Self-Substitution of God

Overview

I don’t think there’s any competition on this: the cross is the single most visible and recognizable symbol in human history. It’s everywhere. But what does it mean?

Before Christ came, the cross was a gallows, a firing squad, a guillotine. All the cross meant was that you’d lost. It was not a symbol of strength—it was a symbol of weakness.

Galatians 3 is perhaps the most complete picture on the meaning of the cross. Let’s look at 1) why the cross is necessary, 2) what actually happened on the cross, and 3) how the cross makes us different.