01.11. Section Three :: Chapter Five
The second branch: How Christ’s representing us as a common person in his
resurrection, has an influence into our justification, made forth by two things: (1.) How Christ at his resurrection was justified from our sin; (2.) That we were all then justified in him as a common person.
I shall absolve and dispatch this branch by showing two things:
(1.) That Christ himself was justified, and that at his resurrection.
[1.] First, in reason, if that Christ were made sin for us, and satisfied for it, there must then some act pass, whereby Christ should be pronounced acquitted of our sins, and fully clear of them, and so be himself formally justified in respect of those sins, for which he undertook to satisfy. For according to the course of all proceedings, if a charge of guilt be formally laid, there must be as formal an act of acquitting, and of giving a quietus est. There is no man but for his own discharge and security would desire it; nor is there any wise man that pays a debt for which he is legally sued, that will not have, upon the payment of it, as legal an acquittance. Paul, when he was cast into prison by a public act of authority, he stood upon it to have a public act of release from the same magistrates, and would not go forth of prison privily, though themselves sent to him so to go out, Acts 16:37. Now God himself did "lay the iniquities of us all" upon Christ, Isaiah 53:6, and "had him to prison and judgment" for them, Isaiah 53:8. There must, therefore, some act passed from God, legally to take them off from him, and declaring him discharged, to deliver him from prison and judgment.
And, de facto, it is evident that there was some such act passed from God for, as we read, that Christ, while he lived, and also in his death, "was made sin," and "did bear the sin of many," as the phrase is, Hebrews 9:28. So we read in the very next words, that "he shall appear the second time without sin," which must necessarily be spoken in a direct opposition to his having borne our sins, and appearing then with all our sins laid to his charge. He appeared charged with them then, but now he shall appear, as apparently and manifestly to be without those sins, for of our sins it must necessarily be meant, and so to be discharged of them as fully as ever he appeared charged with them. For it is said, "he shall appear without sin;" and therefore to the judgments of all it shall be made manifest, that God who had once charged him with them, has now fully discharged him of them. The apostle speaks of it as of a great alteration made in this respect between Christ while on earth, and Christ as he is to appear the second time, and is now in heaven. And this alteration or discharge must necessarily be made by God, for he is the creditor who followed the suit, and therefore he alone can give the acquittance.
[3.] Hence thirdly we read, as that Christ was "condemned," so that he was "justified." Thus in 1 Timothy 3:16, God is said to be "manifest in the flesh," and then that this God-man was "justified in the Spirit." That is, whereas God was manifest or appeared in flesh to condemn sin in the flesh, as in Romans 8:1-39, that same God-man was also justified in the Spirit from all those sins, and so "received up to glory," as it follows there. And not to go far, the very words of this my text, "it is God that justifies," are taken out of Isaiah 50:8-9, and as there they are first spoken by Christ of himself, then, when he "gave his back to the smiters," in his death (as in the verses before), and was put to death as a "condemned" man. He comforts himself with this, "He is near that justifies me; who shall condemn?" And when was that done or to be done, but at his resurrection? So the phrase in Timothy imports, if you compare it with another in 1 Peter 3:18, "Being put to death in the flesh, and quickened in (or by) the Spirit." Paul, he says, "justified in the Spirit;" Peter, he says, "quickened in the Spirit;" both mean one and the same thing. By Spirit is meant the power of his Godhead and divine nature, whereby he was at once both raised from the grave, and from under the guilt of sin together. He was at once both quickened, or raised, and justified also. And that by Spirit they mean his divine nature, the opposition in both places evidently implies; for it is opposed to his flesh or human nature.
Now because he was quickened or raised by the power of the Godhead, and at that raising him he was justified also by God, and declared justified by that resurrection, as he had been declared condemned by his death; hence, to be justified is put for his resurrection; for that was his justification, to declaration of all the world, that he was justified from all the sins laid to his charge. And that other place I cited out of Isaiah has the same meaning also; for Christ there comforts himself against the Jews condemning him and putting him to death, with the hopes of God’s justifying of him, when he should have gone through that work. And Christ’s meaning there is this, "God will raise me up and acquit me," though you condemn and kill me. In the other prophets you shall find Christ still comforting himself against his condemnation at his death, with the thoughts of his resurrection, which he foresaw as shortly to follow after it; as here, in Isaiah, he comforts himself with these hopes of his being justified after their condemnation of him. For instance in Psalms 16:9, "My flesh shall rest in hope: thou will not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer your Holy One to see corruption." Which words you know Peter, in the Acts, does twice interpret of Christ’s resurrection. In like manner here in Isaiah, against his death and condemnation, he comforts himself with the hopes of God’s justification of him at his resurrection, "He is near who justifies me (and he shall help me); who shall condemn?"
