The Holy Ghost bears witness of the righteousness of God, because Jesus has gone to the Father. There was no righteousness on earth in Jew or Gentile. His very disciples had forsaken Him. The great stone covered the door of the sepulcher. What a moment was that! The work of atonement was finished on the cross. He had glorified God in making propitiation for sins; but, as the righteous Man, He lay dead. And, as we have seen, if He is still dead, all faith is vain, we are yet in our sins. Look at Him as your Substitute. If He is dead and that is all, then you are dead with Him, and that is all.
Let us turn again to the Epistle to the Romans, and look at the revelation of the righteousness of God. Bearing in mind the two parts of Acts 13:38, 3938Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38‑39), we are still occupied with the former part: justification in the sense of forgiveness of sins. The great work of God is now before us in raising Christ from the dead. It is on this ground we are justified, reckoned righteous, as to all our sins before God, “if we believe on him [God] that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses.” That is one thing. See all your iniquities laid on Him, your holy, devoted Substitute. Are they still on Him, or is He still dead and in the sepulcher? No; “He was raised again for our justification.” Believing God, righteousness is reckoned to us; we are justified from all charge of our sins. (Rom. 4:24, 2524But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. (Romans 4:24‑25).)
What, then, was the purpose of God in raising up Jesus from the dead? It will take eternity fully to answer that question. Can any one call in question the righteousness of God in raising up Christ from the dead? The Holy Ghost has come down from heaven to bear witness of His righteousness, in receiving Him to glory. But what then in this verse was the purpose of God in raising Christ from the dead? Assuredly for this very purpose, “for our justification.” In view of this very thing, and not because we were justified. We are justified by faith—on the principle of faith. And was God righteous in raising our blessed Substitute from the dead for this very purpose, our justification from all sins? You cannot, you do not doubt it. Now, since God did this, you cannot doubt that you are justified. If a single sin of yours or mine had been left on Jesus (our sins were once laid on Him), He could not be in the glory with the Father. For when our sins were laid on Him, He was forsaken of God. He dies no more; He is forsaken no more; He site at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, the abiding proof that our sins are put away forever. Cannot you, then, say these words: “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” &c.? “We have,” that is, this is true of every one that believeth, is it not, then, true of you?
And then, for our assurance and exceeding great comfort, the apostle shows how we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God; and how God has commended His love to us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Oh, there can be no doubt that His death is the ground of the revelation of the righteousness of God in justifying us from our sins. And we fail to find a single thought of Christ returning in the flesh to keep the law for our complete justification after His resurrection. Can you find such a thought? I mean for the second part or aspect of justification. In him every one that believes is justified. (Acts 13:3939And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:39).)
Let us now look at the second aspect, complete justification in Him. Can “in Him” possibly refer to our being in Him whilst down here, the Holy One fulfilling all law and righteousness, whilst He was in sinless flesh? No, nothing can be farther from the truth than to suppose that His incarnation either reconciled God to man or man to God, or that He was in us or we in Him. He assures us there must be a wholly new birth. (John 3) And that He, the grain of wheat, must die or remain alone, (John 12:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24).)
It is a sad mistake, then, to go back to Christ in the flesh, either as to incarnation, or keeping the law for our complete justification. We shall see that in our further inquiry. Let us for the present return to Romans. Have we then seen, that as to remission of sins, in that aspect we are justified from sins by the work of Christ—what He has done by His blood; and that we are assured of this by His resurrection from the dead?
But now you say, That is quite clear; but then there is what I am. And what are you? A black lump of sin. Can God in righteousness justify a black lump of sin? No, and yet God justifies the ungodly. Not that He justifies sin or ungodliness. We have seen that He is righteous in justifying the ungodly from his sins. Now we shall find how He can justify from sin—black, vile sin. And also how He is righteous in doing this. If you had a child which had a propensity for stealing, you could not justify either a theft or the propensity for thieving. You might forgive a theft, but you could not even forgive the propensity. Neither do we ever read of God forgiving, much less justifying the propensity, or, as it is named, sin in the flesh, the root of all sins. How is God, then, righteous in dealing with sin, the root?
In sin, OR in Christ?
That is the question. Every man in sin is not justified. Every man in Christ is justified—that is, in the highest sense, there is nothing to condemn, but everything pleasing to God. Dispel now the question of sins for the present, and look at this matter from the highest standpoint—accounted perfect in the sight of God, righteous before God, and God righteous in so reckoning us. How can this be? you may well say. As is now well known, in Rom. 5:11Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (Romans 5:1)2 This question is taken up. There are two headships: Adam, the head of sin, and death, and condemnation; Christ, the Head of the new man in grace, righteousness, and justification of life. It is not then now the justification of our sins, or sin; but the righteous judgment of God on the Person of His beloved Son, who offered Himself both for our sins, and also for our sin. So that, all being judged and forever put out of the sight of God, the believer is justified in Christ. We shall find there is no thought of restoring fallen man as of the first head, Adam; but the entire setting him aside. There is no thought of imputing as much righteousness as will reinstate him. Neither is there a thought of improving fallen man. But the righteousness of God is seen completed in an entirely new creation in Christ, the Second the last Man.
Let this be borne in mind, and all becomes clear and harmonious. Sin and death came by the first Adam; and though not reckoned as transgression where the law had not been given from Adam to Moses, still death reigned—death and condemnation flowed on the whole race through one offense. But how much more the free gift of grace by the Second, the one Man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded: “For if by one offense death reigned by one [Adam]; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christy (Rom. 5:1717For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) (Romans 5:17).) Now the effect of the one offense is toward all men condemnation; so, by the one, accomplished, immutable righteousness, toward all men justification of life. (Ver. 18, see literal translation.) Thus, through the obedience of Christ unto death, the death deserved by us, we have life beyond death in Him, even eternal life in Him; and, if in Him, surely a justified life. And is not God’s righteousness fully revealed in this very life? It is not our old forfeited Adam life, but life in the risen Christ. And nothing in Him risen can be condemned.
As to the old creation—the one act of disobedience—“For as indeed, by the disobedience of the one man the many have been constituted sinners;” then as to the new creation in Christ, “so also by the obedience of the one man [Christ] the many have been constituted righteous.” Now the question is this, Does this mean that man is under law, and is constituted righteous by the imputation of Christ’s keeping the law for him? Or did they who were under law need entire redemption from its curse by the death of Christ? And then is he constituted righteous in Christ risen from the dead? Let us pursue this deeply important inquiry.
After 2500 years the law entered, and a nation was put under it for about 1500 years. “The law entered that the offense might abound.” Nothing could improve man; he must be entirely set aside, and that which could only curse him must be entirely superseded, as it is written: “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Here, then, are the two positions of man: “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign, through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
In Rom. 6 the very original profession of Christianity illustrates the truth before us. In baptism the believer is buried unto the death of Jesus Christ. He owns and reckons himself utterly set aside as dead unto sin, “but alive unto God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (It should be in, not through here.) It is not the first-Adam righteousness—there is not such a thing.
It is not the old Adam life restored; that is gone. Thus sins are gone by the one offering of Christ. Sin is judged, as we shall see, and is reckoned gone—and the old life is gone, and now Christ is both his subsisting righteousness and his eternal life. It is not that he is actually dead and gone, but this is his new position and standing, as we shall see. This we shall also find to be power in the Spirit for a new holy walk. It is of the utmost importance then to see that the old man is crucified with Christ and judicially done with. We are justified from all of self by the death of Christ, and our complete justification is in Christ risen.