When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit.
– John 19:30

Three words that changed everything. Three words that held the power of sin and darkness. Three words spoken with ultimate authority by the only one who was capable of wielding true authority.

These three words echoed throughout both the physical and spiritual realms. The death and darkness that was brought in by Adam’s sin was now broken by Christ’s sacrifice.

IT IS FINISHED!

This is a progressive declaration for the church-age. It is a statement that our faith is based upon. It is a promise from the Father realized in our life.

IT IS FINISHED! 

The question for us must now become, is it finished in me? Jesus paid the price of our sin debt. He took upon Himself the death sentence that we accrued for ourselves. The redemption that He established is for our reconciliation with the Father. Jesus accomplished the Father’s plan and the Father’s will upon the Cross of Calvary. 

But we must accept His sacrifice. We must receive through a born-again experience the finality of these three words. We must come to a place in our life where we proclaim to our flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit, IT IS FINISHED!

As we look to the Cross and the mercy and grace the Father has extended through His Son, do we actually understand the finality with which it is intended? Do we acknowledge that to be alive in Christ, we must be dead to ourselves? 

Or do we have a misconception about what true Biblical faith looks like? Unfortunately, there is a lot of Biblical ignorance in our churches. Grabbing onto the fringes of Christianity, we seek to feel better about ourselves as we continue to go on living a regular life. But how can we equate Jesus’ final words on the Cross with how we choose to live our life?

The completeness of these three words must bring completeness in each one of us personally. Until we come to the end of ourselves through the Blood of Christ, we will always fall back into who we naturally are, apart from the Father. 

The Apostle Paul had to come to the end of himself. On a dusty road, he had an encounter with the King. From that day forward, Paul’s life wasn’t changed as much as Paul had a new life. For Paul, it was finished that day and every day going forward. The words he wrote to the Galatian believers were a personal statement that we too need to learn from and apply.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 

Everyday we need to resolve in our life that IT IS FINISHED. We need to keep our eyes on Christ and live within the hope and life that He has extended to us.

We must understand that when Jesus said, IT IS FINISHED, He not only made salvation possible, He also opened the door for His return. 

Have you accepted His atonement stemming from the Cross and are you awaiting His return?