The Fellowship of the Cross —
It is often said that the cross was a great exchange but what do the scriptures tell us? God created man in His image in the image of God made He him; male and female made He them. After the creation of mankind God beheld His creation and it was “very good”. Up to this moment He refers to His creative acts as simply good; but, upon the creation of mankind He calls it “very good”. (Ps. 8:4-5; Heb. 2:6-13) The scriptures inform us that God is Love and as Love, the LORD God issued a commandment to Adam, a prohibition, that man may return in kind love to God who first loved him; that is, in his faithful obedience man could express his trust in the Love received and show love in return.
Next we see the serpent, a creature and instrument of the primal rebel in the garden of God there to seduce the mother of all living who being deceived disobeyed and Adam with her did also transgress. In this act, the primal rebel and adversary of mankind brought humanity into captivity. For the LORD God must now hold man accountable, for they had sinned against His Holy commandment and He had said in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die. That very day sin entered the world and death passed to all of humanity. Adam and Eve died spiritually and were now deprived and estranged aliens to the Life and Righteousness of God. (Rom. 5:6,18) For righteousness is Life and Sin is death. The LORD God who is Love and Light and who is All Wise foretold the prophetic resolution to this tragedy. (Gen. 3:15; Rom.5:12-21)
The LORD set enmity between the seed of the woman and the serpent and gave a prophetic promise that through the seed of the woman there would be a resolution.. it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel. This foretells the loving and righteous rescue of Christ (the seed of the woman, born of a virgin) – the Word, the last Adam, who coming in the flesh (Heb. 2:12-14) became man, and who did rescue us from our cruel taskmaster and recapitulated the first Adam; that is, Christ re-summarized Adam as the redemptive resolution to the drama– as the obedient son. Christ in doing this has annihilated the dominion of sin and death and in this has expressed the very heart of God and exposed the heart of the adversary, slanderer, accuser, and deceiver. By this the prince of this world is condemned and cast out. Christ bound the strong man and spoiled his goods. He triumphed over the hostile powers that held us in bondage by means of the cross. Now this great redemption is available to whosoever will be found in Christ, the last Adam. You see, it is by participation in Christ’s cross that we become children of the Kingdom. It is an amnesty. It is not an acquittal. It is conditional forgiveness; based on the terms of the covenant, those who were guilty of crimes against the Righteous sovereign now MUST bow the knee and submit to His rule in order to receive forgiveness, cleansing, and reconciliation. In this Grace, Love and Righteousness are perfectly expressed.
If there is anything like an exchange — it is in this you must renounce your old taskmaster. Repent, this means admit/quit your sinning. Then believe the Good news of your deliverance. Next, we are commanded to identify with Christ and concede to His judgment of sin in us through water baptism. This is our change of allegiance – our being united with Christ our King and Redeemer, the last Adam, the LORD from heaven. When we faithfully obey this, the LORD performs an operation on us we are quickened and made alive to God, the body of sin is cut away and loosed, we are regenerated, renewed, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. We are born again. This is all God’s work. Howbeit, we each much personally meet with Him at the cross in the way He has prescribed. (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Col. 2:8-12; Rom. 6:4-5; 1 Pet. 3:21; Gal. 3:26-27; Rom. 13:14; Mk. 16:16)
We must bow the knee at the cross as the first Adam did bow the knee at the ancient tree and brought slavery and death to all.. We through obedience in the last Adam, our Lord Christ Jesus are freed from the bondage of condemnation and corruption, reunited to the Life of God and are become children of the Kingdom. As such, we are to proclaim this Word from the Throne, the good news and royal pronouncement of victory over the evil to Life, freedom, and reconciliation in Christ who is True God and eternal Life. In Him we must be found — faithful, laboring, abiding, and bearing fruit at His coming. This is the Fellowship of the Cross of Christ. The unified story and grand narrative of all of scripture is one of a Kingdom & Family and loving and everlasting communion in Him who is both Righteousness and Life. – Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus! (1 Jn. 3:2-3; 4:17)
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