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Introduction

The cross is one of the most well-known
symbols of Christianity, but its significance lies far deeper than the cross of
Calvary.

The cross is mentioned a number of times in the
Bible, but most significantly in the letters of Paul. Long before Jesus was
crucified on the cross at Calvary, He exhorted us to take up our cross daily and
follow Him, which is a condition of discipleship. (Luke 9:23) Jesus Himself
took up this cross daily; it was the principal instrument by which He destroyed
the root of sin and
overcame the power of death and the devil.

Paul was gripped of the message of the cross.
In his letters, we see how highly he values the cross; it permeated the whole
of his life and preaching.

For
the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us
who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.

For I
determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2.

“I
have been crucified
with Christ it is
no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live
by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20.

These references show clearly that the cross is
the crucial key, the very means by which we can follow Jesus on the new and
living way into sanctification. Through the power of the cross, we are able to be transformed
into Jesus’ image, so that the life of Christ can also be manifested in our
bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:10-11) This is why the message of the cross is one of the
central, most crucial pillars of the gospel.

What is
“The cross?”

Scripture
actually speaks about three crosses.

Jesus’ death on the wooden cross of Calvary allowed all
people to receive forgiveness for their sins. This death, however, was really
the culmination of Jesus having taken up His cross daily – an inner,
metaphorical cross on which all self-will was sacrificed and thus all sin in the flesh.

While
the cross of Calvary was the end of Jesus’ physical life here on earth, this
cross (the forgiveness of sins) is just the beginning for a disciple who
has a genuine goal of coming to a life of complete victory over all sin in the flesh–
all the sin that we had inherited from the Fall – just as Jesus did.

Scripture
actually speaks about three crosses, which are explained here briefly:

1. The first cross: The cross of Calvary. (Luke 23:33-43) This is the physical cross on which Jesus suffered and died. By
   faith in what Jesus did on this cross, we have peace with God. Christ has now
   become our atoning sacrifice, and we can receive forgiveness for our sins when
   we pray for it and repent. Through
   forgiveness we are saved, not based on our works or achievements, but by grace
   alone.
2. The
   second cross: Crucifying the old man and the flesh with
   its passions and desires. This is the metaphorical cross which Paul writes about
   in Romans 6:6 and Galatians 5:24. This is the cross on which our
   “old man” – our state of mind which agreed to do what we knew to be sin – is
   put out of action, and the flesh with its passions and desires loses its power over us. By this cross we
   are born again and become disciples. We have a change of heart and mind,
   and no longer commit the manifest works of the flesh. (Galatians 5:19-21)
   We are no longer slaves of sin, to live according to the flesh. (Romans
   6:15-23; Romans 8:12) We are made alive with Christ, having received Jesus as
   Lord in our lives.
3. The third cross: Taking up our
   cross daily and denying ourselves as disciples. (Matthew
   16:24; Luke 9:23) This is also a metaphorical cross, which Jesus took up every day of
   His entire life by denying Himself – choosing to do God’s will instead of His
   own will. Jesus says that no one can be His disciple without taking up this
   cross daily as He Himself did. When we do this, we destroy
   the root of sin, becoming finished with it as we continue to put to death the areas
   of sin in our lives that the Holy Spirit reveals to us, and which we were not
   previously aware of. This is the hidden life
   with Christ in God. This
   is sanctification –
   a deep salvation and transformation of our entire inner man and we become partakers of the divine nature. (2
   Peter 1:4) This is the calling of the bride..

The first
cross: The cross of Calvary

This is the
cross that leads to the forgiveness of sins.The “first cross” is the wooden
cross of Calvary, where Jesus suffered His physical death. (Luke 23:33-43) It
is possible for all people to obtain forgiveness for their sins through Jesus’
death on Calvary.

In Colossians 2:13-15, Paul
refers to “the handwriting of requirements.” This was the law, given to Moses,
which documented God’s will for His people, stating the requirements and the
rewards for those who kept them, as well as the punishment for those who did
not keep them. The bottom line was that the wages of sin is death,
(Romans 6:23) so sinners had a death sentence – both physical death, and, much
more serious, a spiritual death, which was severance from God. Because all
people had sinned, all of them were under this judgment.

Satan used this to accuse people,
because nobody could keep the whole law, especially the commandment, “You
shall not covet.” (Exodus 20:17) Covetousness, or lust, is hidden,
and the law was powerless in controlling it, because it could only deal with
sin when it came out of the body. (Romans 8:3-4) Satan used these laws, or the
“handwriting of requirements,” to accuse people before God and demand that they
be handed over to him.

A provision was made whereby people
could obtain forgiveness through the sacrifice of an animal without blemish,
and the blood of the sacrifice was offered as proof of the debt having been
paid. However, these sacrifices could not take away the root of sin,
the lusts or sin in the flesh, and had to be repeated
year after year. (Hebrews 10:1-4)

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took
upon Himself the same flesh and blood as us, meaning that He was in
the same position as all mankind, with sin in the flesh that all people have
inherited from the Fall. As a human being, Jesus was tempted to sinful desires
and thoughts as we are. However, the vital difference was that even though
Jesus had sin² (1 John 1:8; Romans 7:18), He
never once gave in to temptation, and thus never once committed sin³.
(Hebrews 4:15) Jesus never broke the law, not even the law that said that we
should not covet. Instead, by denying these lusts and desires every
time they came up from His flesh – refusing to agree with these temptations –
He put to death all sin in the flesh. All the sin in the
fallen human nature that Jesus took upon Himself when He came to earth,
was conquered and overcome⁵ in His
mortal body. Jesus offered Himself, His own will, as a sacrifice each time He
was tempted, allowing God to condemn sin in His flesh. (Romans 8:3-4)

Falsely accused of heresy, He was
crucified as a criminal, even though He was blameless. This physical death was
actually the ultimate sacrifice, because He took upon Himself the blame for the
sins of the whole world, and paid the price – death.

“And you, being dead in your
trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together
with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting
of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken
it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14. Now Satan
no longer had a claim on those who believe in Jesus. The debt for sin had been
paid. He was blameless, a sacrifice without blemish, and through Him we, who
are all sinners, can have our sin forgiven. (1 Peter 3:18) This is not due to
any merit of our own, but we are saved by grace alone.

There was now a Man who had
completely fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law, proving that it is
possible for all people. (Romans 8:1-4; Revelation 12:10-11; Acts
26:18) Because Jesus overcame sin, death had no hold on Him and He rose from
the grave on Easter morning, having taken the keys of Hades and of Death from
Satan. (Hebrews 2:14-15; Revelation 1:18) Satan’s time as an accuser
before God have ended, but he still roams the earth with great wrath, seeking
whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) He whispers lies and accuses us of sins we
have been forgiven for (Revelation 12:7-12), but because Jesus has paid the
debt of sin, those who believe in Him can now resist the devil and his lies,
and he will flee from them. (James 4:7)

The
second cross: Crucifying the old man and the flesh with its passions and desires

This
“crucifixion” is necessary if we want to become disciples.

Those who are truly tired of their own sin and have a genuine desire to enter a new life,
are led to repentance by God’s goodness.
(Romans 2:4) “Repent therefore
and be converted that
your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the
presence of the Lord …” Acts 3:19. Beingconverted¹ is
a wholehearted decision one makes to repent from former sins and to turn away
from the world – from living in the passing pleasures of sin, to living for God
a hundred percent; not a bit of both. By God’s mercy, we receive forgiveness
for our sins by unmerited grace, and the foundation for a new life is now laid.
(Acts 3:19; Acts 26:18)

Crucifying the “old man” (Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:17-24)

To come to a new life, we have to put off the “old man²”
– our old life. (Ephesians
2:2-3, Ephesians 4:22-24) Our “old man” is our mindset before conversion where we allowed sin to rule in our
lives, where we had not made a conscious decision to resist sin but instead
gave in to temptation. It is clear that there is no way we can stop sinning if
our “old man” continues to be active in our lives. Then we will need
forgiveness for the same sins we commit day by day. To believe that we can
get victory over sin without putting
off the “old man” is deception. Then it will just be a battle to keep up a good outward appearance. If we
want spiritual progress after we have been converted, then we have to put off,
or crucify, our “old man.” (Romans 6:6)

Crucifying the “old man” is an act of faith, a decision we
make to put off our old mindset which willingly gave in to sin,
and to put on the “new man –
a new mindset and determination to resist sin and to live a crucified
life with Him. (Ephesians 4:17-24) We reckon ourselves to be dead to sin – we no longer
serve sin consciously, and to be alive to God and His workings – our bodies are
used instead to serve Him in obedience. (Romans 6:11-14) We can make this decisive commitment to put off our
“old man” and to begin a new life regardless of where we are – it is a decision
we make by faith!

Having put off the old man does not mean
that we do not have sin in the flesh and
that we are no longer tempted by being drawn and enticed by our own desires. (James
1:14-15) It means, however, that we do not live
according to them. This is the new mind³. Our new mind
no longer serves sin, but instead declares a resounding “No!” when we are
tempted. This is a powerful decision of faith, which takes place in our mind.

Crucifying the flesh with its
passions and desires (Galatians 5:24)

With this new mind, our flesh
with its passions
and desires can be crucified with
Christ. (Galatians 5:24) The flesh is the part of our body of sin of which we are conscious. Naturally, we cannot crucify
what we have not recognized as sin up to this point. But as soon as we receive
light that something is sin, we have to crucify it – put it to death. (Colossians
3:5) When these lusts and desires arise from our flesh, they must be crucified –
never allowed into our hearts and minds – and suffered out until they die. This
incurs suffering in our flesh,
because our own sinful lusts and desires
that dwell there are not being satisfied. These lusts eventually die when
they are continually denied to the point of death.

Our mind, our consciousness, which before was in wicked
works has become subject to God’s will by faith. We are to reckon ourselves as
dead indeed to sin, but alive to God. (Romans 6:11) When a person
continues to live in conscious sin, it is because the old man is still alive,
and they don’t have the mind to resist sin – they are a slave of sin.
Therefore, putting off the old man opens the possibility of a life in total
victory over conscious sin as far as we have light – our bodies are no more
slaves of sin. “Therefore, brethren
we are debtors – not to the flesh, to live according to the
flesh.” Romans 8:12. The evil
inclinations in our flesh shall no longer rule over us.

This cross is for all of
us who have sinned and have sinful habits, but who have repented and have
decided to begin a new life.

With the
third cross our entire inner being can be transformed into the image of Christ.
By taking up the second cross we are finished with serving sin with our mind. This must be active in us if
we are to receive grace to live a life that is hidden with Christ in God, that
comes into effect with the third cross. (Colossians 3:3-4) When the second cross is active, the Holy Spirit comes
to us and writes laws and commandments in our hearts and minds – laws that
liberate us from doing our own will; laws that go beyond the manifest works
of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21)

In obedience to the Spirit, we take up the third cross,
which is the cross that Jesus speaks about in Matthew 16:24 and Luke
9:23. “If anyone desires to come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke
9:23. Jesus’ exhortation entails a deep salvation,
much more than receiving forgiveness for committed sins (the first cross), and
putting off manifest sin (the second cross). This is what a life of genuine
discipleship is all about. Through this cross we partake of Christ, who is
God’s wisdom, with the result that we are conformed to the image of Jesus. (1
Corinthians 1:21-25; Philippians 3:7-11)

Paul writes about meeting the law of sin in our members
that go against the will of God. (Romans 7:22-23) This inclination
to sin is also called “sin in the flesh” or
“my will,” and is also present in a converted believer
who has received forgiveness, and who has stopped committing manifest sin. This
is what John means when he says that we all have sin. (1
John 1:8)

Paul, who had the mind to follow Christ, found that this
law was working in his members, and cried out, “O wretched man that I
am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24.
Immediately afterwards he provides the answer: “I thank God—through
Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God,
but with the flesh the
law of sin.” Romans 7:25. The
answer lies in looking at how Jesus did it.

Our “self-will” (or self-life) is the sin in the flesh that we have all inherited. As a man, Jesus also had
inherited this self-will, and was tempted, but His firm resolve from the very
start was, “Not My will, but Yours, be done!” (Luke 22:42; Hebrews 4:15; Hebrews
10:5-7) He had to learn obedience,
because He also had a human nature. (Hebrews 5:7-8) God’s Spirit pointed out the sin in His flesh, and
Jesus agreed with the judgment. In this way sin was condemned in Jesus’ flesh,
and He opened a way that all His disciples could follow, which we can call the
way of the cross. (Romans 8:3-4; Hebrews
5:7-8; 1 Peter 4:1-2)

Jesus tells us how this
done when He says that a disciple must “take up his cross daily” and follow
Him. (Luke 9:23) Here Jesus is not referring to the first
cross, the cross of Calvary, where we cannot follow
Him as a sacrifice for others’ sins, nor was it the second cross, where manifest sin is put off, because Jesus never
sinned and didn’t need to put off sin.

The cross Jesus is
referring to is the third cross, a metaphorical “inner cross” that He Himself
made use of every day of His life on earth. It was upon this cross that all sin
in His flesh was “crucified” when it had received its judgment. This
self-denial caused suffering in His flesh, but brought about death to sin, so
the inclination to sin was never translated into actual sin in thought, word or
deed. This happened daily, until all sin in Jesus’ flesh was condemned, and He
could cry out, “It is finished!” when He was crucified on Calvary. (John 19:30)
That is why He exhorted His disciples to follow Him by taking up their cross,
and hating their own lives (or self-will). (Luke 14:26-27) (Read the Essentials topic “Christ
manifested in the flesh” to learn more.)

“Therefore, since
Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind,
for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.” 1 Peter 4:1.

Peter writes that we must arm ourselves with the same mind
which was in Christ. By taking up our cross daily as Jesus did, and by the
revelation of the Holy Spirit whom God sent to us after Jesus overcame all the
sin in His flesh, all of His own will, the Holy Spirit can continually show us
new areas of our human nature, our flesh, which need to be cleansed. Gradually
our old nature is replaced with the virtues of Christ, and we become more and
more attuned to God’s voice and will. By taking up our cross daily, our human
spirit is freed from the flesh through the blood of Christ, and is the driving
force in this new creation by the Holy Spirit.

It is possible to have victory over fleshly lustsThe desires that we experience that go against God’s will.
In other words, a desire for anything sinful. See James
1:14.
Also called “sin in the flesh.” Although the expression “youthful lusts” is
 often thought of in connection with sinful sexual desires, lusts include
anything that go against what is good and right in God’s eyes. (2
Timothy 2:22.; Galatians… More, have a good conscience and live a respectable outward
life, but without taking up our cross daily it remains soulish – earthlyRefers to everything of this earth, as opposed
to heavenly things. Example: Earthly treasures/heavenly treasures. The earthly
things pass away (are temporal), but the heavenly things are eternal. (Matthew
6:19-21; Colossians
3:2; 1
John 2:17)… More. Any spiritual progress is only possible by taking up our
cross and there putting to death our own will, the sin that we have in our
flesh. The word of God divides between soul and spirit. (Hebrews
4:12)
When this occurs, we enter into a deeper salvation and transformationThis is the process of sanctification, in which
we our sinful human nature is gradually exchanged for divine nature when we in
obedience to God’s will deny and put oto death the sinful lusts in our flesh. (Romans
12:2; 2
Corinthians 3:18; 2
Peter 1:3-4)… More of our entire inner being into the image of God. This
cross lifts us up from reacting in a soulish and earthly, human way, to
becoming more and more spiritual, partakers of the divine natureGod’s nature, or divine nature, is perfectly
pure and it cannot be tempted by evil. We are promised that we can be partakers
of the divine nature by fleeing the corruption in the world that comes through
our lusts. As we gradually overcome our sinful human nature it is replaced by
divine nature – God shares His own nature with… More!

Jesus was the first one to go on this way of the cross, and
He invites us to become His disciples and follow Him on the same way. The death
over sin that He used is now something we make use of. “… always carrying about in the body
the dying of the Lord JesusThis most often refers not to the
physical death Christ died on the cross of Calvary, but to the death of the
lust to sin in His human nature, which task He fulfilled while He lived on
earth as a human being. (2
Timothy 2:11; 2
Corinthians 4:10; Philippians 3:10; Romans
8:3)… More, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” 2
Corinthians 4:10.

