Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Two Views of the Rescue Another way people have tried to create an easier-to-communicate message is by narrowing the many aspects of Jesus’ victory over the powers of evil (the atonement) to one representative act, namely his work at the cross for personal salvation . Without question, Jesus’ substitutionary work on the cross is the crowning achievement of his atonement, and should not be diminished in any way (Col. 1.20). However, Jesus not only gave his life on the cross, but also defeated the devil through his incarnation, victory in the wilderness temptation, sinless life, clarification of Old Testament teachings, miracles of exorcism, delegation of authority to the disciples, resurrection, and ascension. He continues to conquer the enemy through his mediation as head of the Church, and will complete the conquest at his Second Coming 21 when he will put “all things under his feet” (Eph. 1.22). Jesus did far more to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3.8) than securing personal salvation at the cross, glorious as it is! The full portfolio of Jesus’ work is far more than just my rescue at the cross . Robert Webber noted, “The sacrifice of himself for the reconciliation of the world was already taking place in the womb of the Virgin Mary.” 22 For the first 1000 years of the Church, this “multi-dimensional” appreciation of Jesus’ many victories over the devil was recognized by the title “Christus Victor” 23 (Christ the Victor). At the Reformation, Luther attempted to revive the Christus Victor notion

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