The power of the Cross has nothing to do with the wooden shape. Express in other words, the wooden Cross-like-shape, or iron Cross-like-shape as the case may be, has nothing to do with the power of the Cross.

According to 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 18, see what the Bible says:

For the message [ministry] of the Cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God."

The power is not about the Wood, and the Wood does not in any way has a rob-off of the power of Him that was crucified. Hence, wearing about, or planting a wooden Cross-like-shape in your compound, or at the front or beside our fellowship building, has nothing at all to do with us experience the power of the Cross. It doesn't become our reality because we wear a cross shape around our neck as the manner of some are these days; that's not what God is looking for.

If we observe carefully, we will notice that, the Early disciples didn't concern themselves about the Wooden Cross-like-shape that the Lord Jesus was crucified on, Peter and the rest didn’t return to the wooden shape to say, at least the wood (or Cross-like-shape) is still here even though we could not see His body anymore in the grave, we have this wood that He was crucified on, let's carry this one so it could go before us. No, they didn't bother themselves with it.  neither did Jesus Himself bother them about it, except that after He had breathed on them for divine impaction, in John chapter 20 verse 22; He asked them to tarry in Jerusalem awaiting the promise of the Father saying, "You shall receive power".  The same power that rose Jesus from the grave, the same power that was at work in Him from the moment He was baptized in River Jordan down to the day that he was lifted to the Cross.

The power of the Cross was prophesied, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so shall the Son of man be lifted up...whosoever believed in Him should not perish but have eternal life".

We can see rightly here that the power is not just about the event. No, it was not. The same way the serpent miraculous power wasn't for the sake of the Snake nor the pole (there could be other poles around there too), but the WORD behind the event, the lifting up of the serpent. God spoke the Word, the power, the authority into being.

The power of the Cross is rooted in the spoken Word of God. The power is not just about the earthly lifeless body on the wooden cross shape, no, it was not, it is the power of the spoken Word.

It is the Word behind the crucifixion that is the power that the Cross has. Jesus was not the only One who was crucified that day, but none of the other thieves died for the reason that Jesus Christ died for.

It pleased the Father that Jesus should suffer death for all, so that by the means of His death, many sons will be turned unto the Father. Jesus died for the hope of many sons. He was afflicted for the many. He was bruised for His brethren. The power of the Cross comes by the power of the spoken Word of God.

Let's see some biblical revelation to receive some witnesses to the potentiality of the Word of God, the key factor behind the Cross, and all that the ministry of the Cross is to achieve for us as we go in fulfilling the counsel of our Father in the midst of men:

“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 23:29)."

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12 NKJV).

Wow! The life of the Cross is truly the life that has been ordained for man to showcase on the face of the earth. We are forever grateful for Jesus, and all that He bore for the sake of His brethren. I pray none of us will be cut short from experiencing the power of this life before we are done in our walk with the Lord on the earth in Jesus’ name.

It will be lack of understanding, for us to go about seeking for the power of the Cross in the wood, or in the lifeless body that was buried like every other earthen vessel that passed away (has given up the ghost). The power or the Cross, is the power of the Word of God.

Praise the Lord!

The Components of the Cross

If we carefully study the text that talks about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, in John Gospel chapter 19 From 17 to verse 37, we will find out the following components of the cross:

 We have the wooden part or shape, the body, the writing of Pilate, the nails, the blood from His body (bruises and wounds from the nails) , water from the body, and the WORD of God (the fulfilment of all that was written concerning Him).

And one scripture that summarized the Will of God, the Word of God, for the experience of the Cross is recorded in Isaiah chapter 53 from verse 10 to 11, and Hebrews chapter 9 verse 22, see what the Bible says,

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.

“In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness."

 

The Facts about the Crucifixion, the Death of Christ on the Cross

The death of JESUS on the Cross didn't merely happen just because the Jews wanted Him away from the face of earth, nor was it a sudden occurrence, it was the fulfillment of the Will of God.

Jesus speaking concerning His death said, "I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished (Luke 12:50, NLT)"

It didn't not just happen, no, it didn't. God orchestrated it to achieve eternal purpose of redemption for man. Yes, that there would be a possibility for the forgiveness of sins, salvation, deliverance, sons and daughters of men adopted as sons of God, this delights the heart of God so much. The Cross brought or ushered in the dispensation of Grace, it opens man more to divine mysteries than it was available under the law, and ultimately made us coheirs with the man on the Cross. For so the Lord predestined us in Him to the praise of His Glory.

Hallelujah!!!

 

What's the Ministry of the Cross?

 Everything we have spoken about already are spiritual blessings that the Father destined us for in Him, and it is only by the Cross that all are made possible. Without the Cross, left for the law of Moses and the prophets, we would still be accounted as the enemies of God up till today. The law itself didn't profit those who got it originally, neither would it had profited us, despite the fact that the Church under the dispensation of Grace wished to access spiritual blessings through the law. We are forcing ourselves by our numerous practices as if we are begging God to allow us cross to the other side; the era of the law.

What that means is that, we are boycotting Christ, we are outsmarting the Lord Jesus that we have been blessed in Him forever to establish another connection to God, yet we can't see that we have erred against Grace.

There is a scripture that spelt out the ministry of the Cross in such a way that, for anyone who comes in touch with that part of the letters of apostle Paul, he or she will not ask further questions on what then is the essence that Christ has to go through all of that; the sufferings?

From our anchor text, 1 Corinthians chapter 1 from verse 18 to 25, see what the Bible says, "

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent; where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Our major concentration is particularly on verse 18 of the text: " For the message [ministry] of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

 When we first started, we listed out the components of the Cross of Jesus including the physical body on the wooden object. Yes, it is possible for anyone to think that all the components of the Cross gave birth to the power of the Cross, and  that is why it is an able to forgive our sins, to redeem us unto God, and gives us deliverance from the hands of Sin nature, and the hold of the enemy. If we ever think like that, we are not looking at it from the eyes of God, based on spiritual knowledge and understanding.

Like the two other men were crucified, so was Jesus Christ too. Perhaps, more terrible things were done to the two thieves that were crucified with Him while on the Cross than it was done to the body of Christ Jesus after He dismissed His spirit.

The bones of the thieves were broken, His own were not, He was pierced with a soldier's spear, maybe the thieves as well received the same inhuman agony, but Jesus’ piercing was after He breathed His last. The thieves’ bones were broken so that they don't run away, but Jesus' bones were not broken because it was prophesied saying, "He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken (Ps.34.20)."

The thieves were crucified based on trespass. Let's listen to their testimony all by themselves:

One of the criminals who had been hanged [on a cross beside Him] kept hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us [from death]!” But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? We are suffering justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done; but this Man has done nothing wrong (Luke 23:39-41, AMP).

Do you see? They both suffered for what they deserved, the consequence for their crimes, but the case of Jesus was a different reality. The WORD of God took Him to the Cross, the Bible says:

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand (Isaiah 53:10, NKJV).

That through His death, salvation should be preached in His Name.

The Word of God as part of the Cross of Jesus is what gave birth to the ministry or message of the Cross: "The power of God".

The ministry of the Cross of Jesus is simple: " God's Power" or "Power of God".

Apostle Paul said, "The Kingdom of God [ preached by the Word of God] is not meat and bread, but the power of God ". The Holy Spirit also testifying concerning us saying, "The Father has not given us the Spirit of fear, but the Spirit of Power, love, and sound mind". The Word of God and the Spirit of the Word, that is, the Spirit that is behind the Word is the power of the Cross, not the human blood, not the human body, not the nails, not the cap of thorns, not the inscription over His head. Meaning, if a man or woman or religion lay holds of the wooden Cross-like-shape, the body on the Cross, the blood that flows, and the gushing water from His body, as long as He is yet to lay hold on the WORD, he or she is yet to lay hold on the power of the Cross.

In a similar way, if all that we preach or teach is the wooden Cross, the coming out of the water, the site of Crucifixion, the thorns on His head, the body on the Cross, and we let go of the WORD, we have missed out the power of God.

In John chapter 1 verse 1 to 5, the Bible talks about the Word:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

In John chapter 14 verse 6, Jesus said, "I am the Truth". And in same Book of John chapter 17 verse 3, Jesus added again, " Your Word [which is with the Father from the beginning] is Truth ".

This ultimately means that, the Church has no two separate message or ministry, the church has only one message to preach, to die and live for: " The WORD," which is "The POWER of GOD".

Jesus (the Word) is the message, the WORD is the MINISTRY, that's what made the Cross powerful.

Apostle Paul talking about the same thing said, " Him we preach," nothing more. The Ministry is Power personified, nothing more. The Word does not appear weak anytime. When the Word of God orchestrate an event, it automatically births the power of God in and through the event.

When the Word of God comes in contact with anything or anybody, it births power. If the message is power then when we speak Jesus, the Word, it is expected that power emanates from us.

The kingdom of God generally is known for power, anywhere the kingdom makes an appearance, power comes into play. The appearance of the kingdom is the appearance of power. It is impossible for anyone to be sent out by God without this evident.

The Bible says, "He sent His Word to them, and the Word healed them and delivered them from all their situations".

From our anchor text in verse 24, see what the Bible says, "but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."

This is not a matter of saying it used to be, no, it has always been. It is forever true. It does not change, except a people or an individual refuses to handle the Word of God correctly. If we handle the Word of God deceptively, it wouldn't deliver to us the results like men of old. We need to handle the Word of God correctly. The mind that was in Christ Jesus must equally be us, for us to have the kind of results that the disciples who have gone ahead of us had.

Brother Paul was speaking at a point, he said, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ". It then means, if you delight to get the kind of results of Jesus, who you want to imitate is not what we should argue about, but the truth is this; if the person you are imitating had left imitating Jesus at the point you started following him or her, you can never become like Christ again, and you won't be able to manifest the results of Christ, because what's corrupted can only produce its kind. That's simple enough.

