Article 5

We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed his blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.

God's gospel is accomplished through the work of Jesus Christ.

(This commentary is based on a book, entitled Evangelical Convictions: A Theological Exposition of the Statement of Faith of the Evangelical Free Church of America. The exposition I have adapted from that book is shorter and re-drafted to fit the Statement of Faith we are proposing at LAC. I am thankful to my theologian friends—Mike Andrus, Bill Jones, Bill Kynes, David Martin, Ruben Martinez, and Greg Strand—both for the work together and for the opportunity to post this material. Though many contributed to the commentary, the writing was done mainly by Dr. Greg Strand and Dr. Bill Kynes. Your pastor accepts responsibility both for the abridging and for the re-focusing of the commentary now being made available to us.)

Commentary

In the story of our faith thus far, we have affirmed truths about the human condition and truths about God that, when viewed together, present an apparent clash. On the one hand, we have declared that human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under his wrath (Article 3). We all stand in need of the restoration of our fallen nature, reconciliation with our creator (as well as with one another and with the rest of creation), and rescue from the condemnation that our rebellion against God’s rule richly deserves.

Yet we have also declared that God loves people and that the gracious purpose of God from eternity has been to redeem a people for himself, allowing them to share in his own triune love. That purpose was first glimpsed in God’s pledge in the Garden of Eden that from the seed of Eve would come one who would crush the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). It was revealed more clearly in God’s promise to bless Abraham and through his family line to bring blessing to the world (Gen. 12:1-3). The story of Israel left little ground for hope, however, for Israel also had rebelled against God and was in need of a savior. The obvious question at this point in the story is this: In the light of our sinful condition, how is God’s purpose to be accomplished?

We now come to the part of our story in which we think about how the eternal God actually brought about this reconciliation between himself and fallen humanity. This will require that we address topics that go beyond finite human comprehension and sometimes trouble human sensibilities. We will seek to give a fair hearing to views that have divided God’s people regarding what happened when Jesus died on the cross as “the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins.” As we navigate all too quickly through the issue, we hope to do so 1) with a commitment to be faithful to what God has revealed in Scripture and 2) with the humility that such a daunting subject demands.

Regarding the act in history that makes our salvation possible, many would simply echo the words of the German poet and skeptic Heinrich Heine, which he spoke as he lay on his deathbed: “God will forgive me. That’s his job.” Isn’t forgiveness God’s duty, his obligation? Can’t God simply forgive freely?

But the Bible affirms that God is holy and just, which means in part that he cannot tolerate evil and must condemn all iniquity:“Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent — the Lord detests them both” (Prov. 17:15). Evil must be punishedor cosmic justice will have no meaning. If we fail to recognize that, even our human dignity as responsible moral agents will be undermined. Mere forgiveness of sinful human beings apart from the exercise of the judgment of sin would not be the path to a moral or just universe.

The resolution of this theological dilemma, and the core of the gospel, is found in the work of Jesus Christ. Especially in Jesus’ work on the cross, God’s righteousness is revealed. On Christ’s cross, God’s wrath was poured out on sin and, simultaneously, his love was demonstrated to sinful people. At the cross, God showed himself to be just even while justifying sinners (cf. Rom. 3:25–26).

I. Of Central Importance: Jesus Christ Shed His Blood on the Cross

The New Testament presents the crucifixion of Jesus in Jerusalem as the focal point of the gospel story. Jesus was born to die. His crucifixion by Pilate was not thrust upon him; he chose it as his divine vocation (John 10:18). He was tempted to turn from such agony, and in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me” (Matt. 26:39). But it was not possible, and Jesus willingly went to the cross. John recorded his dying words: “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus had accomplished that for which the Father had sent him into the world.

In their accounts of the ministry of Jesus, the Gospel writers emphasized the centrality of the cross, and the teaching of the apostles did the same.[1] But why? What is the meaning of this cruel death? What did it accomplish?

Simply put, the New Testament proclaims that Jesus died “for our sins” (cf., e.g., 1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 3:18; Rom. 3:25–26; 5:8), implying that Jesus’ death provides the means by which our sins are forgiven or taken away (Eph. 1:7). Jesus himself pointed his disciples in this direction when he spoke of his ultimate act of service in terms of “giving his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45; Matt. 20:28). This connection was confirmed during the Last Supper. In preparing his disciples for his imminent death, Jesus spoke of the cup as “my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28).

