The Gospel of Peace
The Exchange
Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
It is very clear here that we were once enemies of God.
Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Colossians says we were enemies in our minds by wicked works.
In other words that status existed only in our minds.
God has never been the enemy of mankind. God has always worked to restore and deliver mankind from sin and its effect.
When we sin:
- Our hearts condemn us.
- We become afraid of God.
- We actually judge Him and determine that He must hate us for our wickedness.
- We assume how He must feel about the situation, and we act accordingly.
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
God made peace with us through the cross.
God solved this problem by:
- Pouring the curse of the law upon Jesus.
- Delivering us from the penalty of our sin.
God’s ultimate goal for us was to:
- Experience His love.
- Experience His life.
- Accept Him so that we could enter into a meaningful relationship with Him.
Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Galatians points out:
- God freed us from the curse of the law.
- God put us into a position to receive all the promises and blessings that He made in times past.
I don’t know about you, but that is worth shouting about.
Freedom from wrath is only half of what took place at the cross.
The word reconciled means exchanged.
Jesus took our place in order that we might take His place.
In other words, He received what we were and what our lives deserved, while we receive what He is and what His life deserves.
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Jesus did not come just to set us free from the results of our sin.
He came to put us in the center of God’s will so that we might receive God’s blessings and promises.
Notice that we might receive?
We must believe in our hearts that we have the blessings and promises of God.
God always wanted the best for us, and He demonstrated that in the Garden of Eden by:
- Providing man with abundance and provision.
- There was no lack.
- No suffering.
- No sickness.
- And no pain.
But it was man who surrendered Paradise to make it the world we have today.
When God gave man the Law of Moses it was full of provision for God’s blessings.
God always wanted us to live in His provision and power.
But there were stipulations in the law that gave opportunity for curses, but it also gave the same opportunity for the blessings and promises.
The promises included:
- Health.
- Healing.
- Prosperity.
- Success.
- Peace.
- Joy.
But you had to live a holy life before God to qualify for those blessings.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
The weakness of the law was the flesh.
Because the flesh was weak, man continually found himself in a position worthy of the curses.
But he found himself also in a position to not receive the blessings.
The entire law was based on man’s performance.
But we are now under the New Covenant and it is based on Jesus’ performance.
The entire New Covenant depends on the completed work of the Lord Jesus.
We participate in that accomplished work by faith.
Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
The word atonement means, exchange.
In Jesus we have the exchange, and it is effective now.
The exchange will not go into effect in some future time or dispensation; it went into effect when Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father.
We begin to participate in it the moment we believe it.
In Jesus we have an exchange—an exchange that took our sin away from us and gave us righteousness.
Our sins no longer exist.
We God looks at us; we are righteous because Jesus is righteous.
We have the same quality of life that Jesus has and that of the Father.
There is a Greek word that describes the quality of life we now have in Jesus. That word is Zoë.
Zoe is a quality of life that is possessed by the one who gives it.
Because Jesus received this quality of life from the Father, we receive it, too.
The inheritance that Jesus received is the one we receive.
We have the quality of life God Has. We receive it in Jesus.
Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
In the exchange, we receive His righteousness. That righteousness qualifies to receive all the promises of God.
Not just parts or pieces of it, but all of it.
We receive nothing from God on our own merit.
Instead, we receive every promise based on the finished work of Jesus.
1Co 1:29 so that no one may boast in God's presence.
My confidence is not in my accomplishments but in Jesus’ accomplishments.
We are qualified by Him, and we receive that inheritance by faith, not by:
- Faith that says I am able.
- Faith that says I am worthy.
- Faith that says I have enough faith.
But faith that says Jesus did it all!
2Co 1:20 For all God's promises are "Yes" in him. And so through him we can say "Amen," to the glory of God.
Because we are in Jesus and have His righteousness, every promise God ever made to anyone in the Bible is ours.
Because we are free from works-righteousness, we can rest in Jesus with no fear or dread.
We are now compelled to:
- To live a life of worship and praise.
- Continually give thanks to the One who has done so much for us.
We now know that we are:
- Righteous and our hearts desire righteousness.
- Free from sin.
- Confidently compelled to stay free from sin.
Why should we sin? We are righteous in Jesus.
Rom 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Works says that God owes us. Grace and faith say that God promised.
People are very prone to mix the Old Covenant with the new one. They are very quick to return to works as our basis of receiving from God.
Works:
- Says that I can get God to respond to me.
- Places the emphasis on what I have done.
- Looks to my righteousness for qualification.
Faith:
- Is my response to what God has done in Jesus.
- Places the emphasis on what Jesus has done.
- Looks to Jesus’ righteousness for qualification.
Because of Jesus:
- I receive what He deserves.
- I was made to be His righteousness.
- I am receiving the blessings that His righteousness deserves.
- I am accepted.
- I have peace before God.
- I have been exchanged to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment