Finished Work of Christ

Tetelestai: All is Completely Fulfilled, FOREVER!

What was Jesus’ last word, uttered as He gave His last breath at the Cross? We read about it in The Bible:

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19:30)

In your mind, transport yourself back in time, to Jerusalem, circa 33 AD, at Mount Calvary. You’re in the crowd, watching as Jesus was crucified. Jesus’s last word was not “it is finished”, because the English language did exist yet. Jesus’ last word that you would have heard that day was the incredibly amazing Greek word:

What does “tetelestai”, mean? It is a form of the Greek root word, “teleo” which means, “to fulfil, to accomplish”. But what is so striking is that tetelestai is the word “teleo” in the perfect tense of the verb.

The perfect tense signifies that an action has been completed once, with results for all time. It is the exact opposite of the continuous tense, which signifies an action carried out continuously, without an end.

For instance, a man and wife get married on one specific day, at one specific time. Ever since that one day, that couple has been married ever since. Do they need to keep getting married over and over again to stay married? No. That one act, performed at one time results in being in that state from then on. That’s the perfect tense of “to marry”. Contrast that with the continuous tense of a verb. For instance, I need to brush and floss my teeth daily to keep them in a state of being clean. This is certainly not perfect tense, which would mean I would just have to brush and floss once and they are clean from that time on (though I wish that was the case!)

When Jesus uttered that glorious word, “tetelestai” from the cross, He used the perfect, not continuous tense of the word teleo, (to complete or fulfill). And what did Jesus’ last word tetelestai mean for us?

ALL is completely fulfilled… FOREVER!

And this powerful truth gloriously borne out throughout the book of Hebrews, particularly in chapter 10:

5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

    “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
    But a body You have prepared for Me.
    6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
    You had no pleasure.
    7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
    In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
    To do Your will, O God.’ ”


8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Heb 10:5–10.

Jesus’ telestai fulfilled so many things. Hebrews goes into the depths of this. (To learn more, listen to my series, Hebrews: the Glory of the New Covenant). In addition, Jesus’ telestai also completely fulfilled what He said in Matthew 5:17-18

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

I used to think (like many Christians do) that what Jesus meant when He said, “till all is fulfilled” meant some time way in the distant future. But that is not true. Remember, the Bible is the best interpreter of itself. Too many Christians disregard Jesus’ perfect, finished work (expressed as “tetelestai”) when interpreting scripture. This is a fatal flaw. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

The Lord Jesus Christ, in all of His perfection, perfectly satisfied the demands of perfect righteousness, perfectly obeying His Father perfectly fulfilling all the prophecies and perfectly settling the Law… forever. He didn’t destroy the law, He perfectly fulfilled it! Hebrews 10:9 says, “then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first that He may establish the second.”

Remember TETELESTAI:
ALL is completely fulfilled… FOREVER!

Dear Christian, your Christian life begins with the reality and totality of Christ’s tetelestai for you! That’s because:

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

(Photo by Gustavo Moreno on Unsplash)

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He Was Crushed So That You Would Be Blessed – Pt 2

[This is part 2 of a 2-part series]  Jesus Christ became an “object of horror” when He bore ALL of our sin, ALL of our curse, ALL of our infirmities, ALL of our sicknesses and ALL of our diseases. In this episode, we continue to examine WHY He bore all that for you and me:

  • Why God laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
  • The silence and submission of The Lamb.
  • His triumph.
  • The New Covenant as foretold in Isaiah 54.
  • The reason why God is not mad at you anymore.

[Scriptures: Isaiah 53:6-12, 54:1,7-10]

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CC by-nc-nd 2016 Mark D. VanOuse
This recording is under a Creative Commons copyright license. www.DailyInChrist.org

 

 

 

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He Was Crushed So That You Would Be Blessed – Pt 1

[This is Part 1 of a 2-part series]. Most Christians know that when Jesus went to the cross He died for their sins… and that is true. However, he didn’t just “die for our sins”, he did for SINNERS. He died for YOU. In this episode, based on prophetic scriptures in Isaiah 52 and 53 we examine:

  • The horror of the suffering Messiah
  • Jesus Takes it All: despised, rejected, knowing sorrow and grief firsthand. Bearing our griefs (bodily pains) and sorrows (mental and emotional pains).
  • Because He took all of our punishment, we can enjoy real, lasting Shalom peace.