When the “death of ChristThis most often refers not to the physical
death Christ died on the cross of Calvary, but to the death of the lust to sin
in His human nature, which task He fulfilled while He lived on earth as a human
being. (2 Timothy 2:11; 2
Corinthians 4:10; Philippians 3:10; Romans
8:3)… More” is active, the wisdom and understanding that is of the
world and which comes from below – that is to exalt oneself – is brought to
nothing. Our human glory and honor according to this world vanishes in the eyes
of men, because the wisdom of this world is to want to be something and have a
name. (Galatians 6:14; 1
Corinthians 1:19)

But this cross sets us free from this world, as the
life of Christ increases in our lives. Through the cross we are prepared to
become the bride of ChristThe bride of Christ are all those who have
purified themselves as He is pure and have been conformed to His image. (Romans
8:29)
They cleanse and purify themselves of all sin and are true followers of Christ.
The Bride is another term for the church of Christ…. More, the New Jerusalem that descends from heaven. (Revelation
21)
Those who are earthly remain on the earth, but those who overcome by taking up
their cross daily press on to perfection (Philippians
3:12-14),
and bear the image of the heavenly – they become heavenly as Jesus is heavenly,
and will receive a body which is the same as His glorified body. (Philippians
3:17-21)

What is the result of taking up our cross?

A glorious future in the knowledge of Christ.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God
to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the
Greek.” Romans 1:16.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1
Corinthians 1:18.

Freedom from sin

This message, or gospel, is now available to all Jesus’
disciples – those who want to be freed from sinSin is anything that goes against God’s will and His laws.
To commit sin is to transgress or disobey these laws. The lust to sin
dwells in human nature. In other words, it is contaminated and motivated by the
sinful tendencies that dwell in all people as a result of the fall into sin and
disobedience in the garden of Eden. This… More. For “if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed,” Jesus Himself
said. (John 8:36) True liberation is found on the crossJesus was physically
crucified on the cross at Calvary. Though blameless, He took upon Himself the
punishment for sin, which was death, so He could pay our debts and forgive us
our sin if we are willing to believe in Him and follow Him the Apostle Paul
wrote: “I have been crucified with Christ…” (Galatians
2:20)
This is a metaphorical… More. We experience freedom
when we are crucified with Him, suffer with Him, and become like Him in His
death. The devil can do nothing when the lustsThe desires that we experience that go against God’s will.
In other words, a desire for anything sinful. See James
1:14.
Also called “sin in the flesh.” Although the expression “youthful lusts” is
 often thought of in connection with sinful sexual desires, lusts include
anything that go against what is good and right in God’s eyes. (2
Timothy 2:22.; Galatians… Morehave been crucified, for this is the very source of power.

This is what is so good, that when we are tired of
ourselves, we know that we are “sold under sin” – we are bankrupt – so we come
to Him, allow ourselves to be crucified, and experience His death beginning to
work in us over all these lusts and desiresThe desires that we experience that go against
God’s will. In other words, a desire for anything sinful. See James
1:14.
Also called “sin in the flesh.” Although the expression “youthful lusts” is
 often thought of in connection with sinful sexual desires, lusts include
anything that go against what is good and right in God’s eyes. (2
Timothy 2:22.; Galatians… More. (Matthew
11:28-30)

The power that has been given to us through the message of
the cross is a power with which we can put all things in order according to
God’s wisdom. Gradually, as time goes on and we are walking in the lightWalking in the light is the state of
being obedient to do all that God reveals to you through the Holy Spirit. For
example, when He shows you that you need to overcome laziness, or lying, or any
other lust. This means both that you put to death all of the sin you are shown
(get light over) and obey… More God gives us, putting to death sin in our fleshSin is anything that goes against God’s will and His laws.
To commit sin is to transgress or disobey these laws. The lust to sin
dwells in human nature. In other words, it is contaminated and motivated by the
sinful tendencies that dwell in all people as a result of the fall into sin and
disobedience in the garden of Eden. This… More as it is being revealed, we notice that the life of
Jesus is coming forth in our bodies. (2
Corinthians 4:10-12) Where we were bitter and demanding before, we become a
blessing. Where we were anxious and discouraged, we become full of faith and
power for action. Where we once were judgmental and full of spite, we learn to
forgive and edify. Instead of causing arguments and strife when our feelings
are hurt or our opinions defied, we become examples in mildness, kindness and
patience. As our own lusts are denied, we acquire the virtues of Christ.

What power was manifested by the life Paul lived! Paul was gripped of the message of the cross, and the possibilities a “crucified lifeJesus was physically crucified on the cross at Calvary. Though blameless, He took upon Himself the punishment for sin, which was death, so He could pay our debts and forgive us our sin if we are willing to believe in Him and follow Him the Apostle Paul wrote: “I have been crucified with Christ…” (Galatians 2:20)

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