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). Indeed, 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).
Wil is a graduate of William
Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific
University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador
and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as
missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily
expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100
countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek
opportunities to be personally involved in world
missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown
daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor
and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
Bible
word studies for sermon preparation, messages,
devotions and personal Bible studies with abiding
principles and practical applications.
Reports on what God is doing through Bible
believing evangelical Christians in
Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru,
India
and Ecuador. Jesus said, "If you abide in
Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever
you wish, and it shall be done for you"
(John 15:7).