Understanding Revelation

The apocalyptic form of Revelation has often made it an off-putting choice for personal Bible reading and study. Yet it would be a mistake to assume that Revelation is only for theologians or the most academic of believers. Though its contents are sometimes obscure and confusing, the basic message of Revelation is the gospel, as Graeme Goldsworthy has argued. The whole book is about Christ being the conqueror: over Satan, death and all the forces of evil. Christ's victory is not something for the future; it is a present reality. John, the author, shows how the cosmic battle between Christ and Satan relates to the struggles of God's people on earth as they face persecution, and gives his readers the hope and assurance of final victory.

The God of Revelation is the God of the whole of Scripture: righteous and true to judge the wicked and deliver His elect people. Revelation is a book of blood: the blood of the saints is shed by the wicked ('They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"' 6:10), the saints are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ ('by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation' 5:9), and the earth is punished through the transformation of water into blood (8:8, 11:6, 16:4). In the final victory of the Lord over all His enemies, the winepress image is used from Isa 63: 'and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.' (14:20) The wicked are not allowed to triumph; they may appear at times on earth to have won, but in the end they are all utterly destroyed. This is what the whole of creation has waited for since the Fall of man in Genesis 3.

As Goldsworthy explains, the first advent of Christ brought all time and history into crisis. The incarnation inaugurated the end time, and Jesus' death and resurrection defeated Satan and his time is now short (12:12). The cross guarantees God's final triumph and proclaims the presence of the future in the present age. Although it may seem paradoxical, Revelation announces the victory that is 'now' and yet also 'not now'. In chapter 1, John sees a vision of Jesus Christ which is unmistakably emphasising His lordship: 'the ruler of the kings of the earth' (1:5); 'the Alpha and the Omega' (1:8). He is the Son of man from Daniel 7, given authority over the nations. He proclaims: 'I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.' (1:17-18) There is no hint of doubt in Christ's ability to save those who come to Him. He has defeated death itself.

However, as the constant presence of martyrs in the book of Revelation reminds us, God's people must still face death whilst they are on earth. In fact, they must face brutal suffering, just as Jesus Himself did. Although we can say with confidence that our redemption is a finished work, there is undeniably a sense in which Revelation shows us a future completion of that redemption, in the new creation (see chapter 21). The vision of heaven in chapter 4-5 is an elaborate drama where John is reduced to weeping because there is no one worthy to open the sealed scroll. But then he is told that there IS one: 'the lion of the tribe of Judah... has conquered' (5:5). When he looks up, he sees 'a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain' (5:6). Here then is what Barnett describes as 'the crowning paradox of the gospel': Jesus is the Lion of Judah precisely because He is the Lamb who was slain. The fact that only He can open the scroll symbolises the fact that He is the key to the truth about the kingdom of God (Goldsworthy). Christ is the meaning of creation, and what God achieved in Christ is the goal of all His purposes as expressed in the Old Testament and the New. Therefore Goldworthy argues:

'The structure and message of Revelation is not based on a few spectacular events immediately preceding the second coming of Christ, but rather upon the historic facts of the gospel, the person and work of Jesus Christ.'

What, then, does Revelation teach us about the future? The answer is mainly that Christ's victory is secure, and therefore so is the future of the saints. In Jesus' messages to the seven churches in chapters 2-3, He makes seven different promises to 'the one who conquers' or 'overcomes'. Because He has already overcome, He will establish His faithful ones in Paradise. But in the present time, Jesus urges them to persevere (note that four of the churches are specifically commended for endurance or not denying the faith). As Goldsworthy argues, Jesus wills to extend His conquest into the lives of men and women through the preaching of the gospel, and this puts the church in the midst of the apocalyptic war. The struggles of the local churches to live out the gospel, to resist the impact of non-Christian values and ideas, and to stay true to the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, are all part of the conquest of the world through the gospel. Christians are not onlookers while a cosmic conflict rages in spiritual realms, but rather they are participants. Christ's 'mopping-up' campaign against Satan is actually being worked out in the front-line trenches of local church evangelism, pastoral care, teaching and preaching.

