DID THE CROSS WORK?
An insidious and disturbing error has crept into some streams of the modern church which I call “the Galatian Church syndrome.”
What is the Galatian Church syndrome?
The apostle Paul had to deal with a group of Christian teachers called the Judaizers. “That Gentile Christians should convert to Judaism and obey the Laws of Moses was the assumption of some in the Early Church, represented by Pharisees who had become believers in Acts 15 (Acts 15:5).” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaizers). (A fuller treatment of this subject can be found on the website referred to in this article).
The underlying issue was, “Is the death of Jesus sufficient for salvation or is it necessary for Gentile believers to “Judaize”. i.e., embrace the Jewish law found in the Torah before they can be accepted as followers of Christ?” There were members of the Galatian church who had fallen for this lie, which alarmed and angered Paul to the extent that he wrote an impassioned letter to the Galatians to expose this idea as a “false gospel” and one which he did not preach. So vehemently did he denounce such an idea that he called down a curse on anyone, even an angelic being sent from God, who preached “another gospel”.
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.” Galatians 1:8 (NIV).
Although this issue is still alive today, it is not the debate over the place of the law in the believer’s life that concerns me as much as the same principle which rears its head in other ways from time to time. There are ways in which the efficacy of the cross is challenged by beliefs and practices which appear “spiritual” but are in actual fact additions to the work of Jesus that supposedly enhance the effectiveness of what He accomplished on the cross.
Before I explain, there are two questions which we must answer:
- What did Jesus mean when He declared, “It is finished!”?
- What did the cross accomplish?
The answers to these two questions are inextricably tied together.
“Literally translated the word tetelestai means, “It is finished.” The word occurs in John 19:28 and 19:30 and these are the only two places in the New Testament where it occurs. In 19:28 it is translated, “After this, when Jesus knew that all things were now completed, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, ‘I thirst.’” Two verses later, he utters the word himself: “Then when he received the sour wine Jesus said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
“The word tetelestai was also written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to show indicating that a bill had been paid in full. The Greek-English lexicon by Moulton and Milligan says this:
“Receipts are often introduced by the phrase [sic] tetelestai, usually written in an abbreviated manner…” (p. 630). The connection between receipts and what Christ accomplished would have been quite clear to John’s Greek-speaking readership; it would be unmistakable that Jesus Christ had died to pay for their sins.”
(https://bible.org/question/what-does-greek-word-tetelestai-mean).
“Tetelestai” doesn’t translate simply; we have to make a phrase out of it – “It is finished.” But still some of its power is lost in the translation. In the Greek it implies that something has come to an end, it has been completed, perfected, accomplished in full and that something has consequences that will endure on and on…
“Tetelestai.” The most powerful single word of all of Jesus’ ministry. It was also his last word. It was the word that turned this apparent tragedy into a scene of victory that shook the earth, split rocks, changed history, raised saints from the dead and tore away the temple curtain that kept people out of the Holy of Holies.
“Tetelestai” the most powerful word in history. Even more powerful than the words of creation in Genesis chapter 1 where God spoke and the universe came into existence. This word could not simply be spoken. The son of God had to die to speak it…
“Seven times our Lord spoke from the Cross, three before the darkness and four after…
“The sixth word is one of triumph, “It is finished!”
“In the Greek, it is the word tetelestai. It’s an artist’s word. It is the word an artist uses when she stands before one of her creations and says, “Tetelestai, it is finished; I cannot add anything more to it. It is complete.” It is a builder’s word. It is the word he uses when he hands over the keys to a new building and says, “Tetelestai, it is finished; I have done everything according to the plan. It is complete.”
http://www.opensourcetheology.net/node/1332
Jesus’ cry, “It is finished,” was an all-encompassing declaration that everything that went wrong when Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden was reversed at the cross; every lie the devil had spoken was exposed, every sin forgiven and the debt paid in full. Every obstacle between man and God was removed and God’s original plan for man and the universe put back on track – confirmed by the resurrection, and to be completed at His return.
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossian 2:13-15 (NIV).
The Galatian Church syndrome is that teaching, practice or movement that believes that what Jesus did on the cross and through His resurrection was not sufficient for salvation. There are different ways in which people have added to the efficacy of His death; baptism, the Mass, legalism, good works to mention just a few. It is my purpose to examine the ever-growing international prayer movement which engages is “spiritual” warfare to defeat and pull down strongholds over people and nations, against the backdrop of Scripture to see whether it fits into the category of “Galatian Church Syndrome.”
To be continued…