Seeing the Effect of Christ’s Crucifixion and Experiencing its Life-Releasing Aspect

The crucifixion of Christ is an amazing event and reality; the effect of Christ’s crucifixion is excellent, and the life-releasing aspect of His crucifixion is truly amazing.

Human death is sad, sorrowful, terrible, dreaded, and even horrible, but the Bible speaks of the death of Christ and we emphasize His death as being something wonderful.

The only wonderful death in the whole universe is the death of Christ, which took place more than 2000 years ago and can be experienced by us in spirit today. Christ didn’t just die on the cross to redeem us from our sins, but His death was all-inclusive, all-reaching, and all-encompassing.

His death on the cross involved God, man, Satan, the angelic powers, the entire creation, and sin, death, sins, the flesh, the old man, the world, and the devil. The cross of Christ was a termination to everything and everyone in the universe, and the only way God deals with everything is through the death of Christ.

Through the death of Christ on the cross we have been reconciled to God, for Christ has made peace through His blood on the cross; through Him, whether things on earth or in heavens, all were reconciled to God.

Through the fall of man, all things were brought into rebellion toward God, but through the death of the second man on the cross, God has reconciled all things to Himself. We need not only redemption as sinners – we also need reconciliation, for we are enemies of God.

Through the death of Christ, the handwriting in ordinances has been wiped out; these ordinances were against us and were contrary to us, but the Lord has taken them out of the way, nailing them to the cross. Hallelujah, Christ abolished the law of the commandments in ordinances on the cross!

Lastly, but not the least important thing, Christ stripped the rulers and the authorities, making a display of them openly, triumphing over them in His cross.

The effect of Christ’s crucifixion is truly wonderful! He destroyed the devil, made him of public shame, stripped off the rulers and authorities, nailed the ordinances to the cross, redeemed us, reconciled us, terminated sin and death, and He released His divine life into us! Wow, praise the Lord for His death!

The Excellent Effect of Christ’s Crucifixion as seen in Matt. 27:51-53

Matt. 27:51-53 presents a unique record of the excellent effect of Christ’s crucifixion, which has a few very interesting and wonderful elements.

When the Lord died, there was a spiritual reality that took place – and we are still enjoying the effect of that reality in our daily living, and there was also a physical reality that took place, that is, some things happened on earth when He died on the cross. These things are as follows:

• The veil of the temple was split in two from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51). This veil signifies the separation between God and man, for it separated man from the presence of God; it was the veil to the Holy of Holies, where only the high priest could enter. The splitting of the veil signifies that the separation between God and man had been abolished because of the flesh of sin taken by Christ had been crucified. The veil signifies the flesh, which Christ took on Himself and brought to the cross, thus splitting and removing any separation. When Christ’s flesh was crucified, the veil was rent, thus opening the way for us – those who were alienated from God (signified by the tree of life) – to enter into the Holy of Holies to contact God and take Him as the tree of life for our enjoyment. This implies that, because our old man was crucified with Christ, we have an open way to contact and enjoy God in our spirit as our life and life supply. And the fact that the veil was split from top to bottom (and not from bottom to top) signifies that this was God’s doing from above, not man’s doing.
• The earth was shaken. The earth is the base of Satan’s rebellion. Through the death of Christ on the cross, the base of Satan’s rebellion was shaken, and when we experience Christ’s death in spirit today, the base of Satan’s rebellion in our being is shaken.
• The rocks were split. The rocks signify the strongholds of Satan’s earthly kingdom. The fact that the rocks were split signifies that the strongholds of Satan’s earthly kingdom were broken. Hallelujah, Christ’s death on the cross shook the base of Satan’s rebellion and broke the strongholds of Satan’s earthly kingdom!
• The tombs were opened (Matt. 25:52). The tombs signify the power of death and Hades, which hold man into death until the judgement day. The fact that the tombs were opened signifies that the power of death and Hades was conquered and subdued.
• Many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. These were already dead, but the Lord’s death released them from death, and they became living; this shows the releasing power of the death of Christ. Christ’s death released others from the power of death. Wow, Hallelujah!

Lord, we praise You for the excellent effects of Your crucifixion! Through Your crucifixion, the separation between God and man had been abolished, for the flesh of sin taken by Christ had been crucified! Praise the Lord, now we have access to God, for the veil has been rent from top to bottom, so we can come to God in spirit and enjoy Him as the tree of life! Thank You Lord for shaking the base of Satan’s rebellion through Your death. Hallelujah, the strongholds of Satan’s earthly kingdom were broken, and the power of death and Hades has been conquered and subdued!

Enjoying the Life-Releasing Aspect of Christ’s Crucifixion in our Experience Today

There is a wonderful aspect of Christ’s crucifixion which is life-releasing; He speaks of it in John 12:24, which was fulfilled in type in John 19:34 and 36.

The Lord Jesus likened Himself to a grain of wheat, whose life is concealed within the shell; the only way for the life within a grain to be released is by being put into the ground to die.

When a grain of wheat is in the ground, it dies, and it bears much fruit, for the life within it is released, grows, develops, and bears fruit; this bearing of fruit is the glorification of the grain of wheat, its full expression.

The Lord Jesus while on earth wanted to be put to death – and He willingly went to the cross – because He knew that His death will release the divine life concealed within Him.

The Lord’s death is both wonderful and mysterious. If you ask a Muslim why did Jesus died, he would say that Jesus died for the truth, for the message of God. If you ask a new believer why did Jesus die, he would say that He died to bear the sin of the world, and He died so that we would not die but have life.

But if you ask a more mature saint why did the Lord die, he would immediately say that Jesus died to release the divine life concealed within the shell of His humanity, so that we as the many believers would become His reproduction, His duplication, His corporate expression, and His glorification.

There are two aspects related to Christ’s death on the cross, and when a soldier pierced His side with a spear, blood and water flowed – blood for redemption and water for regeneration.

The death of the Lord was a redemptive death (indicated by the blood He shed for us on the cross), and His death was for the release of life (indicated by the water that flowed out of Him).

If the Lord Jesus had not died on the cross, the divine life within Him could not be released, and He would have remained as a single grain of wheat; it is as if we would have a grain of wheat and put it in a nice place to look at it.

If Christ had not died, His life would have remained only in Himself and could not have entered into us. If the Lord would not have died, He could walk among His disciples, but He could not live again in them.

But praise the Lord, Jesus Christ died on the cross as a grain of wheat, and through His death He redeemed us and at the same time released His life to come into us! His desire is to come into us and mingle Himself with us, and by this He would become our very life to be our living.

The Lord knew that His death would be a release for Him. His disciples were sorrowful when the Lord told them about His death, thinking they would be left orphans; but the Lord’s death released His divine life, and His resurrection produced Him to be a life-giving Spirit to be not only among us but also in us.

Now the Lord Jesus is no longer walking with us physically, but because of His life-releasing death, He can be in us, living in us the same kind of life that He lived while being on earth!

Hallelujah, now the Lord is no longer restricted by His human shell – His divine life was released, and He can enter into those who believe into Him to live in them and be everything to them!

The water that flowed out of the Lord’s pierced side is for imparting life, dealing with death, and producing the church (see John 19:34; 3:14-15; Eph. 5:29-30).

The fact that none of His bones were broken to cause Him to die signifies the resurrection life, which nothing can break. The life with which the church was produced is the resurrection life! Hallelujah, we now can enjoy the life-releasing aspect of Christ’s crucifixion in our experience today!

Thank You Lord for Your life-releasing death. Thank You for not sparing Yourself but dying on the cross not only to redeem us but also to impart Your life into us. Thank You Lord for dying as a grain of wheat, releasing the divine life concealed within the shell of Your humanity, so that we may be regenerated with Your life! Hallelujah, even though we don’t have Christ living among us physically, yet we have Him in us as our life, supplying us with the death overcoming life, the resurrection life!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by James Lee for this week, and portions from, The Crucified Christ, pp. 37-39 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of Ezekiel (2), msg. 7 (week 19 in the HWMR), The Cross – the Center of the Universe.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Rock of Ages, cleft for me, / Let me hide myself in Thee; / Let the water and the blood, / From Thy riven side which flowed, / Be of sin the double cure, / Save me from its guilt and power. (Hymns #1058)
  # One with Thee in crucifixion, / On the cross I died in Thee; / I am dead unto the world, Lord, / And the world is dead to me. (Hymns #474)
  # Quickened with Thee with life divine, / Raised with Thee from the dead; / Thine Own, now human and divine, / Shall with Thee in Thy glories shine, / The Church’s living Head! / We, who were worthy but to die, / Now with Thee, “Abba Father,” cry. (Hymns #110)