Theology of the Cross

1 Peter 4:1-6
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, October 29, 2017
Copyright © 2017, P. G. Mathew
Language [Japanese]

In 1 Peter 4:1–6, the apostle speaks about the theology of the cross. Because Christ suffered and died in his body on the cross, we who are in Christ are done with sin and able to live the rest of our lives in joyful obedience to the will of God. 

Theology of the Cross

Peter begins, “Therefore, since Christ has suffered and died in the body, arm yourselves also with the same theology of the cross, because he who has suffered in the body is done with sin” (v. 1, author’s paraphrase). What is the theology of the cross? Peter cited it earlier in his epistle: “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God . . . . He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (1 Pet. 3:18, 22). Our baptism symbolizes our union with Christ by faith in his death on the cross, burial, and resurrection.

Paul speaks of the same theology of the cross: “[Christ] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. . . . Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Rom. 4:25; 6:3–4).

By his atoning death and resurrection, Jesus Christ reconciled us to God, and now we enjoy fellowship with God forever. We are in the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ. What is the kingdom of God? It is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). Before, we were dead in our transgressions and sins. We were under the devil’s control and authority. We were enemies of God. But Christ died for our sins, to solve our sin problem. He has reconciled us to God our Father. We are born again by the Spirit. We have been justified and adopted. We have been made good trees, which bear good fruits of obedience. We have been given hearts that love God and do his will with joy unspeakable.

We were rocky soil and full of thorns, but God made us good soil, and we responded to the seed of the word of God in total obedience. We have been transformed, as Paul describes in Ephesians 2:4–5, 10. He begins, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ.” We can fake repentance and faith, but we cannot fake regeneration. God must make us alive. So Paul says,  “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. . . . For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

In his body, Jesus Christ suffered our death, the wages of our sins. He has given us eternal life and we shall never perish. No enemy can snatch us from God’s hand. No creature can separate us from God’s eternal love.

We have been justified by faith in Jesus. We have been forgiven of all our sins—past, present, and future sins. Now we have peace with God, and we enjoy the peace of God that transcends all human understanding. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).

The theology of the cross has brought us eternal freedom. We now love slavery to God to do righteousness as God’s sons and daughters. And we now can approach the throne of grace because Christ, in our place and for our sins, cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Why did God forsake his Son on the cross? Because of substitutionary atonement. Paul explains: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). This verse speaks of the double transaction: Christ died for our sins in our place on the cross, and he gave us his perfect righteousness. So the Father now sees us always clothed in the righteousness of his eternal Son. By Christ’s death he solved our sin problem once for all. He will never die again for our sins. He is done with our sin problem by his one sacrifice, once-for-all offered to God. And God the Father accepted his perfect sacrifice. Christ’s resurrection is the proof. By faith in Jesus Christ, he has become for us our wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

Christ has solved our sin problem once for all, and we are united with him by faith in his death, burial, and resurrection. As we said, our baptism symbolizes this vital union with Christ. He is the vine and we are the branches that produce much fruit through his life in us for God’s glory.

We Are Done with Sin

Not only therefore is Christ done with sin, as we read in verse 1, but also every believer in Christ is freed from the dominion of sin in Jesus Christ. Consider the following:

• 1 Peter 2:24: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:14–15: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, [that is, all the elect] and therefore all [the elect] died [to sin]. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
• Romans 6:6-7: “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin,” done with sin, released from sin’s dominion.
• Romans 6:10–12: “The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil [lusts].”
• Romans 6:18: “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” What a glorious freedom!
• Romans 6:22: “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
• Colossians 1:13–14: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” 

Our Armor Is the Theology of the Cross

Peter said, “Arm yourselves also with the same theology of the cross” (v. 1). In other words, we must put on the armor of this theology of the cross. And we should use this armor to resist the devil when he tempts us. We resist the devil by the truth of the word of God, the person of Christ, and his work in our behalf. A foolish Christian is one whose mind is empty of theology. Such people may cry, but shedding tears does not mean anything. We need a Reformation, not just the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches, but also of evangelical churches. We need the theology of the cross to deliver us from slavery to all carnalities.

We must believe in the primacy of the Christian intellect and not just rely on our emotions. When the devil tempted him, Jesus opposed him by the power of the Spirit and the word of God. He refused to obey Satan; instead, he obeyed the written word of God. He said, “Gegraptai,” meaning, “It is written.” Thus, he resisted the devil. In the same way, we must submit to God by obeying the word, and we must resist the devil by disobeying him, and he shall flee from us.

We have the mind of Christ—that is what we receive in regeneration—for in us dwells the Holy Spirit. Paul writes, “Your mind should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). He also says, “‘For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). Let me ask: Do you have the mind of Christ?

Let us put on the armor of the theology of the cross, the armor of light. Paul writes, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:12). He is speaking about the light of truth, the light of the word of God. Our question should always be, “What does the Bible say about what I want to do? And I will do what it says because I am born of the Spirit.” Paul also admonishes us, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Eph. 6:11).

We are in a battle. Our enemy has been defeated by the death and resurrection of Christ. He is Lord, and he alone is Lord. Therefore, let us in the name of Jesus wage war against the defeated devil, as we read throughout the Scriptures:

• Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
• Hebrews 2:14–15: “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
• 1 John 3:8–9: “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.”
• Revelation 1:18: “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
• Titus 1:1: “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.” If you don’t live a godly life, you are a child of the devil.

Christ is done with sin, and in Christ the elect believers are done with sin. From the devil’s kingdom of darkness, we have been once for all transferred to the kingdom of God. We were once darkness; now we are light in the Lord, doing the will of God. We live in the Spirit by repentance and faith. We follow Christ as disciples in the power of the Spirit.

