Galatians 2:20 (NIV): 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.
JESUS LOVES US, and because of His sacrifice on Calvary's Cross--because of His FINISHED WORK there--we who receive HIS GIFT of LOVE and GOD's GIFT of GRACE through FAITH can now LIVE IN and THROUGH CHRIST JESUS, the ANOINTED ONE.
HIS CROSS was for us the GREAT EXCHANGE, for on it JESUS gained us SALVATION, FORGIVENESS, DELIVERANCE, HEALING, RECONCILIATION, FREEDOM, PROSPERITY, ABUNDANCE, HEALTH, PEACE, REDEMPTION, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and ETERNAL LIFE.
One renowned apostle shares 8 aspects of the Cross which reveal what JESUS actually did for us:
1. JESUS was PUNISHED that we might be FORGIVEN;
2. He was WOUNDED that we might be HEALED;
3. JESUS was made SIN with our sinfulness that we might be made RIGHTEOUS with His righteousness;
4. JESUS DIED our death that we might SHARE HIS LIFE;
5. JESUS was made a CURSE for us that we might RECEIVE HIS BLESSING;
6. JESUS endured our POVERTY that we might SHARE HIS ABUNDANCE;
7. JESUS endured our SHAME that we might SHARE HIS GLORY;
8. JESUS endured our REJECTION that we might have HIS ACCEPTANCE.
Therefore, on the Cross when JESUS said, "IT IS FINISHED," it WAS, and EVERYTHING was PAID IN FULL--everything we would ever need. So, all we have to do is ACCEPT and RECEIVE HIS GIFT and APPROPRIATE GOD's PROMISES, claiming all JESUS bought for us on the Cross as our own.
This means OUR FAITH believes NOW that WE ARE SAVED by GRACE through FAITH; NOW we are HEALED; NOW we are DELIVERED; NOW we are HEALTHY; NOW we are BLESSED; NOW we are DEBT-FREE, living in ABUNDANCE, not lack; NOW we are FORGIVEN; NOW CHRIST lives in us; NOW the HOLY SPIRIT works in and through us; and NOW we are RECONCILED to GOD.
This is GOD'sWORD from Genesis to Revelation: We are not defeated, and we are not victims. We are VICTORS, OVERCOMERS, and MORE THAN CONQUERORS through JESUS CHRIST who loved us. And we're not ANYONE's ORPHANS or OUTCASTS; we are GOD's ADOPTED SONS and DAUGHTERS. And we may be hard-pressed on every side yet we're not crushed, perplexed but we're not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying around in our body the death of JESUS so that the life of JESUS may also be revealed in our body.
So then we HONOR and REVERE JESUS, HIS LOVE, and HIS CROSS with all we possess and have been blessed with: our lives, our bodies, our words, our thoughts, our gifts, our talents, our treasures, our money, our families, our hearts, our souls, our minds, our property, our time. And we HONOR Him as LORD of ALL through FASTING, PRAYING, and GIVING; we HONOR Him through OBEDIENCE, HUMILITY and HOLINESS; we HONOR Him through THANKSGIVING, PRAISE, and WORSHIP; we HONOR Him by TRUSTING HIM, His PROMISES and GOD'sWORD. And HONORING JESUS is not merely about wearing crosses for jewelry or adorning our walls or doors with decorative crosses; it's about LIVING OUR LIVES as JESUS WOULD—as JESUS DID—CRUCIFYING the FLESH, being LED of the HOLY SPIRIT, and LIVING UNTO THE LORD, who is GOD the FATHER.
THIS is the COST of CALVARY's CROSS--the COST of SALVATION, REDEMPTION, FORGIVENESS, and RECONCILIATION--EVERYTHING WE HAVE, ALL that WE ARE and ALL that we POSSESS and STEWARD: OUR LIVES, OUR HEARTS, OUR SOULS, OUR MINDS, OUR BODIES, OUR GIFTS, OUR TREASURES, OUR TIME, and OUR TALENTS.
JESUS PAID IN FULL our debt of death to GOD, so we could RECEIVE IN FULL GOD's GIFT of LIFE ETERNAL in HIS GRACE, HIS LOVE, and HIS PRESENCE. So, whether WE LIVE or WE DIE, we LIVE or DIE unto the LORD, for we are HIS ALONE: GOD's.
