Wednesday, 16 October 2024
THE RESURRECTION BROUGHT US JUSTIFICATION
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
The Bible says in Romans 4:25 that Jesus Christ was delivered for our offences, that is, He died on account of our sins and was raised back to life for our justification. 1 Timothy 3:16 says He was justified in the Spirit. Why did He have to be justified in the Spirit? The reason is that He was made sin for us, as read in our opening scripture. He became the very embodiment of sin.
This is truly astounding because the Bible doesn’t merely say that Jesus was made a sinner or a sin offering but that He was made sin. This means the very character and nature of sin were placed on Jesus. He became the very embodiment of what we were; our nature of sin was what He became.
Until you understand this, you won’t understand the life of the new creation and how, indeed, we became the righteousness of God in Christ. Think about it: The one who knew no sin, who was never involved in sin—He never spoke an unkind word or said the wrong thing—that sinless one was made sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Wow!
After taking on our nature and the punishment for our sin, He was raised from the dead with a new life. And according to the Bible, we were raised together with Him (Ephesians 2:6). When He was raised back to life, God said, "...Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee" (Psalm 2:7, Acts 13:33). This is crucial because it marked when Jesus was born again; He was born again when God raised Him from the dead.
By His resurrection, therefore, we were also resurrected, because we were in Him. His was a vital resurrection, and ours was a legal one. But the moment you received Jesus Christ as Lord, this legal resurrection became a vital experience in your spirit. You were immediately brought out of the domain of darkness and catapulted into the Kingdom of God's Love-Son with legal righteousness; you were justified. His resurrection brought us justification: “Who was betrayed and put to death because of our misdeeds and was raised to secure our justification (our acquittal), [making our account balance and absolving us from all guilt before God]” (Romans 4:25 AMPC). Hallelujah!
PRAYER: Blessed Father, I rejoice, knowing that the Lord Jesus was raised for my justification—my acquittal. Now, I’ve been declared not guilty and made righteous in Christ Jesus. I live with the consciousness of my divine nature, celebrating my sin-free life in Christ, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
FURTHER STUDY:
Romans 4:23-25; Romans 5:1; Acts 13:38-39
1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 & Isaiah 64-66
2-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN: Hebrews 7:11-28 & Ezekiel 12-13