© 2010
“I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
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The Apostles Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven and
sits at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy *catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
* The word “catholic” refers not to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Dear Heavenly Father,
I know that both Adam and Eve were perfect and complete when You first created them. Then, when they disobeyed You, sin and death entered both of them. And because of their sin, from that point forward the entire human race was no longer perfect nor complete. It was this sin and death that has cascaded down to all mankind throughout time and without exception — save one. It is because You are perfect and complete and pure and holy, Father.
This is the reason man with his sin nature cannot come into Your presence — it is impossible for any imperfection to exist before You. Yet, we were created for being in Your presence. But, with this sin nature mankind is doomed to live totally separated from You. And that there is no way we can restore the relationship between You and us. It was only You who can save us from our very selves.
So it is now in the Christian Creed, the Creed taken from Your Scriptures, where the saints of old show us Your response to this dilemma. This is what the various Christian creeds proclaim. They tell us that you are a Triune God, that is “Who You are!” One God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And then they tell us what our Lord Jesus, the second person within this Trinity Godhead, “What He did!” How He led the way to bring us redemption.
It is Tozer who explains what Jesus did, he said:
Christ was born that He might become a man and become a man
that He might give His life as a ransom for many.
Neither the birth nor the dying were ends in themselves.
He was born to die, so did He die that He might atone,
and rise that He might justify freely all who take refuge in Him.
And I have learned as Oswald Chambers says:
“God forgives sin only because of the death of Jesus Christ.”
So Heavenly Father, today I am before You, “forgiven” because of the death of your Son, Jesus Christ. This is the reason Jesus became man, the reason He …
“… suffered under Pontius Pilate,
where He was crucified,
and died, and was buried…”
Now, it is at this point in the retelling of the events Jesus experienced went from “The Passion of Christ” to “The Good News,” and “The Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Because as all the creeds say,
On the third day Jesus was raised from the dead,
and in so doing, God showed us His power over sin and death. Proving neither sin nor death can ever control Him.
Most importantly, causing each person who believes in what Jesus did to be justified and made righteous in His sight:
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
This is why the Church has believed and has celebrated on “Resurrection Sunday” for over the past 2,000 years.
“He is alive, – He is risen!”
Yes, He died, but His death was replaced by His Resurrection and in that we were justified, made righteous. What Jesus did was make a way for us to be with Him, our Father and the Holy Spirit.
What does Watchman Nee say about us who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
“Our old history ends with the cross;
and our new history begins with the resurrection.”
Tozer puts it this way:
The cross has been the end of a life
and the beginning of a life.
The life that ended there was a life of sin and slavery;
the life that began there is a life of
holiness and spiritual freedom.
This is the centerpiece of our Lord’s work here on earth. Now, where is He, this very minute, this very second? As the Bible says:
He, ascended into heaven
and right now He is sitting
at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
Dear Lord Jesus,
I trust You and it is my desire to obey You, to believe in You, to have faith in You!
Thank you Lord Jesus for taking my place on the cross for my sins.
For making the way for me, for all of us, to be with You and our Heavenly Father and with the Holy Spirit now and throughout eternity.
I know, that what You did on the cross, began my identification with You. This is the most profound event in the history of my life!
And I will be forever grateful for what You have done for me.
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