DR. JAMES FOWLER: Superficial Believism (Part 2)

The entirety of Christ’s work in Christian experience, whether justification, regeneration, sanctification, or glorification, was encompassed in His declaration of the victory of His “finished work.”

Dr. Fowler is a dear friend serving on our Board of Directors. He has written over 30 books on the believer’s union with Christ. I have been blessed with some of the Lord’s finest theological mentors of our age, but none quite like Jim.

I met Jim at a private retreat for theologians that promote the indwelling Life of Christ. As soon as he opened his mouth - I knew this was a man God could use to grow me into the deeper Life of Christ. Boy, was I right. You will enjoy his profound entries on our IM Writer’s Forum. Welcome Jim!

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The Work of Christ – Past and Present

Many Christians seem to think that the work of Christ was completed and terminated when Jesus was historically crucified on the cross. If that were true, then Jesus was but another dead martyr to be remembered in history.

From the cross, Jesus exclaimed, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). That statement was not a cry of defeat or termination but a declaration of victory. Jesus was declaring that redemption was accomplished by the remedial action of His death, as He vicariously and substitutionally submitted to the “power of death” (Heb. 2:14) and paid the price (cf. I Cor. 6:20; 7:23) of the death consequences of sin (cf. Gen. 2:17).