The Cross

 " I have come to do your will, O God"

The writer of the Epistles to the Hebrews quotes the Psalms and uses it for the words of our Lord Jesus Christ at the moment of His Incarnation, Jesus says:

 " I have come to do your will, O God" Heb:10:7

Even there in the garden, shortly before His arrest and crucifixion Jesus prays to the Father, saying:

"not my will, but your will be done" Luk:22:42

 Surrendered His Will

Jesus did not , nor does, exert His own will, rather He laid down His life in accordance the will of the Father. He surrendered His will to the Father out of Love for He and we and went to the bloody cross. Therefore the Cross stands for all time and eternity and declares that Jesus would rather die than be outside of the will of God.

From  humanities fall in Garden of Eden, which Eden speaks to us as to what life with in the will of God could have been. Yet, from that choice made by our first parents Adam and Eve,  humanity all has lived out their own self will , exerting our own will above that of God  with painful results. It was for this self will that Jesus went to the cross. The cross was and is the logical conclusion of a life  lived in perfect surrender to  the will of God,  a life of perfect sacrifice.

Some see the sacrifice of Jesus as being just one day there upon Golgotha, but Jesus' sacrifice was His whole life, His whole life. All His life, All His life to the will of the Father.

Jesus' life was about the will of the Father, not just His death. "My will is to do the will of Him Who sent Me and Finnish His work" Jhn:4:34

Take Up the Cross

Jesus invites and His followers to put away our self will and "if anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me" Mrk:8:34

This is not just self sacrifice, but rather sacrifice of the self. That is surrender our will of self to the will of  God.

The Slain Lamb

When the Apostle  John sees in vision the highths of Heaven  John see "a Lamb looking as if it had been slain" Rev:5:6 This Lamb stands in a place of honor  at the very center of all the Holy Worship and activities in Heaven. This Lamb still bearing the wounds of slaughter, crucifixion , yet , lives  this wounded Lamb that lives is identified as our Lord Jesus by the Baptist John there at the banks of that Jordan.

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Jhn:1:29

Here is Jesus bearing this wounds of cross, before the Throne of God for all to witness. These wounds speak for all eternity of Jesus' perfect surrender to the will of God. These displayed wounds of surrender are the very wounds Jesus showed His disciples to assuage their fears after the death and resurrection of their Lord.

"He Showed them His hands and feet" Luk:24:4

These wounds forever identify Jesus as the One Who came and did the will of the Father. There can never be any question that God's will has been perfectly surrendered to.

These wounds also reflect to us all that God would go even to the point of death just to have us included in His love. That there is no excuse for any to be left out, that is what the cross has done, it takes away all of humanities excuses from being left out.

With Christ

Paul speaks of His own surrender into the will of God through our Lord and his reliance on the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. "I have been crucified with Christ" Gal:2:20

Paul knew that through the sacrifice of Jesus , he and we all  have been included in the cross all that we might be found gathered to with all Lord rejoicing and praising Him for His perfect surrender to the Will of the Father, this is what the cross speaks to all for all time and eternity.

 "For Christ's love compels us, because we have considered that one died for all, and therefore all died.And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2Crth:5:15-16 ......Amen

Rev.Todd Crouch, Pastor

The Fountain of Life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion http://www.youtube.com/user/IfItIsNotAboutJesus

Washington, Pennsylvania.   www.gcfountainoflife.org

The Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM  in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com