'Here is a call for the endurance of the saints' (14:12) John writes, and the vivid imagery of Satan as the dragon in chapter 12, and the terrifying beasts from the sea and from the earth in chapter 13, shows how God's people will be beset by the powers of evil in this present age. But the visions of the seven seals and seven trumpets and seven plagues, and finally the ruin of Babylon, show that God's judgement will be final and severe. All rebellion will be eliminated as the beast and Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire (ch19-20), and the new creation will be a return to the state of Eden with access given to the tree of life. 'They will see His face,and His Name will be on their foreheads' (22:4). Jesus declares, 'I am coming soon' (22:7), and though we do not know the day or the hour, we need to be ready for Him.

What does John teach about combatting heresy in 1 John?

It seems clear that John wrote his first epistle specifically to counter various forms of Gnostic heresy which had infiltrated the church. Gnostics believed that the spirit was good, but matter was evil, and denied the Incarnation of Christ as God made flesh. More extreme forms of Gnosticism such as Docetism suggested that Jesus was a phantom and only appeared to have a body. John emphasises in his letter the historical coming of Christ: 'which we looked upon and touched with our hands' (1 Jn 1:2); 'Jesus Christ has come in the flesh' (1 Jn 4:2).

Similarly to his gospel, John writes about polar divisions of light and darkness, truth and error, children of God and children of the devil in his letter. The false teachers seemed to have claimed a higher revelation and spirituality through their 'superior' understanding, and John is keen to stress that all men are spiritually blind and dependent on God's revelation of Himself to them in Christ. Either a person rejects Christ, and thus is in spiritual darkness, or believes in His Name. Anyone who believes in Him is in the light and there is no sense of a hierarchy of spiritual experience. Instead, John emphasises the benefits that all people receive when they believe in Jesus: they have eternal life and become children of God, with His Spirit's anointing: 'He has given us of His Spirit' (1 Jn 4:13).

As Stott points out, 1 John is marked with certainty. Believers can be certain of having eternal life, by testing themselves on whether they believe in the truth of Christ and whether they love one another. Ultimately the assurance of our salvation rests in the fact that Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins, which John mentions twice in his letter. God took the initiative to offer His Son as a sacrifice for our sins, and the Son willingly offered Himself: 'we have an advocate... He is the propitiation for our sins' (1 Jn 2:1-2).

David Jackman suggests that the false prophets had separated themselves from the main body of believers on their claim to a special 'anointing' of the Holy Spirit, by which they had been given true knowledge of God. John therefore emphasises and defines what a true knowledge of God really is, and the point he makes repeatedly is that true knowledge of God is shown in loving your brothers. The false teachers did not regard their unwillingness to value and love other Christians as sin; John shows them how they have completely missed the point of God's commandment: 'that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us' (1 Jn 3:23). The singular form of 'commandment' is used, and yet two things are included: believing in Christ and loving one another. This shows just how inseparable these aspects are from true faith. 'Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.' (1 Jn 4:8)

John finishes his letter with a brief summary of all the assurances of the believer. Repeating the phrase 'we know', he emphasises that 'you may know that you have eternal life' (1 Jn 5:13), 'we know that he hears us in whatever we ask' (1 Jn 5:15), 'We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning' (1 Jn 5:18) and 'We know that we are from God' (1 Jn 5:19). This culminates in his great statement: 'we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.' (1 Jn 5:20) For John, combatting heresy is about rejoicing in the truth: Christians have a unique privileged status before God in Christ, and a unique privileged certainty that they have salvation through His blood ('your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake', 1 Jn 2:12). As long as we consciously seek to obey His commands, we have no reason to doubt His love towards us and the reality of our salvation: 'if we walk in the light... we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.' (1 Jn 1:7)

What does John teach about eternal life in his gospel?

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (Jn 3:16)

'Eternal life' is one of John's most frequently used phrases in his gospel, as he seeks to explain the nature of the salvation which Jesus Christ came to bring. Jn 3:16, in many ways a summary of the gospel message, explains that eternal life is given to anyone who believes in Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus Himself taught Nicodemus this truth using an Old Testament incident as a picture: 'as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.' (Jn 3:14-15) In the wilderness, the people were punished for their grumbling and disobedience with poisonous snakes. After Moses' intervention, God provided a solution in the form of a bronze serpent. Anyone bitten by a snake who looked on the bronze serpent would live. Jesus uses this as an analogy for how He would be lifted up on the cross, and anyone looking to Him for salvation would therefore receive eternal life. John wants to show throughout his gospel that the reason Jesus came was to die, so that men could obtain eternal life through faith in Him.

'Eternal life' perhaps seems a rather abstract concept. It isn't present in the Old Testament in this particular phraseology, and yet it makes sense that an eternal God offers a salvation to His people that is eternal. "His love endures forever" is repeated twenty-six times in Psalm 136 alone (Robert Yarbrough). Psalm 16 shows David prophesying that God won't leave His 'holy one' in the grave. As Peter's sermon in Acts 2 explains, this refers to Jesus being the holy, loved one of God who is raised from death in resurrection power. But Ps 16:11 can therefore be the song of the Christian believer: 'You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.' Jesus' resurrection gives us the hope of our future resurrection, and it gives us certainty that He is able to save us from the power of death, because He Himself defeated it.

This is ultimately where John's gospel takes us; Jesus' raising of Lazarus from the dead pre-figures His own resurrection. His statement 'I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live' (Jn 11:25) emphasises that it is only through Him that we can find eternal life. John explains this further:

'Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.' (Jn 3:36)

If we don't believe in Jesus as the Son of God, He cannot bear our sin for us. Thus the 'wrath of God' remains on us and we have to bear our sin for ourselves. The wonderful truth of John's gospel is that Jesus came to freely offer salvation to anyone who wants to receive it. In Chapter 4, He speaks to a Samaritan woman with a morally dubious background, and offers her living water: 'whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (Jn 4:14) Rather than being embroiled in a discussion of where to worship, Jesus clearly explains to the woman that He is the centre of worship; He is the long-awaited Messiah. He ultimately replaces any temple made by human hands, because He is the way we can connect with God.

The salvation Jesus offers in John's gospel is a present reality as well as a future experience. Jesus says, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.' (Jn 5:24) The verb tense makes it clear that those who trust in Christ can know that they are no longer under God's wrath and condemnation. Time and again Jesus urges people to think about their eternity, rather than getting distracted by temporal things: 'Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." (Jn 6:27) Jesus makes certain and definite promises about His ability to offer eternal life to those who believe in Him: 'everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (Jn 6:40); 'Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.' (Jn 6:54). Although Jesus' teachings are difficult and many abandon following Him, Simon Peter recognises that He has 'the words of eternal life' (Jn 6:68), though it is not until the disciples' encounters with the risen Christ that they fully understand what this means.

In John's gospel, Christ's resurrection validates all of His claims. After all, how can someone say 'I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.' (Jn 10:28), if he dies and is buried like any other human being? Jesus' resurrection shows his 'authority over all flesh' (Jn 17:2), which enables Him to 'give eternal life' to all the Father has given Him. It is in Jesus' great intercessory prayer that John finally gives his readers a clear definition of 'eternal life': 'And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.' (Jn 17:3) Eternal life is not some static state of being after death; it is the reality of knowing the living, eternal God, and worshipping Him forever. That is the salvation which we can look forward to as Christians.

What is the role of John the Baptist in John's gospel?

