Did God die on the Cross ?
The first call is to thank our Lord God Almighty for His mercies and the beauty of life in our souls. Honor to His Glorious Throne in Jesus name. Amen!
Next is to tune up our spiritual antenna to the Holy Spirit because the question is actually begging for clarity from the unsearchable riches of God in Christ Jesus, and not as it may appear to be masked in sneer. Accordingly, before delving in, let us take a brief walk into Church history as this will bring us to the birth place of the question. That is, after the ascension of Christ Jesus into Glory, the main division in the Church amongst others was the doctrinal issue of mixing the laws of Moses with the faith, such as believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord, mixing it up with the requirement of circumcision and other Jewish traditional laws to make salvation complete. The reason for this was, after the ascension of Jesus Christ, His disciples were all Jews and very young in faith. They initially assumed the faith was primarily for the Jews, until the conversion of Cornelius and his family by the leading of the Holy Spirit on Peter, was this yoke of nativity broken from the Gospel as the eternal provider of truth and love to all humanity. Therefore, the conversion of Cornelius, who was a non-Jew with good conscience to the faith, changed the whole dynamics of salvation was not only for the Jews, but to every soul in the whole world, who would believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah). This spiritual insight was further cemented by the conversion of Paul, and his subsequent ministry, which greatly opened up the Gospel beyond the shores of the Jewish territory, coupled with his deep expository spiritual knowledge to the Gospel of Christ Jesus. He confirmed that we are saved by grace through faith and not by the deeds of the law or works. Following the Apostolic age were the Church fathers. They too were faced with lots of contending issues but the core, and even till date is the position of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as they relate to God the Father. Some believed Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and God the Father are co-equal as One God, while others disagreed that He is simply the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit is the active force of God, and they are both subordinate to God and are not God. This sharp disagreement led to the King of the Roman empire (Emperor Constantine, a new convert), to have summoned notable Church fathers together to the city of Nicea (325) to clear the air of division by stating the spiritual fact. This was how the Nicene Christian Creed came about. That is, most of the Church fathers agreed that God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are in unity as One, which is termed in Christian theology as Trinity, meaning three or Tri-unity. That is, three sovereign divine personalities; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are co-equal and in unity as One indivisible God. Few disagreed then, and till date their followers are Christian groups like the Jehovah witness, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints (Mormons), Christian scientists and a host of others. Now, with time, some deniers of God (Atheists), philosophical theorists, free-thinkers, scientists, and others have taken advantage of this theological divide to somewhat scoff at the faith with the question; if Jesus Christ is equal with God and is God, does it mean that God died on the Cross?
As stated from the beginning, we are taking the humble route of drawing insights from the Spirit of Truth concerning this divide between Trinitarianism and Non-Trinitarianism.
Hence, we give due respect to theology for its meaningful reflections on the Divine God. Nevertheless, all honor and gratitude goes to the Spirit of Glory, who is the sustainer and revealer of the deep things of God. This text stands on this holy ground to express that both sides have their points, but missing one great spiritual fact that would bind both in harmony and bring to light the infinite Majesty of the true Divine God clearer. The spiritual gap is the attempt to use the compass of theological analysis to box who God is. Once, we move away from this box imagery and sow our inner consciousness into the deep current from the Holy Spirit, the revelation that flows into the human heart is the Consciousness of God’s infinite Majesty or Reign that is not restricted by space, time or characteristics like human personalities but could take human form or characteristics, and at the same time not diminish in essence of His perfection, life fulfilled in love, eternal knowledge or truth and supreme power. Now, let us allow the Spirit of Glory to help us break these down. God in three equal personalities as One indivisible God is greatly appreciated but is far from certainty. That is, perfection, fulfilled life in love, eternal truth and sovereign power can be personalities to humans but in the reality of His higher glorious Presence, they are more than personalities. Rather, they constitute the Aggregate Consciousness of Eternal Purity, who is Supreme over all existence; both physical and spiritual. This is God, who is Spirit. Now, when Jesus came in human form from this Aggregate or Sovereign Consciousness of Eternal Purity (Spirit) because He was in God, from God, conceived by the Holy Spirit into a woman’s womb, and born without sin (Immaculate conception). His assignment was to restore the human soul into fulfilled life in love. This person or man named Jesus was perfect and of God, but when the sins of the world were placed on Him on the Cross, He automatically became the sacrificial lamb of God. That is, God made for Himself, the perfect sacrificial human body from Himself here on earth to remove sins and death from humankind by giving us the the fulfilled life in love. That is, we are now reconciled to God (Gift of Righteousness) by raising the dead body of the perfect sacrifice, who through perfect obedience was exalted above every name both in heaven and on earth, and finally into His Glory in ascension as He was before the beginning of time. However, the God of Glory, who came on Jesus during His transfiguration, when His whole body and even garment, glowed as unspeakable brightness. Meaning He was the Anointed One (Christ) confirmed to all spiritual and physical realms that He was in God, of God and is God, but now Anointed in human person (Jesus the Christ) to perfect the justice of God on sin and death on the Cross for the revelation of eternal truth into the souls of those, who would believe, hence making them free to enjoy the blessing of eternal life fulfilled in love.
Therefore, who died on the Cross? Jesus the person with our sins as the lamb of God, not God. Who rose from the dead? Jesus, who is the Christ because the Anointing is the Glory of God that cannot and will never die. The person of Jesus that was raised from the dead by the Spirit of Glory was fully human and fully Spirit. The body of Jesus Christ that ascended into Glory in Heaven was not physical though He appeared physical, but in reality was the fullness of the Spirit of Glory because flesh and blood cannot enter into the Throne of Glory. Here is the deal. There is nothing impossible with God and when humans try to box His abilities to suit theological or even philosophical precepts, the essence and power of His perfection and Eternal Reign over all things are somewhat undermined. Hence, when we pray using the blood of Jesus, the power of sin and death is broken, covered or brought under, and when we use His Spirit, the victory shines out to us because He rose in victory for us. When, we give glory to God in the name of Christ Jesus, our peace and assured blessings are permanently sealed to us by order of the Supreme reign of God. Therefore, on the Throne of Glory, there are no three Personalities of God but One God of Glory, who is Spirit, the Father (Love) the Son (Righteous), and the Holy Spirit (Truth). They are not subordinate in anyway to the Father but One Perfect God in Unity in Sprit as GLORY. We can only pray to God in the name of Christ Jesus because He has fulfilled all righteousness between God and humankind. Our prayers must be in Spirit and truth (Holy Spirit) to meet the standard of the Glory of God as His true worshippers. The Holy Bible tells us, we all have one faith, one Lord, one Body, one Baptism, one Spirit, one God, who is above all.
Again, let us clarify this eternal truth. That is, when Jesus Christ, who is the Word, came to earth in flesh, He submitted the Glory of the Throne to the Father because they are One inseparable, and with total obedience, He saw sins and death and conquered them by His resurrection, hence fulfilling all righteousness. He ascended back as One with God in Glory. This mystery is deep, very deep and would fill volumes of books for proper clarity. Therefore, human philosophies, religious dogmas and social contractors need to willfully submit to the power and Spirit of Glory to really enjoy the genuine purpose to their intuitions and endeavors. Anything that challenges or tries to compete with God’s Glory, is emptiness. God’s Glory is the boundless brightness of His greatness in magnificent consciousness of His Eternal love and power over all existence. Glory! Glory!! Glory to You Heavenly Father by the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Mighty name. Amen!