The Point of Justification

(1) God justified us in Christ when God declared Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous.
(2) God declared Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous when God raised Christ from the dead.
(3) Therefore, God justified us in Christ when God raised Christ from the dead.

In other words, God justified us in Christ not through the cross but through the resurrection.

(4) God imputed Christ's righteousness to us when God declared Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous.
(2) God declared Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous when God raised Christ from the dead.
(5) Therefore, God imputed Christ's righteousness to us when God raised Christ from the dead.

In other words, God imputed Christ's righteousness to us not through the cross but through the resurrection.

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(1) God justified us in Christ when God declared Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished - he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." - Romans 3:23-26 (NIV)

(2) God declared Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous when God raised Christ from the dead.

God did not declare Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous through the cross; God declared Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous through the resurrection.

Jesus did not prevail over the wages of sin (i.e. death) through the cross. Jesus simply paid the wages of sin (i.e. death) through the cross. Jesus prevailed over the wages of sin (i.e. death) through the resurrection.

What happened through the cross was not the defeat of death. What happened through the cross was simply the description of death. It was what happened through the resurrection which was the defeat of death.

"Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God." - Romans 6:8-10 (NIV)

"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." - Acts 2:22-24 (NIV)

"So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." - 2 Timothy 1:8-10 (NIV)

(3) Therefore, God justified us in Christ when God raised Christ from the dead.

"For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." - 1 Corinthians 15:16-19 (NIV)

(4) God imputed Christ's righteousness to us when God declared Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous.

"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)

(5) Therefore, God imputed Christ's righteousness to us when God raised Christ from the dead.

"The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness - for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." - Romans 4:23-25 (NIV)

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To repeat, God did not declare Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous through the cross; God declared Christ (and hence all who are in Him) righteous through the resurrection.

The gospel is not that Jesus died for our sins. That is bad news, the news of a failed Messiah, a deposed High Priest, a dethroned King. The gospel is that Jesus 'was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification' (Romans 4:25, NIV)!

God could not have imputed Christ's righteousness to us through the cross because God had not yet declared Christ righteous (by raising Him from the dead) at that point in time!

Even as God justified us in Christ/imputed Christ's righteousness to us when God raised Christ from the dead in the past, there is a sense in which God will complete His work in us when He raises us from the dead in the future.

God justified us in Christ/imputed Christ's righteousness to us spiritually when God raised Christ from the dead in the past; God will justify us in Christ/impute Christ's righteousness to us physically when God raises us from the dead in the future!

Born Again

In one sense, we have been born again. In another sense, we will be born again.

Spiritual Rebirth

We have been born again in the sense that we have been born again spiritually.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved." - Ephesians 2:1-5 (NIV)

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." - Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV)

"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." - 1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)

Physical Rebirth

We will be born again in the sense that we will be born again physically.

"Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."" - John 3:5-8 (NIV)

"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power." - 1 Corinthians 15:20-24 (NIV)

v20: fallen asleep vs raised from the dead
v21: death vs the resurrection of the dead
v22: die vs made alive

"I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."" - 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 (NIV)

1 Corinthians 15 is not about spiritual rebirth but about physical rebirth!

Spiritual and Physical Rebirth

Just as spiritual death (fall) precedes physical death (condemnation), so does spiritual rebirth (redemption) precede physical rebirth (consummation).

"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." - Romans 8:9-11 (NIV)

We were born again spiritually when God raised Christ from the dead in the past; we will be born again physically when God raises us from the dead in the future!

Links: The Point of Imputation (21 Jan 10), The Power and Point of Touch (27 Feb 10)