'There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.' (Jn 1:6-8)

In the Prologue to his gospel, John emphasises that John the Baptist was 'sent from God' as a 'witness' to Jesus Christ, described as the 'Word' and the 'light'. The Old Testament law stated that a matter must be established by two or three witnesses, and John the Baptist is one of several witnesses to Jesus Christ's identity and salvation purpose in the gospel. 'John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'" (Jn 1:15) John's words show that he wants the people to understand that Jesus is greater than himself. They even hint at Christ's divinity, being 'before' him, which links with Jesus' statement later on in the gospel that 'before Abraham was, I am'.

John tells the Jewish authorities plainly, "I am not the Christ." (Jn 1:20). Instead, he identifies himself with the figure Isaiah prophesied: 'the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord' (Jn 1:23). He acts as a servant of the Lord who prepares the way for His coming. His baptizing people symbolises a call for them to repent and be ready to greet the Lord when He comes. Jesus Himself submitted to be baptized by John, and John testifies "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him." (Jn 1:32) This is confirmation that Jesus is the 'Son of God' (Jn 1:34).

Significantly, John gives Jesus the title 'the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' (Jn 1:29). This name clearly links Jesus with several important Old Testament images. Firstly, the Passover lamb, slain as a substitute so that the firstborn son would not die in the Israelite household. The blood over the doorpost protected the family from the angel of death. John refers to several Passover festivals in his gospel, and emphasises that Christ's death occurs at the time of the Passover, completing the sense of symbolism that Christ fulfils the Passover by dying as a sacrifice, or a substitute, for God's people.

When the law of Moses was given, a levitical priesthood was established where unblemished lambs were offered as sin offerings on behalf of the people, continuing the Passover tradition. John therefore clearly understood Jesus' role was to bring salvation to God's people by dying in their place.

John the Baptist remains an inspirational figure to imitate, as he shows deep humility. When his disciples leave him to follow Jesus, he accepts this as the right course of action: "The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease." (Jn 3:29-30) If we see John the Baptist as a peripheral figure in John's gospel, that is how he would have wanted it to be. For John the apostle and John the Baptist, the real focus had to be on Jesus, because 'Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life;whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.' (Jn 3:36)

What is the role of signs in John's gospel?

'Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.' Jn 20:30-31

The first half of John's gospel focuses on establishing the identity and salvation purpose of Jesus Christ. The 'signs' which John describes act as witnesses or evidence, testifying to Jesus' identity as the Son of God and the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. The signs in chapters 1-11 are "miraculous" events; moments when heaven and earth are connected (NT Wright). In this way, the signs show that Jesus brings a connection between men and God, and that He is the king of a kingdom that is not of this world, as He told Pilate.

The first sign is the transformation of water into wine at the wedding at Cana (chapter 2). Given the vision of John in Revelation of a great wedding feast once Christ has returned, this sign can be seen as a token of the new order of life inaugurated by Christ's coming, and a pre-figuring of the fulfilment of His kingdom in the new creation.

There are several healing signs: the official’s son (chapter 4), a paralyzed man (chapter 5) and a man born blind (chapter 9). The latter healing forms the longest narrative in John's gospel, and shows how Jesus' signs brought Him into direct conflict with the religious authorities. In a sad irony, the Pharisees are more concerned with the fact that the healing occurred on the Sabbath ('This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath' -Jn 9:16) than acknowledging the obvious truth, which the healed man points out: 'If this man were not from God, he could do nothing' (Jn 9:33). Not only do these miraculous healings indicate that the messianic age has arrived and Old Testament prophecy fulfilled, but in particular the healing of the blind man represents a vivid illustration of the spiritual blindness of the authorities. In this way the signs often interact with Jesus' teaching and discourses in John's gospel. Jesus' phrase 'I am the light of the world' (Jn 9:5) is illustrated by His ability to make the blind man see. The blind man also represents how people come to full salvation, in that he has a progressive understanding of who Jesus is, culminating in a full confession of faith by the end of the account.