This reference to “blood” signals a sacrificial significance to Jesus’ death, especially since it was made at a meal celebrating the saving work of God through the blood of the Passover lamb sprinkled on the doorposts of the families of Israel. Blood was a central aspect of the sacrifices prescribed in the Old Testament (cf. Heb. 9:22), as it testified to a life poured out in death (Lev. 17:11).[2] The “blood of Jesus” became a common way of speaking of Jesus’ death as a saving, sacrificial act. In Christ, “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,” Paul wrote (Eph. 1:7; cf. 2:13; Col. 1:20; Rom. 3:25; 5:9). John affirmed that “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7; cf. Rev. 1:5; 12:11). And Peter spoke of our being ransomed “with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish” (1 Pet. 1:19; cf. John 1:29). In Hebrews, this theme was expounded in even greater detail (Heb. 9, 10; cf. especially 10:19). Jesus’ death must be seen as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

II. Christ’s Atoning Death: The Perfect, All-Sufficient Sacrifice for Our Sins

The New Testament description of Jesus’ death as an atoning sacrifice found its fullest expression in the Epistle to the Hebrews.“But now,” we read, “[Jesus] has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (9:26). Jesus assumed the roles of both the high priest who offered the sacrifice and the sacrificial offering as he offered himself to God on the cross, making those who draw near to God through him right with God (10:14).

Jesus’ atoning sacrifice is “perfect” (that is, complete, absolute, unsurpassed), based on the nature of that sacrifice. If the blood of bulls and goats could effect ceremonial cleansing in the worship of God, how much more can the precious blood of Christ cleanse our hearts so that we might serve the living God (Heb. 9:13-14). It was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin; that was but a shadow of the reality to come (10:1, 4). But in Jesus that reality appeared, and by the sacrifice of himself once for all, “he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (10:14). His perfect sacrifice obtained “eternal redemption” (9:12). It was not with perishable things that we were redeemed, “but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Pet. 1:19).

Jesus’ atoning sacrifice is also “all sufficient.” Nothing is lacking from it, and we can add nothing to it. It is complete, fully efficacious, and all that is required to atone for our sin. It satisfies all the requirements of God’s holiness and justice in providing the means of our salvation — in its past, present, and future dimensions (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Cor. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:5). For that reason, Jesus could say, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

A. Biblical Language of the Atonement

The New Testament writers used rich and evocative language in seeking to expound the saving work of Christ on the cross, with word pictures from various fields of human experience. These are by no means mutually exclusive, and each has something to contribute to our understanding of this profound event:

* The sacrificial system of the Old Testament temple provides an essential background for understanding Christ’s death. It depicts sin as defilement before God, which disqualifies us for worship. Christ’s work is a cleansing that takes away our sin and makes us acceptable in God’s presence.

* The marketplace pictures our salvation in terms of a redemption in which we are bought out of our slavery to sin.[3] This liberation came at a great cost. We were captives to sin’s power and under its merciless control, but by his death, Jesus ransomed us, buying us back with his precious blood. We have been, at the same time, set free from the devil’s power and set under God’s rule, for he is now our new master.

* A battlefield portrays the cosmic war going on for the control of our souls. Jesus as our champion has defeated the demonic forces of evil and delivered us from their dominion. Jesus spoke of his ministry in terms of binding the strong man so that one can then plunder his possessions (cf. Matt. 12:29). Paul echoed this imagery when he said, “having disarmed the powers and authorities, [Christ] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col. 2:15). “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work,” John wrote (1 John 3:8; cf. also John 12:31; 16:11; Heb. 2:14-15).

* Family relationships are also a sphere of human experience shedding light on the saving work of Christ. Jesus’ death provides a means of reconciliation between estranged parties, bringing peace between them. Through Christ’s death, we who were God’s enemies can become adopted into God’s family as his children and heirs of all his riches (Rom. 5:10-11; 8:15-17; Gal. 4:4-5; Titus 3:6-7).