Live for God’s Will

Then Peter says, “As a result, he does not live the rest of his natural life in the body, for evil human desires, but for doing the will of God” (v. 2, author’s paraphrase). We are to live now not for lust but for doing God’s will. We must always ask the question, “What is the will of God? What does the Bible say?” We are no longer living for evil human desires. In Christ, we died to sin, and now we live to hear and do the will of God, as found in the word of God, as Jesus did.

No one is autonomous. Everyone obeys. Either we obey God or the devil. All unbelievers obey the devil. But if we have been regenerated, we will obey Jesus whom we confessed as Lord; obedience will be our lifestyle. So Paul writes, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). He also says, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good,” that is, to obey God’s will (Tit. 2:11–14).

Then Peter says, “For you have spent enough time already having done the will of pagans, living in debaucheries, lusts, drunkennesses, orgies, carousings, and wicked idolatries. These pagans think it strange that you do not now plunge with them in a life of complete waste and so they slander you” (vv. 3–4, author’s paraphrase).

Do you want to know who we were? Paul writes, “[You were dead in your sins] in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air [the devil], the spirit who is now at work in those who are [children of disobedience]” (Eph. 2:2). But now we have been transformed. So in 1 Peter 1:14 we read, “As [children of obedience], do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” Every sinner is ignorant of God.

Paul writes, “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). Peter said, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:32). If a person does not obey God, he is not a Christian; in fact, anyone who disobeys God is a child of the devil.

The Hebrews writer says of Jesus, “Although he was son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb. 5:8–9). “For all who obey him” means all who confess Jesus as Lord. (PGM) Jesus himself said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:18–20). He also said, “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” (John 8:29). Jesus always obeyed his Father. And he prayed to God the Father, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).

Christians are those who have traded the devil’s crushing yoke of sin and hell for the comforting easy yoke of Jesus Christ. We traded the pleasures of sin—debaucheries, lusts, drunkenesses, orgies, carousings, and abominable idolatries—for obedience to Christ. We were living in the dissipation of sin. Paul says, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9–10). He also says, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Col. 3:5–10).

We traded the pleasures of sin for a little while—seventy years or eighty by reason of strength—for eternal pleasures in his presence. The psalmist says, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Ps. 16:11).

We traded our former life in the sewer that we may live in heaven, in God’s presence. We traded a life of total waste for the life of total blessing. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Even now we are seated with Christ. Our citizenship is in heaven.

So we live a holy life by grace and not the life of the sewer. The pagans, the creatures of the sewer cannot understand why we live a holy life. So they slander and persecute and even kill true believers every day. About such people James writes, “Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?” (Jas. 2:7). Peter says we should keep a clear conscience “so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” (1 Pet. 3:16).

In Isaiah’s prophecy we read, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isa. 5:20). This is how the twisted, perverted minds of unbelievers think. They do what they think. Paul writes, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19–21).

We lived in such sin. But now we live to bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. So we read, “For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:22–23).

Do you want to know who we were? Study the prodigal son (Luke 15). Study the legion demon man. He was naked, restless, wandering, and breaking off his chains. God sought him and saved him, and we see him clothed, sitting down, restful, and in his right mind (Luke 8:35). Jesus said, “Come unto me, all those who are heavy-laden and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

Every unbeliever has a perverted mind. He looks at the Ten Commandments and does the opposite. But how can a true Christian go back to his old life? He cannot, because God by his Spirit has given him a sound mind.

All Must Meet the Judge

All people, both the living and the dead, must meet the Judge Jesus Christ. Those who slander, persecute, and even kill true believers who live godly lives will be judged by Christ who has been given all authority to save and to condemn. Peter writes, “But they will have to give an account to God, who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this reason also, the gospel was preached to those who are now dead, that they might be judged according to men in regard to body [this is speaking about martyrdom], but live according to God in regard to spirit” (vv. 5–6, author’s paraphrase). So we read,

• John 5:22–23: “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.” If anyone refuses to believe in Jesus Christ, he is mocking the Father and the Son, and he will face judgment by Christ for refusing to trust in him.
• Philippians 2:6–11: “[Christ Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
• Acts 17:31: “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
• Matthew 25:34: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’”
• Matthew 25:41: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
• Hebrews 10:31: “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

As creatures of Jesus Christ, we must all give him an account of our lives. Jesus said, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matt. 12:36).

Christ is the sole judge; everyone must answer him. Everyone knows the true and living God through creation and through conscience. Many also know him through gospel preaching. But they suppress that truth. Yet no one has any excuse for not knowing God. Paul writes, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20). Everyone will be judged by Christ. Paul writes, “This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares” (Rom. 2:16).

On the last day, Jesus will justify believers and condemn unbelieving idolaters who trust in their money, beauty, brilliance, and power. The condemned shall enter eternal hell to experience eternal fire, torment, and agony, as Jesus said in Luke 16. The true believers will dwell with God and the holy angels in the new heaven and the new earth, without sin or death, in eternal happiness.

Who is this Judge Jesus? Let me introduce him to you. John writes:

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Rev. 1:12–18)

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords. (Rev. 19:11–16)

Then I saw a great white throne and him [that is, Jesus] who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11–15)

Do you know who this Judge is? He created all, he rules all, and he will judge all. The question is, is your name written in his book of life? Jesus said, “Don’t rejoice that the demons are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). How do you know that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life from all eternity? You will hear the gospel and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today. Today you may cross from eternal death to eternal life. You cannot do so after death. You must do so today. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.

Be like the prodigal. Repent and return to the Father in heaven. You can go to him through Jesus, the only mediator between God and man. Confess your sins and be saved, so that you may dwell with the Father in heaven forever and ever. Amen.