“Unity in the secular world and sadly among most Christian churches is based on uniformity of interest or viewpoints. The oneness in Jesus Christ crosses all boundaries and separations. Anyone with the faith of Jesus Christ can immediately enjoy the innate oneness with another who also has the faith of Jesus regardless of differing political or doctrinal views.” – Henry Hon
The death of Jesus occurred so he could pay the penalty for our sin-it was a direct legal substitution. But it was also much more than that, he did something to humanity, all of humanity. He also killed all of us, humanity is dead, we are finished, we are no more, we are kaput. It’s over, exit stage right. Extinction of the race from Adam and Eve, the human race has ended, as far as God is concerned.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Ephesians 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
also see John 11:21-44
What’s confusing about this is that it was done in advance, it’s like he created a reality in the spiritual world and the physical world is time-delayed, they are out of phase and the physical world is currently catching up. Rather than physically killing everyone in total annihilation like the flood of Noah (like he promised he would not do again) then start over, he just killed Jesus as a single human representative of all of fallen humanity.
To understand this better imagine hypothetically millions of years from now and we go extinct by nuclear war that gets out of hand. All humans are dead and buried and the earth is a wild place of chaos. If there will be a human race again it will need to be an entirely new creation of man OR a resurrection of humanity who had already died. Imagine the new first man (Adam) is Jesus Christ and the new first woman (Eve) is a group of people ‘joined to/ married’ to Jesus Christ.
Actually if you read Ephesians the death of Jesus and the creation of a new humanity through his resurrection was always the plan from before God ever created. It is a spiritual reality that the physical reality is slow to get on board with. He wanted many sons and daughters as a ‘bride’ for his son. As a family but he had to deal with rebellion and sin so he seemed to send Adam and Eve knowing what would happen as a warm-up for what was to come.
The death of Jesus Christ is also the death of humanity.
If you are not a Christian today and you are reading this post or watching this video, the gospel of Jesus is not a future appeal to do this or that religiously and make it to heaven. It’s a current appeal and invitation to resurrect, you are not even currently alive, as far as God is concerned, you are currently a corpse. Is Jesus calling your name? like he did to Lazarus after 4 days dead in the tomb? “Hey come forth”, can you hear him? He speaks right now, “wake up oh sleeper of death.” This is no joke we can live again.
There is a song which I’ve always liked, a song where there is a boasting in weaknesses and the things which bring disillusionment. This song can both be sung out of anger and grief by the young, but out of healthy reflection from the older.
I am 41 now but when this song came out I was about 24, back then the song Thank You by Alanis Morissette took me to a place of anger, it took me to a place of sorrow. It took me to a place of frustration and feelings of abandonment so I avoided the song.
But now I have learned to be thankful for disillusionment. Not in a flowery be thankful for your weaknesses sort of thing just because the bible says so. Seriously, as I look at my life in hindsight I see good things, very good things in the areas where I am lacking and frustrated. I am seriously thankful for the places where I am weak. As painful as they are, I am thankful for the things which bring me disillusionment. As much as I fight them, I am thankful for the injustices in my own life. As frustrating as they are, I am thankful for the areas that I am inadequate. As much as they may make me grieve about what could have been I am thankful for the areas where I fell short.
All these areas, these weaknesses these inadequacies, these injustices and these remind me of someone else, it reminds me of another one who lived long ago, he boasted in his weakness and infirmities because of the effect it had on his knowing Christ. “If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.” Apostle Paul, he later explained his only boasting was in his weakness because his weaknesses exalted Jesus Christ, they took the attention and glory off of himself and onto dependence Jesus Christ.
For that reason I also am learning to be thankful for my weaknesses. There are some things, many things I just cannot do without him doing, I am helpless in many ways.
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