GLORYING IN THE CROSS OF CHRIST

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (NKJV) Boasting is a subject frequently addressed by the Spirit. The word means "glory in," "rejoice in," or "boast about." In the Spirit, it is a term of insight, joy, and spiritual energy. In the flesh, it is an expression of the fallen nature that delights in things other than than Lord. As the Spirit uses the word here, irt means insightful and joyful recognition of the truth as it is in Jesus. It is also used in this manner in 2 Cor 11:20, 12:1, and 2 Thess 1:4. Here Paul contrasts the effects of grace upon the heart versus that of the law, as a means to justification. He makes his boast in "the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." He is speaking "in the Spirit," as the thought of any other glorying is repugnant to him--i.e., "God forbid," or "be it far from me" (ASV), or "May I never boast..." The phrase "God forbid" is intended to convey the thought that God has made NO provision for men to express vainglory. Whereas being justified by works tends to make men boast in their own achievements, Paul boasts in the crucifixion of the carnal man. The "cross of Christ" is where the natural man in his totality was crucified. God has rejected the entire natural order, condemning it in Christ's flesh. AS it is written, "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Rom 8:3). Sin was condemned in Christ's flesh, where "He bore our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Pet 2:24). There, in Christ, God focused His wrath, maiking Him "a curse" for us (Gal 3:13). Glorying in the "cross of Christ" is glorying in what was therein accomplished. There, sin was "condemned" (Rom 8:3), peace was "made" (Col 1:20), the handwriting of ordinances was "blotted out" (Col 2:15), and principalities and powers were "spoiled" (Col 2:15). Everything related to the curse was dealt with in the cross! True glorying in the cross includes personal identity with it. A two-sided crucifixion has occurred in those that are in Christ. By Christ ("in Whom") the world is crucified to us; i.e., it has lost its luster. It is now seen as cursed and condemned to death. When seen from the cross, it no longer has any appeal. However, it is a mutual crucifixion. We have also died to it. We do not fit into the order of nature any more. In the world, we are "strangers and pilgrims" (1 Pet 2:11). Grace teaches us to "deny worldly lusts" (Tit 2:10-12), because we are crucified to it. Appealing to law for justification cannot accomplish these effects of Christ's cross. The appetite for sin can be appropriately dealt with only by crucifixion. In "the cross of Christ," God has made a way for us to separate from the cursed order. When it comes to the world, our glory is in being crucified to it, and it to us.

-- MONDAY: ONLY TWO MEN --