THE CROSS OF CHRIST - 6

THE FINISHED WORKS

Hebrew 4:3…”for we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said … although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.”

The lesson on this topic from 1 to 5 has revealed clearly to us the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and some of its implications on us plus the fact that the death of Christ on the Cross was part of the eternal counsel of God in bringing men unto himself – in forming a family for himself according to this pleasure.

The whole life of Jesus Christ was dedicated to this course… he told Pilate “to this end was I born ...”

See what he said here….

John 4:34 “Jesus said unto them, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to FINISH HIS WORK”

Now, what work was Jesus referring to as his meat, and what work must he finish? For him to call the work “his meat”, then it must be something that means life to him, something that he tries to accomplish every blessed day. And he strongly posits to these disciples that he must finish that work, for him to be talking about finishing the work, it means he has started doing the work as at the time he was speaking. Now let’s get this clearer …

John 9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work”.

Again, we see how that the work that Christ must finish is the work that his Father has sent him to do. Good! So what is this work that his father sent him to do – which he equates with the essence of his life (his meat) and which he must finish during the day?

The “day” here is not the days of the week; it is actually a figure for the early stages of one’s life. Similarly, night is the late years of one’s life. So Jesus must be talking about a work that his father has sent him to do while he was young and fit for it. So what work is he then talking about?

Don’t be too quick to conclude that it is carpentry, I am sure you are not a comedian. It is not the carpentry work he learnt from Joseph. If the work were to be an assignment from his earthly father, then we could have been smart to say it is carpentry, but this is not physically at all.

Now one more verse….

John 17:1-5….the prayers of Jesus Christ to God before he went to the cross for crucifixion…

“These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou has given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom THOU HAVE SENT. I have glorified thee on earth: I HAVE FINISHED THE WORK WHICH THOU GAVEST ME TO DO”

Wonderful!

So the work that God sent Jesus Christ to do is to glorify him (God) on earth by giving eternal life to them that believe in him.  This then implies that, the works though Jesus claimed to have been finished here during his prayers were not actually finished until he died and resurrected. Since eternal was made available to all men after his death and resurrection.

Twice he uttered the statement that he has finished the work – here during his last prayer and there on the cross before his final breath. This is because he transited in these two stages.

When he was praying here, he had not been made SIN FOR US; it was his last time being a RIGHTEOUS MAN AND FULL OF THE HOLYGHOST. So he finished his earthly ministry in this place, he has been going about doing good as recorded in the book of Acts. He has been saving lives form death and sicknesses, healing all sorts of diseases, glorifying God everywhere he goes to, proclaiming the love of God and the Grace of God in hope of eternal life.

You would note that he mentioned that the goal of the work he was sent to do and to finish is to give eternal life (salvation) to people who believe.

So he was made sin and there on the cross he made the statement the second time - “It is Finished!”

This is after he had been made sin and has identified with the whole human race. He has been smitten, pierced, mocked, chastised, slapped, bruised for our transgressions, and has been taken like a sheep to the slaughter. He was at that time YOUR SIN; he was at that time MY SIN, and the SINS of the whole world. There he finished the works for our salvation and restoration back into the kingdom of God. Jesus finished it all! He left nothing unfinished!

Now finally, he went down to hell as your sin - yes a sinner must necessarily go to hell. He went down to hell so that you will not have to go down there again. He went down to hell because he has been judged a sinner on your behalf (your sin was exchanged for his righteousness). He went down to hell to conquer the powers of Hell and Satan for you! He finished it even to the realms beyond the physical.

He didn’t stop there!

He resurrected on the third day by the power of the Holy Ghost. Having defeated them in hell and secured a flawless victory over Satan and his demons on your behalf, he went up into the heavens, offered himself as both the High Priest and as the precious blood of sacrifice to atone for YOUR SINS. He was offered as the blameless and perfected sacrifice over there in the heavens on your behalf, declaring you not guilty anymore! You were justified by the reason of what he has done. You have been sanctified, redeemed and reconciled back to God by the reason of his finished works and beyond!

So he finished the work during his earthly ministry, during his suffering and death and during his death and resurrection. This is what I call THE FINISHED WORKS!

Jesus finished it all! Nothing is left for you to finish!

Those who are DOING ALL SORTS OF WORKS HERE AND THERE TODAY IN OTHER TO BE ACCEPTED BY GOD are mocking the finished works of Christ. They are openly saying that the death and crucifixion of Christ is not enough to save them. They are trying to add to the FINISHED WORKS. WHAT HAS BEEN FINISHED HAS BEEN FINISHED. TRYING TO ADD TO IT IS STUPIDITY!

You cannot add RELIGION, you cannot add MORALITY, you cannot add CUSTOMS AND PRINCIPLES, and you cannot add ANY WORK (whether holy or not) to it! Not even baptism or tithe or mode of dressing or anything! Your salvation has been finished by Jesus Christ by the reason of this death and resurrection!

Stop mocking God, o ye legalists!

Believers, rejoice! You have been perfected forever by the faith you had in the FINISHED WORKS OF THE CROSS!

Amen!