But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD,” 1 Corinthians 1:30, 31. [Paul began his letter to the Corinthians by saying “…to the church of God which is at Corinth, TO THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN SANCTIFIED IN CHRIST JESUS …”]
There are many today preaching that our righteousness is imputed to us by God, but our sanctification is earned by first dying to Self. But as we can see from these scriptures, Jesus became to us both righteousness and sanctification, as well as wisdom and redemption. Sin became imputed to us when the law was given, Romans 5:13; wisdom, righteousness and sanctification, and redemption were placed upon and within us when we were born again and raised up with Jesus, a member of His body, the new creation.
For this reason Peter wrote, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us EVERYTHING PERTAINING TO LIFE AND GODLINESS, THROUGH THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust,” 2 Peter 1:2-4. We may dare trust that, in Christ Jesus, God has supplied every need.
Dear friends, we must become immersed in the truth of Peter’s words that our Father has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness and He gives us these things THROUGH THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM who called us by His own glory and excellence, and He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that we might become partakers of the divine nature, 2 Peter 1:4.
For in Him all the Deity dwells in bodily form, and IN HIM YOU HAVE BEEN MADE COMPLETE [having everything pertaining to life and godliness], and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, IN THE REMOVAL OF THE BODY OF THE FLESH BY THE CIRCUMCISION OF CHRIST; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him THROUGH FAITH IN THE WORKING OF GOD, who raised Him from the dead, Colossians 2:9-12.
God loved us when we were dead in our transgressions and He made us alive together with Christ (by grace we have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD; NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS, THAT NO ONE SHOULD BOAST, Ephesians 2:4-9.
Those who are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires, Galatians 5:24. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord, Hebrews 12:14. How do we crucify the flesh and how do we pursue sanctification? We do both by faith accompanied by self-denial and perseverance; always looking to the Father, believing that He placed us in Jesus, and that we are now partakers of the divine nature through Him. We are not to work to make these happen, we are to trust that by God’s doing Jesus became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption. Our fight is the fight of faith.
Our salvation is a gift of God through faith in His Son. Yes, we must deny ourselves daily, and consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. We must daily present ourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and our members as instruments of righteousness to God. Again, we do this by faith in God’s only begotten Son, who has become to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST, Galatians 3:26, Romans 6:11, 13 and 1 Corinthians 1:30, 31.
As Eve was in the first Adam when he was created, so also were we in the last Adam when He was crucified, buried, raised from the dead and ascended to heaven a new man, the living Christ. As a result, our sins are forgiven, our old Self was crucified with Jesus on the cross, and we are now seated with Him in the heavenly places, sons and daughters of God, a new creation, having been born anew in and by His Spirit.
I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God, Ephesians 3:14-19.
In the name of Him who is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end,
Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant
jondavidbanks.com 