See with what large letters I am writing to you with my
own hand. 12 Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh
try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not
be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For those who are
circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to
have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But
may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and
I to the world. 15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor
uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And those who will walk by
this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of
God. 17 From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on
my body the brand-marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.

Exulting in Nothing but the Cross

EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION - in the cross. Exultation in the cross
of Christ. That is very strange. Like: exultation in the electric
chair. Exultation in the gas chamber. Exultation in the lethal
injection. Exultation in the lynching rope. That is very strange:
exultation in the cross. But that is exactly what is being said
here in verse 14: "But may it never be that I would boast, except
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." And that word boast is
translated elsewhere as "exult." May it never be that I would
"exult" except in the cross of our Lord Jesus. Exultation in the
cross.

So Paul states one utterly essential part of our vision in
EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION, namely, we must educate for the sake of
exulting in the cross.

But that's not quite right, is it? - that exulting, or boasting,
in the cross is one essential part of the vision -alongside other
things. Paul says, "May it never be that I would boast, except in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." No boasting except in the
cross! No exultation except in the cross. Not: the cross is one
essential thing you boast in alongside others. No! No boasting
except in the cross of Jesus. No boasting alongside it.

What does that mean, that here must be no boasting - no
exultation - except boasting and exulting in the cross of
Christ?

But Doesn't Paul Tell Us to Boast in Other Things Also?

This word for "boasting" or "exulting" was used in the last text
that we wrestled with in Romans 5:2, 3, 11. Romans 5:2, "We exult
in hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:3, "Not only this, but we
also exult in our tribulations." Romans 5:11, "And not only this,
but we also exult in God." 2 Corinthians 12:9, "Most gladly,
therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses." So what does
Paul mean - that he would not "boast, except in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ"? No boasting except in the cross!

He means that, for the Christian, all boasting should be a
boasting in the cross. All exultation should be exultation in the
cross. If you exult in the hope of glory, let it be an exulting in
the cross of Christ. If you exult in tribulation because
tribulation works hope, let it be an exulting in the cross of
Christ. If you exult in God, you are exulting in the cross of
Christ. If you exult in your weaknesses, let it be an exulting in
the cross of Christ.

Why is this the case? Because for redeemed sinners, every good
thing -indeed every bad thing that God turns for good - was
obtained for us by the cross of Christ. Apart from the death of
Christ, sinners get nothing but judgment. Apart from the cross of
Christ, there is only condemnation. Therefore, everything that you
enjoy in Christ - everything you boast in, everything you exult in
- is owing to the death of Christ. And all your exultation in other
things is to be an exultation in the cross where all your blessings
were purchased for you at the cost of Christ's life.

Every blessing in life is meant to magnify the cross of Christ.
Or to say it another way, every good thing in life (and every bad
thing that God turns for good) is meant to magnify Christ and him
crucified. So, for example, we totaled our 1991 Dodge Spirit last
week, but nobody was hurt. And in that safety I exult. I glory in
that. But why was nobody hurt? That was a gift to me and my family
that none of us deserves. We are sinners and, by nature, children
of wrath apart from Christ. So how did we come to have such a gift
for our good? Answer: Christ died for our sins on the cross and
took away the wrath of God from us and secured for us, even though
we don't deserve it, God's omnipotent grace that works everything
together for our good. So when I exult in our safety, I am exulting
in the cross of Christ.

And the insurance paid us about $2800 for the car and Noel took
that money and went to Iowa and bought a '91 Chevy and drove it
home in the snow yesterday. And now we have a car again. And I
exult in the amazing grace of so much bounty. Just like that. You
wreck your car. You come out unhurt. Insurance pays up. You get
another one. And move on almost as if nothing happened. And in
thanks I bow my head and exult in the untold mercies even of these
little material things. Where do all these mercies come from? If
you are a saved sinner, a believer in Jesus, they come through the
cross. Apart from the cross, there is only judgment. Therefore,
every gift is a blood-bought gift. And all boasting - all
exultation - is boasting in the cross.

Woe to me if I exult in any blessing unless my exulting is an
exulting in the cross of Christ.

The Glory of Christ in All Things

This means that the cross of Christ is utterly pervasive in our
vision of EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION. The cross is not one piece
among many. No. Galatians 6:14 will not let us think of it that
way. "May it never be that I would boast (glory, exult), except in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Only in the cross. Only in the
cross. No boasting. No exulting. No rejoicing. No thanksgiving.
Except in the cross. Why? Because every dream dreamed for the
future of this church, and every hope-filled meeting held, and
every plan formed, and every notebook filled, and every dollar
given, and every brick laid, and every student taught, is
blood-bought mercy for us redeemed sinners because apart from the
cross all we deserve is condemnation. And therefore, every
exultation, every thanksgiving, every boast, every joy is in the
cross.