And further, to confirm and strengthen this notion, because his resurrection was the first moment of this his justification from our sins, therefore it is that God calls it his first begetting of Christ, "This day have I begotten thee," speaking manifestly of his resurrection, Acts 13:33. And the reason of his so calling it is because all the while before he was covered with sin, and "the likeness of sinful flesh;" but now having flung it off, he appears like God’s Son indeed, as if newly begotten. And thus also he comes to be the fuller conformity between Christ’s justification and ours. For as our justification is at our first being born again, so was Christ’s also at this his first glorious begetting. He was under an attainder before; here was the act of restitution first passed. And as at our conversion (which is to us a resurrection) we "pass from death to life," that is from an estate of death and condemnation, unto justification of life. So did Christ also at his resurrection, which to him was a re-begetting pass from an estate of death and guilt laid on him, to an estate of life and glory, and justification from guilt. And so shall he "appear," as the word is in Hebrews 9:28 (as he does now in heaven), "without sin;" for he came to be without sin from that very moment. Thus I have shown how Christ was justified at his resurrection.
And indeed (to enlarge this a little), as there is the same reason and ground for the one that there is for the other, he being a public person in both, so the rule will hold in all other things which God ever does to us or for us, which are common with Christ, and were done to him; that in them all Christ was the first-fruits and they may be said to have been done in us or to us, yes, by us, in him and with him. Yes, whatever God meant to do for us and in us, whatever privilege or benefit he meant to bestow upon us, he did that thing first to Christ and (some way) bestowed the like on him as a common person, that so it might be by a solemn formal act ratified, and be made sure to be done to us in our persons in due time, having first been done to him representing our persons. And that by this course taken, it might (when done to us) be effected by virtue of what was first done to him. Thus God meaning to sanctify us, he sanctifies Christ first, in him as a common person sanctifying us all; "For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through your truth," John 17:19. He sanctifies the human nature of Christ personal, (that is his body) and him first, as a common person representing us, that so we, being virtually and representatively sanctified in him, may be sure to be sanctified afterwards in our own persons, by means of his sanctification.
And so in like manner for our sakes he was "justified in the Spirit;" because we were to be justified, and so to be justified first in him, and with him as a common person. Now this rule holds in all blessings else bestowed; for Paul pronounces of them all that "God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus," Ephesians 1:3, which God did so order that, as he speaks of ordaining salvation to be by faith in Romans 4:16, that all those "blessings might be sure to all the seed." For this formal investiture of estating us into all blessings by such solemn acts done to Christ as our head and representative of us, makes what he intends to bestow sure beforehand, by an irrepealable act and sentence, which has its warrant in all laws of men, as I have shown, and shall anon again urge. And,
Secondly, by the equity of the same law that in Adam we were all condemned, Adam being a type of him in this by the same law, I say we were all justified in Christ when he was justified, else the type was not therein fulfilled. Now the sentence of condemnation was first passed upon Adam alone, yet considered as a common person for us; therefore also this acquittance and justification was then passed towards Christ alone, as a public person for us. Yes, in this his being justified. Christ must much rather be considered as a common person representing us, than Adam was in his condemnation. For Christ in his own person, as he had no sin, so he had no need of any justification from sin, nor should ever have been condemned. And therefore this must be only in a respect unto our sins imputed to him; and if so, then in our stead. And so herein, he was more purely to be considered as a common person for us, than ever Adam was in his being condemned. For Adam, besides his standing as a common person for us, was furthermore condemned in his own person; but Christ in being justified from sin, could only be considered as standing for others. Thus in Romans 5:18, "Therefore as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so (or in like manner) by the righteousness of that one man Christ, the free gift came upon all men (namely, in Christ) unto justification of life."