The Transformative Power of the Cross
"A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for the one who walks that way, and fools will not wander on it.” (Isaiah 35:8)
"…it will be for the one who walks that way.” Note Isaiah chooses the word walk, meaning action, not talk! Holiness is the quality or state of being holy. "…like the Holy One who called you [twice borns], be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written: ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16) Holiness is a byproduct of abiding in Christ and walking in step with His Holy Spirit. We simply just follow Him in faith, through His Spirit, then He works it in us, through us, and all around us for His purposes within the world, His glory, His honor and His praise alone.
Christ, the Word, the visible imagine of the invisible God, being Himself God, "…as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bondservant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.” (Phil 2:6-8)
Christ, our sure example, and master, "humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.” Oh, let us submit and follow His example brethren through abiding and staying in step with His Spirit within us!
Christ "…Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
On the cross, Christ put our sins onto Himself so we would be done with sin and live for righteousness through Him. Righteousness is defined as "forward movement in accord with divine law,” through abiding and keeping in step with His Spirit. We should be moving forward though His very life within us, bringing forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit within our lives. We ought to find ourselves in His company every minute of every day, because He lives within us! He fellowships continually with us! (John 14:23, Rev 3:20)
"Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” (Heb 5:8) To follow Christ, one must die to themselves, die to man’s opinions, and die to the world and its ways which are contrary to God’s. In this, we learn obedience through what we suffer as our Risen Savior did for our benefit and example! Then we must keep our eyes on "Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2) The way is called the narrow way for a reason, dear friend. It is to lose yourself completely in Christ Jesus. (Luke 13:23-25, Matt 7:13-14) "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matt 16:25)
"And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)
Our cross within this world is being set apart from the world. It is to walk with opposite standards to the world around us, due to who lives within us. We step forward by faith, with full intention to obey! God the Father kills the seed and brings new life from it! Oh, my words can’t do justice to the miracle we’ve been entered into! This is impossible for one once born to do. They can speak concerning Christianity, but they cannot walk within it due to the spirit of the world which resides within them. (1 Cor 2:12-14) Only those twice born can pick up their cross daily and walk with Christ through His Spirit. However, there is an inward joy, an inward peace, an inward love as we walk with Christ, carrying the invisible cross that separates us from the world due to Christ’s Spirit residing within us. (Gal 5:22-23) He lives within me, and His presence is with me continually! No matter the chaos going on around us, He is with us, so we walk forward through Him!
"And the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matt 10:38)
Walking as a once born within the world, doing as it does, participating in what God has deemed evil instead of staying in step with the Holy Spirit brings a sharp rebuke from Christ our Lord. "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues…” (Rev 8:14) Pick up your cross daily instead and follow Him! What priest of the highest God would dare waste his time with fellowship of the world instead of fellowship with his God, our duty is to Him now brethren! Look to Him; look to Him; look to Him and be inwardly redirected through repentance and His grace if He truly lives within you!
"…far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal 6:14)
Crucified: "to have had self-put to death, and this by God Himself!” Every twice born has been crucified on the cross with Christ Jesus by God in the past tense! (Gal 2:20, Romans 6:6) Thus, we can walk in newness of life through Christ Jesus. Due to this we were given new desires to please Him and the desires we once had to please ourselves died. (John 3, Eze 36:25-27) There is nothing our great God can’t do, even the impossible is possible through Christ, Hallelujah! (Matt 19:26)
"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1:18)
A heart cry of those who have picked up their cross is this, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt 6:10) May His glory shine forth into the darkness through the life of His only begotten Son Christ Jesus.