“As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.” Galatians 6:14 (NLT)

By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel

The above bible verse is such a powerful statement from the Apostle Paul about the cross of our Lord Jesus! It is important that every Christian understand and embrace all the benefits that have been given through the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus. If we don’t grow into spiritual maturity and identify what belongs to us in Christ, the devil will cheat us out of those benefits. We will end up living as mere men without the benefits of what Christ died to provide for us which makes all the difference in our lives and relationship with God. These things have been given to us for life and godliness. They make us unique. They are what makes us live the life of Christ. The life of Christ is that of power and authority to overcome all the opposition of Satan and the flesh.

Here are six things we received because of the cross. Just a select six.  Be sure they are not just mere information to you but that you have a working knowledge of all of them. Live by them as your new reality and as your portion in Christ.

1. FORGIVENESS OF SINS

• • Heb 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”KJV
  • Acts 13:38 “Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do.”NLT

The gospel told us that the blood of Jesus paid for our freedom and forgave, not going to forgive but forgave our sins! Meaning all our sins have already been forgiven because of the blood of Jesus.  All we have to do is receive it free of charge. It is a gift of grace received through faith. So now that we are alive in Christ and dead to sin, what should we then do when we sin? First, we need to take responsibility for our wrongdoing and confess them and God will forgive us and cleanse us with the blood. This confession extends to people we have wronged too as the Scripture teaches us to.

• • James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

 2.  GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Righteousness is a state of being accepted by God. God accepts you in right standing with Him. God counts us righteous when we believe in the Lord Jesus. This is in fulfillment of the the promise He made to Abraham and His seed who is Christ. The blessing of righteousness or right standing with God is only by faith for all nations just as God also blessed Abraham with righteousness by his faith alone. So when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus God sees us as righteous. (Galatians 3:6-9)

3.  PEACE BETWEEN MAN AND GOD

The third benefit of the Cross is that Jesus mediated peace between man and God by His death. Nothing else could do it. Only by His blood, He mediated peace between you and God.

• • 1 Tim 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

4. REDEMPTION OR FREEDOM

The fourth thing we received from the Cross is redemption or freedom. The Dictionary defines redemption as the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. We were redeemed from our sinful nature. Before we came to Christ, we were slaves to sin and under the control of demonic spirits that work in all children of disobedience. But, when we came to Christ, He set us free from our sinful nature and in its place gave us His own nature. Secondly, he set us free from the dominion of satanic spirits and gave us His own Spirit who now works in us to will and to do the good pleasure of God. All these were made possible only by the Cross.

• • Rom 6: 6 “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” NLT
  • Col 1:13 “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son”KJV

5.  A NEW LIFE 

The new life is eternal life. The very life of our Lord Jesus has been given to us by his presence in us. Every believer has Christ in them and also has the life of Christ.

• • Eph 2:4 “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” NLT

6.  MEMBERS OF GOD’S FAMILY

We became sons not slaves of God and members of His family. Heirs of God’s kingdom and coheirs with Christ. Blessed with all spiritual blessings in the kingdom of God. 

• • Rom 8:16 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

A clear understanding of these six things will help Christians be grounded in their faith in Christ Jesus, fight the good fight of faith, and live in its reality and in the fullness of God. A healthy spiritual life full of joy, peace, and victory with no labor. No rituals needed, but simply by faith in His unfailing word.

Through faith, we receive all these benefits and live seated in heavenly places in Christ far above all powers of the kingdom of Satan and the world.  We enjoy the benefits of the power that worketh in us continuously, the peace of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. We relish in all the blessings of the kingdom of our Father and all the privileges of being sons of God. We enjoy unlimited access to the Father and have His ears always by a covenant that can never be broken and was sealed with the blood of the son of God. The Christian life is the most exciting! Life of the kingdom is not like that of the world. We are spirit beings in a human body. We are peculiar, royal priests, kings, and rulers here on earth for we reign in Christ Jesus.

The only prerequisite to receiving all these benefits in Christ is accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior and allowing Him to transform you into a new creation through your faith in the finished works of Christ on the Cross. Once you accept Christ, all these benefits are yours.  So, as we celebrate Easter, let us meditate on these things and live out the bountiful life Christ died for us to have. Happy Easter!

Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor of Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey.