Christ’s substitutionary death is the central truth of cosmic dimensions. Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice, for He died for our sins (Rom. 3:25, Rom. 4:25, 1 Cor. 15:3, Heb. 2:17, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10). The greatest sacrifice ever made was offered when the King of the whole universe came to our sinful world, lived sinlessly as a human person, and died for us in our place. True Christianity is cross-centered (1 Cor. 2:2).
Ellen G. White powerfully states: “The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light that streams from the cross of Calvary. I present before you the great, grand monument of mercy and regeneration, salvation and redemption—the Son of God uplifted on the cross. This is to be the foundation of every discourse given by our ministers.”—Gospel Workers, p. 315. She adds: “Of all professing Christians, Seventh-day Adventists should be foremost in uplifting Christ before the world.”—Gospel Workers, p. 156. The death of Jesus on the cross is the foundational stone on which all biblical teaching is anchored.
Jesus Christ came for manifold reasons: (1) to redeem humanity—He was born as a man in order to die for us (Mark 10:45; John 3:16, 17); (2) to reveal to us the true loving character of God (John 1:14, John 10:28–30, John 14:6–9); (3) to defeat Satan and refute his false claims (Matt. 4:1–11, John 12:31, John 16:11, Heb. 2:14); and (4) to prove that the first Adam could have obeyed God as Christ in His humanity fulfilled perfectly all the law and lived a sinless, holy life (Ps. 16:10; Luke 1:35; John 8:46; John 14:30; Acts 2:24; 1 Cor. 15:22, 45; 1 John 3:5).
Part II: Commentary
The Suffering Servant
In the book of Isaiah, there are five songs regarding the Servant of the Lord that are recognized by scholars: (1) Isaiah 42:1–9; (2) Isaiah 49:1–7; (3) Isaiah 50:4–9; (4) Isaiah 52:13–53:12; and (5) Isaiah 61:1–3. These poems present the work of Jesus Christ. He began His public ministry with the passage from Isaiah 61:1, 2, which speaks about His mission (see Luke 4:16–21). However, the best and most elaborate exposition on the meaning of Christ’s death in the Bible is Isaiah 53. The core song of the Suffering Servant, which starts in chapter 52 and continues through chapter 53, is symmetrically structured (five stanzas, each with three verses, which can be labeled as follows):
_Isaiah 52:13–15_—The Riddle: The song begins with a riddle, because this Servant is wise and highly exalted on the one hand. But on the other hand, He is disfigured, abhorred by others, and marred.
_Isaiah 53:1–3_—The Rejection: These verses point to the Servant’s total humiliation. He suffered, was despised, rejected, and became a “man of sorrows.”
_Isaiah 53:4–6—The Atonement: This segment is the core of the matter wherein the reason is given for all Christ’s suffering and death. For “he took up our pain,” “bore our suffering,” “was pierced for our transgressions,” and “crushed for our iniquities,” and “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4–6,_ NIV).
_Isaiah 53:7–9_—His Submission: These texts describe Christ’s suffering, trial, death, and burial.
_Isaiah 53:10–12_—His Exaltation: The song culminates with the resurrection of the One who was the guilt offering, and His prosperity and victory. He justified many, because “he bore the sin of many” (Isaiah 53:12, NIV) and shared His spoil with them. His death was voluntary, substitutionary, and atoning; afterward the results of His triumphant death are applied to believers in His intercessional ministry for them.
Isaiah 53 is the biblical text that the Ethiopian eunuch read. The evangelist Philip explained to him that it contains the good news about Jesus Christ. The result was the eunuch’s conversion and baptism (Acts 8:26–39).
Cross: The Center Point of Theology
Paradoxically, Christ’s death is the guarantee of life, and His death brings us eternal life (John 3:16, 17; Rom. 3:22–26; 1 John 5:11, 12). No one theory can fully explain the enormous significance of Christ’s death on the cross. Even though we can assemble a whole mosaic of reasons for His death, such a picture would capture only a fraction of the enormous meaning of the Cross. The Cross reveals God’s incomprehensible love for sinners, His justice, His truth, the splendor of His holy character, the immutability of His law, the abhorrent nature of sin, the safety of His government, His victory over sin, who’s who in the great controversy, and Christ’s definitive victory over Satan and the forces of evil.
For these reasons, the death of Christ plays the decisive and dominant role in our Adventist theology. Nothing can replace the centrality and utmost importance of Christ’s death (Rom. 1:16, 17; Rom. 3:22–26; 1 Cor. 1:30; 1 Cor. 2:2; Eph. 4:21; Phil. 1:21; Col. 1:27, 28). What happened on the cross is an unparalleled, nonduplicable, unique, and unrepeatable divine act of salvation (Heb. 9:28; Heb. 10:12, 14) from which all the salvific benefits flow out, including the intercessory ministry of Christ for us today. Nothing can improve or supplement the Cross, and no one can add anything to Christ’s extraordinary sacrifice for humans; salvation is complete in Him (Rom. 3:21–26; 1 Cor. 1:18, 23, 24; 1 Cor. 2:2; Gal. 2:16, 21; Eph. 2:4–10). Christ’s atoning death on Calvary is like a fountain from which all other blessings spring up; or to put it another way, His atonement is akin to an acorn that contains the whole oak tree.
Truly, the atonement of Jesus was perfect. Ellen G. White explains: “When the Father beheld the sacrifice of His Son, He bowed before it in recognition of its perfection. ‘It is enough,’ He said. ‘The atonement is complete._’ ”—The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, September 24, 1901; emphasis added. “Our great High Priest has made the only sacrifice that is of any value in our salvation. When [He] offered Himself on the cross, a perfect atonement was made for the sins of the people.”—_Signs of the Times, June 28, 1899.
Jesus became sin and a curse for us (Isa. 53:3–6, 2 Cor. 5:21, Gal. 3:13) so that we may live. What was accomplished on the cross almost two thousand years ago now needs to be applied, actualized, and incorporated into our lives in order for us to be restored to God’s image and to have abundant life (John 10:10). Christ is our Mediator and Intercessor (1 Tim. 2:6) because He is our Savior. His intercession is a continuation of His saving activity in our behalf and the integration of His work for us on the cross. We need His death and life in order to be spiritually alive (Rom. 3:24, 25; Rom. 5:10). Raoul Dederen emphasizes the central role of Christ’s death: “While His sacrifice for sin was made once for all on the cross (Heb. 7:27, Heb. 9:28, Heb. 10:11–14), the ascended Christ is making available to all the benefits of His atoning sacrifice.”—“Christ: His Person and Work,” Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2000), p. 187.
Cosmic Stability
The whole universe is safe for all eternity because of the Cross. Human language is unable to describe its magnificent and gigantic benefits (Col. 1:19, 20; Col. 2:15; Eph. 1:10; Eph. 6:12; Phil. 2:9, 10). Rebellion and sin will never happen again in heaven because of Jesus Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on Golgotha.
Ellen G. White fittingly explains that the well-being of the whole universe throughout all eternity depends on Christ’s work accomplished on the cross: “Not only men but angels will ascribe honor and glory to the Redeemer, for even they are secure only through the sufferings of the Son of God. It is through the efficacy of the cross that the inhabitants of unfallen worlds have been guarded from apostasy. It is this that has effectually unveiled the deceptions of Satan and refuted his claims. Not only those that are washed by the blood of Christ, but also the holy angels, are drawn to Him by His crowning act of giving His life for the sins of the world.”—Ellen G. White, unpublished manuscript, MS 41, 1892.
“When Christ cried out, ‘It is finished,’ the unfallen worlds were made secure. For them the battle was fought and the victory won. Henceforth Satan had no place in the affections of the universe. The argument he had brought forward, that self-denial was impossible with God, and therefore unjustly required from His created intelligences, was forever answered. Satan’s claims were forever set aside. The heavenly universe was secured in eternal allegiance.”—Ellen G. White, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, March 12, 1901, p. 271.
“The angels ascribe honor and glory to Christ, for even they are not secure except by looking to the sufferings of the Son of God. It is through the efficacy of the cross that the angels of heaven are guarded from apostasy. Without the cross they would be no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan.”—Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, December 30, 1889, p. 345.
The Science of the Cross
Ellen G. White declares: “God’s wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which ‘angels desire to look,’ and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song.”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 19, 20 (see also The Great Controversy, pp. 651, 652).
Ellen G. White admonishes that we learn for ourselves the science of the Cross and teach it to our young people: “The revelation of God’s love to man centers in the cross. Its full significance tongue cannot utter; pen cannot portray; the mind of man cannot comprehend. . . . Christ crucified for our sins, Christ risen from the dead, Christ ascended on high, is the science of salvation that we are to learn and to teach.”—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 178. “Let the youth make the word of God the food of mind and soul. Let the cross of Christ be made the science of all education, the center of all teaching and all study.”—The Ministry of Healing, p. 460.
Part III: Life Application
What is the meaning of the following statement by Ellen G. White: “The mystery of the cross explains all other mysteries” (The Great Controversy, p. 652)?
If during all eternity, we will study the science of salvation and always find something new to admire and be surprised by, what does this fact tell us about the meaning of the death of Christ on Calvary?
Paul states that the Cross is for some people foolishness and for others a stumbling block. But for the believers, it is “the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). Why do you think Paul is justified in making this claim?
