The Seven Words Of Christ From The Cross

Christ has seven 'words' or phrases which are said from the cross. Here are all of the combined into one story using all four Gospels to show the story. I found it interesting, therefore, I thought I would share it here. The first one "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" is repeated because the Greek tense of the word "said" suggests that it was not simply stated once, but that it was repeated; therefore I have repeated it for emphasis. I hope you enjoy. God bless.

          As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross (Matthew 27:32). Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals—one on His right, the other on His left (Luke 23:32-33).

            The soldiers took Jesus’ clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from the top to the bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled which said, ‘They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing’ (Psalm 22:18). So this is what the soldiers did—cast lots for Jesus’ clothing (John 19:23-24).

            Those who passed by hurled insults at Him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” And Jesus said, 

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

            In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked Him. “He saved others,” they said, “but He can’t save Himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let Him come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue Him now if He wants Him, for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way the robbers who were crucified with Him also heaped insults on Him (Matthew 27:39-44). And Jesus said, 

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” 

           But the people near Him sneered and insulted Him all the more. They said, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came and mocked Jesus, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above Him, which read, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS”. And Jesus said, 

“Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

            One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and save us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he turned his head to Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered Him, 

“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” 

(Luke 23:24-43).

            Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 

“Dear woman, here is your son,” 

and to the disciple, 

“Here is your mother.” 

From that time on, this disciple took her into his home (John 19:25-27)

            At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 

“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”

—which means, 

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 

(Psalm 22:1) 

When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave Him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take Him down,” he said (Matthew 27:45-49/Mark 15:33-36).

            Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said,

“I am thirsty.”

A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When He had received the drink, Jesus said, 

“It is finished.” 

(John 19:28-30a)

            And then Jesus called out in a loud voice, 

“Father into your hands I commit my spirit.” 

When He had said this, He breathed His last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” (Luke 23:46-47)

Belgic Confession Article 13: "The Doctrine of God's Providence"

The last half of Article 12 was not very comforting. However, in Article 13 Guido states a great amount of comfort and peace which is ultimately found in the providence of God. Article 13 "The Doctrine of God's Providence" goes like this:

We believe that this good God, after He created all things, did not abandon them to chance or fortune but leads and governs them according to His holy will, in such a way that nothing happens in this world without His orderly arrangement.

Yet God is not the author of, nor can He be charged with, the sin that occurs. For His power and goodness are so great and incomprehensible that He arranges and does His work well and justly even when the devils and wicked men act unjustly.

We do not wish to inquire with undue curiosity into what He does that surpasses human understanding and is beyond our ability to comprehend. But in all humility and reverence we adore the just judgments of God, which are hidden from us, being content to be Christ's disciples, so as to learn only what He shows us in His Word, without going beyond those limits.

This doctrine gives us unspeakable comfort since it teaches us that nothing can happen to us by chance but only by the arrangement of our gracious heavenly Father. He watches over us with fatherly care, keeping all creatures under His control, so that not one of the hairs on our heads (for they are all numbered) nor even a little bird can fall to the ground without the will of our Father. [Matthew 10:29-30].

In this thought we rest, knowing that He holds in check the devils and all our enemies, who cannot hurt us without His permission and will.

For that reason we reject the damnable error of the Epicureans, who say that God involves Himself in nothing and leaves everything to chance.

Guido sets up this article about God's Providence by explaining it throughout. However, in the beginning he lays a foundation for the rest. And what he brings forth in the opening paragraph is splendid. In summary, Guido says that after the creation of the world, God did not leave anything to operate on its own. God continues to lead and govern all of creation that nothing happens without God acting in it.

And then the question arises: "If everything that happens comes from God; then what about sin? Is God the author of sin?"

Therefore, Guido anticipates this question and answers it in the next paragraph. Even when human beings act unjustly and wickedly; God still acts well and justly because His power and goodness are so incomprehensible.

So then what is our response?

In the next paragraph Guido says that we shouldn't inquire into what God has done because we then try to figure out God. However, what we should do is this: "being content to be Christ's disciples, so as to learn only what He shows us in His Word without going beyond those limits." God's Word has explained to us everything that we need to know; therefore we shouldn't go beyond that--rather, we are to be content to be Christ's disciples. That is our response of piety to Gods' providence.

What do you think of this doctrine? What emotions does it cause to stir in you?

Guido states that it "gives us unspeakable comfort". This doctrine gives us comfort and then Guido names three reasons why.

First, because everything happens not by chance, but "only by the arrangement of our gracious heavenly Father."

And secondly, "He watches over us with fatherly care, keeping all creatures under His control." So that means, every created thing is under God's care!

And thirdly, "knowing that He holds in check the devils and all our enemies, who cannot hurt us without His permission and will." Everything that happens to us must go through God first.

This is very personal since God is named as our Father throughout this article many times.

Therefore, our response to this doctrine of God's providence is piety. Trust and faithfulness in God and all His ways are how we need to respond to His work in the world and in our lives.

For further study:

• Read the story of Job
• Read the story of Esther
• Read the story of Joseph (Genesis 37-45)

Belgic Confession Article 12: "The Creation of All Things"

After discussing God (Theology Proper) in Articles 1-11; Guido now shifts now to the biblical study of humanity also known as Biblical Anthropology.

This is how Article 12 "The Creation of All Things" reads:

We believe that the Father created heaven and earth and all other creatures from nothing, when it seemed good to Him, by His Word--that is to say, by His Son.

He has given all creatures their being, form, and appearance, and their various functions for serving their Creator.

Even now He also sustains and governs them all, according to His eternal providence, and by His infinite power, that they may serve man, in order that man may serve God.

He also created the angels good, that they might be His messengers and serve His elect. 

Some of them have fallen from the excellence in which God created them into eternal perdition; and the others have persisted and remained in their original state, by the grace of God.

The devils and evil spirits are so corrupt that they are enemies of God and of everything good. They lie in way for the church and every member of it like thieves, with all their power, to destroy and spoil everything by their deceptions.

So then, by their own wickedness they are condemned to everlasting damnation, daily awaiting their torments.

For that reason we detest the error of the Sadducees, who deny that there are spirits and angels, and also the error of the Manicheans, who say that the devils originated by themselves, being evil by nature, without having been corrupted.

Now this article is full of great stuff. It is a long one, but is neatly divided into six sections:

First Section: The Purpose of Creation
The first section consists of the first three paragraphs in which Guido is emphasizing the purpose of creation. The purpose of creation is stated three times in these paragraphs with the key word being "service" (and then again in the fourth paragraph).

The first paragraph acknowledges whom the Creator is, how He created it and when He created it. God is named as the the creator just as Genesis 1:1 records also. And God created "the heavens and earth and all other creatures from nothing" declares Guido. Everything that has been created or will ever be created has been created and will be created by God out of nothing! And the time that God did this was "when it seemed good to Him..." Guido declares. The time to create the heavens and the earth was the time when it seemed good for God to do so. There wasn't any other time that God would've wanted to create things--He did it on His own time and because it seemed good to Him. And finally, God created everything by His Word--namely Jesus Christ. God spoke and there was the creation. What magnificent power!

The second paragraph explains what God gave to creation and why He gave them these things. God gave creation "their being, form, and appearance, and their various functions." Everything that we have in creation, just think how vast that is, was given to us by God Himself! And the reason for God giving these things to us was "for serving their Creator." God gave us all these things--our being, form, appearance and our various functions--for the purpose of serving Himself! Not only must humans serve God, but all aspects of creation serve the Creator God! In a sermon on Colossians 1:15-23 it is clearly explain as well the purpose of creation. Everything that exists, exists to make the glory of God and the greatness of Christ more fully known. This is our (humanities) way and creations way of serving God--to make Him known!

And the third paragraph continues this thought as well toward the end, but also gives us great comfort and insight into what God is doing now. God also "sustains and governs them all according to His eternal providence and His infinite power..." God continues to be active, not passive, in the creation which He has made! What a comfort to know that everything God made, He now rules, upholds, is involved in and controls it! And the purpose of this is again, "that they may serve man, in order that man may serve God." So God serves humanity by sustaining and governing the creation through His eternal providence and His infinite power in order that humanity might serve God back! How wonderful and magnificent this truly is!

Second Section: Angels
The fourth paragraph  states also that God "created the angels good that they might be His messengers and serve His elect." God has chosen to create angels as well being 'good'. His purpose of creating angels was to first have them be "His messengers" and secondly, for them to "serve His elect." Again, the created order--even angels--were created for service!

Third Section: Fallen Angels
In the third section consisting of the fifth paragraph; Guido continues the thought of the angels. Except now he speaks of the fallen angels. He explains that some of the angels have fallen while others have stayed in the original state. The ones who fell which is recorded in Jude 6, Ezekiel 28, and 2 Peter 2:4; fell from "the excellence in which God created them into eternal perdition." They left their state of of excellence due to their proud heart and arrogance to be like God. Therefore, they now rest in hell being tormented daily. But there are some angels who didn't fall--and they "persisted and remained in their original state, by the grace of God." God's grace has kept them persistent and they now remain with God in their state of excellence. It is interesting to note that the angels who fell, fell because they did not serve God--they wanted to be like God; therefore they were serving themselves. And serving themselves was not God's purpose in creating them; therefore they opposed God's purpose!

Fourth Section: Opposing Service
The fourth section, in the sixth paragraph, also re-emphasizes the angels--devils and evil spirits--who now don't serve God; rather they serve themselves.  "They are enemies of God and of everything good" implying that they are no longer 'good' as God created them--they strongly oppose the way of God. Guido continues to say that "they lie in wait for the church and every member of it like thieves with all their power, to destroy and spoil everything by their deceptions." Now this is not comforting. The devil waits for the members of the church to destroy them and to spoil everything by their own power. However, this power they have is not an infinite power as we heard earlier from Guido in the third paragraph. God's power is an infinite power in which God sustains and governs all of creation--the devil's power is no match for the infinite power of God!

Fifth Section: The Result Of Opposing God's Purpose of Creation
The result of opposing God's purpose of creation, which again is service, is named by Guido in the fifth section which is in the seventh paragraph. The result is "they are condemned to everlasting damnation, daily awaiting their torments." And this is done "by their own wickedness" and not by another means--it is something completely done by their own wickedness--by themselves they have ushered their way into hell. And in hell, they "daily await their torments." Such a dreadful picture of a place that you don't want to go!

Sixth Section: Two Extreme Errors
In the last paragraph Guido names two errors--one by the Sadducees and the other by the Manicheans. It is important to note that Guido mentions these two in order to keep the church pure because the Belgic Confession is about what the church believes; therefore at some points they must write about what they do not believe. There are two extreme errors to make in regards to evil spirits, the devil and angels. The Sadducees were on one extreme side of the argument denying wholeheartedly that "there are spirits and angels". On the opposite extreme side were the Manicheans "who say that the devils originated by themselves, being evil by nature, without having been corrupted." So these two extremes are something to avoid; saying that there are no evil spirits and then saying that they originated by themselves are both completely wrong to say. Therefore Guido warns against these two errors.

The first half of Article 12, Guido is naming the purpose of creation is for service unto God. And those who oppose this purpose--namely the devil and evil spirits--are not following God's ways of operating in the world. Therefore, they have been punished and ultimately they have brought this condemnation upon themselves.

What is your purpose for living? 

Is it to serve the One who created you?

Is it to make the glory of Christ more fully known?

Or is it to serve yourself and glorify your own name?

Belgic Confession Article 11: "The Deity of the Holy Spirit"

Guido moves from discussing "The Deity of Christ" in Article 10 in order to clarify the Trinity. And now he continues to clarify the Trinity by having an article on "The Deity of the Holy Spirit" which reads this way:

We believe and confess also that the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally 
from the Father and the Son--
neither made,
nor created, 
nor begotten,
but only proceeding from the two of them.

In regard to order, He is the third person of the Trinity--
of one and the same essence,
and majesty,
and glory,
with the Father and the Son.

He is true and eternal God, as the Holy Scriptures teach us.

This article is pretty straight forward as far as explanation goes. But what I do like about the Belgic Confession in this sense is that it actually pays attention to the Holy Spirit. Not many documents from the early church and even later church history mention much about the Holy Spirit. I have my thoughts on why this is so, however, I do believe that the Holy Spirit is often the "forgotten God" out of the three persons in the godhead of the Trinity. There is much emphasis giving to the Father and the Son, but not much to the Holy Spirit.

This is not just true in the past, but even in the present. The Holy Spirit seems to be missing. And to me, this is sad.

Think a minute:

When is the last time you heard a sermon in regards to the Holy Spirit?

When is the last time you heard a sermon mention the Holy Spirit?

When is the last time you heard a prayer mention the Holy Spirit?

When is the last time the Holy Spirit has been mentioned in a worship service?

The answers are humbling.

The Holy Spirit is not a lesser being than God the Father and God the Son.

