Lesson 8: Hearing the Message of the Cross
Questions 6 and 7
The Rock of Christ
The Old Testament teaches this same thing:
In Exodus 17:1-6, we read the account of thirsty Israelites who needed water, and in their discomfort, they angrily complained to Moses. This was sinful for them to murmur against God and their leader, Moses. In response to their plight, God told Moses to strike a rock with his rod, and when Moses did this fresh water came out for the parched people. Isn’t that an odd solution? To strike a rock? It’s as if the rock was being punished for the sins of the people, and yet after the rock was hit it miraculously poured out fresh, life-giving water that quenched the thirst of the people.
Question 6. In 1 Corinthians 10:3-4, the Bible tells us that this rock was Christ. How can you see the gospel in Exodus 17:1-6?
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In order for the people to drink water, the rock had to be struck! Hit! Beat! This is a picture of the cross of Jesus Christ, "for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). Yes, Christ was struck and beaten on the cross, to remove your sin and make you right with God! And then the water of the Holy Spirit flowed. See John 7:37-39 for more detail!
God was teaching this lesson: Jesus Christ had to be struck, to die on a cross for your sins. He was punished in your place to give you peace with God and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Walking by Faith
And as we hear and believe this message, we who are thirsty, that is, we who have been trying to drink in the thrills from fleshly living, receive the flowing river of the Holy Spirit.
Friend, understand this: the Holy Spirit resides at the cross, He flows from Jesus’ death. If we want His transforming power, we must go where He is flowing, and we must drink! That is, we must come often to the cross and believe the message.
Now, let's make a summary of today’s lesson: we have lived a long time gratifying the lusts of our flesh, and have probably tried many different things to be free from it. Now, we must learn how to “walk by the Spirit”, for when we do, we will not gratify the lusts of our flesh. Isn’t that tremendously exciting? It means freedom!
But this also means we must consciously hear the gospel message, and believe it, daily! As we receive afresh the message of the cross, we find the Holy Spirit’s miraculous presence working in us and flowing through us to others.
The Holy Spirit then empowers us to deny our flesh, to take up our cross, and to follow Jesus. We learn to walk (move forward) by the Holy Spirit who leads us away from a life of gratifying our flesh.
Friend, there is a way to be free from the fleshly living that you and I have been doing. That way is--to be continually Washing at the cross so that we can be Walking by the Spirit and not according to the flesh.
Question 7. Please state what you learned from this lesson today:
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In the next lesson, we want to see how to war against the flesh, and how to have victory in the battle!