“I AM: JUSTIFIED IN CHRIST”
Jesus’ kingdom operates in a now, not yet reality.
NOW, NOT YET
In one sense, his kingdom is here, right now. Jesus saves people every day. Through the Holy Spirit, he transforms us. The church is taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.
However, it can be hard to believe that Jesus’s kingdom is here. When we look with our eyes, we see the brokenness of our world. For now, God has allowed his kingdom to be hidden in plain sight. It runs parallel with the empires of this world. Living in God’s kingdom right now means that we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV).
It can be hard to believe that Jesus’s kingdom is here.
Although Jesus’ kingdom is here, we have not yet seen it as it will be. One day God’s kingdom will be visible for every eye to see.
On that day, the will be no other empires or agendas. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (see Philippians 2:10-11). There will be no tears, pain, sin, or death. We will see God face to face (See Revelation 21-22).
As we continue to explore our identity in Christ, let’s remember now and not yet.
CHOSEN FOR A PURPOSE
Yesterday we discovered that we were chosen by God before the world began. But Paul says that is just the beginning.
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. (Ephesians 1:4 NLT)
When God chose us, his ultimate goal is that we would be holy and without sin.
Although Jesus’ kingdom is here, we have not yet seen it as it will be.
To be holy means to be like God in every way – perfect and blameless in both thought and action. Throughout the New Testament, holiness is an expectation:
- Jesus commanded us to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48 NLT)
- In Peter’s first letter, he writes you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. (1 Peter 1:15 NLT)
- In 1 Thessalonians, Paul writes God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.
WE’VE GOT A PROBLEM
Everyone reading this realizes that we’ve encountered a big dilemma: We aren’t holy.
Last week, we discovered that no one seeks God on their own. It takes a miracle from God to save us.
We aren’t like God. We aren’t holy. Not even close.
And those of us who follow Jesus would readily admit that we aren’t anywhere close to holiness. Most of us are all too familiar with our faults and failures.
We aren’t like God. We aren’t holy. Not even close.
JUSTIFIED
On our own, we aren’t holy. Thankfully, we aren’t on our own. We are in Christ.
In Romans 5, Paul writes about the new identity that Jesus gives us: Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1 ESV).
In Christ, we are justified, a legal term meaning “to declare just or righteous.”
Imagine standing in front of a judge for a series of crimes that you committed.
Imagine standing in front of a judge for a series of crimes that you committed. You know you are guilty and deserve to be locked away. But in a shocking twist, the judge declares that someone has agreed to serve your sentence for you.
That’s called redemption. Someone paid for you to be set free. Of course, Jesus has redeemed us. In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. (Ephesians 1:7 ESV)
But it gets better.
MORE THAN FORGIVEN
Now, imagine that the judge commands that your criminal activity be erased from all record books. He promises to destroy all evidence of your wrongdoing. You will never be called a criminal. You are now known as a law-abiding citizen.
Not only have you been redeemed. You’ve been justified. A judge has declared that you are righteous.
Imagine that the judge commands that your criminal activity be erased from all record books. You will never be called a criminal. You are now known as a law-abiding citizen.
This is what God does for us who are in Christ. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)
On the cross, Jesus became our sin. In Christ, we have become holy and righteous. We are justified in Christ. Legally speaking, we have the same righteousness that Jesus has.
WE ARE HOLY, WE ARE BECOMING HOLY
Our holiness in Christ is part of our now, not yet reality.
Because of Jesus, God views us as perfectly righteous and holy. We are justified right now.
But we are also invited into the process. As we learned last week, the Holy Spirit is continually transforming us. We are not yet like Christ, but we are becoming like him. This ongoing process is called sanctification.
Our holiness in Christ is part of our now, not yet reality.
This is why Paul writes, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13 ESV)
When God looks at us in Christ, he sees us as perfect and righteous. But he also desires for us to walk in the fullness of life that Jesus offers.
We continue to take intentional steps on the journey of following Jesus (this is what Paul means when he says “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”). But as we do, we take comfort in knowing that God is working in us through the Holy Spirit. He is giving us the strength to follow him and transforming us so that we want to.
God is far more committed to us than we are to him.
NEXT STEPS
1: Read Mark 12.
2: Spend 10 minutes in Solitude, reflecting on Ephesians 1:3. Pray using the P-R-A-Y method.
3: Continue to pray and plan to share your testimony with the 1-2 people in your life who don’t know Jesus over the next 2 weeks.
4: Text one friend one thing that you learned
Tomorrow: Week 5 – Day 4 – I AM: Whole In Christ