* The law court pictures the accomplishment of the gospel. God is judge, the final moral authority before whom all must give an account. All sin is ultimately rebellion against his righteous rule, and the penalty of disobedience is death (Gen. 2:16-17; Rom. 6:23). Because he is holy, God’s necessary reaction to all that acts contrary to his will is wrath. God’s wrath is not a capricious and irrational rage as is often found in sinful human beings but the pure and consistent response of a righteous and just God when confronting all that is evil in his creation. “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong,” the prophet Habakkuk declared of him (cf. Nahum 1:2-3).

In his exposition of the gospel in his letter to the Romans, Paul set forth the revelation of the wrath of God as the central obstacle to be overcome (1:18; 2:5, 8). All humanity stands under the righteous judgment of God (2:2-3; 3:9-20), whose just sentence is death (1:32; 5:12; 6:23). But in Christ, and through his atoning death, we are rescued from that condemnation (3:21-26; 8:1, 33-34). God as judge acts to justify those who believe in Christ. On the basis of their union with Christ, he declares that they are no longer under his judgment and are now righteous in his sight, members in good standing of his people by faith.

B. Theological Views of the Atonement

Through history various theological views have been proposed to make sense of these various biblical backgrounds. Some have stressed the subjective aspect of the work of Christ — that is, the effect that Christ’s death has on our own moral state. The “moral influence” theory contends that Christ’s death on the cross is the ultimate expression of God’s love for us and that this love should move us to respond to him in kind.

Certainly the death of Christ is the ultimate expression of God’s love, and Paul declared it to be such: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Jesus’ death shows how much God loved the world (John 3:16). We ought to respond to such love with repentance and faith; a failure to do so shows contempt for God’s kindness (Rom. 2:4). Further, the life of Jesus is held up as a moral example to us, particularly as he responded to evil with patience, humility, and love (cf. Phil. 2:5-8; 1 Pet. 2:19-23).

Another more subjective approach emphasizes the way in which God acts in the atonement to safeguard his moral rule of the universe. This “governmental theory” contends that the death of Jesus was God’s means of demonstrating the seriousness of sin and was appropriate to prevent the corruption of human morals. In other words, sin is so offensive that God is willing to die to show us how serious it is to him.

While subjective views of the atonement like these stress the effect of Christ’s work on our moral condition, they fail to account for the depth of human depravity or the reality of God’s opposition to sin. And while these perspectives convey truth about the power of the cross to affect us, they are sorely inadequate on their own. There must be a vital connection between the loving sacrifice of Christ’s death and the situation of the sinner. Biblical scholar James Denney once observed, in effect, that a man jumping off a pier, yelling, “I love you, world!” before he sinks to the bottom would be considered a misguided madman. But if he jumps off the pier to save someone who is drowning, and gives his life in the process, he becomes a real hero. So Jesus’ death must be more than a subjective declaration of love; it must be an actual achievement.[4] Thus, in contrast, the “objective” views of the atonement point to a real change in the spiritual realm through what happened on the cross, including God’s posture toward us.

One of the earliest objective perspectives on the atoning death of Christ emphasized Jesus’ role as king and described it as a conquest over the powers of evil. Hebrews speaks of Christ’s sharing in our humanity “so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death— that is, the devil —and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14–15).Though this view seeks to do justice to the New Testament’s battlefield imagery to describe the victorious effect of Christ’s death and resurrection, it is insufficient on its own as an explanation of his atoning work. It fails to spell out how the power of Satan was defeated.

The most prominent and promising understanding of atonement builds upon the Bible’s forensic (or legal) language of God as righteous judge. Though found throughout Christian history, this view, often called penal substitution, was developed most clearly by Anselm of Canterbury (A.D. 1033–1109) in his book Why Did God Become Man? He stressed the ideas of satisfaction and vicarious sacrifice. Essentially, Anselm contended that moral offense entails a moral debt that must be paid. Therefore, those who sin against God owe him either their own punishment or some restitution or satisfaction for their transgression of his law. God’s justice demands such payment, but human beings cannot make satisfaction since they are all guilty and deserving of God’s punishment. Satisfaction can be made only by one who is innocent, so God himself made this possible by the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The God-man Jesus Christ was under no obligation to die, since he was sinless, but he willingly offered himself as the satisfaction for human sin. Atonement is thus seen as a payment of human debt to God by a substitute provided by God himself.

Anselm’s approach has been refined and clarified by later proponents of this satisfaction model, including Thomas Aquinas[5] and people like Luther, Calvin, and Wesley. This is the approach that seems to capture the heart of the biblical teaching of Christ’s atonement most fully. However, it does not express all that happened through Christ’s death. We believe that it provides a good foundation for understanding Christ’s atoning work on the cross and is complemented by insights coming from other views.[6]

1. Jesus, Our Substitute: Penal Substitution

When we refer in our statement to Jesus as our substitute, we have particularly in mind what is called “penal substitution.” To summarize this position: Jesus, the righteous one, died in our place, paying the penalty that we deserved, thus satisfying God’s justice. God’s wrath is thereby appeased, reconciling sinners to a holy God, such that his forgiveness does not compromise his holiness. This process is God-initiated, and is, from beginning to end, an expression of God’s love and grace.

This view fit well with Martin Luther’s emphasis on the doctrine of justification, which he saw in Paul’s letter to the Romans. The pressing question in Luther’s mind was how a sinner could be made right with God. Paul’s words in Romans 1:18-3:20 seemed to leave no doubt that all of humanity lay under the divine wrath. Because Paul concluded that “all have sinned” (3:23), that “there is no one righteous, not even one” (3:10), and that on the day of judgment “every mouth will be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God” (3:19), whatever answer the gospel gives as a means of escape must somehow deal with the righteous wrath of God that sinful human beings deserve.

For this reason, Romans 3:21-26 has been understood as a central passage to explain the “satisfaction” of God’s justice. God can maintain his own justice in justifying sinners only if that justice is satisfied by the righteous death of another. Thus, in the death of Jesus, God substituted himself, thereby demonstrating his own righteousness. In 3:25, Jesus was the propitiating sacrifice[7] who turned away the righteous wrath of God toward sinners (cf. 5:9), bringing reconciliation (5:1, 10).

The notion of penal substitution is found elsewhere in the New Testament as well. Fundamental is the idea that the righteous one died in the place of the unrighteous, as expressed by Peter: “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). Paul expressed this exchange in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus acted “for us”—on our behalf and in our place. He was a righteous substitute who bore our penalty.

This conception of the death of Jesus would not have come naturally to the first disciples. At first, when they saw their beloved master hanging on a Roman cross, they were confused and disheartened. They had thought that he was their messiah, the anointed one of God who would lead them into the glory of the kingdom of God. But on the cross he died as a common criminal, bearing the curse of God. With his resurrection, however, their view of his death changed. In his vindication by God, they realized that Jesus was, in fact, the Christ, and that it was not for his own sin that he had died but theirs. They understood Jesus’ death to be a vicarious sacrifice, a penal substitution, in which “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross” (1 Pet. 2:24).

One might say that this principle of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation. As John Stott put it,

The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to man alone.[8]

This understanding of what happened on the cross is widespread in the history of the church, found in the statements, articles of faith, and creeds of Lutherans, Calvinists, Wesleyans, Baptists, and Pentecostals (and others). In our SOF, we simply state that Jesus is our “substitute” and the “perfect and all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins” that saves us from the wrath of God (see also Article 3).

Objections to This View

The understanding of the atoning death of Christ in terms of penal substitution has not been without its detractors, both ancient and modern. We will consider three common objections:

First, is it coherent to contend that God in his love can satisfy his own wrath against human sin —that he can, as expressed by Augustine, “love us even while he hates us”?[9] In other words, humanly speaking, there seems to be apparent contradiction in a God who in love appeases his own wrath. Our initial response to this is to affirm that this is simply the way Scripture speaks (cf. Rom. 5:10; Gal 3:10, 13; Col. 1:21–22). It may be, as Calvin suggested, that “Expressions of this sort have been accommodated to our capacity that we may better understand how ruinous our condition is apart from Christ.”[10] Augustine dealt with the issue by understanding the wrath and love of God operating at different levels and in different ways.[11] He said that God’s wrath arises from his holiness in response to human rebellion; but his love is from eternity as an intrinsic perfection of his nature and is not caused by the character of the one loved. The point is that God’s acting in love to satisfy his wrath need not be a logically incompatible notion, though its operation may remain a mystery. We are compelled by the teaching of Scripture to hold God’’s love and wrath together.

