Husbands, Sanctify

From Tim Savage's book No Ordinary Marriage: Together For God's Glory:

With the biblical injunction of love comes an extraordinary promise. If a husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church, he will – imagine this! – maker her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and present her to himself in all her radiance, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Eph. 5:26-27).

Biblical love transforms a wife. It is the most powerful shaping agent in the world. Love elevates a wife above everything common and defiled, cleanses her from the sullying influences of her past, and transforms her into a radiant person. It bathes her in the glory of God and removes – from the eyes of her husband and, consequently, from her own eyes too – any taint or blemish. What an exquisite creature is the woman loved by her husband! Men take note. The wife of your dreams – ind a wife exceeding your dreams – awaits the demonstration in and through you of Christlike love.
 
Too many husbands adopt a different patter. They nurture a vision of the ideal woman and then point out to their wives areas where they fall short. They chip away at their wives, often issuing toxic barbs: ‘Why aren’t you more disciplined?’ why are you putting on weight?’ “Why don’t you pay more attention to my interests?’ ‘Why are you always late?’ ‘Why is the house a mess?’ ‘Why are the children misbehaving?’ (86)

June 9, 2013 | Jesus Won: Christus Victor

Sunday we continued our series on the atonement of Jesus highlighting for the second time Christus Victor. At the cross, Jesus wins. The principle text was taken from Colossians 2:8-15:

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. ⁹ For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; ¹¹ and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; ¹² having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, ¹⁴ having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.



Audio
Notes


May 26, 2013 | Why the Cross Matters
June 2, 2013 | Jesus Wins: Christus Victor  
June 9, 2013 | Jesus Won: Christus Victor


For more:
A Victorious People: John Stott on Christus Victor & the Vocabular of the First Christians
"The Cross of Christ" by John Stott: A Review
Its Not Just a Theory: Stott on Penal Substitution
John Stott on the The Human Enigma 
Allison: A History of the Doctrine of the Atonement
"Salvation Brings Imitation": Piper on Christus Exemplar
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 1 - Introduction
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 2 - Christus Exemplar and the doctrine of sin and depravity
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 3 - The History of Christus Exemplar
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 4 - Christus Exemplar and Humility
Sanctification Demands It: The Necessity of the Atonement
"Death by Love" by Mark Driscoll
"In My Place, Condemned He Stood"
"It is Well"
"Precious Blood": A Review 

A Victorious People: John Stott on Christus Victor & the Vocabular of the First Christians

From John Stott, The Cross of Christ:

It is impossible to read the New Testament without being impressed by the atmosphere of joyful confidence which pervades it, and which stands out in relief against the rather jejune religion that often passes for Christianity today. There was no defeatism about the early Christians; they spoke rather of victory. For example, "thanks be to God! He gives us the victory." Again, "in all these things [that is, adversities and dangers] we are more than conquerors." Once more, "God . . . always leads us in triumphal procession." And each of Christ's letters to the seven churches of Asia ends with a special promise "to him who overcomes."* Victory, conquest, triumph, overcoming - this was the vocabulary of those first followers of the risen Lord. For if they spoke of victory, they knew they owed it to the victorious Jesus. They said so in the texts which I have so far quoted only in truncated form. What Paul actually wrote was: 'he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ," "we are more than conquerors through him who loved us," and "God . . . leads us in triumphal procession in Christ." It is he who "overcame," "has triumphed" and moreover did it "by the cross."

Of course any contemporary observer who saw Christ die would have listened with astonished incredulity to the claim that the Crucified was a Conqueror. Had he not been rejected by his own nation, betrayed, denied and deserted by his own disciples, and executed by authority of the Roman procurator? Look at him, there, spread-eagled and skewered on his cross, robbed of all freedom of movement, strung up with nails or ropes or both, pinned there and powerless. It appears to be total defeat. It there is victory, it is the victory pride, prejudice, jealousy, hatred, cowardice and brutality. Yet the Christian claim is that the reality is the opposite of the appearance. What looks like (and indeed was) the defeat of goodness by evil is also, and more certainly, the defeat of evil by goodness. Overcome there, he was himself overcoming. Crushed by the ruthless power of Rome, he was himself crushing the serpents head (Gen. 3:15). The victim was the victor, and the cross is still the throne from which he rules the world. . . .

Here then is a further motif in the achievement of Christ's cross. In addition to the salvation of sinners. . . and the revelation of God, . . . the cross secured the conquest of evil. (223-224)


* 1 Cor. 15:57; Rom. 8:37; 2 Cor 2:14; Rev 2; 3.
** Rev 3:21; 5:5; 12:11; Col 2:15.


For more:
"The Cross of Christ" by John Stott: A Review
Its Not Just a Theory: Stott on Penal Substitution
John Stott on the The Human Enigma 
Allison: A History of the Doctrine of the Atonement
"Salvation Brings Imitation": Piper on Christus Exemplar
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 1 - Introduction
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 2 - Christus Exemplar and the doctrine of sin and depravity
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 3 - The History of Christus Exemplar
Where Theology and Life Intersect: A Theological Case for Christus Exemplar and Why It is Necessary - Part 4 - Christus Exemplar and Humility
Sanctification Demands It: The Necessity of the Atonement
"Death by Love" by Mark Driscoll
"In My Place, Condemned He Stood"
"It is Well"
"Precious Blood": A Review

June 2, 2013 | Jesus Wins: Christus Victor

On Sunday we discussed part 2 of our series focusing in on the cross. In this sermon we present a biblical survey emphasizing the great cosmic war that continues to wage around us. The enemies of Depravity, Death, and the Devil have been defeated at the cross and resurrection and will meet their final demise at the consummation of Christ.

This is the doctrine of Christus Victor and simply teaches that at the cross Christ wins. This sermon serves as an introduction to the subject and we will have more to say about it in the next sermon.




Audio
Notes


 May 26, 2013 | Why the Cross Matters
June 2, 2013 | Jesus Wins: Christus Victor 


For more:
"Precious Blood": A Review
"Death By Love" by Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears: A Review
"The Cross of Christ" by John Stott: A Review
"Blood Work" by Anthony Carter: A Review