Cheon Seong Gyeong 311
A life lived for love is a productive
and fruitful one, and a life lived with-
out knowing love leads to exhaustion
and destruction. God, humankind, and
even the universe desire to live for the
sake of love. This is the original way of
life. (Blessed Family – 1062)
Cheong Seong Gyeong 1165
In the first chapter of the Gospel of
Matthew, four great women who had
illicit relationships: Tamar, Bathsheba,
Rahab and Ruth, are listed in the gene-
alogy of Jesus. This gospel is the equiva-
lent of Genesis, but the question is, why
do the first pages of the New Testament
focus on these women, who are stained
and impure? Without understanding
the Principle view of the Fall, there is no
way to understand this. It has remained
a mystery. By searching throughout my
life, however, I have been able to answer
these questions for the first time. (211-137,
1990.12.30)
Exposition of the Divine Principle
3 Color Edition-The Red part
1.4 THE LIMIT OF SALVATION THROUGH REDEMPTION BY THE CROSS AND THE PURPOSE OF JESUS’ SECOND ADVENT
What would have happened if Jesus had not been crucified? Jesus would have accomplished both the spiritual and physical aspects of salvation. He surely would have established the everlasting and indestructible Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Yet the people did not believe in Jesus; instead they led him to the cross. Jesus’ body was exposed to Satan’s assault, and he was killed. Therefore, even when faithful Christians are united with Jesus, their bodies remain exposed to Satan’s attack, just as was Jesus’ body. Consequently, no matter how devout a believer may be, he cannot attain physical salvation through redemption by the cross of Jesus.
However, Jesus laid the basis for spiritual salvation by securing the victorious foundation for his resurrection through the redemption by his blood on the cross. As a result, all believers since his resurrection have received the benefit of spiritual salvation, but not physical salvation. Therefore, to uproot the original sin, which he could not remove through the crucifixion, and to complete the work of physical salvation, Christ must come again on earth. Only then will the purpose of God’s work of salvation be fulfilled both spiritually and physically.
1.5 TWO KINDS OF PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE CROSS
If Jesus’ death on the cross were not predestined as necessary for the complete accomplishment of his purpose as the Messiah, why was it prophesied in Isaiah that he would suffer the ordeal of the cross? As Isaiah prophesied24 and as the angel announced to Mary, it was foretold that Jesus would become the king of the Jews in his lifetime and establish an everlasting kingdom on the earth. Let us investigate why God gave two contrasting kinds of prophecies concerning Jesus.
Human beings have their own portion of responsibility. The nature of the fruits they bear depends upon whether or not they fulfill their portion of responsibility. For this reason, God gave two kinds of prophecies concerning the accomplishment of His Will.
1.6 GOSPEL PASSAGES IN WHICH JESUS SPOKE OF HIS CRUCIFIXION AS IF IT WERE NECESSARY
There are several passages in the Gospels in which Jesus spoke of his suffering on the cross as if it were necessary for salvation. For example, when Peter heard Jesus’ prediction of his imminent crucifixion and tried to dissuade him, Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me.” Peter’s dissuasion could have hindered Jesus from paving the way for spiritual salvation through the cross. For this reason, Jesus rebuked him.
A second example is Jesus’ last words on the cross, “It is finished.”33 Jesus did not utter these words to mean that through the crucifixion he had completely accomplished the providence of salvation. Hence, by the words, “It is finished,” Jesus meant that he had finished laying the foundation for spiritual salvation. By this time, it had become the alternative goal of the providence.
View slides 18 to 32 below for an illustrated presentation of the above content:
2007p1-CHAPT-4-The-Messiah-_revised-4-28-2014