Second, some contend that penal substitution calls into question the goodness of God. It is suggested that this view forces us to picture God as a vindictive agent of wrath who must be cajoled into acting graciously toward his human subjects. Opponents say that the view requires us to think that the Son of God takes the abusive punishment we deserve and so wins the good will of a begrudging God. However, we believe that this grotesque representation of penal substitution fails to take into account the unity of the triune God. The death of Christ on the cross is not the affliction of punishment by the Father upon the “eternal Son” (that is, apart from his humanity), much less upon a mere human being. Jesus’ death on the cross is truly an action of God upon himself. God is both the subject and the object of atonement. That atoning work of God is truly an act of self-substitution. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). This was not an act necessitated by some cosmic logic but freely chosen as an act of holy love.

A proper conception of penal substitution insists that there are not three parties in the atonement; there are but two: God in Christ and humanity. In the Bible, God himself offered the sacrifice. The Father and Son are one in purpose, acting as one divine subject in this act of divine self-substitution. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

Third, some question the morality of the kind of transaction required in penal substitution. How can one person take on the punishment of another? Is this just a legal technicality? In this objection, we find an inadequate appreciation of how Jesus identifies with humanity. Jesus Christ is not only truly God; he is also truly man. As Paul affirms, “there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5-6). Christ can act as our substitute only because he has first united himself with us as our representative, a subject that now merits further attention.

2. Jesus, Our Representative: Union with Christ

In our modern Western world, we think in such individualistic terms that we often deny real social solidarities such as nation, tribe, and family. However, two institutions in Old Testament Israel demand some understanding of the solidarity of the leader as the representative of his people if their meaning will be comprehended: the high priest and king. In these, the actions of one affected the many. In offering sacrifices on behalf of the nation, for example, the high priest affected those he represented before God. Hebrews spoke often of Jesus in that position (Heb. 2:17). Jesus could represent his people such that he could bear their sins in the offering of himself.

Regarding the representative role of kingship in Israel, the king could represent the people, either bringing them God’s blessing or involving them in God’s curse (cf. 2 Sam. 24:1-25). In the New Testament, Jesus as Israel’s messiah identified himself with his people (cf., e.g., Matt. 3:13-15) and dies as their king (cf. Matt. 27:37). In this way he saved “his people” from their sins (Matt. 1:21).

When this idea of solidarity is grasped, we can understand how Paul could speak of our solidarity with Adam as our representative head and our opportunity to replace the effects of Adam’s sin by being united with Christ (cf. Rom. 5:12–21). Each acts in a way that affects those bound up with them. In our union with Adam by nature, his sin brings death to us; in our union with Christ by faith, his obedience brings us righteousness and life. These two are the great representative figures of the human race.

In his atoning death Jesus acted in our stead and on our behalf. As our substitute, he did what we could never do for ourselves: He bore our sin and judgment, and he took it away. As our representative, he acted on our behalf in such a way as to involve us in what he has done. Jesus went to his death alone, but he calls us to take up our cross and follow him in the new life that is ours by virtue of our union with him.

III. Christ’s Victorious Resurrection: His Victory and Ours

The cross of Christ should not be considered apart from his resurrection from the dead. In his faithfulness to the will of his Father, Jesus took on the role of the suffering servant, bearing the sin of his people, and as a consequence of that faithfulness, God raised him from the grave and gave him the name above every name (cf. Phil. 2:5-11). Jesus’ resurrection both vindicated his work and demonstrated his victory; and as those in union with him by faith, we benefit from that work and that victory becomes ours.

A. Jesus’ Vindication and Victory

In the first public proclamation of Jesus’ resurrection, Peter declared to the Pentecost crowd in Jerusalem, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Jesus had been condemned by the human court, both Jewish and Roman, but by an act of divine power, that verdict was overturned. In raising him from the dead, God declared him to be “the Son of God in power” (Rom. 1:4 [NRSV]), exalting him to a position of “all authority” (Matt. 28:18).

But not only did the resurrection of Jesus validate his person; it also vindicated his work. It demonstrated that it was not for his own sin that he died but for the sin of his people (as in Isa. 53:4). He had accomplished his mission, and God rewarded his vicarious suffering, just as the Scriptures predicted (cf. Isa. 53:11-12; Luke 24:26; Acts 26:22).  If Christ has not been raised, Paul says, our faith is futile and we are still in our sins, subject to God’s condemnation (1 Cor. 15:17). “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead” (v. 20). His atoning sacrifice was acceptable to God, and it was effective in taking away our sin.

When Jesus was hanging on the cross, it looked as if evil had triumphed. The enemies of Jesus mocked this would-be messiah like a common criminal. God had come in the flesh to do battle with evil, but it appeared Satan had won. Or had he? The empty tomb turned the tables. What appeared to be total defeat was transformed into a glorious triumph. Jesus’ resurrection is the divine testimony to his victory over the forces of evil (Eph. 1:19-22; Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Pet. 3:21-22; Rom. 8:37-39) and over death itself (2 Tim. 1:10). “God raised him up,” Peter declared, “having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:24). The sting of death is gone, and by the resurrection of Jesus we now have assurance of victory over it (1 Cor. 15:55-56; 1 Cor. 6:14; 2 Cor. 4:14). Christ is victorious over the forces of evil, and that victory has its foundation in his substitutionary death and its proof in his glorious resurrection.

B. Our Great Hope

The meaning of Christ’s resurrection is not limited to his own experience of vindication and victory. Because we are united with him, we are promised our own resurrection in him. Paul spoke of Jesus’ resurrection as “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). He was “the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead” (Col. 1:18; so also Rev. 1:5). Resurrection from the dead, an end-of-the-world event, has broken into the midst of the present age, and Jesus Christ is the first of those who are to follow (Acts 26:23). Though we must wait until the day of his glorious return, we can be assured that when he comes, we shall be like him (1 Cor. 15:23; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 John 3:2). The spoiled image of God in our fallenness will be restored when we are fully conformed to the image of Christ and are finally glorified in our resurrection bodies (Rom. 8:29; Phil. 3:20–21). And even creation itself, which has been “subjected to frustration . . . will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Rom. 8:19-22). For this reason, the resurrection of Jesus is our great hope (cf. 1 Pet. 1:3-4).

But his resurrection also has a significant implication for the present. In union with Christ we are already raised with him and seated with him in the heavenly realms (Col. 3:1; Eph. 2:6). His righteousness before God is now ours by virtue of our union with Christ (cf., e.g., Phil. 3:9).[12] We are already partakers of his new and risen life (Rom. 6:4; Eph. 2:5; 1 John 5:12), liberated from our captivity to sin (Rom. 6:6-7). And by the Holy Spirit we have, even now, tasted “the powers of the coming age” (Heb. 6:5). The power of the demonic world, whether experienced explicitly or more covertly, has been broken by Jesus’ victory (Col. 2:15). He stands as Lord of all.

Jesus’ glorious resurrection has inaugurated that new age, and we now live in an interim period, experiencing something of its power while still awaiting its fulfillment when Christ returns. This “already” and “not yet” existence means that we have been saved in hope (Rom. 8:24).[13]

IV. Conclusion: The Only Ground for Salvation

Who can stand before a holy God? Certainly not sinful human beings, corrupted by sin, alienated from God and under his wrath. We are helpless and hopeless apart from the grace of God. But we have a gospel message: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4). “By this gospel you are saved” (15:2).

In the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ God has done for us what we could never have done for ourselves. He has accomplished his gracious purpose by entering into our world himself in the person of his Son. He has joined our humanity to himself, so that in Christ the judge could take the place of those who are judged. On the cross Jesus atoned for our sin, bearing its punishment in our stead. There was displayed all at once the fire of God’s holiness, the darkness of our sin, and the depth of God’s gracious love. At the cross, in a mysterious way, God’s wrath and mercy met, perfectly. And on the third day, when he raised Jesus from the grave, God vindicated his Son and brought victory over sin and death.

Before going to the cross, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me” (Matt. 26:39). In the wisdom of God, redemption was not possible any other way. Christ’s atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for our salvation.

To God's glory alone,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor