Tag Archives: Calvary

What Was Finished On The Cross?

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(John 19:30)  “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

Some people believe in a doctrine called “The Harrowing of Hell.” This term comes from the Latin phrase Descensus Christi ad Inferos (“the descent of Christ into hell). During the Reformation, in Protestant churches it came to mean that Christ took on our sins and then suffered our eternal punishment in Hell after He died. But did this really happen or is it a misunderstanding that was solidified by medieval writers and repetitive recitation of the Apostle’s Creed in liturgical worship? “It is finished” is where we find the answer.

The Greek word captured in the phrase “It is finished” is teleo. It literally means “to end, complete, execute, conclude.” Those around the cross looked on the broken, battered, and bloody man hanging there assuming His words meant that His life was finished. Little did they know those words carried far more meaning for them than they could ever hope. We hear in those words the hope for the condemned in Israel who were indicted by the prophets long ago. We hear in those words the hope for us as our souls balanced in eternity as He suffered under the weight of our sins on the cross.

[typography font="Give You Glory" size="18" size_format="px"]1. The means of reconciliation was accomplished on Calvary:[/typography]

(Colossians 1:20) “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”

(Ephesians 2:13) “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”

[typography font="Give You Glory" size="18" size_format="px"]2. Redemption and the means of forgiveness were accomplished on Calvary:[/typography]

(Colossians 1:14) “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”

[typography font="Give You Glory" size="18" size_format="px"]3. The burden of the Law was removed on Calvary:[/typography]

(Colossians 2:14) “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”

If all of this was accomplished on the cross, then there is no doubt the punishment and wrath of God were poured on the Lord Jesus Christ while He hung there. Those hours of agony were far more than the torture of the beatings and piercings. He literally suffered an eternity for all humanity at that time. He literally became the sin, sacrifice and scapegoat. There are no other verses in the Bible that indicate His suffering continued in Hell. In fact we are given information that He preached during the three days and nights in that place.

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  • “It is finished” literally meant the punishment for your sins and my sins were accomplished. There was nothing else that could be done and nothing else that you or I can do.
  • “It is finished” is the declaration the payment is complete.
  • “It is finished” means we can live righteously today because He fulfilled all righteousness.
  • “It is finished” means we can live without guilt.
  • “It is finished” means we can live without self-condemnation.
  • “It is finished” means we can die to self.
  • “It is finished” means the greatest battle ever fought was won.

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[box]Renewed Thought – Christ’s work is accomplished. Now go live today a life that He paid for you to live.[/box]

Shadow of Sinai or Shadow of the Cross? – Galatians 4:24-25

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(Galatians 4:24-25)  “Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.”

An allegory is a picture of truth rooted in fact.  The Galatians were about to get a full dose of the truth – and it wasn’t pretty.  Abandoning grace and embracing legalism creates something spiritually grotesque and against the nature of God.  Hagar, the bondslave of Abraham’s wife Sarah represented the Law in this allegory.  The word “gendereth” comes from the Greek word gennaō, which means “to procreate.”  It is a verb in the Present Active tense.  It means the act of creating bondage was going on at the time Paul wrote this epistle.  After all these years, the Law was still creating slaves!

God never intended Hagar to bear Abraham’s child.  She was a temporary solution.  She was the choice made by the flesh.  She would never replace the relationship between Abraham and Sarah.  Her child could never fulfill the purpose of God in Abraham.  Her child, Ishmael, was the fruit of unbelief.

Spiritual problems can never be solved with man-made solutions rooted in unbelief.  Our best efforts can’t make up for lack of faith.  Sometimes we try to please God by doing what we think pleases Him.  We try to alter the outcome of a situation to make it fit what we believe is His will.  We try to “make up” for what we perceive is God’s lack of provision.  Our impatience leads us to attempt to produce results.  Our hands become blistered from self effort while God is really calling us to have calloused knees from self abandonment.  In ministry, we try to generate conversions and revival rather than rely on the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.  We measure spiritual growth through knowledge instead of life – this is information without transformation.  But the flesh cannot bear permanent fruit. In order to reaffirm ourselves, we must continually travel back to the shadow of Sinai to measure our performance.  We get caught up in a cycle that creates self-doubt because our best efforts will not last.  This is bondage. This is temporary.  This is unbelief.

Grace calls us out of bondage.  It places us into a position of choice.  Under grace, Mount Calvary replaces Mount Sinai.  The cross blots out “the handwriting of ordinances which was against us” (Colossians 2:14).  We are led out of the land of failure into the promised land right now.  In this new land of grace, the fruit we bear is not our own.  God’s holiness replaces my holiness.  God’s will replaces my will.  God’s life replaces my life.  This is God’s permanent solution.  Hallelujah!

Renewed Thought – In Christ, I am free today from the bondage of sin and the Law.  I can choose today to live as a slave to the past or a servant of Christ.  I can choose today to live by my own strength in unbelief or by the power of God in faith.