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Key Text: Isaiah 52:13–53:12
Part I: Overview
Christ’s substitutionary death is the central truth of cosmic dimensions. Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice, for He died for our sins (Rom. 3:25, Rom. 4:25, 1 Cor. 15:3, Heb. 2:17, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 4:10). The greatest sacrifice ever made was offered when the King of the whole universe came to our sinful world, lived sinlessly as a human person, and died for us in our place. True Christianity is cross-centered (1 Cor. 2:2).
Ellen G. White powerfully states: “The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light that streams from the cross of Calvary. I present before you the great, grand monument of mercy and regeneration, salvation and redemption—the Son of God uplifted on the cross. This is to be the foundation of every discourse given by our ministers.”—Gospel Workers, p. 315. She adds: “Of all professing Christians, Seventh-day Adventists should be foremost in uplifting Christ before the world.”—Gospel Workers, p. 156. The death of Jesus on the cross is the foundational stone on which all biblical teaching is anchored.
Jesus Christ came for manifold reasons: (1) to redeem humanity—He was born as a man in order to die for us (Mark 10:45; John 3:16, 17); (2) to reveal to us the true loving character of God (John 1:14, John 10:28–30, John 14:6–9); (3) to defeat Satan and refute his false claims (Matt. 4:1–11, John 12:31, John 16:11, Heb. 2:14); and (4) to prove that the first Adam could have obeyed God as Christ in His humanity fulfilled perfectly all the law and lived a sinless, holy life (Ps. 16:10; Luke 1:35; John 8:46; John 14:30; Acts 2:24; 1 Cor. 15:22, 45; 1 John 3:5).
Part II: Commentary
The Suffering Servant
In the book of Isaiah, there are five songs regarding the Servant of the Lord that are recognized by scholars: (1) Isaiah 42:1–9; (2) Isaiah 49:1–7; (3) Isaiah 50:4–9; (4) Isaiah 52:13–53:12; and (5) Isaiah 61:1–3. These poems present the work of Jesus Christ. He began His public ministry with the passage from Isaiah 61:1, 2, which speaks about His mission (see Luke 4:16–21). However, the best and most elaborate exposition on the meaning of Christ’s death in the Bible is Isaiah 53. The core song of the Suffering Servant, which starts in chapter 52 and continues through chapter 53, is symmetrically structured (five stanzas, each with three verses, which can be labeled as follows):
_Isaiah 52:13–15_—The Riddle: The song begins with a riddle, because this Servant is wise and highly exalted on the one hand. But on the other hand, He is disfigured, abhorred by others, and marred.
_Isaiah 53:1–3_—The Rejection: These verses point to the Servant’s total humiliation. He suffered, was despised, rejected, and became a “man of sorrows.”
_Isaiah 53:4–6—The Atonement: This segment is the core of the matter wherein the reason is given for all Christ’s suffering and death. For “he took up our pain,” “bore our suffering,” “was pierced for our transgressions,” and “crushed for our iniquities,” and “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4–6,_ NIV).
_Isaiah 53:7–9_—His Submission: These texts describe Christ’s suffering, trial, death, and burial.
_Isaiah 53:10–12_—His Exaltation: The song culminates with the resurrection of the One who was the guilt offering, and His prosperity and victory. He justified many, because “he bore the sin of many” (Isaiah 53:12, NIV) and shared His spoil with them. His death was voluntary, substitutionary, and atoning; afterward the results of His triumphant death are applied to believers in His intercessional ministry for them.
Isaiah 53 is the biblical text that the Ethiopian eunuch read. The evangelist Philip explained to him that it contains the good news about Jesus Christ. The result was the eunuch’s conversion and baptism (Acts 8:26–39).
Cross: The Center Point of Theology
Paradoxically, Christ’s death is the guarantee of life, and His death brings us eternal life (John 3:16, 17; Rom. 3:22–26; 1 John 5:11, 12). No one theory can fully explain the enormous significance of Christ’s death on the cross. Even though we can assemble a whole mosaic of reasons for His death, such a picture would capture only a fraction of the enormous meaning of the Cross. The Cross reveals God’s incomprehensible love for sinners, His justice, His truth, the splendor of His holy character, the immutability of His law, the abhorrent nature of sin, the safety of His government, His victory over sin, who’s who in the great controversy, and Christ’s definitive victory over Satan and the forces of evil.
