We’re acquainted with the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ. After all, they’re historical events. But it’s an altogether different matter to realize that we ourselves were spiritually crucified and buried with him. The moment we enter into Christ at salvation, our old self is obliterated. This takes place as God kills off the old self through a miraculous, timeless surgery. We’re crucified with Christ: Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death…For we know that our old self was crucified with him… ROMANS 6:3-4a, 6a As amazing as it is to be crucified with Christ, it’s not enough! God goes further as he resurrects us from the dead and seats us at his right hand with Christ: “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 2:6 For a short time, Jesus Christ walked as one of us in the likeness of sinful flesh. But today he’s seated in heaven with God. And we’re joined to him! We’re not merely joined to the earth-walking Messiah who was temporarily lower than the angels. We’re joined to the risen Christ. If we Christians don’t claim to possess perfect righteousness, we’re lowering God’s standard. Sometimes we see ourselves as sinners in the loving arms of a God who is pretending not to see us as we really are. In our minds, maybe God is wearing a pair of “Jesus glasses” that hides our true state from his vision. We find it difficult to grasp the idea that God calls us righteous because we actually are righteous. It feels more humble to believe that we’re filthy worms awaiting a future change into beautiful butterflies.” Jesus stated it best. He said that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom (Matthew 5:20). So if we Christians don’t claim to possess perfect righteousness, we’re lowering God’s standard. We’re watering down the gospel. We insinuate that Jesus can unite himself with sin. And we insult the perfection of God. Only perfection will do. This is precisely why God had to make us perfectly righteous in our human spirits through our own death, burial, and resurrection. With its apparent humility, this filthy worm theology appeals to the flesh. But God certainly doesn’t condone our wallowing in a poor self-image. The risen Christ doesn’t join himself to filthy worms. The Holy Spirit doesn’t dwell in dirty sinners. Christ only unites himself with those who are like him in spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn’t reside in someone who remains even 1 percent flawed by sin. But we’ve been perfectly cleansed. And we’ve been made perfectly righteous at our core through spiritual surgery. This is the only way we can enjoy even a moment of relationship with Jesus Christ.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 10:52:11 +0000
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