“The
Righteousness of God”
II Corinthians 5:17-21
17)
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new.
18)
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19)
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them;
and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20)
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God
did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21)
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.
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familiar a passage as this might be to some, verse 21 is still controversial.
You see, though the scripture states that Jesus was made (by God) “…to be sin
for us,” the common interpretation that He became as sin is simply not correct.
What He did become was “(a) sin (offering) for us” that we might not be held
responsible for the debt that we owed being sinners. If Jesus had been defiled
in any way, He would have been “disqualified” as a sin offering. The problem in
the church world (for pastors) becomes diffusing all of the confusion that is
stirred through incorrect teaching.
It
has never been the purpose of the Lord that we understand what is spiritual.
Rather, we are to accept it by faith. The example with which we should be most
familiar is that of the nation of
Verse
17 reflects our new “status” in the Lord. By now, we are familiar with the fact
that nothing can be touched by the Master and not be “change.” Now, if
something is “new,” it has no “past.” However, what it does not have is a
“beginning” and a “future.” These two things are necessary “building blocks” of
hope.
To
us, something being “passed away” is synonymous with “death.” Now, once
anything is “dead.” It can never again exist in its same form. Any “life” that
one could say that it has would have to come from “memory,” only. That is why
once we accept
salvation and we are invested with “new life,” when we attempt to
return to what we once were, our conduct is even worse.
As
“new creatures,” we begin new lives and those lives are to bear no resemblance
to what we lived before. This is why one who accepts the guidance of the Lord
into his life is said to be “saved.” You see, we are saved from our past and
delivered into a new life unencumbered by anything that might come up in the
present. All this, simply because God is in it!
We
err in thinking that just because we looked for Help and found it, that our
challenges in this life are over. We have all heard that “tests and trials only
come to make us strong,” but somewhere along the way, these became mere words,
rather than a statement of truth. It would be helpful to us to do frequent
“reality checks” to remind ourselves that we would be “talked about” even if we
were not doing what is required by God. Therefore, this is no excuse for
“boycotting” God!
We
live in a world of very “dangerous” people espousing dangerous doctrine
concerning the Lord. Many self-proclaimed “preachers” would have us to believe
that we are “the righteousness of God” simply because of what we do in Church.
Basing salvation on anything that one can “do” is in direct opposition to all
that for which Jesus died. He died that we might know that we cannot take, nor
do we deserve, any credit for being allowed the freedom to worship Him. Not only
can we not take our “union” with Him “personally,” but neither can we afford
then, to take anything “personally” that comes to us as a result of our union
with Him. This means those things we “like” as well as the things that are
distasteful to us. After salvation, the only things that is really necessary
that we “understanding” is that the Lord expects a
“return” on His “investment.”
From
verse 18, we need to understand that our “reconciliation” is for the purpose of
bringing us into position to work for Him. Now, then, we must understand that
the “work” is to be that of being a “witness” for Him! If we
would accomplish this, we are going to have to operate from a different”
concept than that from which we operated before salvation.
Often,
man gets saved, undergoes some testing and concludes that he either was, or
would be “better off” outside of salvation. What is not considered is that
tests and trials are part of life even for the backslider,
therefore, removing ourselves from God is not the answer. Time has passed for
the people of God to act as “wimps!” We have been invested by God with the Holy
Spirit that we might be seen, not “hide.”
In
verse 19, “to wit” means for one “to know or understand.” That
which we need to “know” and accept is that now that Jesus is “off the
scene,” it is we who have “the word of reconciliation.” How then, will Man come
to know the Lord without us and our example?
When
we “panic” facing what comes to us, we are teaching others the “opposite” of
faith and this pushes Man away from the Lord rather than helping to reconcile
him. Panic, being an operation of the flesh, then “holds up” our blessing.
“The
righteousness of God” is lived as opposed to being “proclaimed” (of oneself.)
You know, “a saint is a saint” not because I “call myself” a saint or want to
be one. I am a “saint” because I live as a saint!
The
“bottom line” is that “the righteousness of God” is available to all—but only
if that Man will allow himself to be “made new” by the Lord. Then, he will walk
in the power and authority of God and will prove an unequivocal example that
“it’s already done!”