On the cross Christ bore our sins. According to Isaiah 53:6, when Christ was on the cross God took all our sins and put them upon this Lamb of God. Hebrews 9:28 says that Christ has been “once offered to bear the sins of many.” Christ died once to bear our sins, and He suffered the judgment for us on the cross (Isa. 53:5, 11).
First Peter 2:24 tells us that Christ “carried up our sins in His body onto the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness.” The tree in this verse denotes the cross made of wood, a Roman instrument of capital punishment for the execution of malefactors, as prophesied in the Old Testament (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13). Sins here, as in Hebrews 9:28, refer to sins we commit in our outward conduct, whereas sin in John 1:29 refers to the sin that is in our nature by birth. Christ died for our sins, carrying up our sins onto the cross, that we might be forgiven by God.
Literally, in 1 Peter 2:24 “having died to sins” means being away from sins; hence, having died to them. In the death of Christ we have died to sins (Rom. 6:8, 10-11, 18) so that we might live to righteousness. This living to righteousness is in the resurrection of Christ (Eph. 2:6; John 14:19; 2 Tim. 2:11).
When Christ carried up our sins onto the cross and died, that death accomplished many things. The death of Christ terminated us, and this termination can keep us away from sin. Through Christ’s death we can be kept away from sins so that we may live to righteousness. As fallen human beings, we were dead and full of sin. But Christ put our sins upon Himself and carried them up onto the tree, the cross, where He suffered God’s righteous judgment for all our sins. Christ’s death on the cross was a bruise, and that bruise, that death, has healed our death. Now we have become alive. On the one hand, Christ’s bruise that heals us keeps us away from sins through His death; on the other hand, this healing enlivens us so that we may live to righteousness.
The subjective aspect of the cross of Christ continues in our experience today by the Spirit. The life-giving Spirit is working within us continually to carry out the subjective aspect of Christ’s cross in our living. Christ’s death has drawn a separating line between us and sins. Now through His death we are being kept away from sins. This is the objective cross becoming subjective to us in our experience through the working of the life-giving Spirit within us. When we call on the name of the Lord and have fellowship with Him, the life-giving Spirit operates within us. Spontaneously we experience the subjective working of the cross to make a separation between us and sins so that we automatically live to righteousness.
In His work on the cross Christ became a curse on our behalf and redeemed us out of the curse of the law. “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf; because it is written, Cursed is everyone hanging on a tree” (Gal. 3:13). Christ as our Substitute on the cross not only bore the curse for us but also became a curse for us. The curse of the law issued from the sin of man (Gen. 3:17). When Christ took away our sin on the cross, He redeemed us out of the curse. Because the problem of sin has been solved, the problem of the curse has been solved as well.
As descendants of Adam, all sinners are under the curse. In Romans 5 we see that Adam brought us all under the curse. However, the curse was not made official until the law was given. Now the law declares that all the fallen descendants of Adam are under the curse. Whereas the law condemns us and makes the curse official, Christ through His crucifixion has redeemed us out of the curse of the law. On the cross He was even made a curse for us. Therefore, the curse that came in through Adam’s fall has been dealt with by Christ’s redemption.
The origin of the curse is man’s sin. God brought in the curse after Adam’s sin, saying, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake” (Gen. 3:17). The sign of the curse is thorns. For this reason, after Adam’s sin, the earth brought forth thorns. Furthermore, the curse is carried out through the law. This means that the law administers the curse. Therefore, the curse is related to the law of God; it is the demand of the righteous God upon sinners.
When Christ bore our sins, He also took our curse. The crown of thorns indicates this (John 19:2, 5). Since thorns are a sign of the curse, Christ’s wearing a crown of thorns indicates that He took our curse on the cross. Because Christ was cursed in our place, the demand of the law was fulfilled, and He could redeem us from the curse of the law.
Not only did Christ redeem us out from the curse; He even became a curse on our behalf. This indicates that He was absolutely abandoned by God. God forsook Christ economically and also considered Him a curse. On the cross Christ accomplished the great work of bringing us out from the curse of the law, working to bear our sins and to remove the curse.
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