesus alone. Many will attempt to enter but will not place their faith in Jesus alone but in their sincerity and “good” works. I’ve listened to others say that they dislike the idea that many will not make it. They do not like this kind of God, but those are Jesus’ words, not ours. To affirm that many will make it is to make Jesus a liar. It may make us feel better, but it misrepresents God and Jesus Christ.

Don’t pick fights with others over this issue, but recognize that we will encounter many people operating under the name Christian who do not affirm that Jesus is the only way. They may suggest that Jesus’ death covers all people, but insist that it saves even those who believe in other gods, practice other religious systems, or trust in themselves. This is an insult to who Jesus is and the words from His mouth. It makes Him a liar. We must insist on the plain, clear, powerful message of Christ’s death for our sins and His life for our salvation. If they reject Jesus as the only way, they reject Jesus not you, not me. They reject the only means of salvation in Jesus Christ.