For these reasons, the death of Christ plays the decisive and dominant role in our Adventist theology. Nothing can replace the centrality and utmost importance of Christ’s death (Rom. 1:16, 17; Rom. 3:22–26; 1 Cor. 1:30; 1 Cor. 2:2; Eph. 4:21; Phil. 1:21; Col. 1:27, 28). What happened on the cross is an unparalleled, nonduplicable, unique, and unrepeatable divine act of salvation (Heb. 9:28; Heb. 10:12, 14) from which all the salvific benefits flow out, including the intercessory ministry of Christ for us today. Nothing can improve or supplement the Cross, and no one can add anything to Christ’s extraordinary sacrifice for humans; salvation is complete in Him (Rom. 3:21–26; 1 Cor. 1:18, 23, 24; 1 Cor. 2:2; Gal. 2:16, 21; Eph. 2:4–10). Christ’s atoning death on Calvary is like a fountain from which all other blessings spring up; or to put it another way, His atonement is akin to an acorn that contains the whole oak tree.
Truly, the atonement of Jesus was perfect. Ellen G. White explains: “When the Father beheld the sacrifice of His Son, He bowed before it in recognition of its perfection. ‘It is enough,’ He said. ‘The atonement is complete._’ ”—The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, September 24, 1901; emphasis added. “Our great High Priest has made the only sacrifice that is of any value in our salvation. When [He] offered Himself on the cross, a perfect atonement was made for the sins of the people.”—_Signs of the Times, June 28, 1899.
Jesus became sin and a curse for us (Isa. 53:3–6, 2 Cor. 5:21, Gal. 3:13) so that we may live. What was accomplished on the cross almost two thousand years ago now needs to be applied, actualized, and incorporated into our lives in order for us to be restored to God’s image and to have abundant life (John 10:10). Christ is our Mediator and Intercessor (1 Tim. 2:6) because He is our Savior. His intercession is a continuation of His saving activity in our behalf and the integration of His work for us on the cross. We need His death and life in order to be spiritually alive (Rom. 3:24, 25; Rom. 5:10). Raoul Dederen emphasizes the central role of Christ’s death: “While His sacrifice for sin was made once for all on the cross (Heb. 7:27, Heb. 9:28, Heb. 10:11–14), the ascended Christ is making available to all the benefits of His atoning sacrifice.”—“Christ: His Person and Work,” Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2000), p. 187.
Cosmic Stability
The whole universe is safe for all eternity because of the Cross. Human language is unable to describe its magnificent and gigantic benefits (Col. 1:19, 20; Col. 2:15; Eph. 1:10; Eph. 6:12; Phil. 2:9, 10). Rebellion and sin will never happen again in heaven because of Jesus Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on Golgotha.
Ellen G. White fittingly explains that the well-being of the whole universe throughout all eternity depends on Christ’s work accomplished on the cross: “Not only men but angels will ascribe honor and glory to the Redeemer, for even they are secure only through the sufferings of the Son of God. It is through the efficacy of the cross that the inhabitants of unfallen worlds have been guarded from apostasy. It is this that has effectually unveiled the deceptions of Satan and refuted his claims. Not only those that are washed by the blood of Christ, but also the holy angels, are drawn to Him by His crowning act of giving His life for the sins of the world.”—Ellen G. White, unpublished manuscript, MS 41, 1892.
“When Christ cried out, ‘It is finished,’ the unfallen worlds were made secure. For them the battle was fought and the victory won. Henceforth Satan had no place in the affections of the universe. The argument he had brought forward, that self-denial was impossible with God, and therefore unjustly required from His created intelligences, was forever answered. Satan’s claims were forever set aside. The heavenly universe was secured in eternal allegiance.”—Ellen G. White, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, March 12, 1901, p. 271.
“The angels ascribe honor and glory to Christ, for even they are not secure except by looking to the sufferings of the Son of God. It is through the efficacy of the cross that the angels of heaven are guarded from apostasy. Without the cross they would be no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan.”—Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, December 30, 1889, p. 345.
The Science of the Cross
Ellen G. White declares: “God’s wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which ‘angels desire to look,’ and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song.”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 19, 20 (see also The Great Controversy, pp. 651, 652).
Ellen G. White admonishes that we learn for ourselves the science of the Cross and teach it to our young people: “The revelation of God’s love to man centers in the cross. Its full significance tongue cannot utter; pen cannot portray; the mind of man cannot comprehend. . . . Christ crucified for our sins, Christ risen from the dead, Christ ascended on high, is the science of salvation that we are to learn and to teach.”—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 178. “Let the youth make the word of God the food of mind and soul. Let the cross of Christ be made the science of all education, the center of all teaching and all study.”—The Ministry of Healing, p. 460.
Part III: Life Application
What is the meaning of the following statement by Ellen G. White: “The mystery of the cross explains all other mysteries” (The Great Controversy, p. 652)?
If during all eternity, we will study the science of salvation and always find something new to admire and be surprised by, what does this fact tell us about the meaning of the death of Christ on Calvary?
Paul states that the Cross is for some people foolishness and for others a stumbling block. But for the believers, it is “the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). Why do you think Paul is justified in making this claim?