The Holy Spirit is not of a different essence than God the Father and God the Son.

The Holy Spirit is true and eternal God, just as the Bible teaches us.

Even the Heidelberg Catechism mentions the Holy Spirit in Lord's Day 20 Question and Answer 53

Q. What do you believe concerning "the Holy Spirit"?

A. First, he, as well as the Father and Son, is eternal God. Second, He has been given to me personally, so that, by true faith, He makes me share in Christ and all His blessings, comforts me, and remains with me forever.

The second part of the Answer is phenomenal.

The Holy Spirit has been given to me personally.

Through our true faith, the Holy Spirit makes me share in Christ and all His blessings

The Holy Spirit comforts me.

The Holy Spirit remains with me forever.

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

What a marvelous gift, what a amazing gift!

Do you have the comfort of the Holy Spirit?

Do you have this presence of God in your life?

Belgic Confession Article 10: "The Deity of Christ"

After discussing the Trinity in Article 8 and Article 9 Guido now gets specific about the Trinity focusing upon "The Deity of Christ" in Article 10 and "The Deity of the Holy Spirit" in Article 11. He does this in hopes of clarifying the Trinity. Article 10 goes like this:

We believe that Jesus Christ, 

according to His divine nature, 

is the only Son of God--eternally begotten, 

not made nor created, 

for then He would be a creature.

He is one in essence with the Father; 

coeternal;

the exact image of the person of the Father

and the "reflection of His glory," [Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3] 

being in all things like Him.

He is the Son of God not only from the time He assumed our nature but from all eternity,

as the following testimonies teach us when they are taken together.

Moses says that God "created the world"; [Genesis 1:1]

and John says that "all things were created by the Word," [John 1:3] which he calls God.

The apostle says that "God made the world by His Son." [Hebrews 1:2]

He also says that "God created all things by Jesus Christ." [Colossians 1:16]

And so it must follow that He who is called God, the Word, the Son and Jesus Christ already existed when all things were created by Him. Therefore the prophet Micah says that His origin is "from ancient times, from eternity" [Micah 5:2]

And the apostle says that He has "neither beginning of days nor end of life." [Hebrews 7:3]

So then, 

He is the true eternal God,

the Almighty,

whom we invoke,

worship,

and serve.

Guido de Bres now turns his attention to the Son of God, namely Jesus Christ to expound upon "The Deity of Christ" in order to further clarify the Trinity.

The first paragraph is explaining that according to Christ's divine--this makes Him the only Son of God who was not made nor created. Because if Christ was made or created, then He would be just like a creature (i.e. human beings or anything in the created order). Jesus has existed from eternity since He is God Himself.

Guido continues to say that He is the same nature as the Father and co-eternal. He has existed from eternity since He is God Himself (repeated on purpose). He is the exact image of the person of the Father just as Colossians 1:15 states,

"He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

Again Guido mentions, He is the Son of God not only from the time He assumed our nature, but from all eternity. Jesus always existed from eternity since He is God Himself (yes, purposefully repeated, again). 

But now Guido states some Bible verses in the fourth paragraph proving that Jesus Christ has existed from the beginning of the world at creation. They are as follows:

Genesis 1:1

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

John 1:3

"Through Him [the Word who is Jesus] all things were made;

 without Him nothing was made 

that has been made."

Hebrews 1:2

"...but in these last days He [God] has spoken to us by His Son, 

whom He appointed heir of all things 

and through whom 

He made the universe."

Colossians 1:16

"For by Him [Jesus] all things were created: 

things in heaven and on earth, 

visible and invisible, 

whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; 

all things were created by Him 

and for Him."

This connection of verses, proves that Jesus Christ has been in the beginning since the beginning and even before that--from all eternity--that Jesus Christ existed already when all things were created by Him. 

And then Guido ends with three points of application;

He is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we invoke

Invoke carries with it a sense of calling on or for something/some person with earnest desire. There is a longing, a constant calling upon for you know that when you call upon this thing/person, there will be an answer.

He is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we...worship

The One, true and holy God is the one whom we worship and the only God whom we worship for He is the one that all of our religious allegiance goes to and will forever go to. He is the only God who deserves all that we have wholeheartedly giving Him all our allegiance.

He is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we...serve

God, the one we serve each and every day. We serve not because we have to, but because we do it out of the thankfulness or gratitude which arises out of our hearts for what God has done for us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. He gave His life for yours, do you believe it?