Jesus Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God not the person you have before you, or that you are running up and down with every day and everywhere. God knows what He is saying, when He says, " It is only those who let the Holy Spirit lead them that are sons of God ". He knows what He is saying. This is equally established forever: you cannot get the Will of God done by man, except God had assigned a task for you to do in that man, or with that man. The ministry of the Cross is constant experience of the power of God in all generations, but if a generation refused to posture for God's Will correctly in fellowship with Him, that generation will be skipped, and God will start raising men from among the failed generation for the upcoming generation. We must be up and posture correctly so we don’t make shipwreck of our essence in Jesus’ name.

 

The Assignment of the Ministry of the Cross

The Cross of JESUS Christ deals with every human Peace, all human problem, every human pleasure, every human fulfilment, every human aspiration, every human destiny and purpose.

The ministry of the cross is the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. The cross, the power of God, deals with whatever Christ Himself has been appointed by God, and anointed by God to deal with, or do.

According to Luke chapter 4 from verse 18 to 19, see what the Bible says:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19, NKJV.)

There is nothing that is pattern to this life that JESUS has not come to deal with. He has come for total turnaround of man, to refurbish man. To return man to the original plan. JESUS is new beginning for all, both the Jews and the rest nations (pollution) of the world.

The Cross gave birth to our human purpose and destiny. From the days of the garden of Eden that man lost his purpose, he has been on survival journey through life until Christ paid the ransom for his offense. We didn’t hear any other remarkable thing that Adam did again until his death after the experience of Genesis chapter 3. From that very day he vacated the vicinity of the garden, he became purposeless: Nothing eternal about all that he was doing from morning until night. The Cross is the returned ticket of man to purposeful living. Any man that is ignorant of the Cross is truly ignorant indeed.

Has the Cross returned you to purposeful living, or you are still playing religion around the other elements of the Cross thinking that religion is godliness?

To turn one's back at the Cross is similar to walking away from one's life, purpose, and destiny — it is to render one's life useless both now and eternity.

The Cross is the restoration of our spiritual destiny, purpose, and Dominion in this life and hereafter.

No man can find life (or meaning to life) except the revelation of the Cross is revealed to him or her. (See John chapter 15.)

The ministry of the cross is beyond the preaching of repentance, the forgiveness of sin, and going to heaven. No! It is beyond that — it is all that a man is, and should ever be. Our life is picked up at the Cross, the old is taken away from us, and the new is restored to us. It is end of our old life, the beginning of the new life in us, the journey of the new life, it is the assignment of the new life, and the destiny of every man that comes to God in Him, the man of the Cross.

 

Our Share in the Life and Assignment of the Cross

Apostle Paul speaking in Galatians chapter 2 verse 20, he said, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Our life in Christ Jesus is not fun, there is a unique customized assignment for every one of us. There is nothing like nothing is assigned to me. Nobody told me anything, so I don't have anything to do.

But the question is this, if you were to have a very wealthy father, a multi-billionaire, who is known globally, and it happened that he died, and after his diseased, the family lawyer came into the house to read the will of your father before your surviving brothers and relatives. Friend, no matter how rich you are, if everyone else got part of the share of your father's multibillion properties except you, would you be happy or praise your father for excluding you from his WILL? Will you just throw party for not being included?

If it were not for anything else, at least for the sake of recognition that you were also part of the sons of your late father, you would desire that you were also included like every other person. How much injustice would you say of God, the Almighty, the Creator of the ends of the earth, if you are excluded from the Will that He has written for every life on the face of the earth?

Dear, none of us is excluded from the Will of God. There is a responsibility for you, and every one that is named of the Lord to do for the kingdom of God on the earth. The only reason you will not know what has been written concerning you is if you were like a woman that is complaining of scarcity of water, but will not go to either the river to fetch water, nor stop by the tap to get some water.

 

JESUS Christ is the distribution center of God's Will for everyone that is ready to walk with God in his or her life time.

According to John chapter 15 verse 16, it was like a Father passing His last Will to his children, see what the Bible says, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you."

And He spoke further on same matter in chapter 20 verse 21 of the Book of John, JESUS emphatically said to them and to us, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

You will notice that He was not just speaking to Peter, nor to just the sons of Zebedee alone, it is to all who are named the disciple of Christ.

He has left us with His Will to continue the assignment of the Cross without excluding anyone: reconciling the world with our Father, and the restoration of the Dominion of the earth back to man. Look at what He said further as we conclude.

According to John chapter 14 verse 12, see what the Bible says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father".

We are witnesses of His life. We can't sit and just be watching. There is no believer that his or her assignment in the Kingdom is a sitting position. No, the Words of His instructions are very vivid, " What you see me do, go and be doing likewise even much more than I have done ". Your posture in the kingdom is not to be watching as the work is been done. No, you are also an active participant in the work of the kingdom. Arise now that you still have strength, and it is day.

Work for your rewards, work because you love the Father and our Lord. Do all that JESUS did; JESUS did Faith, JESUS is a lover of righteousness, Jesus is love personified, Jesus demonstrated the power of the highest, He is expecting you and I to do likewise. Arise and be steadfast less we are cut short in the midst by His return, the sound of The Trumpet.

Hallelujah to the Him that is seated and highly lifted up. Amen.

Peace!

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am John Ojoagbene!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!