Another way to say this is that the design of the cross is the
glory of Christ in all things. The aim of God in the cross is that
Christ would be honored in all things. When Paul says in Galatians
6:14, "May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ," he is saying that God's will is that the
cross be always magnified - that Christ crucified always be our
boast and exultation and our joy and our praise -that the crucified
Christ get glory and thanks and honor for every good thing in our
lives - and every bad thing that God causes to turn for good.

But now here's a question: if that is the aim of God in the
death of Christ - namely, that "Christ crucified" be honored and
glorified for all things -then how is Christ to get the glory he
deserves? The answer is that children and youth and adults have to
be taught that these things are so. Or to say it another way: the
source of exultation in the cross of Christ is education about the
cross of Christ.

That's my job: to get glory for Jesus by teaching you these
things. And then your job is to get more glory for Jesus by acting
on them and teaching them to more people. Education about Jesus is
for exultation in Jesus. And if we want there to be no exultation
except in the cross, then we must pursue education about the cross
- and under the cross.

Or maybe we should say, "on the cross." Education on the cross
will lead to exultation of the cross. What do I mean?

Crucified with Christ

Look at the rest of verse 14: "May it never be that I would
boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which
the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Boasting
in the cross happens when you are on the cross. Is that not what
verse 14 says? The world has been crucified to me, and I have been
crucified to the world. The world is dead to me, and I am dead to
the world. Why? Because I have been crucified. We learn to boast in
the cross and exult in the cross when we are on the cross.

Now what does that mean? When did that happen? When were you
crucified? The answer is in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified
with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in
me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in
the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." When
Christ died, we died. The glorious meaning of the death of Christ
is that when he died all his own died in him. That death, that he
died for us all, takes effect as our death when we are united to
Christ by faith.

But you may say, "Aren't I alive? I feel alive." Well, here is a
need for education. We must learn what happened to us. We must be
taught these things. That is why Galatians 2:20 and 6:14 are in the
Bible. God is teaching us what happened to us, so that we can know
ourselves and know his way of working with us and exult in him and
in his Son and in the cross as we ought.

So we read Galatians 2:20 again to see that, yes, we are dead
and, yes, we are alive. "I have been crucified with Christ [so I
am
dead, and he goes on]; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me [Why? Because I died, that is, my old rebellious,
unbelieving self died]; and the life which I now live in the flesh
[so, yes, I am alive, but it isn't the same "I" as the "I" who
died] I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself up for me." In other words, the "I" who lives is the new
"I" of faith. The new creation lives. The believer lives. The old
self died on the cross with Jesus.

And if you ask, "What's the key for linking up with this
reality? How can this be mine?" the answer is implied in the words
about faith in Galatians 2:20. "The life I now live, I live by
faith in the Son of God." That is the link. God links you to his
Son by faith. And when he does, there is a union with the Son of
God so that his death becomes your death and his life becomes your
life.

Now take all that over to Galatians 6:14, "May it never be that
I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the
world." Don't boast in anything except in the cross.

Dead to the World

And how can you become that radically cross-centered - so that
all your exultation is traced back to the cross? Answer: realize
that when Christ died on the cross, you died; and when you trusted
him, that death took effect in your life. Paul says, it's your
death to the world and the world's death to you.

Meaning: when you put your trust in Christ your bondage to the
world is broken, and the overpowering lure of the world is broken.
You are a corpse to the world, and the world is a corpse to you. Or
to put it positively, according to verse 15, you are a "new
creation." The old you is dead. A new you is alive. And the new you
is the you of faith. And what faith exults in is not the world, but
Christ, and especially, Christ crucified.

This is how you become so cross-centered that you say with Paul,
"I will not boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."
The world is no longer my treasure. It's not the source of my life
and my satisfaction and my joy. Christ is.

But what about safety in the car accident? What about the
insurance payment? Didn't you say you were happy about that? Isn't
that the world? So are you dead to the world?

I could be. I hope I am. Because being dead to the world doesn't
mean going out of the world. And it doesn't mean not feeling things
about the world -some negative and some positive (1 John 2:15; 1
Timothy 4:3). It means that every legitimate pleasure in the world
becomes a blood-bought evidence of Christ's Calvary love and an
occasion of boasting in the cross. We are dead to insurance
payments when the money is not what satisfies, but Christ
crucified, the Giver, satisfies. When our hearts run back along the
beam of blessing to the source in the cross, then the worldliness
of the blessing is dead, and Christ crucified is everything.

That is the goal of EDUCATION FOR EXULTATION - in the cross. O
may God grant us to dream and plan and work and give and teach and
live for the glory of Christ and him crucified!