Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale Daily DevotionalSample

Representation of Perfection In His final moments on the cross, Jesus cried out, "It is finished!" This undoubtedly caught the surrounding crowd off guard. Imagine what those who were within earshot would have been thinking at this point. What's finished? What's He talking about? The phrase "It is finished" is actually one word in the original Greek, teleo. It's used in the New Testament to describe the complete payment of a person's taxes (Matthew 17:24), the completion of Christ's thousand-year reign in the last days (Revelation 20:7), and even the power of love to fulfill the law (James 2:8). Teleo doesn't simply speak of finishing something. It actually refers to doing something so thoroughly and so perfectly that that there's absolutely no room for improvement. That's the heart behind Christ's cry, and it's the reality represented by the cross. When God does something, He does it to perfection...especially when it comes to what He did on the cross. Christ's work on the cross isn't 99.9 percent complete, but absolutely and perfectly finished, lacking nothing. Moreover, it cannot be improved upon by anything that we could ever do or imagine. To try and do so would be a denial of Christ's declaration that "It is finished." All month long, we've seen that the cross is the culmination and completion of so many things. Every major theme in the Bible converges at the cross. But as we wind up our study, may we always remember that the cross is a representation of God's perfection. What took place there is something so complete, so thorough, and so perfect that it can never be added to or improved upon. It's perfect, it's complete, and it is finished! Christ's work on the cross is absolutely and perfectly finished. We don't need to add a thing to it! Think about it... What does this passage reveal to me about God? What does this passage reveal to me about myself? Based on this, what changes do I need to make? What is my prayer for today?