What does God value in the cross? It is neither equivalent penalty, nor even the sympathetic confession of human sin, but rather Christ’s complete and holy obedience, and in that the practical confession of God’s holiness. He who had heard the word of the Father was, in the Spirit,  completely given to it, and called upon all his resources – human and divine – in order to be so. The Father responds to the Son and receives his work – his offering in the Spirit – and in him, the creation he perfects. In Christ, all things are given their full dignity as living conversation partners with the Triune God; that is, holy communion is created.