[Scriptures: Isaiah 52:13-5, 53:3-6]


 

 

CC by-nc-nd 2016 Mark D. VanOus. This recording is under a Creative Commons copyright license. www.DailyInChrist.org

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Exposing Satan’s Master Scheme: To Be Like God WITHOUT GOD – Pt 4

[Part 4 of 5] If Satan’s #1 strategy to keep us AWAY FROM God is to have us believe that we must DO to be LIKE GOD… then what is GOD’s way and plan for us? In this episode we explore God’s brilliant plan in the new creation: not “just you”, but the NEW YOU in union (one) with Christ:

  • We examine the reality of Christ’s oneness with His Father in John 17. This is BEING based not on “doing” but on UNION WITH GOD.
  • What it means when the Bible says that we CONTAIN Christ: as earthen vessels, branches of the vine, in Last Adam (Christ), temples of the Holy Spirit, slaves of righteousness, members of the body of Christ, as the wife (bride) of Christ, as the Father is in Christ.

Scriptures: John 17:20-26, John 15 & others

CC by-nc-nd 2016 Mark D. VanOuse
This recording is under a Creative Commons copyright license.

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Hebrews Pt 50: The Prominence & Preeminence of Christ

[Hebrews 13:8-24]  Jesus Christ is not only prominent in the scripture, He is also preeminent. In the midst of verses that appear to be a “Christian To Do list”, Hebrews 13:8 triumphantly declares, “Jesus Christ, is the same yesterday, today and forever.” This is no accident: it is the Holy Spirit reminding us yet again of the absolute prominence and preeminence of The Lord Jesus Christ. In this final lesson we examine:

  • The center of our faith is Christ, not ourselves (law)
  • The unchangableness (immutability) of God and the stability that brings.
  • The self-existence (aseity) of God. He needs no one and is non-dependent, that’s why we depend on Him for all.
  • What it means to have the heart “established by grace”.
  • The shadows and type of the Old (Law) Covenant versus the realities of the New Covenant. Temporary measures (living under law) yield temporary results. A perfect high priest completing a perfect, finished work yields permanent results.
  • The Conclusion of the Matter: Hebrews 13:20-21

Note: this episode concludes the “Hebrews: The Glory of the New Covenant” series.

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Hebrews Pt 49: The Prominence of Christ – Part 1

[Hebrews 12:25-13:6] In all of the scripture, no one is more prominent than The Lord Jesus Christ. No work is greater than His finished work. If we refuse Him, we refuse The Father. Having Him, we have all. In this lesson we learn:

  • How vitally important it is to not refuse The Father who is speaking through His son.
  • The eternally fatal error of believing that somehow we are righteous and good enough. And the great encouragement and hope that we who have received Christ really have.
  • What the LET’s of Hebrews 13:1-5 are really all about.
  • The fruitful difference that having real faith in Christ makes, not only in our own lives, but also in the lives of those who see our manner of living.

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The Just Shall Live By Faith – Pt 9 (Hebrews Pt 39)

[Hebrews 11:13-22]  How did they do it? How did those memorialized in Hebrews Chapter 11 live in such a way that God selected them and their story as examples of faith? The answer: they lived by faith. In this episode we:

  • Remember the important context of Hebrews 11 — the full book of Hebrews, centered on CHRIST and His finished work.
  • How knowing the promises of God and embracing them gives us great assurance that leads to God-pleasing, triumphant faith
  • How to face the impossible task, like Abraham, and see victory.

 

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Justified Forever! Part 2

[Romans 3:21-26] The great reformer Martin Luther once said, “This one and firm rock, which we call the doctrine of justification, is the chief article of the whole Christian doctrine, which comprehends the understanding of all godliness.” He also called this doctrine the “article of the standing and falling of the church …if this article stands, the Church stands; if it falls, the Church falls.”

Justification also finds supreme importance in the Bible itself. That’s what we’ll find out in this episode, part 2 of the message, “Justified Forever”

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Justified Forever! Part 1

Many Christians are crippled in their walk with the Lord, because they wrongly believe that God is relating to them on the basis of their righteousness, instead of on the righteousness of JESUS CHRIST. But the truth is, we could never, in a billion-trillion years come even close to being “good enough” for God. If we could, then WE would have to get the glory, not God.

Recently, I preached a message at my home church called, “Justified Forever!”. Today, we’ll hear the first part of this message. It is important to understand that the biblical truth of justification by faith in Jesus and His finished work is vital to successful God-honoring Christianity. This truth sparked the Reformation nearly 500 years ago. It’s message has brought many to the saving knowledge of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Happy All Saints Day, All Saints!

To all the saints (those in Christ, made holy by the grace of God) everywhere: HAPPY ALL SAINTS DAY!

Then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we HAVE BEEN sanctified [made holy saints] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Heb 10:9-10) …

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