Focus: The Cross of Christ

Text: Eph.5:2

"And walk in love, AS Christ also hath loved us, and hath GIVEN himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."

Ezekiel saw the vision of a new temple in Jerusalem, and in chapter 43 of his book we are given the measurements of the altar of the temple and its ministry.

One interesting thing to note is that whereas the tabernacle in the wilderness had its altar positioned at the gate, the altar of Ezekiel's temple was positioned at the center. The measurement of the altar is square, and by drawing diagonal lines, you will find that all the lines meet at the altar and they go out from there, and that shows that the altar is the center of everything. The altar governs everything.

Concerning the tabernacle, the altar of burnt offerings was the first thing you met at the gate. It is the starting point of our spiritual worship. It is the foundation of our faith. Our faith is anchored to the altar of God, that is, the cross. In Hebrews 10, the author likened the altar of burnt offerings to Christ. Christ is the whole burnt offering to God. Getting to the temple of Ezekiel's vision, we see that the altar is indeed central and universal. 

The central place of everything is the altar - the cross of Christ.

The tabernacle loses its significance without the altar. The temple, too, loses its meaning without the altar. Even the services rendered by the priests were centered on the altar. You go nowhere except from the place of the altar. It is our base of worship. Every service or ministry in the tabernacle or temple is related to the altar. It dictates everything else in the house of the Lord. In the holy place was another altar - the golden altar of incense. In the holiest of all places, there was the mercy-seat, known in Hebrews 4 as the 'throne of grace,' and before this very throne the believer in Christ finds grace and mercy in the time of need. He finds divine help in the nick of time.

The whole land of Israel was connected to the temple even as the temple is connected to the altar. From under this same altar of Ezekiel's vision, water flows through the land, bringing life and healing wherever it flows. Isaiah tells us about Christ and His cross. He says that "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our PEACE was upon him; and with his stripes we are HEALED" (Isa.53:5). 

Most importantly, the cross governs our lives. It tells us how to live and love. Real love is cross-based and Christ-centered. Until we love like Christ we have not really loved.

Paul says to husbands, "Husbands, love your wives, even AS Christ also loved the church, and GAVE himself for it" (Eph.5:25). There's no real love without the giving of oneself to others. 

The altar, that's the cross, applies to every aspect of our lives. The cross of Christ is more than an event of history; it is indeed the governing principle of our whole lives. The cross of Christ is meant to function from the core of our being, and it is designed to be the springboard of our actions. All we say and do should stem from that center - the cross. It is at the heart of true preaching and ministry. It informs our creed, conduct and culture. It forms our belief and behavior.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter