Philippians 2:8-11, “8 And being found in appearance as a
man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is
above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Revelation 1:5, “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and
who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and
from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
Jesus is the Savior of the World
The most
important subject of the whole Bible is the story of Jesus’ work on the
cross. All the apostles agree that this
was the greatest act of God on behalf of mankind and for the glory of God’s own
Name. Paul said that the cross of Jesus
was the center of his message and that if Jesus did not rise from the dead than
all his preaching and life’s work was in vain, 1 Corinthians 2:2,15:15.
Therefore,
it was very important to the early church fathers to convey this very simple
yet life changing message. They changed
the world with this message and many gave their very own lives because they
believed it so deeply. Here are some of
there amazing quotes describing the work of Jesus on the cross.
The Cross and the Blood of
Jesus
Clement of Rome (90AD), First Epistle to the Corinthians, Chapter 49, “By love
have all the elect of God been made perfect; without love nothing is
well-pleasing to God. In love has the Lord taken us to Himself. On account of
the Love he bore us, Jesus Christ our Lord gave His blood for us by the will of
God; His flesh for our flesh, and His soul for our souls”.
Polycarp (135AD), Epistle to the Philippians,
Chapter 8, “Let us then continually persevere in our
hope, and the earnest of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ, “who bore
our sins in His own body on the tree”
Irenaeus (180AD), Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 17, Verse 3, “He has destroyed the handwriting” of our debt,
and “fastened it to the cross;” so that as by means of a tree we were made debtors
to God, [so also] by means of a tree we may obtain the remission of our debt”.
Jesus’ Resurrection
Ignatius (105AD), Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, Chapter 2, “Now, He
suffered all these things for us; and He suffered them really, and not in
appearance only, even as also He truly rose again. But not, as some of the
unbelievers, who are ashamed of the formation of man, and the cross, and death
itself, affirm, that in appearance only, and not in truth, He took a body of
the Virgin, and suffered only in appearance, forgetting, as they do, Him who
said, “The Word was made flesh;” and again, “Destroy this temple, and in three
days I will raise it up;” and once more, “If I be lifted up from the
earth, I will draw all men unto Me.” The Word therefore did dwell in flesh, for
“Wisdom built herself an house.” The Word raised up again His own temple on the third day, when it
had been destroyed by the Jews fighting against Christ. The Word, when His
flesh was lifted up, after the manner of the brazen serpent in the wilderness,
drew all men to Himself for their eternal salvation”.
Tertullian (197AD), Anti-Marcion, On the Resurrection of the Flesh, Chapter 48, “For the very same body which fell in death,
and which lay in the sepulcher, did also rise again; (and it was) not so much
Christ in the flesh, as the flesh in Christ. If, therefore, we are to rise
again after the example of Christ, who rose in the flesh, we shall certainly
not rise according to that example, unless we also shall ourselves rise again
in the flesh. “For,” he says, “since by man came death, by man came also the
resurrection of the dead.”
Reflection
1. Why
are Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection so important?
2. Explain
the price the early church paid for believing in the work of Jesus.
3. Can
a person go to heaven without believing in the physical resurrection of Jesus?
4. Pray
that you can teach the work of Jesus with passion and power.
Resources
1. "More Than A Carpenter," by Josh McDowell.
