Building up believers and the New Testament church

The New Covenant

The Work of Christ

At this point, it may help us to back up and consider the work of Christ on the cross. It is clear that what Christ did opened the way for the coming of the Holy Spirit, but do we know what He did? We can only touch on the subject here, but let us be stirred to continually inquire into this area so that the revelation of who Christ is and what He did may grow in our hearts.

In Romans, Paul speaks much about the work Christ did on the cross. In chapter 5, he compares Adam and Christ, saying that Adam is a type of Christ. The whole human race descended from Adam, but it descended in death. God began another race in Christ, but this time it is in life--that is, His life. Paul refers to these two races as the "old man" (all who are in Adam) and the "new man" (all who are in Christ). The difference between the two is life.

When Christ came to earth, He took on Himself the form of man. In so doing, He became permanently identified with mankind. He was not born into death like others, for God was His Father. When He died on the cross, Paul says that "our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with" (Romans 6:6). Thus the whole human race (our "old man" or "body of sin") was crucified with Christ. This was God's doing, and since we were all in the "old man," we died with Christ. This has tremendous implications to us. If the old man has been crucified or put away, then God is no longer dealing "in Adam." God no longer considers what we are according to the flesh. We find this truth throughout the entire New Testament. Paul refers to this same truth in Galatians 2:20 when he says, "I have been crucified with Christ" (past tense). It is a historic fact. In Christ, God judged the entire human race, and put away the body of sin from His sight. All God's dealing now is in Christ (the new man), and every promise is to those who are in Christ by the Spirit. This is God's beginning place, a place of life.

The work of Christ as Savior was all necessary preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit. He became the sacrifice for sin, and our reconciliation to God. He is able to forgive our sins because of who He is and what He did. We are cleansed from sin by His blood, and prepared as vessels to receive the life of God. All of this is only preparation, however, for partaking of life. We see many types in the Old Testament that speak of this. The blood was always applied first (speaking of the work of redemption and cleansing) and then the oil (speaking of the Holy Spirit).

The important thing for us to see here is that what Christ did as Savior was to open up the way to intimate fellowship with God by the Spirit. When Christ died, God Himself tore the veil in the Temple from top to bottom. The old order was terminated. It had done its work. The new order was being ushered in. Christ was the true Passover Lamb, and there was never to be another. The work of redemption was done once for all, but the work of redemption was not an end in itself. Although it was an essential part of the working of God, the whole work of Christ was for the purpose of making it possible for men to partake of the life of God.

Consider these scriptures: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). "These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 10:31). "When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, 'Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life'" (Acts 11:18). "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God" (I John 5:13).

What we are saying is that man could not partake of life without what Christ did, and that the believing that God is looking for from us is a believing that takes us on into the life of God. Anything less than this stops short of God's purpose. Jesus said the first thing that men must do is believe in Him (John 6:29). A person must believe that Jesus is the Christ before he can come in faith. If we do not believe that He is who He says He is, why would we listen to Him? But if we believe that He is Christ and Lord, then we will listen to Him and obey. The first thing that He will tell us is to repent (turn from the way we are going) and come to Him for cleansing. He is the only one who can forgive us of our sin, and He does this on the basis of repentance and what He did on the cross. However, the cleansing is for the purpose of filling with the life of God. True believing will not stop short of receiving the life of God.

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