Outline
Ⅲ
The ministry of reconciliation brings us back to God to such an extent that we become the righteousness of God in Christ—v. 21:
A
Not only are we justified by God (Gal. 2:16)—we actually become the righteousness of God.
B
When Christ died on the cross as our Substitute, God considered Him not only the sin bearer but sin itself; now in resurrection Christ comes into us as life, and this life lives within us to constitute us into the righteousness of God.
C
In substitution Christ was made sin for us; now in His constitution we become the righteousness of God in Him—2 Cor. 5:21:
１
The phrase in Him means in union with Christ, not only positionally but also organically in resurrection.
２
When Christ died on the cross, God condemned Him in the flesh as sin for us (Rom. 8:3; John 3:14) so that we might be one with Him in His resurrection to be God’s righteousness; therefore, in the organic union with Christ we are made the righteousness of God.
D
To become the righteousness of God in Christ is a matter of being right with God in our being; this is to have an inner being that is transparent and crystal clear—an inner being in the mind and will of God—2 Cor. 5:21.
E
Second Corinthians reveals the complete reconciliation of the believers to God, and Christ as the means of reconciliation.
Morning Nourishment
2 Cor. 5:21 Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.Rom. 8:3 For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh.
[In 2 Corinthians 5:21] we have the ultimate consummation of God’s salvation—the righteousness of God.
The new covenant ministry is a ministry of the Spirit and of righteousness. This ministry imparts the Spirit of life into the believers. This issues in a state, a condition, that is called righteousness. Before we were saved, we were in a condition that was altogether condemned by God…But after we were saved, we were brought into a state where we could be justified by God. This is righteousness. However, if we are honest, we will admit that, on the one hand, we are in a righteous condition, but, on the other hand, certain things related to our living still are not right. These things may not be comparable to the gross sin that may have been in our living before we were saved. Nevertheless, there are matters that are not right. In particular, there is still the separation between us and God caused by our natural man, our self. This is sin. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, p. 321)
Today’s Reading
Suppose a certain man and his wife are not saved. They have difficulty getting along with each other and often fight…Suppose one day the husband gets saved and comes into the church life. He begins to change, and this change affects his wife. Eventually, she also gets saved and comes into the church life. Like her husband, she too begins to change. Now this man and wife are in a state that the Bible calls righteousness. However, the man, now a brother in the Lord, has a very strong disposition…Moreover, the wife is very peculiar and seldom agrees with others. Often she contradicts others…What this man and wife have is a halfway reconciliation and a halfway righteousness.However, suppose this brother and sister hear a message on the need for further reconciliation. The husband begins to condemn his disposition, the wife condemns her peculiarity, and they both condemn their natural life. As a result, there is the possibility that they may be brought into the Holy of Holies to enjoy the Lord. Then the husband may say, “Praise the Lord!” and the wife may respond, “Amen!”…They will be in a condition that may be called the righteousness of God.
Why do we say that this righteousness is the ultimate consummation of God’s salvation? This claim is based on 2 Peter 3:13, which speaks of righteousness dwelling in the new heaven and new earth. The fact that righteousness will dwell in the new heaven and new earth indicates that everything will be brought back to God in full. Everything will be headed up and set in good order. Nothing will be wrong, and nothing will be out of order. Everything in the new heaven and the new earth will be right and satisfactory to God. God will be able to look at the entire universe and justify everything.
You may have the assurance to say that you are a new creation in Christ, [but] you may not have the boldness to declare that you are the righteousness of God. The reason you lack this boldness is that you are like a butterfly that has not fully emerged from its cocoon. Only when our “cocoon” has been fully done away can we say that we are the righteousness of God. Until then, we can say that we are only partially the righteousness of God. We need the cross to do a further work on us so that the remainder of our cocoon may be consumed. Eventually, at the latest in the New Jerusalem, we will fully be the righteousness of God. Then God will be able to boast to His enemy, Satan, that everything in the New Jerusalem is righteousness, that nothing is wrong or defective, that everything is satisfactory to God. Therefore, God will be able to justify everything in the New Jerusalem. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 321-323)
Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Corinthians, msg. 39