Accepted in the Beloved
There is always the tension in the Christian life between the
“now” and the “yet to be.” However, what we are now in the eyes of God
is what we shall be in practice when we stand before Him in complete, perfect
sanctification in glory.
Even now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
(Rom. 8:1). He has made us acceptable in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6). In deed, we are complete
in Him (Col. 2:10).
How do we explain this tension in our daily lives between our
practical sanctification and our eternal position and standing before God?
The believer’s positional standing before God never ever
changes. No believer is less justified than another. You are either acquitted by God or
you stand condemned. You are either a child of God by adoption or you are an enemy. You
either have eternal life, or you are dead in trespasses and sins.
Our standing before God, once we are His child, does not change. Our
sonship does not depend upon our fellowship with Him. It is the other way around. Our
fellowship with God depends upon our sonship.
There are degrees in our fellowship, but there can be none in our
justification before God. Sometimes we are warm and sometimes we are cold in our
fellowship, but our sonship never changes since we were adopted as His children.
Our justification is entirely above the fluctuations of Christian
experience. It knows nothing of degrees or the rise and fall of our emotions. You are
either justified by faith or you are condemned. We are “in Christ” and He is
“the same, yesterday, today and forever.”
Christ alone is our righteousness and results in our right
relationship with God. Christ is of God “made unto us righteousness.”
If a right standing depended upon our faith or our faithfulness we
would be eternally condemned. It depends upon Christ’s righteousness accepted as His
gift by faith. It does not depend upon our endeavors, but upon the finished work of
Christ. “You are complete in Christ.”
How can this be true? We know ourselves all too well. We are
imperfect and we fail. Yet God’s word says that we are complete in Christ.
Regarding the
Christian’s acceptance and standing before a righteous God is concerned, God sees
nothing from His throne but Christ Jesus alone and Him crucified. And since the believer is
in Him and one with Him, he shares Christ's place in the Father’s heart.
No matter how unworthy the believer is in himself, he may know without a doubt that he is
"accepted in the
Beloved.”
You cannot be condemned if you are in Christ. Christ is without sin
and for us to be in Christ means to be accepted in the Beloved.
Jesus Christ presents us to the Father clothed in the garments of His
own righteousness.
Jesus represents us to God. We see God in Christ. God sees us
in Christ. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. We in Christ are
reconciled to God.
The Christian can never pray, "O Lord, look how
pure and holy I am; look at me and preserve my
soul, for I am holy.” That would be utter nonsense. We can only come into His presence and with humble
gratitude accept His grace saying, "Lord, be merciful to me the sinner."
Moreover, the steadfastness of our joy and the stability of our
spiritual growth
depends upon our keeping our gaze fixed immovably upon the one Blessed Object upon which
the Father’s gaze is always fixed (Heb. 12:2).
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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