Similarly, the feeding of the 5000 (chapter 6) complements Jesus' discourse and statement 'I am the bread of life' (Jn 6:35). Recorded in all four gospels as a major demonstration of Jesus' power as the Son of God, this miracle is shown in John's gospel to link Christ directly with God's provision of manna in the desert for Israel during their wilderness years. Ironically, the crowd mention this miracle themselves, without seeing the connection: 'what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness.' (Jn 6:30-31) Jesus therefore claims to be the 'bread from heaven', sent by the Father, and emphasises that true salvation is only found in Him. The graphic image 'Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life' (Jn 6:54) expresses how a believer has total faith in Christ.

In walking on water (chapter 6), Jesus demonstrates His lordship over creation and His clear divinity. This is further enhanced by the sign of Lazarus being raised from the death (chapter 11). Jesus' great statement 'I am the resurrection and the life' (Jn 11:25) shows His power and ultimate authority over life and death. And therefore the greatest 'sign' in John's gospel is Christ's own resurrection, the proof that He is able to offer 'eternal life' as John so often repeats throughout the gospel, such as in Jn 3:16.

Paul's Teaching on the Cross

When reading the gospel narratives of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection from the dead, you could be forgiven for not really understanding what was going on. The gospel writers are focusing upon the historical events; they certainly want to show that Jesus' death was the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy and was inaugurating a new covenant and means of access to God, but they don't give a lengthy explanation of what, spiritually, was happening as Jesus hung there on the cross. Paul wonderfully complements the gospel narratives by giving us lengthy analysis and exposition about what God was accomplishing in Christ's death on the cross throughout his letters. Like the other apostles, he shows that the cross is absolutely fundamental to what Christianity is all about.

Perhaps the most complex yet vital teaching which Paul emphasises repeatedly is that through the cross, our sin can be atoned for. In the letter Romans, Paul explains that

God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. Rom 3:25

The Old Testament system of offering sacrifices, culminating with the annual Day of Atonement, was just a shadow of this greater reality, that God was going to deal with sin once for all. Christians have the incredible assurance that their sins are completely dealt with, because when He died on the cross, Jesus took all of God's wrath upon Himself and was a substitute for us.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus- Rom 8:1

The cross was necessary because of God's holiness. He cannot just overlook our sin, and sweep it under the carpet. But in punishing Christ in our place on the cross, God demonstrated His righteousness (that sin must be punished) as well as His mercy, because through this, sinners could be forgiven. (See Rom 3:25)

Perhaps proof that the gospel is 100% true is the fact that no one could have made it up! It is just mind-blowing that the God of the universe would find a way to deal with sin justly, yet make a way for sinners to be redeeemed. The cross is a totally unexpected way of dealing with the problem of sin- and on the outside, it looks totally powerless, a sign of utter humiliation. Paul states to the Corinthians:

'we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles' -1 Cor 1:23

And yet, the cross was there in God's plan for salvation from the very beginning. Paul emphasises that 'Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.' (1 Cor 15:3) He shows that in the cross, the trinitarian God was working to bring about the salvation of His people, chosen before the foundation of the world. (Eph 1:4). The cross enabled God to fulfil His covenant promises to Adam and Eve (Gen 3:15)and Abraham (Gen 12), and the covenant He made with Moses and Israel at Sinai was always intended to be temporary until Christ came.

Paul takes great pains to demonstrate that the law could never justify sinners. It highlights sin in our lives, but offers no power to keep us from sinning. The sacrificial system was imperfect and repetitive, without really achieving full access for all to God. In Galatians 3:13 Paul asserts that:

'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” ' [Dt 21:23]

In the act of hanging on the cross, Jesus was under the full curse of sinners who cannot keep God's law. He was perfectly obedient, but took on Himself the weight of the disobedience of men. This means that the charge against us of sin, which condemned us, has been totally cancelled and removed:

'he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.' Col 2:14

As Paul expands in Romans:

'For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.' (Rom 8:3-4)

These verses clearly teach the law's limitations, and the way that God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement so that those who believe in Him can have His perfect righteousness credited to their account. Those who believe in Christ are filled with the Spirit and thus empowered to live in holiness, because they are slaves to sin no longer.

