“I am the resurrection and the life.” Lord Jesus Christ (John 11:25)
“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.” 1 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV
Leading up to this holiday weekend, one of my morning devotionals has been a book called “Discovering the Power of the Cross of Christ.” It’s a compilation of sermons from the great 19th century English preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. When I came across the following quote, I wrote “BAM! Glorious! All Hail!” in the margin. I pray that it fills your heart with joy as well.
“Do not let the picture vanish till you have satisfied yourself once for all that Christ was here the substitute for you. Let us muse upon the fact that Jesus was conducted without the gates of the city. It was the common place of death.”
“That little rising ground, which perhaps was called Golgotha, the place of skull from its somewhat resembling the crown of a man’s skull, was a common place of execution. It was one of Death’s castles. Here he stored his gloomiest trophies and was the grim lord of that stronghold.”
“Our great hero, the Destroyer of Death, bearded the lion in his den, slew the monster in his own castle, and dragged the dragon captive from his own den. I think Death thought it a splendid triumph when he saw the Master impaled and bleeding in the dominions of destruction. Little did he know that the grave was to be rifled and himself destroyed by that crucified Son of Man.”[1]
The blazing center of the glory of God is vested in the Person and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Jn.1:14; 2 Cor.4:6; Heb.1:1-3). God’s Word teaches that Christ is God the Son and is therefore 100% God and 100% Man. He is the theanthropic Person: fully God and fully Man (Is.9:6; Jn.1:1; Phil.2:6-8). There is nobody else in all of history like Jesus because it is in the all-glorious majesty of His Person that the divine fullness of the tri-une Godhead dwells in bodily form (Jn.8:58; Col.1:19; 2:9). Jesus Christ is the eternal King, sovereign Creator, and merciful Redeemer of rebel sinners (Ps.90:2; Col.1:13-18; 1 Tim.1:17). The precious and royal blood of Christ Himself propitiated or satisfied the thunderclouds of the Father’s divine wrath that exploded upon Him in undiluted measure at Calvary where “Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor.15:3 NKJV cf. Rom.3:25; Is.52:13-53:12). Missionary statesman, J. Oswald Sanders aptly explained in “The Incomparable Christ” that “our Savior drank a cup of wrath without mercy that we might drink a cup of mercy without wrath.” Glory to His Name!
The profound nature of the Person and finished work of Christ was readily evident when a young pastor was visiting an elderly man in a Denver nursing home shortly before his death. He informed the pastor that the facility was a spiritually dark place, like a proverbial graveyard, as it was where people go to die. In light of this, the 85-year-old testified to the 20-something pastor that what was yet remaining of his life had been rededicated to Christ in order to reach people with the message of living hope in Christ before they die. Upon departing, he introduced the pastor to some of the nursing staff and stopped everyone in their tracks when he said rather abruptly, “Tell them something great about the Lord Jesus Christ, brother!” After a deep breath, the pastor said, “He is the resurrection and the life, the light of the world, the way, the truth, and the life, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Living Word and the Living Bread, the King of kings, God of gods, Lord of lords, and Savior of the world!” One of the nurses said, “Wow, that is one of the best ways that I have ever started a shift!”
As my family and I travel the country and minister at churches, camps, and conferences, one of our passions is to share what we call “BIG GOD music.” In other words, there are a host of great modern hymns of the faith that are unfamiliar to many Christians even in conservative churches that take God’s Word very seriously. We delight to introduce them to God’s people as a means to serve as a catalyst toward God-centered worship as He is the one who is at the center of all things and is worthy of all praise because of who He is and what He has done.
Stuart Townend is one of the co-authors of perhaps the most famous of modern hymns, “In Christ Alone”, and he poignantly captured this biblical conviction when he articulated the following:
“Worship begins with God. We live in an alarmingly self-oriented society, where the bottom line to every choice we make, from relationships to religion, seems to be: ‘…but does it make me happy?’ If we’re not careful we can bring this attitude into church, & even into our worship. We can come looking for the experience, for the ‘warm feelings.’ Although we have many new songs that effectively describe our feelings as we worship & respond to God, we need more songs that are about HIM.”
In that spirit, here is a list of my Top 10 Favorite Modern Hymns About the Cross & the 3 G’s (Gospel/Grace/Glory):
- The Power of the Cross – Keith Getty & Stuart Townend, 2004
- Behold Our God – Baird & Altrogge, 2011
- Christ Our Hope in Life and Death – Getty Music, 2020
- Turn Your Eyes – Sovereign Grace Music, 2019
- All Praise to Him – Bob Kauflin & Matt Merker, 2017
- His Glory & My Good – City Alight, 2024
- Before the Throne of God Above – Charitie Lees Bancroft & Vikki Cook, 1997
- How Deep the Father’s Love for Us – Stuart Townend, 1995
- In Christ Alone – Stuart Townend & Keith Getty, 2002
- I Know That My Redeemer Lives – Keith & Kristyn Getty, 2023
In similar fashion as Spurgeon trumpeted back in his day, another great preacher, the late Dr. Adrian Rogers, knocked it out of the park, as it were, with this classic depiction of Christ’s triumph over the Grim Reaper, the personification of Death himself:
“Death thought he had a victory when he laid his icy, bony hands on the Lord Jesus Christ and shackled Him with the bonds of death. Jesus lay cold, stiff, and stark in that tomb. Old King Death clapped his bony hands, shrieked a hoarse laugh, and said, ‘I have Him. He’s mine. I am going to keep Him.’”
“But after three days, the Lord Jesus stirred, and He majestically rose from His resting place. Jesus did more than survive death. He defeated and decimated death!”
“He got up from that stone slab, turned around and folded the napkin that covered His face (John 20:7). I love that. When the disciples came in they found the napkin that was over His face, folded. There was no hurry. He was in complete control.”
“There was that cruel king of terrors, Death, sitting upon the throne. But this time Death had a terrified look on his face because no one had done this before. Jesus began to walk toward him. And He reached up and pulled him from the throne and cast him to the floor. Death cowered in the corner of that tomb that had become his dungeon. Jesus put His heel on the neck of Death and reached down and pulled the sting out of Death. Jesus put the crown upon His own head and walked out of that tomb alive and the victorious Savior. Hallelujah, what a Savior!”
“Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” Romans 6:9-10 NKJV
“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” Revelation 1:17-18 NKJV
[1] Wubbels, L., ed. (1995) Discovering the Power of the Cross of Christ-Charles Spurgeon. Lynwood, WA: Emerald Books.
