The Cross — The Forgotten Power of the Kingdom of God
Cross Carved Wooden Cross Crucifix Wayside Cross
London’s iconic cathedral is dedicated to St. Paul because he is the spiritual father of Christian Europe. He brought to Europe the seeds of God’s kingdom.
Greek democracies had disintegrated centuries before Paul. He entered Europe through Macedonia — the country from which Alexander the Great launched his empire-building conquests. There, Paul proclaimed a different kind of a kingdom — the kingdom of a crucified Messiah, the kingdom of heaven. He called his Gospel, “the word of the cross . . . the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1: 18)
Paul was on his way to Rome. That was the world’s most brutal city. Emperor Nero was to burn Christians alive as torches for his gardens. Rome had sophisticated art, wonderful architecture, great literature and a powerful army. Paul ignored those seductive trappings of a beastly civilization. He adopted as his only badge of honor, Rome’s most degrading symbol — the cross.
The cross represented Rome’s extreme brutality, far worse than the Islamic State’s beheadings. Rome used the cross to terrorize the world. That was its means to subjugate people and control slaves. The empire crucified Jesus to humiliate, mock and expose the powerlessness of the Jewish Messiah (Christ). Jesus willingly chose the cross, Rome’s ultimate weapon of terror, and made it his spiritual weapon to destroy Satan’s kingdom. Paul understood the power of the cross and followed Christ.
The Roman Empire was also built on military power. But Paul’s mission to Europe was counter cultural. He was determined to proclaim and live by a different power — the way of the Cross. He wrote, the “Jews demand [supernatural] signs and Greeks look for [philosophical] wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified . . . Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:22-25).
Prof Vishal Mangalwadi directs the Centre for Human Resource Development in a Unversity in North India. He has authored 20 books and lectured in 40 countries. His exposition of Indian philosophy and Western thought and culture In books such as “The World of Gurus”, and “The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization” are studied at university level.
Trending Now on Affluent Christian Investor
Sorry. No data so far.
Follow Us
The Affluent Mix
Media, Left Ignore These Dangers July 19, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Mark Skousen On FreedomFest And How To Measure The Whole Economy... July 19, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Quantifying The Quantitative, Or Making Easy The Easing... July 19, 2021 | David Bahnsen
The Gold Standard Means A Rising Standard Of Living... July 19, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
Book Review: Brian Domitrovic Reveals The Monetary Genius Of Arthur Laffer... July 19, 2021 | John Tamny
Steve Forbes: Time To Worry About Inflation, Not Hyperinflation... July 12, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
UFOs Rescue Biden July 12, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Read This Classical Economist’s 200 Year Old Warning About Paper Money... July 12, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
How Central Banks Murdered The Markets July 12, 2021 | Michael Pento
Everything There Is To Know About The Stock Market... July 12, 2021 | David Bahnsen
AT&T CEO: We’re Ill Equipped For Politics, And We’re Spending A Lot Of ... July 6, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Internet Bias Distorts National Conversation... July 6, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
The Halfway Point Of 2021 July 6, 2021 | David Bahnsen
Milton Friedman’s Flaw July 6, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
Our Problem Is Cultural And No Election Can Heal It... June 29, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio
Os Guinness On The Left’s Long March From Counterculture To Oligarchy... June 29, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
The Crushing Loss Of The Gold Standard June 29, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger
15% Nominal GDP With A 1.5% Benchmark Treasury Yield?!... June 29, 2021 | Michael Pento
A Timeless Principle In These Current Events... June 29, 2021 | David Bahnsen
The Truth About The “Root Causes Of Migration”... June 29, 2021 | Terry Applegate
FreedomFest, An Appreciation June 21, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer
Why You Should Care About QE June 21, 2021 | David Bahnsen
Join the conversation!
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.