An important aspect of Paul's teaching on the cross is that believers share in the cross in identification and union with Christ and thus share in all its benefits. In some mysterious way, those who trust in Christ were 'in' Him in His death, and are 'in' Him now. Listen to Paul's statement:

'I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.' Gal 2:20

Similarly, in Colossians he asserts that 'you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.' (Col 3:3) Believers can say that their sin was dealt with in Christ's body when He died on the cross, and through His resurrection they too have the certain hope of being raised up at the last day.

Paul is keen to stress the total assurance that Christians have that their sins are forgiven. The redemptive power of the cross is such that even the worst of sinners can receive full atonement there. 'In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins' states Paul in Eph 1:7, and there are no qualifications or restrictions to those who can receive this full redemption. Those who trust in the cross for their forgiveness can stand before God 'without blemish and free from accusation' (Col 1:22).

Even more wonderful than this, is Paul's teaching that Christians are adopted into God's family through the reconciliation the cross achieved. He writes that those who are redeemed receive 'adoption to sonship' (Gal 4:5), a position of great privilege, and therefore the creation closeness between God and man can be restored, even bettered. But the cross reconciled more than just individuals to God; it reconciled the whole of creation to God. Paul writes that it was God's full intention that, through Christ's death, He could 'reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.' (Col 1:20) Paul also specifically addresses the fact that both Jews and Gentiles have been reconciled to God through the cross, and the cross destroys any hostility between them (Eph 2:16).

But moving beyond the impact of the cross on us, one of the main emphases Paul continually stresses is the way that the cross leads to Christ's exaltation:

'And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' Phil 2:8-11

Christ's willingness to become a man and suffer such a humiliating death proved His divinity and led to God exalting Him as Lord over creation. Although it did not seem glorious at the time, the cross brought and still brings glory to God. It shows His wonderful victory over all the powers of evil: 'And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.' Col 2:15

The cross should lead us to love and worship God more and more, the more we understand it. We can never lose the wonder that God has made it possible for us to have eternal salvation through the shedding of Jesus' blood. And aside from inspiring our love and worship, the cross also gives us three things:

1. A hatred of sin

'Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.' Gal 5:24

If we've really understood the cross, and seen how serious sin is that God had to punish His only beloved Son in order to decisively deal with it, then we can't be happy to continue living a life that is sinful and against God. Our sins sent Jesus to the cross; we should now live with an absolute hatred of our own rebellion and strive, through the Spirit's power, to live differently as 'new selves' in Christ.

2. A pattern of suffering

'In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus' Phil 2:5

If Jesus had to suffer, then it shouldn't be a surprise to us when we go through difficult times on this ungodly earth. The cross shows us a pattern of suffering for righteousness, then being exalted. We may suffer now, but ultimately we will one day be raised up and share in glory for ever.

3. Hope

'For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.' 1 Thess 4:14

The historic events of Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection give us a certain hope that God is going to fulfil every one of His promises towards us. He will not let us eternally die, but He will raise us to eternal life and bring us to an eternity of glory that He has prepared and planned since the beginning of creation.

Corporate Redemption: Ephesians and the Church

Imagine it's 1945. A man escapes from Auschwitz concentration camp and runs off into the woods. How does he feel? Glad to be free, but constantly in fear of capture.

Now imagine being in Auschwitz when the Allied forces arrive. They proclaim their victory over the Nazi regime and set you all free. Together, you walk out under the sign 'Arbeit macht frei' (work sets you free). The truth sinks in: the war is over, and Auschwitz is now closing down. You are free, and looking at your fellow sufferers reminds you that this is not a dream. You are all leaving together.

Often we emphasise the personal and individual nature of our salvation as Christians. We testify to our conversion- the moment where "my chains fell off, my heart was free" because we understood that Christ died for us. But when our experience of redemption remains individual, we are like that one man who escaped from Auschwitz. We are glad to be free, but we are vulnerable to fear and doubt. When sin rears its ugly head in our lives, we think 'am I really forgiven? am I really a Christian?'

