“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”  I Peter 3:18

Christ has suffered for sin - Surely Christ suffered when He died on the cross. But why was He suffering? He was suffering for sin. Our sin. God placed the sin debt of everyone on His only Begotten Son. The Lord Jesus Christ experienced all of the Father’s wrath for our sins.

Christ suffered once for sin - When Jesus died on the cross, He cried, “It is finished.” He did all that was
necessary to pay for the sins of mankind. Matt.27:51 tells us that God ripped the veil of the Temple in half when Christ died. Why? Because the Old Testament sacrifices were no longer necessary. The Lamb of God died for sins once and for all.

Christ suffered as our substitute - The above verse states that Christ, “the just,” died for us, “the unjust.” He died in our place. He took to Himself our penalty for sin. We deserved the death penalty and separation from God in Hell. But He died in our place.

Christ suffered to bring us to God - Why did Jesus die that awful death on the cross? To bring us to God, so that we could have a personal relationship with the Father that starts right now on earth, and lasts for all eternity.

Because Christ died for us and rose from the dead, we can be saved. Once saved, we can and should bring others to God through salvation in Christ.

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