For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”– John 3:16-17

In December of 1999, my life was forever changed when I had a profound encounter with the Father, an experience I call a baptism of love. I went from living as an orphan striving for love to living as a beloved son, secure in love.

I remember being deeply impacted by Jonathan Edwards’ famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. But after my encounter with love, I began to see things differently. It’s not just sinners in the hands of an angry God, but it’s sinners in the hands of a loving Father, perfectly revealed through Jesus Christ.

At the Cross, we discover something powerful: the God revealed in Jesus would rather die in the name of love than kill in the name of freedom. We humans may kill for freedom, but in the name of love, we suffer and we forgive. God’s answer to the brokenness of the world is self-giving, sacrificial love. God saves the world through His self-sacrificing love.

Some may ask, “But what about God’s wrath? What about His rage?” The wrath that burned in the heart of the Father was not directed at His Son, rather, it was aimed at sin itself. My encounter with Papa God’s love and the Spirit of Adoption transformed my theology of the Cross.

There are many metaphors used to understand the mystery of the atonement, or the “at-one-ment” between God and humanity. Here are a few:

1. Sacrificial: Rooted in the Jewish temple system, where Jesus becomes the Lamb sacrificed for our sins. Because of His sacrifice at Calvary, we receive forgiveness, mercy, and oneness with the Father.

2. Commercial: Drawn from the first-century slave market, where Jesus becomes the ransom for many. He buys us out of slavery to sin and into the glorious freedom of being God’s children.

3. Military: In this picture of the battlefield, Christ becomes our victor. Through His righteous life and death, He defeats the enemy and breaks the power of accusation forever.

4. Legal: Based in the courtroom. Christ takes our guilty verdict upon Himself so we can be declared “not guilty.” We receive and enjoy unmerited pardon by grace through faith.

5. Political: The Cross reconciles not only us to God, but us to one another. Through His blood, Jesus tears down every dividing wall. Between Jew and Gentile, between nations and peoples.

6. Adoption: This view changed my life. The Cross is a beautiful picture of adoptive love, intimate and relational. We are welcomed into the family of the Trinity as sons and daughters. (I want to thank Dr. Mark Stibbe for giving me language to express this revelation.)

The Cross reveals a Christ-like God, a loving Father who wants His family back. It is the perfection of consent: Christ rules by love, not coercion. He only said what the Father told Him to say, and only did what He saw the Father doing.

As Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does” (John 5:19-20).

There is complete agreement and mutual love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus also said, “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father who sent Him” (John 5:22-23). And the Holy Spirit? “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears” (John 16:13).

In six hours, one Friday, you will find a truth greater than all your pain, all your loss, and all your sorrow. The Cross reveals that the reign of God is not through domination, but through kenotic (self-emptying) love.

Christ rules over sin, sickness, addiction, depression, fear, anxiety, and shame, not with a sword, but with the cruciform power of love. Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).

So come to the Cross. Receive everything Jesus paid for.

Blessed Easter,
Dr. Leif Hetland