What would have happened if Jesus had not been crucified?
Jesus would have accomplished both the spiritual and physical aspects of salvation. He surely would have established the everlasting and indestructible Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
This, after all, had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah, announced by the angel who appeared to Mary, and expressed by Jesus himself when he announced that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand (Isa. 9:6-7); (Luke 1:31-33); (Matt. 4:17).
When God created man, “the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7). Human beings were thus created in both spirit and flesh. Their Fall also happened both spiritually and physically.
Since Jesus came to bring full salvation, he was responsible to complete it both spiritually and physically. To believe in Jesus means to become one with him.
Hence, Jesus likened himself to a true vine and compared his disciples to its branches (John 15:5). He also said, “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14:20).
In order to save fallen people physically as well as spiritually, it was necessary that Jesus come in the flesh. Had the people believed in Jesus and so united with him in both spirit and flesh, they would have received salvation both spiritually and physically. Yet the people did not believe in Jesus; instead they led him to the cross. Jesus’ body was exposed to Satan’s assault, and he was killed. Therefore, even when faithful Christians are united with Jesus, their bodies remain exposed to Satan’s attack, just as was Jesus’ body.
Consequently, no matter how devout a believer may be, he cannot attain physical salvation through redemption by the cross of Jesus. His original sin, which has been passed down through the lineage from Adam, is not eliminated at its root. Even the most devout Christian still has the original sin and gives birth to children who also carry the original sin. In our personal faith, we may feel it necessary to mortify and deny our flesh in our efforts to prevent the intrusion of Satan, who continually tries to ensnare us through our bodies. We are taught to “pray constantly” (I Thess. 5:17) that we might remove the conditions by which Satan can attack us; these conditions stem from the original sin, which was not eradicated despite salvation through redemption by the cross.
Jesus could not fulfill the goal of complete salvation, both spiritual and physical, because his body was struck down by Satan. However, Jesus laid the basis for spiritual salvation by securing the victorious foundation for his resurrection through the redemption by his blood on the cross. As a result, all believers since his resurrection have received the benefit of spiritual salvation, but not physical salvation.
Salvation through redemption by the cross is spiritual salvation only. The original sin remains active in the flesh of even the most devout Christians and is transmitted through the lineage to their descendants. The more fervent a believer’s faith, the more fiercely he must fight against the sin within.
Even St. Paul, the most devout among the apostles, lamented over his inability to prevent sin from infiltrating his flesh: For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin (Rom. 7:22-25).
This statement contrasts the bliss Paul felt upon receiving spiritual salvation with the agony he felt because he was unable to achieve physical salvation. John also confessed: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. . . . If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (I John 1:8-10).
Sun Myung Moon