Title: The Cross, the Way of Life
cross, way of life
“We always carry in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:10).
I. text commentary
The text explains how the Apostle Paul and his companions, who received the mission of evangelism, came to live a life of vitality while preaching the Gospel. That is the truth about the cross.
II. Christianity and the Cross
A. Christ and the Cross
The cross of Christ is the central truth of Christianity. After the fall of Adam and Eve, sin entered, and this caused people to suffer in sin and misery. Because God loved humans to the end, He sent Jesus Christ to this earth to save sinners. He died on the cross as a propitiation for us and saved us from eternal punishment and wretched sins. Because of this, those who believe in Christ have their sins forgiven, and forgiven sinners remember the grace of Christ and strive to follow the footsteps of faith and life he showed in his earthly life. This cross is the pride of believers, and we must carry it together and follow it.
B. What is our cross?
Our cross is not the same as the cross of Jesus. Our cross is all the hardships and tribulations encountered while forming us in God's image in God's providence. However, not all suffering that Christians suffer is the cross. It becomes our cross only when we face it with faith and the knowledge of the gospel.
This cross is divided into an absolute cross and a relative cross. The absolute cross is persecution only because you believe in Jesus. A great reward is promised to those who carry this cross to the end. The relative cross is the suffering we suffer because of our sins and errors. When we live with this cross, God completes and matures us into people who resemble God's image through this cross.
C. How to carry the cross
In the tribulation, the believer realizes that the ultimate cause of all suffering and suffering is his sin and how great a sinner he is. They also realize that God's sovereignty is at work in all circumstances and that he is like a dust in front of him. This gives rise to a devotion to an absolute dependence on Jesus. But even then, the pain still remains. At this time, I think of the sufferings of Christ. Through our own suffering, we meditate on the suffering that Jesus Christ suffered on the cross, and through this we feel as if the death of Jesus becomes a reality in our body. This is to take up the cross.
Ⅲ. Participating in the Life of Jesus
A. What is the life of Jesus?
The 'life of Jesus' has its causes, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and inherits the work of the Son. Life is the transcendent power that makes living things live as they are. The ‘life’ here is the life of the soul, allowing the soul to function and function according to God’s original purpose. Knowledge, emotions, and will are to know God properly, to properly govern the body, to honor God, and to use it appropriately for the purpose for which it was created. In the process of bearing the cross, this life is revealed in us.
B. What it means to appear in our body
In the absence of the life of God, our souls are filled with death and we are morally wrong. However, when we experience our own death in tribulation and trials and the life of Jesus appears in our bodies, we live in a way we did not live before. Changes occur in our character and in our lives that reveal the image of Jesus. This means that the life of Jesus is manifested in our bodies.
IV. conclusion
Trials and tribulations cannot stop in life, but as believers, we must live a life filled with the life of Christ and show the world what it is to walk with Jesus and live life through our lives.