I am what I was not

February 9, 2020

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” —II Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

The Bible contains no shortage of what some would consider outlandish claims, but of them all, this is perhaps the most amazing. Jesus became sin for us! I can’t claim to understand what that means, other than it is deeper than his just taking upon himself our sin. I have much to ponder here, but it’s the latter half of this verse that commands my attention tonight. Paul doesn’t say that Jesus gave us righteousness, but actually makes us righteous. He doesn’t merely give us what we don’t have; he makes us what we are not.

Something we possess can be taken away; what we are cannot. It may not always appear that we are the righteousness of God; the doctrine of Original Sin tells us that even our best actions are tainted by our innate sinfulness. What this verse addresses is not our standing before men, but our standing before God. I have no righteousness of my own; it is all Christ’s, but because I am “in him” (a phrase Paul loves, indicating our spiritual position before God), when God looks at me, he sees his Son. The very righteousness of Christ has not only been imparted, it is (again in Paul’s words) imputed. My spiritual bank account was empty; Jesus deposited his righteousness in it, filling it up. Even better, he infused his life and righteousness into me. 

A good friend, commenting on his carpentry skills, once told me, “Putty and paint make us what we ain’t.” Jesus Christ did that one better when he claimed me for his own, and I am deeply indebted and eternally grateful.