Cross

Definition and Meaning

The cross was a frame on which condemned criminals were hung and executed in ancient Rome. In Christianity it refers to the event in which Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross and died, and to the meaning of that event. Christianity understands this death as an atonement (paying the penalty for sin so as to reconcile people to God) in which Christ bore human sin in the place of others. Together with the resurrection that followed, it is confessed as the center of the gospel. In keeping with the words "take up his cross, and follow me" (Mark 8:34), the term is also used figuratively for the suffering and devotion that believers endure for the sake of their faith.

Biblical and Historical Background

Crucifixion was a form of capital punishment that Rome imposed chiefly on slaves, rebels, and provincial subjects. It was an execution designed to inflict public shame. All four Gospels record the crucifixion of Jesus in detail. Paul placed the cross at the heart of the faith, writing, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Crucifixion is said to have been abolished in the fourth century under Emperor Constantine, after which the cross became established as the principal symbol of Christianity. During the Reformation, Martin Luther advanced a "theology of the cross," which holds that God reveals himself not in glory but in suffering and the cross.

Practice in Korean Churches

Doctrinal Understanding

• Presbyterian churches that follow the Westminster Confession of Faith emphasize penal substitution, the teaching that Christ bore in their place the punishment due to sinners. They also teach limited atonement, the view that the efficacy of the atonement extends to the elect.
• Methodist, Holiness, and Full Gospel churches, which stand in the traditions of Wesleyan theology and Arminianism, teach universal atonement, the view that Christ died for all people.
• Full Gospel churches, citing Isaiah 53:5, emphasize that the atonement accomplished on the cross also includes the healing of disease, that is, divine healing. Some regard this as an excessive extension of the doctrine.

Symbolism and Worship

Most Korean Protestant churches display an empty cross, without the figure of Jesus, inside and outside their sanctuaries. This is commonly explained as signifying the resurrection, and it distinguishes them from the Catholic Church, which uses the crucifix (a cross bearing the body of Jesus). The Anglican Church of Korea and some Lutheran churches use crucifixes or processional crosses, and their members may make the sign of the cross with the hand. Church steeples lit at night with red neon crosses are a familiar sight in Korean cities, although their excessive brightness and proliferation have drawn criticism from both inside and outside the church. The meaning of the cross receives particular reflection during Holy Week and at Holy Communion. The forms and history of the symbol are treated in the article Symbol of the cross.