The Transforming Power of the Cross

Does anyone truly understand the message of the cross apart from brokenness, contrition, repentance, and faith? To repeat rather mechanically the nature of the transaction that Christians think took place at Golgotha is one thing; to look at God and his holiness, and people and their sin, from the perspective of the cross, is life changing. What Paul says, then, is that our self-centeredness, our sin, is so deep that we cannot truly see the cross for what it is, apart from the work of the Spirit. What the Spirit accomplishes in us is more than mere application of truth already grasped. Paul’s point is that truly grasping the truth of the cross and being transformed cannot be separated- and both are utterly dependant on the work of the Spirit.

- D.A. Carson, The Cross and Christian Ministry, 65.