The New Testament constantly emphasises the corporate nature of redemption. Just as the Israelites were brought miraculously through the Red Sea together, in one great act of redemption, so we as Christians are part of a corporate redemption, based on Jesus' death and resurrection. Whilst these events occurred historically in the relative obscurity of Palestine, they contained an eternal significance for all those past, present and future who trust in God's promises.

The book of Ephesians is addressed to 'the saints in Ephesus'- they are a diverse group of people, bound together by their corporate experience of salvation and being sanctified. As a collective body, Christians are 'blessed... in the heavenly realms', chosen in Him 'before the creation of the world', predestined to be adopted as God's sons through Jesus Christ.

'In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.' (1:7)

We have been marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit, and we can all approach God with 'freedom and confidence' because of our status before Him in Christ.

This common experience of redemption has no hierarchy or differentiation. In chapter 2, Paul is keen to highlight that every human is dead in transgressions before they are made alive in Christ. In being saved through faith, we are all equal in God's sight- equally blessed with the privilege of sonship. There is no longer any difference between Jew and Gentile; all who trust in Christ become 'members of God's household' (2:19).

This is what the Church is: Christ's body, the fulness of Him who fills everything in every way (1:23)

. We are not saved to enjoy a desert island paradise of solitude, but to be part of a great multitude beyond number (Rev 7:9). God promised Abraham that his descendants would be more than stars in the sky or grains of sand, and this is fulfilled in the Church, the huge body of believers who are all redeemed by Jesus Christ.

There is, then, one church, made up of all believers from all backgrounds, times, nations and languages. And we are all united in Christ, and in the peace we have with God through Him (2:16-18)

The Church is built on 'the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone' (2:20. There is no diversity of faiths in the church- there is one gospel and one Saviour who unites us all (4:4-6). This is why the corporate nature of our redemption is so important. When we feel doubt, when we struggle with sin, we need to look around at our brothers and sisters in Christ and find assurance in our shared redemption. None of us are perfect this side of eternity, but we can encourage each other to approach God boldly, if we approach Him through the blood of His Son.

Together we share in the promise of Christ Jesus (3:6). We all have the same inheritance, for it is Christ's inheritance. God had this 'eternal purpose' (3:11) and now reveals HIs 'manifold wisdom' through the church (3:10).

Therefore, we can't view it as optional to belong to the Church. If we're saved, we are part of it, and it is part of our identity to be part of a local expression of this heavenly reality. How can we take lightly what God has taken so seriously? You only have to look at Paul's teaching in chapter 5, where he speaks of the intimacy of husbands and wives as being a mirror of that between Christ and the church. We are the Bride for whom He died, shedding His precious blood to make us holy and blameless in God's sight (5:25-27).

Living a corporate life of faith is vitally important, not only for our personal assurance of salvation, but for the service of others and the fullness of your local church's ministry.

Christ 'gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ.' (4:11-13)

Our church leaders are there to equip us to do 'works of service'- we can't just sit back and say "it's the pastor's job to visit the sick/disciple a new believer/welcome a visitor", nor can we say "it's the evangelist's job to do door to door/speak to non Christians in the village/run outreach events." It's the job of the pastor and the evangelist to equip US, the congregation, to do these things. Nowhere in the New Testament is ministry a one-man show. Even Jesus, the ultimate pastor/teacher/evangelist, spent most of His time training and equipping the Twelve disciples, so that they could then go forth and train and equip others, and thus the church would continually be built up. If you're dependent on one man, what happens when he leaves? does the entire church fall apart? It shouldn't, because every member has a vital role to play.

This is the way the New Testament teaches us we can avoid false teaching (4:14) and 'grow up' in Christ (4:15). A Christian who tries to live their faith as a solitary individual is never going to reach maturity. Only as we support and encourage and disciple each other will we really mature in faith and grow to know Christ better.