Reconciliation of Some APPARENT Inconsistencies of The Cross

Previous Message

We saw how there are some APPARENT inconsistencies of Atonement being fulfilled at the cross

Christ Came to Fulfill

Think not that I am come to destroy the lawFrom the Hebrew Torah — instruction, direction — rooted in yarah, to aim as an archer toward a target. Never primarily legislative. The stone tablets were hidden inside the ark, inside the most holy place, mediated by a priest. The promise was always to move that instruction from stone to flesh — from concealment behind a veil to working from within the person. Synonyms: Torah, nomos, instruction, teaching, commandment, mitzvah. More, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Matthew 5:17-18 KJV

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Luke 24:44 NIV

Only to Israel

I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. Matthew 15:24 NIV

See also Matthew 10:6 and Romans 15:8

But later:

After the outpouring of the Holy SpiritFrom the Greek pneuma and Hebrew ruach — both meaning breath or wind: invisible in itself, known by its movement and effects. The theological debates surrounding personhood and the Trinity are later developments; the original words are grounded in something physical and immediate. Synonyms: Holy Ghost, pneuma, ruach, Spirit of God, breath, wind. More on the Day of Pentecost…

On arriving there, they gathered the churchThe English word "church" does not translate the Greek ekklesia — it derives from kyriakos, a pagan term for a building belonging to a lord. The Greek ekklesia — the called-out ones — was used by NT writers to describe both the NT body and Israel in the wilderness (Acts 7:38), connecting directly to the Hebrew qahal, the assembled congregation, which the Septuagint most commonly renders as ekklesia. A spiritual organism, not a building or institution. Synonyms: ekklesia, ecclesia, called-out ones, assembly, congregation, kyriakos, qahal, edah. See The Called-Out Ones More together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. Acts 14:27 NIV

See also Romans 1:16

Israel’s Poor Example

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people [Israel] and said:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.
This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. Hebrews 8:7-13 NIV

Better Example

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. John 13:15 NIV

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21 NIV

Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.  1 John 2:6

Christ’ Prime Directive

“Follow Me” – This is our calling!!!

(The Perfect Example Hebrews 12:2) – at least 22 statements

Matthew 4:19, Matthew 8:22, Matthew 9:9, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 16:24, Matthew 19:21, Mark 1:17, Mark 2:14, Mark 8:34, Mark 10:21, Luke 5:27, Luke 9:23, Luke 9:59, Luke 14:27

The Way: John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5, John 3:16, John 8:24, John 11:25, 1 Corinthians 8:6, John 14:9, Hebrews 12:2

The Bread of Life: John 6

The Gate/Door: John 10:1-21, Matthew 7:7-14, Acts 14:27

The Light: John 8:12, John 1:4, John 1:9, John 9:5, John 12:35-36, John 12:46, John 3:19, 1 John 2:8, 2 Corinthians 4:6

Recap

• The apparent inconsistency of AtonementAn English construction — at-one-ment — coined by Tyndale, not a direct translation. The Hebrew behind it, kaphar, means to cover, sharing its root with kapporeth — the cover of the ark, the mercy seat. The Day of Atonement centers on the High Priest bringing blood to that cover. The act and the object are the same word pointing at the same reality. Synonyms: Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, kaphar, kapporeth. More fulfillments at the cross is addressed by the completion of “Israel’s example” being completed and overlapped by the example of Jesus Christ on the “Historic Time-Line” being started on a new level.
• Israel was a very poor example.
• Christ is our perfect example.
• Christ is The Way and we are to follow Him.