December 6
In yesterday’s post, we talked at length about the fact that Jesus’ work, on our behalf, has already provided all that is necessary to fix our unity problem. The cross broke down all “the dividing walls of hostility” (Eph. 2:14) between all of us. The solution to our problem with each other is not a new miracle of God – the solution is the old miracle… it is what Jesus did for us to make us new and bring us all into His Family. Unity is born within the work of Christ. Unity is preserved by the same work. We tend to forget that…
But Jesus’ work on our behalf is even greater still. He did not just provide our means of unity – He provided every work needed for every issue of our lives. Whatever needs to be fixed, Jesus has already provided what we need to bring His divine repair into our lives. Wherever we have a problem, a weakness, a struggle, a short-coming, an addiction, a character flaw – the solution to all these things is the completed work of Jesus.
This is so important. I talk with so many believers who are constantly pleading with God to fix their lives – to fix their thinking, their weakness in temptation, their addictions, their failures. They have come to the cross for the forgiveness of their sins. They have received the love of God, through Christ, their Savior. But they cannot seem to see that Jesus died for every area that is broken in their lives.
We hear Jesus’ cry from the cross: “It is finished!” And only see His work as payment for our sins. While it certainly is payment for our sins… it is SO much more!
Jesus came to address every area of our lives. He came to touch our bodies, souls, and spirits with His infinite love. He came to heal and regenerate. He came to resuscitate us… AND to rejuvenate us. To make us whole – as well as holy. He came to embrace our broken lives and restore them completely.
And all His work, all that we will ever need, was accomplished on the cross. All brokenness becomes whole in the shadow of the cross.
How is this possible?
Because a true understanding of Jesus’ work on the cross includes us! Romans 6 tells us that when Jesus went to that cross, all who would place their faith in Him, went with Him. Jesus not only carried our sins on that cross… He carried us. The Bible says that we “died with Christ,” “were buried with Christ,” and we were “raised with Him.” (see Rom. 6:3-6) But we were not raised to the same old life (just forgiven)… we were raised to a new kind of life. A life free from our past. A life free from our addictions. A life free of our habitual weaknesses and failures.
It is a life we SHARE with Jesus. We have literally become united with Him through faith. We share in Who He is. We share in what He has. We share in His power and authority. We share in what He has accomplished… and in what He will accomplish.
The apostle sums it all up this way: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Jesus came to take the old broken “us” to the cross, put that person to death (through His Own death), then, to bury that old person in the grave, and to bring forth a new, whole person to live a new kind of life unencumbered by all the issues, failings, and brokenness of our past.
The truth of Scripture is plain… and glorious: God does not need to fix our lives – He already has! The work of Jesus is all-sufficient for every need of our lives. We just have to apply His completed work to our lives, by faith!
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