If the fall had not occurred, there would have been no need for the cross. The tree of life would have imparted the life of Christ into Adam and Eve and transformed them progressively into the image of the Son. Nevertheless, because Adam chose the forbidden fruit, God’s ultimate intention required that humanity first be redeemed. The finished work of the cross became an absolute necessity to restore us back to God’s ultimate intention. This session looks at how the work of the cross and the way of the cross lead us into God’s eternal purpose. As you will learn in this session, the work of the cross is what Jesus finished for us and determines our legal position, for in Christ we are constituted righteous, crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended, and enthroned. That means we are the righteousness of God in Christ and have died to sin, self, and the Law through our union with Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. This legal position is imputed to us through the finished work of the cross. Connecting this to God’s eternal purpose, it is the work of the cross that restores us to the place where Adam would have initially been if he had eaten from the tree of life. In addition, this session also looks at the way of the cross, which is what the Holy Spirit finishes in us as He works to harmonize our living condition with our legal position. It is the way of the cross that actualizes the finished work of the cross in our daily experience. It is not enough for us to only have a constituted position of righteousness; we must become righteous in how we live. It is not enough for us to be positionally crucified, buried, and resurrected; we must allow the Holy Spirit to conform us to the death of Christ so that we might also experience His resurrection life. Whereas the work of the cross is a constituted position based upon covenant, the way of the cross is life-based, where we learn to live by the life of Another—the very life of God’s Son who lives in us.